Seems most phones are 6 inches+ these days, what are the best options in the smaller sizes under 5 inches for android?
Phones under 5 Inches?
alex123711 on 11/01/2022 - 16:01
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"It's not the size, it's how you use it"
With that said, the "screen size" is NOT what you should use to determine it.
Because you can have a small-ish phone with a 6inch screen because of the differences in Aspect Ratio.
A 5.9inch 16:10 display is much much larger than a 5.9inch 21:9 display.Also, there's the factor of bezel size. A 5.9in phone with same display, but a difference in the Screen-to-Bezel ratio will also affect the overall profile/size. For instance, comparing a 65% StB phone, to a 90% StB phone is substantial.
So keep those two factors in mind. Or just go off the dimensions.
It's easiest if you simply filter your options here, and look at the list:
https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2019&nHeightM…Notable options include:
iPhone SE
iPhone 12 Mini
iPhone 13 ProSony XZ1 compact
Sharp R2 compact
Samsung S10 e
Sony Xperia 5 mk.II
Google Pixel 4
ASUS Zenfone 8If you want something newer, this one will be available in the coming weeks/month:
Xiaomi 12X
…it's the same as the Xiaomi 12, but should be $100 cheaper and more available due to the QSD 870 chipset. It does miss out on the Wireless Charging, but who cares about that features which degrades your sealed battery. This current chipset is slightly faster than the upcoming QC 8g1 which throttles even more than the QSD 888+ and comes to a crawl.But if you want my real advice, it's to forget all those options above.
And try and get the Samsung A52-s while you can on a budget, like here. You will get local Aussie warranty, 2.5 years of proper software updates, much better QA/QC, all the benefits of a flagship (screen, battery size, performance, camera) but none of their disadvantages (price, headphone jack, microSD slot). It's the LAST GOOD PHONE that I know, as devices get less consumer-friendly with Planned Obsolesce factored in.
A current 5.8-6" phone is a similar size (maybe slightly taller) than a previous 16:9 5" phone was, due to the slimmer bezels on phones, and the wider aspect ratio on the screens. EG: A Nexus 5 had a 4.9" 16:9 panel with body dimensions of 137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6 mm, and a Pixel 4a has a 5.8" 21:9 panel with body dimensions of 144 x 69.4 x 8.2 mm. So although the 5.8" screen makes it sound a lot bigger, it is almost identically sized other than being 7mm taller.
Even looking at a Galaxy S20, whilst being bigger with its 6.2" screen, it is only taller, rather than being a dramatically bigger phone than a 5" phone, at 151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9 mm it is almost the same dimensions again as a Nexus 5 other than an extra 14mm in length.
Essentially, in the current landscape of phones, a 6" 21:9 screen phone is roughly equivalent in size to a 2015 era 5" 16:9 phone.
If pocketability is what you're after, the Samsung Galaxy Flip3 5G would be the most compact (when it's folded in half).
Compact Android phones these days tend to be fairly low end, as there's not enough demand for a compact flagship these days.
If you're coming from a very old android phone though be aware that the super-slim bezels of today's devices means it's likely a 6inch will actually be smaller than a 5.5 inch phone from 2015.
Here's an example, showing a Pixel 5 (6inch) versus a Moto G4 (5.5inch) that was released in May 2016. The extra chin and forehead really makes the phone huge in comparison to a modern device.
https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size/Google-Pixel-5,Motoro…I think foldable phone is the best option for portability if there's no objection to money!
Not once did I see OP mention screen size only phone size 💁
lets just assume best screen to body ratio
Only you know what you mean by "…the best…".
A quck Google provided me with a list, from which you could then assess what you want / don't want.