>you have to compare the actual phone sizes, not the screen sizes. bezels have gotten smaller.

This is true, and it's hard to fully assess without a tool like you linked, which is pretty neat.

>the article's "small phone" benchmark with a 5.4" screen is almost the same size in every dimension as your benchmark of the HTC 8x

But as mentioned, I don't consider the 8X to be small. It's a standard-sized phone in my eyes.