The 12 & 13 mini with their 5.4 inch screens are huge. The SE 2nd & 3rd generation at 4.7 is already too big. The 1st SE's 4 incher was probably a little too small, but a slightly bigger form factor combined with thinner bezels would probably allow for a screen of about 4.2-4.5 which should be perfect.
People want larger batteries and screens than small phones can offer.
(I was in camp 'small phones', but gave up when my 12 Mini had its best time.)