HTC's One M8 is a very nice, well-built phone, but it's large even by the standards of most Android phones. The new HTC One Mini 2, which will arrive in Europe and Asia this summer, solves one problem by shrinking the phone to more manageable dimensions. Like the first HTC One Mini and Samsung's Galaxy S4 Mini, though, it's also a substantial step down in most important specifications.

The phone uses a 4.5-inch 720p display and comes with a 1.2 quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC like the one in Motorola's Moto G. That processor should be reasonably quick, but it's a big step down from the M8's high-end Snapdragon 801. The Mini 2 also gives up HTC's UltraPixel camera (it opts for a more conventional 13MP shooter instead) and the second camera used to make those fancy faux-depth-of-field photos. It steps down to 1GB of RAM from 2GB and comes with dual-band 802.11n instead of 802.11ac.

The Mini 2 does still include a 5MP front camera, LTE, the two front-facing "BoomSound" speakers, the micro SD card slot, and Android 4.4.2 with HTC's Sense skin on top of it, according to AnandTech's information. Its body uses more plastic than the standard M8, especially around the edges of the phone, but the front and back panels appear to be made from the same aluminum we're used to in the larger phones.

It continues to be difficult to track down a smallish Android phone that uses top-end parts—phones with large screens are currently driving a lot of the growth in the high-end phone market, and the Android OEMs are all chasing those numbers. Phones like Sony's Xperia Z1 Compact combine a smaller body with high-end specs, but it's not being offered in the US by any of the major carriers.

The other thing to note about these smaller phones is that they normally retail for about $400 unlocked (or around $100 with a two-year contract, which will vary based on your carrier and what sales they have going on). If you're in the market for a smaller phone and don't mind the midrange specs, something like the $179 Moto G might be a better deal, especially now that there's a $220 LTE-equipped version on the way. We don't know when the One Mini 2 will launch in the US, but there are already alternatives here if you aren't married to HTC's designs.