Ever Googled for “Greatest Small Telephones”? I’ll prevent the clicking: the guides you’ll discover characteristic telephones which can be {old}, underpowered, or just not small to start with.
I’ve lengthy been a small cellphone man. I beloved my 2013 Moto X, with its 4.7-inch display screen, and I’ve used a 5.4-inch iPhone Mini for years. However when Apple discontinued the Mini final month, I made a decision it was time to leap ship. I saved my cash for the Pixel 8, figuring I’d finally be taught to dwell with a “new regular” of 6.2-inch handsets.
However for gadget lovers like me, Google had different plans: it’s arbitrarily pushing buyers to the ginormous Pixel 8 Pro instead, bragging about how its bigger handset can deal with niftier options despite the fact that each telephones have the identical cameras and chips.
That’s why I started my hunt for the final good small telephones — however gosh is it slim pickings.
For instance, maybe you’ve heard the Asus Zenfone 10 is a small cellphone as a result of it has a 5.9-inch display screen — smaller than 6.1, 6.5, or 6.7. However do you know the cellphone itself is nearly identically sized to a “regular” Galaxy S23 or iPhone 15, not counting digital camera bumps?
Some guides counsel the 2022 iPhone SE, maybe as a result of it’s bought a 4.7-inch display screen — even smaller than a 5.4-inch iPhone Mini, proper? Mistaken:
Pixel 6A and Pixel 7A? Completely nope — each are greater than an ordinary Samsung or Apple cellphone. Even unlocking their under-display fingerprint sensor looks like a stretch for my average-sized hand.
Whereas Android Police calls the Sony Xperia 5 V “the compact flagship Android phone enthusiasts always wanted,” I feel this measurement comparability speaks for itself:
And for those who assume folding flip telephones are small, nicely…
Opened, the Samsung Z Flip and Moto Razr are roughly as huge because the Pixel 8 Professional or iPhone 15 Professional Max, two of the most important flagship handsets on the market.
Closed, the Z Flip’s girth doubles, making it that a lot more durable to wrap a hand round — and it’s loads vast, too. Plus, Samsung doesn’t truly allow you to use it like a small cellphone by default — you’ve gotta jump through hoops to make use of apps on the outer display screen. Even with the Z Flip 5’s bigger cowl display screen, it’s awkward.
There may be one firm doggedly nonetheless pursuing small telephones. It’s known as Unihertz, and its Jelly line is tiny and has nifty options like a BlackBerry keyboard or programmable buttons and extra LEDs. However they’re additionally exceptionally finances, designed for minimalists, not those that need an ideal processor and an ideal digital camera like me.
Why isn’t somebody constructing the iPhone Mini of Android, you would possibly ask? They’re making an attempt! However the newest dispatches from the Small Android Phone Project are… not nice. The mission hasn’t had a significant replace in 5 months, and staff chief Benjamin Bryant admits he needed to pause to search for consulting work on the aspect.
In some methods, they’re nonetheless at sq. one: all the design revolves across the cellphone’s show, however show producers don’t publicly supply the type of small, high-end display screen Bryant’s staff is searching for — these are usually produced below contract to particular producers.
“The issue is Apple has unique rights to [the iPhone Mini’s] show — so, even with the road being discontinued, [Samsung Display] isn’t going to present us entry,” he advised supporters final month.
The scenario has barely improved since then: Bryant says his staff simply had its first actual name with Samsung Show US. “Samsung Show US is keen to champion us; the problem will probably be convincing the Korean HQ that we’re a viable sufficient mission for them to take a position time and sources into,” Bryant tells me.
Different choices: there are “apparently greater than sufficient” refurbished iPhone Mini shows available on the market to fill the Small Android Cellphone Mission’s wants; the exterior cowl show on the Oppo Discover N2 appears promising; and there are different shows that would work in the event that they’re keen to construct a cellphone with a chin.
However I’d not count on a cellphone out of them anytime quickly. Bryant admits that, generally, the small cellphone outlook is “bleak” and that a few of his potential prospects “will probably be pressured to improve within the coming yr.”
Personally, I don’t really feel pressured: I may theoretically replace the battery in my Mini yet again and maintain it operating one other yr. However as a substitute, I impulsively nabbed a Z Flip 5 at its Prime Day price to strive one thing completely different for a change.
I’m on day 4, and whereas I’m positively not happy with the scale, I don’t wish to be caught on small telephones the best way I used to be caught on bodily keys. A decade in the past, smartphone producers pulled the physical QWERTY keyboard from my cold Droid hands. This time, I’m getting out earlier than I get left previously.