Our Experts
Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.
Reviews ethics statement
Andrew Lanxon Editor At Large, Lead Photographer, Europe
Andrew is CNET's go-to guy for product coverage and lead photographer for Europe. When not testing the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.
Expertise Smartphones | Photography | iOS | Android | Gaming | Outdoor pursuits Credentials
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
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Our Picks
Best overall small phone
Apple iPhone 13 Mini
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The best cheap smaller phone
Apple iPhone SE (2022)
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Best smaller Android phone
Google Pixel 7A
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Best budget smaller Android phone
Pixel 6A
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A big phone that folds up nice and small
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
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CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.
Smartphones started off being pretty small in size, but the average size of one has trended up over the years. It seems smartphone companies believe bigger is always better. The screen on the new iPhone 15 Pro comes in at 6.1 inches, the Pixel 8 Pro at 6.7 inches and Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra takes it even further to a whopping 6.8 inches. In comparison, Samsung's original Galaxy Note was once considered a Goliath at only 5.3 inches.
Phones with big screens certainly do have their advantages. Making a phone bigger lets manufacturers pack in some high-end hardware, great cameras, and bigger batteries. Not to forget, there are a lot of advantages to having a bigger screen, like increased productivity, and a better experience watching videos or playing games. That being said, there's no escaping the fact that the increase in size has made them more cumbersome to hold and use for anyone with smaller hands than continents. And that's to say nothing of the embarrassing bulge when you try to shove one into the pocket of your skinny jeans.
Though bigger phones certainly have an audience, there are many of us who'd still prefer a smaller phone that's easier to type with one-handed, and less cumbersome in your pocket.
Unfortunately, if you're in the market for a small phone, your options are limited and getting more so all the time. That's especially the case since Apple opted not to refresh its iPhone Mini line after the iPhone 13 Mini, which has since been discontinued. But there are still some smaller phones to consider, though you may have to sacrifice some features, like longer battery life, wireless charging, and better camera performance. Everyone's definition of "small" is different, and a comfortable size for you may feel uncomfortably large to someone else. If you're worried about the size, it's worth trying to get hands-on with a phone at your nearest store.
What's the best small phone right now?
The best small phone is hands down Apple's iPhone 13 Mini. Although it lacks the high performance processor and amazing camera skills of the more recent iPhone 15 Pro, it offers great all-round performance for everyday use and its 5.4-inch screen is one of the smallest around.
Best small phones of 2024
While Apple has put a nail in the coffin of the Mini line, the iPhone 13 Mini is still available for purchase all over the internet. Its 5.4-inch display makes it a fair bit smaller than any in the iPhone 15 range, and actually qualifies it as the physically smallest phone Apple has made in recent years. Sure, the iPhone SE 2022 has a smaller display, but it has large bezels around the edges, which makes the whole phone slightly larger.
You'll be paying extra money over the iPhone SE for that more modern design, along with a dual rear camera system that adds an excellent ultrawide angle to the standard view. It's a shame Apple has discontinued the Mini line because the iPhone 13 Mini really is the best smaller phone to consider right now.
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Pros
- Affordable
- Home button and Touch ID FTW
- Good battery life
- Camera takes good photos and videos
Cons
- Lacks night mode for photos
- Screen could be brighter
- Bezels above and below screen look dated
- Selfie camera not on par with rear camera
- 20-watt USB-C charger not
Screen size 4.7 inches
Processor Apple A15 Bionic
Cameras 12-megapixel (wide), 7-megapixel (selfie)
Colors Red, midnight, starlight
Launched last year, Apple's iPhone SE packs a solid single camera, a potent A15 Bionic chip and 5G support into a body with a display that measures only 4.7 inches. That's a huge size difference compared with the gargantuan sizeof the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Using an older design, its large bezels actually mean it's physically slightly larger than the iPhone 13 Mini, despite having a smaller display.
At $429 it's the cheapest iPhone Apple makes, but you will have to sacrifice some features including the more impressive multi-camera arrays found on the higher-end models as well as things like Face ID. Still, if you're after a solid everyday small phone that won't break the bank, it's the phone to go for.
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Pros
- Excellent camera for the price
- Attractive design
- Wireless charging, face unlock and high refresh rate
Cons
- Screen is dim outdoors
- Only three generations of Android OS updates
Screen size 6.1 inches
Processor Google Tensor G2
Cameras 64-megapixel (wide), 13-megapixel (ultrawide), 13-megapixel (selfie)
Colors Charcoal, snow, sea, coral
Google's budget phone offering took a leap forward in last year with the Pixel 7A, which boasts many of the same benefits as the Pixel 7 but at a cheaper price. At 6.1 inches, it isn't exactly a tiny phone, but it's certainly among the smallest Android phones you should consider buying.
Like the Pixel 7, the Pixel 7A runs on Google's Tensor G2 processor, meaning it has many of the same photo editing and language translation features as its pricier sibling. The Pixel 7A's 64-megapixel camera also takes excellent photos that will suit casual snappers well.
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Pros
- Great camera
- Affordable price
- Premium design for a middle-tier phone
- Among the first to get new Android updates
Cons
- Somewhat dim display
- Not as many years of guaranteed Android updates as Samsung
- Video quality isn't as good as still photos
Screen size 6.1 inches
Processor Google Tensor
Cameras 12-megapixel (wide), 8-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)
Colors Sage, chalk, charcoal
Though the Pixel 7A has technically replaced the older Pixel 6A, Google is continuing to sell the 6A and it's even lopping some cash off the asking price. The phone is frequently found for around $350, which is a huge savings over the regular $449 price, so make sure you shop around if you're looking for a bargain. Like the 7A, its screen measures 6.1 inches, which is just what we have to consider small these days.
It includes 5G connectivity, solid all-round performance and a dual camera system that can take great photos in daylight and at night. It isn't as generally high performing as the top-end Pixel 7 Pro, but it's less than half the price of the flagship, so it's well worth considering if you're shopping on a budget.
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With a 6.7-inch screen size, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4's screen is way too big to be on this list. But before you slam your fists into your keyboard at my incompetence, hear me out. As one of Samsung's foldable phones, the Z Flip 4 folds in half, turning that massive screen into a small, square puck that quite comfortably fits into a jacket pocket.
An outer display will alert you to incoming notifications, meaning you only need to unfold it to its full size when you actually want to reply. Sure, it might not be the perfect solution, and with a starting price of $1,000 it's hardly cheap, but its innovative hinge design might offer you the best of both worlds: a compact form when it's sitting in your pocket, but a big screen for when you want to use it.
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How we test phones
Every phone on this list has been thoroughly tested by CNET's expert reviews team. We actually use the phone, test the features, play games and take photos. We assess any marketing promises that a company makes about its phones. And if we find something we don't like, be it battery life or build quality, we tell you all about it.
We examine every aspect of a phone during testing:
- Display
- Design and feel
- Processor performance
- Battery life
- Camera quality
- Features
We test all of a phone's cameras (both front and back) in a variety of conditions: from outdoors under sunlight to dimmer indoor locales and night time scenes (for any available night modes). We also compare our findings against similarly priced models. We have a series of real world battery tests to see how long a phone lasts under everyday use.
We take into account additional phone features like 5G, fingerprint and face readers, styluses, fast charging, foldable displays and other useful extras. And we, of course, weigh all of our experiences and testing against the price so you know whether a phone represents good value or not. For more, check out our page explaininghow we test phones.
