Truly small smartphones are a dying breed, with screen sizes seemingly growing with every passing year.
As such, there aren’t as many small smartphones as there once were, but there are still some and there is still a market for them – though what we’re considering small has also changed over the years.
With that in mind we’ve created this guide, highlighting the best small smartphones available at a range of budgets. We’ve split it into sections, the first covers high-end phones, the second mid-rangers, and the third affordable phones, so if you’re after a small phone just jump to the section that best suits your budget.
Our list includes everything from the truly tiny iPhone SE 3rd Gen, to the high-end Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and iPhone 15 Pro, among many other phones.
And if you simply want the smallest smartphone possible, we’ve got you covered there too, as we’ve also dug up the smallest one we can find that’s currently available.
For the purposes of this list we’re loosely counting anything with a screen size of 6.1 inches or under as small. That said, some phones pack big screens into small bodies, so at times larger screen sizes might squeeze in if the overall handset is still small.
6.1-inch display and 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.3mm
The iPhone 15 Pro has a 6.1-inch screen just like the standard iPhone 15, though this is a marginally smaller phone overall.
It’s also small compared to most other smartphones, and it’s extremely capable, with a 120Hz refresh rate, unmatched power from its A17 Pro chipset, and a great design, complete with a titanium frame, a customisable Action Button, and a versatile Dynamic Island.
The iPhone 15 Pro also has a high-spec 48MP main camera, joined by 12MP telephoto and ultrawide snappers, so it’s great for photography as well.
Inevitably this costs more than the standard iPhone 15, but if you need the best Apple has to offer in a compact size, then this is it.
6.1-inch display and 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8mm
The iPhone 15 is Apple’s standard flagship phone for 2023 and much of 2024, and will be until the iPhone 16 lands, likely in September 2024.
With a 6.1-inch screen this is only just small enough to include on this list, but it’s one of the smallest high-end phones you can buy.
Highlights of the iPhone 15 include its high-quality OLED screen, powerful A16 Bionic chipset, clever Dynamic Island, and capable dual-lens camera, complete with a new 48MP primary sensor.
Not only is this a huge upgrade on the iPhone 14, it’s also a capable all-rounder at a more affordable price than some Apple phones.
6.1-inch display and 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm
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The Samsung Galaxy S23 is Samsung’s standard 2023 flagship, and its main rival to the iPhone 15.
Like that phone, this has a 6.1-inch screen, but this has an ever so slightly smaller overall footprint. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate, a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a triple-lens camera, and a sleek design.
The most exciting Samsung features are reserved for the bigger Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the company’s foldables – one of which you’ll find below. But this is the best standard small flagship Samsung has made, and one of the best compact Android phones.
Note though that while this is the latest and best small flagship phone from Samsung at the time of writing, it will probably soon be superseded by the Samsung Galaxy S24, which is likely to be available before the end of January 2024.
6.7-inch display and 85.1 x 71.9 x 15.1mm / 165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9mm
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a far bigger screen than most phones on this list at 6.7 inches. Indeed, a 6.7-inch display is far from small, but the Galaxy Z Flip 5 can fold in half, bringing its dimensions down to a much more pocket-friendly size. In fact, while it’s quite thick like this, it’s otherwise the smallest phone on this list.
Of course, while folded down you can’t use the 6.7-inch screen, but you still have access to a 3.4-inch 720 x 748 secondary screen. So it’s compact and still useable, but when you want to properly focus on it you can make it much bigger and access a 1080 x 2640 AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
That’s a high-end spec, and so are many of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5’s other specifications. It supports 5G of course, and has a high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, plus water resistance, a capable dual-lens camera, 8GB of RAM, and a stylish, eye-catching design.
6.9-inch display and 88.4 x 74 x 15.1mm / 170.8 x 74 x 7mm
The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra is a foldable phone and while it’s not quite as compact as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, it gets close.
It also has an even bigger screen at 6.9 inches – so it’s only made this list because it’s impressively small when folded shut.
In that form it still packs a 3.6-inch 1056 x 1066 144Hz cover display, which is large enough to just about be useable for more than simply glancing at notifications. When flipped open though you have access to the main screen, which isn’t just big, it’s also fairly high resolution at 1080 x 2640, and has an incredibly high 165Hz refresh rate, which has almost all other phones beat.
Beyond that, the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra has a fairly high-end Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, a dual-lens camera, a 3,800mAh battery, and a stylish design.
6.1-inch display and 154 x 68 x 8.6mm
The Sony Xperia 5 V sits just below the Sony Xperia 1 V, but it’s still a high-end phone, and among the smallest Sony makes.
It’s another with a 6.1-inch display, but note that its dimensions are unusual, as it’s taller and narrower than most 6.1-inch phones.
That shape makes it great for watching movies on, especially as the Sony Xperia 5 V has an FHD+ OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate.
Other highlights include a big 5,000mAh battery, which is unusual in small smartphones and sees this last longer than most.
With solid cameras too plus plenty of power from its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, the Xperia 5 V is a great alternative to an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy if you want something similarly capable but a little bit different.
4.7-inch display and 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm
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The iPhone SE 3rd Gen is an exciting phone, as it’s a mid-range iPhone with 5G. In fact, it’s the first mid-range iPhone with 5G. So as well as being compact (which this very much is thanks to its tiny 4.7-inch screen), the iPhone SE 3rd Gen is also the cheapest 5G iPhone.
Not only that but it’s very powerful too, as it has an A15 Bionic chipset, which you’ll also find in the iPhone 13 range.
Beyond that, the iPhone SE 3rd Gen is similar to its predecessor, with an admittedly rather dated design – one which means that it’s not quite as small as it could otherwise be, thanks to large bezels.
But with a capable 12MP camera, superb software, and all the speed that 5G and its chipset bring, this is easily one of the best small smartphones – especially if you’re shopping for something mid-range.
5.4-inch display and 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.7mm
The iPhone 13 Mini was Apple’s compact flagship for 2021, and it’s a lot like the iPhone 12 Mini, as the iPhone 13 range aren’t as big upgrades as we see some years from Apple. This isn’t as good as the iPhone 14 or 15 ranges of course but there isn’t an iPhone 14 or 15 Compact, so this is worth considering, especially as it’s now affordable enough to be thought of as mid-range.
It stands out above many other mid-rangers too as it has an incredibly powerful A15 Bionic chipset, which should top not just older iPhones, but many Android phones too.
It also has a 20% smaller notch than the iPhone 12 Mini, so the design looks a bit better. Battery life is better too, coming in at up to 17 hours when watching videos, and the cameras have been improved as well, with new hardware and modes, such as Cinematic video, for seamless focus shifting when shooting.
Beyond that, the iPhone 13 Mini has a 5.4-inch 1080 x 2340 OLED screen, 5G, MagSafe support, water resistance, and up to 512GB of storage, so there’s a lot of space on this little phone.
5.92-inch display and 146.5 x 68.1 x 9.4mm
The Asus Zenfone 10 straddles the line between mid-range and flagship, as it pairs high-end specs with a slightly more affordable price than most rivals, and with its 5.92-inch screen it’s also compact.
That’s a 1080 x 2400 Super AMOLED display with 144Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support, so it’s a high-end screen. It’s not quite as high resolution as some flagships, but being compact the pixels go further.
There’s no compromise on the power front though, with a high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and up to 16GB of RAM powering the phone, and you also get up to 512GB of storage, and a 4,300mAh battery.
The main way in which this doesn’t quite feel like a flagship is its dual-lens camera, but its 50MP main sensor and 13MP ultra-wide both perform well, so it’s an acceptable compromise for the price.
6.1-inch display and 155 x 68 x 8.3mm
The Sony Xperia 10 V is Sony’s main mid-ranger, and it’s essentially a smaller, lower spec version of the Sony Xperia 1 V.
With a 6.1-inch screen it just squeezes onto our list, but it’s worth noting that this is a tall screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio. As a result this is one of the tallest phones we’ve included, but it’s also narrower than a lot of handsets.
With a 1080 x 2520 OLED display it’s certainly got a great screen though, and the Sony Xperia 10 V also has a triple-lens camera, a 5,000mAh battery, and a mid-range Snapdragon 695 chipset – plus 5G support.
It’s water resistant too, and includes 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, so it’s got a strong assortment of mid-range specs.
6.1-inch display and 152 x 72.9 x 9mm
In terms of screen size, the Google Pixel 7a is towards the upper end of what can be considered compact – though it’s still smaller than most smartphone displays.
The Google Pixel 7a is one of Google’s latest mid-range Pixels, delivering many of the things we like about the company’s flagship phones at a lower price.
It has a sharp 1080 x 2400 6.1-inch 90Hz OLED display, a flagship quality 64MP main and 13MP ultra-wide rear camera, mid-range power (from a Google Tensor G2 chipset and 8GB of RAM), and a crisp, clean take on Android 14 – with the likelihood of a day one software update to Android 15 when that lands in late 2024.
You might expect small phones to be cheap, but in fact most of the cheapest phones actually have quite big screens these days. As such your options in this category are limited, but the following are solid options.
6.1-inch display and 152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9mm
The Google Pixel 6a isn’t the latest a-series model, but that means it’s more affordable, going from mid-range status to now truly affordable pricing a lot of the time.
It has a 6.1-inch 1080 x 2400 OLED screen, a dual-lens camera, 128GB of storage, and the same distinctive design as other recent Pixel phones.
There’s also an under-display fingerprint sensor, and the phone’s powered by a mid-range Tensor chipset. And while it’s not new, having come out in 2022 it’s also not all that old.
5.45-inch display and 148 x 71.8 x 9.3mm
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The Nokia C01 Plus isn’t an overly exciting smartphone, but it’s certainly a very cheap one, and with a 5.45-inch screen it’s also a fairly compact one.
Its specs include a 720 x 1440 display, a basic octa-core Unisoc SC9863A chipset, 1GB of RAM, a 5MP main camera, a 5MP front-facing one, and a 3,000mAh battery.
A powerhouse this is not, but then at well under £100 it doesn’t need to be. And that also makes its plastic body very forgivable.
The Nokia C01 Plus is a great option then if you want something palm and pocket-friendly that does the basics but not much more. This also makes it a good choice as a secondary or festival phone.
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The Unihertz Atom is probably the smallest smartphone that’s easy to get hold of in the UK at the time of writing. It’s available from Amazon and other sites, and with a 2.45-inch screen its display is little more than half the size of the smallest other phone on this list.
And as the Unihertz Atom runs Android it’s undeniably a smartphone. Though unless you simply want the smallest phone possible it’s probably not the one to buy, as the specs aren’t up to much.
It has a 2GHz octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 16MP rear camera, an 8MP front-facing one, and a 2,000mAh battery. That’s probably about all you can expect in a phone of this size, but for a more capable smartphone, consider one of the options above.
As you can see, there’s a wide range of small smartphones available, sporting different prices, strengths, and operating systems. While above they’re listed in terms of price bracket and quality, below you’ll find them in approximate ascending order of overall size, followed by a rundown from worst to best.
| Phone | Dimensions (mm) | Screen size (inches) |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 | 85.1 x 71.9 x 15.1 | 6.7 |
| Motorola Razr 40 Ultra | 88.4 x 74 x 15.1 | 6.9 |
| Apple iPhone 13 Mini | 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.7 | 5.4 |
| Apple iPhone SE 3rd Gen | 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 | 4.7 |
| Asus Zenfone 10 | 146.5 x 68.1 x 9.4 | 5.92 |
| Samsung Galaxy S23 | 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6 | 6.1 |
| Apple iPhone 15 Pro | 146.6 x 70.6 x 8.3 | 6.1 |
| Apple iPhone 15 | 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 | 6.1 |
| Nokia C01 Plus | 148 x 71.8 x 9.3 | 5.45 |
| Sony Xperia 5 V | 154 x 68 x 8.6 | 6.1 |
| Sony Xperia 10 V | 155 x 68 x 8.3 | 6.1 |
| Google Pixel 6a | 152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9 | 6.1 |
| Google Pixel 7a | 152 x 72.9 x 9 | 6.1 |
In terms of how good they are, the Nokia C01 Plus is the worst (not including the Unihertz), but it’s very cheap and performs accordingly.
Then comes the Google Pixel 6a, which used to be a mid-ranger and is now more affordable. Then we move to the mid-range, with the Google Pixel 7a, the Sony Xperia 10 V, and the Asus Zenfone 10. But Apple takes the top two mid-range slots with the iPhone 13 Mini and the iPhone SE 3rd Gen.
Then for the high-end phones you’re looking at the Sony Xperia 5 V, and slightly ahead of that the foldable Motorola Razr 40 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.
The overall top three though are the Samsung Galaxy S23 in third, which is the best small Android phone, the iPhone 15 in second, and the iPhone 15 Pro takes the top spot in our best small phone guide.
Any of these phones would serve you well if you’re after a small screen though, it all just depends on how much you want to spend and whether you want Android or iOS.
