The present world has seen Mini phones grow into handsets with up to 5 inches, but there are still many people out there who’d love to have a great phone with a 4.5-inch screen size or even smaller, for example.
As the taste and demand for phablets keep growing, it is evidently becoming harder for smartphone OEMs to keep on producing small screen phones. If Apple made the switch from 4-inch screens to 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch panels, who are you not to? Well, there are devices out there that can still satisfy your desire to have a compact phone that also carries a lot of decent specs. We have listed the best four you can find on the market right now.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini
Even though a little aged, Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is still a top handset, especially since it carries most of the features you find on the flagship Galaxy S5 – both announced in 2014. You get a decent 4.5-inch Super AMOLED screen with 720p resolution and IP67 dust and water resistance certification. Under the hood, you get a powerful quad-core processor that is paired with a RAM of 1.5GB and onboard storage of 16GB. There is room to expand this storage via a microSD card of up to 64GB.
The rear snapper has an 8MP sensor while the front has a 2.1MP sensor, however, you still manage to get a fingerprint scanner on the S5 Mini. The battery unit is removable and has a capacity of 2100mAh – a feature it shares with none on this list. In terms of pricing, the Galaxy S5 Mini is available for less than $300.
Samsung Galaxy A3 2016
Samsung started the Galaxy A series last year and this year has seen the series replaced by new 2016 handsets. One of the smallest members is the Galaxy A3 2016. Rocking a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED screen with 720p resolution and Gorilla Glass 4 on top, the Galaxy A3 2016 is the closest you can get to have a Galaxy S7. The handset carries a decent quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor that is paired with a RAM of 1.5GB and 16GB of expandable storage. The back has a 13MP snapper with f/1.9 aperture while the front comes with a 5MP snapper of the same aperture.
Being a mid-ranger, you don’t get fancy features such as a fingerprint scanner and fast charging, but the battery is not bad at 2300mAh. The handset runs Android Marshmallow out of the box, but there is no word on when Android Nougat will show up.
At the moment, Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 can be bought for about $250.
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact is a 2015 smartphone that appeared as a small screen variant of the high-end Xperia Z5 Premium. The Z5 Compact has everything that the high-end comes with as far as hardware specs are concerned, including a fingerprint scanner. There is a Snapdragon 810 SoC on board that has been paired with a RAM of 2GB and a storage capacity of 32GB. However, like most Android devices, there is room for microSD card storage of up to 256GB.
The Xperia Z5 Compact comes preinstalled with Android Lollipop, but it should be able to receive the latest Android 7.0 Nougat in a matter of months, if not weeks. The back of the phone has a massive 23MP snapper while the selfie sensor has a 5MP lens. Like the high-end Xperia Z5 Premium, the Compact version also comes with dust and water resistance capabilities. For those in the U.S., sorry, for the Xperia Z5 Compact sold here doesn’t come with a fingerprint scanner.
With a screen size of just 4.6 inches, you need no more than $350 to get this phone.
Sony Xperia X Compact
Sony seems to be the only company that still has small screen lovers at heart. This is because the tech giant also released a refreshed version of the Xperia Z5 Compact, but named it Xperia X Compact instead. Like its predecessor, the Xperia X Compact has a 4.6-inch screen with 720p resolution. However, Sony took a different direction this time and rather than keep the same hardware composition for the smaller handset, the phone comes with different hardware when compared to the high-end variants of the Xperia X family.
Under the hood, the Xperia X Compact has a Snapdragon 650 SoC that is paired with a RAM of 3GB, but the storage is the same as the Xperia Z5 Compact. You also get microSD card storage slot that can accommodate up to 256GB. There are no changes on the camera front, meaning you get the same 23MP snapper on the back and a 5MP selfie sensor.
Yes, the phone comes with a fingerprint scanner, but like other Sony handsets, the feature doesn’t appear on the U.S. model. Sony also made the shift from microUSB to USB-C and brought along Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 technology, but the battery unit remained at 2700mAh.
The X Compact is currently available for $400 at Best Buy, but this price is subject to change.