With smartphones seemingly getting larger and larger with each year, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that the smallest smartphones out there can be just as good as the big boys on the block. Having a huge screen is great, but sometimes you just want something that you can easily use in one hand — and that’s why we’ve assembled this list of the greatest, smallest smartphones that’ll steal your heart, but sit easy in your palm.
Google Pixel
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The Google Pixel is the absolute best way to experience Google’s vision for Android, and one of the best smartphones on the planet. Thanks to its 5-inch screen, it’s also more than capable of being used one-handed. The Google Pixel might come with a premium price tag, but it offers a premium design of glass and metal to match. It may lack some of the features that are rapidly becoming standard within the premium smartphone market — wireless charging and waterproofing being particularly notable — but it’s still a fantastic choice for a smaller smartphone.
While the design has had its detractors since day one — the larger bezels make it look dated next to the LG G6’s and Galaxy S8’s of this world — the Pixel has one of the best smartphone cameras ever seen. And thanks to stock Android, it’s one of the most consistently smooth experiences you can get from an Android phone.
It has its downsides. As already mentioned, there’s no waterproofing or wireless charging, the battery life isn’t great, and there are no stereo speakers. A slot for expandable storage is also conspicuously absent, and giving prospective buyers the heartbreaking choice between 32 GB and 128 GB internal storage options should be illegal. To balance this out, Pixel owners get unlimited space for their snaps on Google’s Drive service, and the rubbish battery life is countered by the exceptionally fast charging rate — from 30 percent to full in 15 minutes. You get one of the best experiences for modern Android, and benefit from software updates directly from Google itself, with Google committing to OS updates until October of 2018 (with Android O), and security updates until October 2019.
If you’re the sort of person who doesn’t necessarily care about frills like wireless charging and waterproofing (who takes their phone swimming anyway?), and don’t mind paying big bucks, then the Google Pixel is probably the small phone for you — check out our full Google Pixel review for more details!
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iPhone SE
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If you’re an Apple fan with a penchant for smaller screens, then this entry isn’t for you. Why? Because you already own the iPhone SE and are reading these words in teeny-weeny-vision. The iPhone SE has the smallest screen size on this list, measuring in at a practically minuscule 4-inches. But if you long for the days when you could reach the top of phone screens with no issue, then the iPhone SE is the phone you’re looking for.
Don’t be fooled by the small screen — the iPhone SE is no tiny performer. Apple has used dark magic to cram the powerful guts of the iPhone 6S into the SE’s tiny shell, and it works beautifully. The design is reminiscent of the iPhone 5S because, er, it is the iPhone 5S — but that shouldn’t put you off, because 2013’s iPhone 5S is still something of a looker four years later, and the retro look the 5S’s body affords the SE only adds to the charm.
There are downsides to the iPhone SE, of course. While the camera on the back is the same solid 12-megapixel snapper we saw on the iPhone 6S, the front-facing camera is something of a let down, with a puny 1.2-megapixel eye staring back at you. If you take a lot of selfies, then the front camera is likely to be something of a disappointment. 3D Touch is also missing from this, despite making its debut in the iPhone 6S, and the overall battery life might well struggle to make it through the day unaided. As is par for the Apple course, storage is limited to what you get onboard, with 32 GB and 128 GB options available.
However, these downsides are fairly minor, and regular for Apple fans. Apple’s usual polish is present throughout, and the SE’s performance is as smooth as you expect from the Cupertino giant. The iPhone SE also currently runs the latest version of iOS, with regular and prompt updates continuing to be Apple’s strength over the Android masses — and since it’s Apple, the SE will likely continue to be supported for a few more years yet.
This tiny titan is definitely worth your time if you’re not opposed to picnicking in Apple’s walled garden — and you can check out our full iPhone SE review for more details on how well it handles. But if you’re not sold by the SE, it’s also definitely worth checking out the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 as another astonishingly good iPhone that fits the boundaries of the smallest smartphones.
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Moto E4
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If you’re looking for something that won’t impact your bottom line as much as the first two entries, then you could do much worse than the Moto E4. It’s clearly a budget device, and the materials the Moto E4 is made from reflect this — as does the lack of NFC support. The 5-inch screen is decent, capable of outputting up to 720p — which is more than enough for most applications if you’re not squinting at the screen. The camera is similar budget stock, and pretty standard for the price-point. The battery is decent as well, and capable of making it through the day.
The real key with a budget device is getting enough bang for your buck, and it’s here that the Moto E4 really shines. In our review of the E4, we found the E4 to be a pleasant surprise, both smooth and responsive. The device is running the latest version of Android — Android 7.1.1, and the experience is as close to stock Android as you can get without going “full Google”, with a minimal amount of bloatware.
Yes, the Moto E4 has made compromises — but it’s nothing that you shouldn’t expect for such a budget device. We racked up the negatives in the early part of this entry, but it’s important to realize that it’s in spite of these limitations that the Moto E4 comes out as a great phone. If you can put up with a cheaper build, and not having top-of-the-line specs, the Moto E4 is a steal for its $130 price tag — and doubly so if you get it with an Amazon Prime Exclusive deal.
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Xperia X Compact
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Sony is one of the few smartphone manufacturers still in the business of purposely creating for the “smallest smartphone” market, with its Xperia Compact range. The Xperia X Compact is Sony’s latest entry, and it’s good enough to warrant a high place on this list.
Just from looking at it, it’s obvious that the Xperia X Compact takes more than a few style tips from its brother, the Xperia XZ. The X Compact keeps the same hard lines that we’ve come to expect from Sony’s designers, and you’ll know if you like the look by now. However, it’s worth noting that the metal body of the XZ has been swapped out for a plastic build, the display is 720p instead of 1080p, and there’s no waterproofing. But if you don’t mind a few compromises in exchange for value, then the X Compact’s limitations shouldn’t bother you too much.
Impressively, the X Compact somehow manages to cram the 23-megapixel camera from the XZ into a much smaller device. Unfortunately, the front-facing camera isn’t as beefy, being a weaker 5-megapixel version of the 13-megapixel snapper on the XZ. But really, that shouldn’t be much of a sacrifice to all but the most ardent of selfie-takers. The X Compact also packs stereo speakers, NFC, an internal gyroscope, and other various bits of tech that you often see culled from a lot of the smallest smartphones. Again, it’s worth noting that the US-version does lack a fingerprint scanner, just like the XZ.
The 2,700 mAh should be good enough to last a day (thanks to that downsized resolution), and the phone is packing a USB-C port on the bottom. The Xperia X Compact comes with 32GB of onboard memory, but it is expandable, so if storage space is important to you, you’ll be able to get tons here.
The X Compact is also upgradeable up to the latest version of Android (Nougat 7.1.1, at time of writing), and is likely to be supported for some time yet — Sony’s update record not withstanding. If you’re looking for something on the smaller end of the size scale, while still within the mid-range of what’s currently available in power, then the Xperia X Compact could be the perfect phone for you — as long as you’re willing to overlook some of the minor issues it has. Check out our full thoughts in our hands-on review.
The Xperia X Compact was our pick for this list, being the latest in Sony’s Compact range — but that doesn’t mean that the rest of the Xperia range isn’t worth your time. The Xperia E5, the Xperia XA1, and — if you want that little bit of extra screen — the Xperia XZ all feature screens and bodies on the smaller end of the scale, and are definitely worth looking at.
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Huawei P10
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One of China’s biggest phone manufacturers, Huawei has become known in the west for strong entries against some of the biggest flagship phones on the market — throwing its impressive phones into the ring, and backing them up with the members of its sub-brand, Honor. While it hasn’t yet achieved the dominance of Apple or Samsung, Huawei is well on its way to establishing itself firmly into the Android marketplace.
The Huawei P10 has the largest screen on this list (with a whopping 5.1-inch display), but the comparatively large screen belies a slim and svelte body that won’t be hard to operate with a single hand. Only .4 of an inch taller than the Moto E4, but slimmer in every other dimension, Huawei has done an amazing job creating a device that gives you plenty of screen real estate in a form that doesn’t need a huge hand. Sure, it’s no Galaxy S8 or LG G6 with slim bezels, but it’s a great showing nonetheless. That great show extends to the design of the P10. It’s a sumptuously premium glass and aluminum affair, and if you’re an Apple fan you might notice that the P10 has more than a passing resemblance to the iPhone 6S — but this is not a bad thing, and there are enough differences that you’re unlikely to mistake one phone for the other.
As mentioned, the screen is a 5.1-inch LCD, capable of outputting up to 1080p. But where Huawei really slips up is the lack of an oleophobic layer on the screen itself. Why it chose to not include this is unknown — and baffling — but an additional screen protector can do wonders to stop your screen from accumulating the layer of grease that an oleophobic protector would have prevented.
As with all of Huawei’s phones, the P10 runs Huawei’s latest version of their proprietary EMUI operating system. Based on Android, criticism was leveled at earlier versions of EMUI for looking far too much like iOS. Thankfully, the latest version, EMUI 5, has addressed a lot of these concerns. However, if you’re coming from a predominantly Android background, you might still be put off by what looks like a totally different operating system, and the P10 is definitely not the phone for you if you want a “purer” Android experience. But it works, and it works well.
Most of the rest is all good; the camera is amazing, capable of taking wonderful shots, even in low light conditions. Huawei’s Kirin 960 processor means that the P10 is capable of beating the LG G6 in benchmark tests, and 4GB of RAM is more than enough. The 3,200 mAh battery is more than capable of a day’s work, with Huawei’s quick charging technology there to pick up the slack, just in case, and is capable of charging the P10 from zero to full in 90 minutes.
The only real gripe against the Huawei P10 is the fact that it’s not officially available in the US. And while getting an international model and importing from the EU is easy, the P10 is GSM-only, meaning it’s not the phone for Sprint or Verizon customers. T-Mobile and AT&T should have no problems though, and outside of this point (and it will be a deal breaker for a lot of people), the P10 is a fantastic phone, and one you should definitely consider. Check out our review of the Huawei P10 for the full break down.
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