100% agree. I had hopes for the 5.4" iPhone 12 changing this trend by being a high end device with a close to OG iPhone SE size. But it now looks like it will not be given the "Pro" title after all, and will instead be the budget option. I hate that "small" has become synonymous with "budget" in the eyes of the manufacturers.
Ah, for a return to the (early?) 90s when the smallest phones were the "pro" models, and priced accordingly. And people would be amazed: "it's so tiny! Don't want to ask what it must have cost, though."