Most smartphones now come in two sizes—big and huge. Apple’s new iPhone SE is the first one made for everybody whose thumbs lack the wingspan of eagles.

The phone, which goes on sale Thursday, packs Apple’s best phone processor and camera into a width of just 2.3 inches. And it does it with significantly better battery life and Apple’s lowest-ever starting price, $399.

After years of the “phablet,” the small phone is back with a vengeance.

This is about more than fads—it’s about physiology. The iPhone SE is an acknowledgment that picking a smartphone should be like choosing shoes. Style and function are parts of the equation: You might not be caught dead without heels, but their fit and comfort matter. When you consider your phone, it matters how you’ll hold it, and where you’ll stash it.

The first time I held the iPhone SE, whose screen measures 4 inches diagonally, it felt comically tiny to my fingers and eyes, which are now accustomed to much more. I wouldn’t want to use it as my everyday phone, but as many as 20% of Americans would prefer a 4-inch phone. Apple says it sold 30 million older, slower (and cheaper) models at that size last year. Yet remarkably, no other major manufacturer offers a high-end phone at this size in the U.S.