Small Android Phones

[Koloth]

Asus Zenfone 8 ?

 

[Marc v E]

not what you want to hear but I went through this search 4 years ago and ended up with a first gen iphone se (4.0") because small androids didn't exist. The new iphone se coming out this month and the mini will both work with tmobile and are about the smallest available. I am planning to move to the mini from the 4" se this year before it goes out of production.

Exactly what I was thinking...

 

[somebodyelse]

Asus Zenfone 8 ?

Like the Pixel 3a it's lacking a uSD slot, but it's got more internal storage. It's a fraction smaller than the 3a but still bigger than requested - even if it does pass for 'small' relative to most contemporary Androids. I don't know what Asus' update policy is, but it's got mainline LineageOS support.

 

[Marc v E]

By the way, I have a Samsung A40 which is pretty good. It has a headphone out, small size. The only drawback is battery life is no more than 1 day. And not as fast as S series Samsung phones.

 

[dasdoing]

I had a Sony Ericson Xperia Arc S. still have it actualy (still works). best form factor I ever had in my hand. I can't believe that they can't produce a phone like this anymore. why do all phones have to be glass? that must be making them bigger, too.
I also have a Moto G4 Play that I once baught to use at home only. Pretty sure most would say it is a small phone nowadays, but imo it is allready way too big. you can't use it comfortably in one hand, and is anoying in my pocket.
people nowadays are so brainwashed by marketing that there is no veriaty anymore, and this is true for all industries.
you could nowadays fit a 5" screen in a phone of the size of a Xperia Arc S. you can't say to me that a 5" screen isn't big enough

 

[MRC01]

By the way, I have a Samsung A40 which is pretty good. It has a headphone out, small size. The only drawback is battery life is no more than 1 day. And not as fast as S series Samsung phones.

The A40 looks good to me. Same overall size as the Moto E4, but has a bigger screen / smaller bezels. Looks like wifey would like it. Too bad it was a Europe-only model. The trouble will be finding out if its VoLTE will work on US TMobile.

... people nowadays are so brainwashed by marketing that there is no veriaty anymore, and this is true for all industries.
you could nowadays fit a 5" screen in a phone of the size of a Xperia S. you can't say to me that a 5" screen isn't big enough

I expected more variety, especially in the Android world which has a plethora of different manufacturers. <sigh>

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

All the US carriers are starting to require VoLTE for phones on their networks. My wife likes small phones and currently has a Sony Xperia Compact F5321. She loves this phone but its VoLTE doesn't work on TMobile so she will have to get a new phone. I'm looking for a good Android phone that has a 4" to 5" screen, with VoLTE that works on TMobile. Good luck! Her Sony is from 2016 so used is OK if they're not too too old.

So far my search has turned up the Moto E4 and the Unihertz Atom L. Other suggestions?

Take a look at the XZ1 Compact. I think that would be something that your spouse would like. Most of the other phones that you are looking at are a big step down from Sony.

 

[MRC01]

Take a look at the XZ1 Compact. I think that would be something that your spouse would like. Most of the other phones that you are looking at are a big step down from Sony.

Back when I got her the phone she has, I looked at the XZ1 Compact and my notes were: "The XZ1 and Z5 are better phones, but they have worse T-Mobile coverage." Apparently its modem didn't support an important TMobile frequency band.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

Back when I got her the phone she has, I looked at the XZ1 Compact and my notes were: "The XZ1 and Z5 are better phones, but they have worse T-Mobile coverage." Apparently its modem didn't support an important TMobile frequency band.

Are you sure that you would need that bands though? Is the theoretical or your wife’s actually use case? Have you looked at the network recently, what about roaming coverage would that make a difference? Just a thought.

 

[MRC01]

TMobile actually got back to me and confirmed that the Moto E4 will work on their system, just make sure it's either the TMobile variant (XT1765), or is carrier unlocked (XT1768).

 

[dasdoing]

it will be gigantic for her

 

[MRC01]

Yeah, I know. I warned her. But it's the smallest phone I can get that covers all Tmobile bands and will work with VoLTE.

 

[dasdoing]

Yeah, I know. I warned her. But it's the smallest phone I can get that covers all Tmobile bands and will work with VoLTE.

it's sad. capitalism wasn't suppoused to give us options? lol
I hope she will like it

 

[MRC01]

it's sad. capitalism wasn't suppoused to give us options? lol

Capitalism makes it possible for me to care about something as trivial as a few mm difference in the size of a phone. What a luxury, and 1st world problem. We are so spoiled!

 

[dasdoing]

Capitalism makes it possible for me to care about something as trivial as a few mm difference in the size of a phone. What a luxury, and 1st world problem. We are so spoiled!

lol. I didn't mean to sound anti-capitalistic.
but it is a fact that the capitalistic ideal of free competition is not given. you can't tell me there is no market for normal phones (I refuse to call them small lol)

 

[ZolaIII]

Let's keep it as she likes.

Sony Xperia 5 III - Full phone specifications

Sony Xperia 5 III Android smartphone. Announced Apr 2021. Features 6.1″ display, Snapdragon 888 5G chipset, 4500 mAh battery, 256 GB storage, 8 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 6.

m.gsmarena.com

And don't worry it's small (especially as it's 21:9). I don't know about VoLTE but more compact and up to date you will hardly find.

 

[MRC01]

Nice phone, but it's even bigger than the Moto E4, which is already bigger than her current phone. That makes it a non-starter.

 

[ZolaIII]

Nice phone, but it's even bigger than the Moto E4, which is already bigger than her current phone. That makes it a non-starter.

? It's 3 mm wider than her current F5321, length is another story but today you will have hard time finding all together more compact.

 

[dasdoing]

as much as as dislike Apple, it seams to be the only option atm.
and what a nice big screen she would have, while marginaly bigger phone

 

[jae]

One thing to consider is that a lot of the newer phones have much slimmer or practically non-existent bezels, so even though the screen size is advertised as larger the overall dimensions of the phone might not be that bigger. Most phones with smaller screens still have chunky bezels. Honestly as far as android goes I've been buying the smaller variant of the nexus/pixel line directly from google every time I've needed to replace my phone. Perhaps the latest iterations might be larger than you would like but google was one of the few major companies that kept releasing a smaller variant of their phone year after year. They have the best update longevity, first to get new versions of android and new features, no bloatware and are the most reliable. They are full-featured and the price of the current years' model goes down quite a bit halfway through the year and they also release a discounted hardware revision a number of months before the next year's phone is released.