Despite a near-constant outcry from people across the internet, small smartphones are few and far between these days. Apple's miniature iPhone series appears dead after just two entries, while the last few Android manufacturers who even bothered to design smaller devices are looking towards bigger displays for modern successors. Still, if you're craving a pocket-sized smartphone, you aren't alone. Some of the folks behind Pebble are looking to deliver their own gadget to a niche audience later this year,

In an interview with The Verge, Ben Bryant — a former Pebble employee — explained the work his team is doing with Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky. Their crew has been working within Discord to gain feedback and design preferences on an upcoming project, one that could deliver the small smartphone many of us have spent years begging for.

If this sounds familiar, it's because Migicovsky has made his dream public on more than one occasion. Last year, he launched a petition begging for someone to make the small smartphone a reality, effectively asking for an iPhone Mini-shaped Android device. 38,000 people signed the petition based on his write-up, which described a device with a sub-6" display, great cameras, and a stock Android build.

So far, the team — which calls itself Small Android Phone, fittingly — seems to be sticking to those three goals. You can check out some of the design work being done in this unlisted AMA video on the team's official YouTube page, which shows off their attempt to create a device with a recognizable camera bump, including some modular concepts that, unfortunately, have been scrapped. The crew behind the device seems aware that a good camera these days combines excellent hardware and software, though aside from the likely inclusion of a 50MP main sensor, there's very little in the way of specifics here yet.

The iPhone mini served as the inspiration for the project.

In fact, much of this phone is still in a brainstorming phase, as the team works to narrow down the best experience for their future users. The SoC, for example, will either be last year's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 or an unreleased mid-tier Qualcomm chip (frankly, I'm surprised this isn't the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 announced last week). Despite its age, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 remains a fantastic chipset, powering phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and should hold up for years to come. They've also been hard at work on coming up with a name, with early candidates including Unit, Standard Issue, and of course, Pebble.

Unfortunately, not everything's coming up Milhouse. The group — you'll notice I'm not saying "company," because technically, they aren't one yet — are finding it difficult to source a smaller display, with one manufacturer discontinuing all screens smaller than 6" while another could only supply a 5.4" notched panel taken right out of the iPhone 13 Mini's playbook. The team is also only going so far as to hope to deliver two Android OS upgrades, a far cry from the modern standard set by larger OEMs.

And finally, there's the price. Because this is expected to be a niche phone with funding sourced, at least partially, through crowdfunding, the crew expects it to cost $850 at launch. Remember, Migicovsky's petition only brought 38,000 people together in search of a small Android device, so failing to meet that target could result in an even more expensive phone. On the other hand, there's a big difference between a petition and a preorder, and it's easy to imagine a crowdfunded campaign from the minds behind Pebble exceeding expectations, which — naturally — would reduce costs across the board.

Still, with a goal of $40 to $50 million needed to cover building and shipping a small Android phone, it's clear there are a lot of hurdles ahead for this project. I, for one, would love to see a pocket-friendly premium device, though it's easy to imagine something going wrong at any one of the necessary steps to deliver a final product. Remember, this team isn't even an actual company yet, which means we're pretty far away from the reality where a smartphone arrives on your doorstep. Still, if you're one of the dozens of us still shouting into the void for a smaller flagship smartphone, keep your eyes peeled for this project's next moves. If today's unveiling made anything clear, it's how serious this dream really is.