Even though the Pixel 6a has a smaller 6.1-inch display compared to the other Pixel models, the display is still OLED with Full HD+ resolution at 1080 x 2400 pixels. You also get the Tensor chip, which powers Android 12. It's fast and will keep up with any tasks that you throw at it reasonably well, including gaming. There's also an in-screen fingerprint sensor on the Pixel 6a; surprisingly, it works well compared to other devices. The iPhone SE (2020) is Apple’s budget iPhone, but it’s also one of the company’s smallest available models. In fact, at 4.7 inches its screen is the smallest (as well as being smaller than almost any other widely available smartphone), but as noted above the actual dimensions are slightly larger than the iPhone 12 mini’s. We've used the 2.8-inch-wide measure as the maximum width for phones to be eligible for this roundup, but it’s getting harder and harder to find phones that meet this requirement. Many people might still find these phones to be a bit wide for one-hand use, but small phone beggars can't currently be choosers, and a couple of phones on the list are just a hair over the 2.8-inch mark. The camera system on the Galaxy S22 is very capable as well, as it has a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The front-facing selfie camera is a 10MP lens. You also get access to all of Samsung's impressive photo and video tools, like portrait mode, night mode, and more.

Palm breadth tells you how wide a phone can be before it falls out of your hand; thumb length tells you how wide a screen can be and still be usable in one hand. According to an old NASA study cited by HealthLine, the average handbreadth is 3.1 inches for women and 3.5 inches for men. The Center for Construction Research and Training estimates are a bit lower: 2.91 inches for women and 3.3 inches for men. A 2012 New York Magazine story cites a US Army study that claims the average thumb length is 2.74 inches for men and 2.49 inches for women. So, that 2.8-inch phone width from LG is just a hair wider than the full reach of the average male thumb.

Smartphones have been slowly expanding in size, and we're now at the point where the majority are difficult to use with just one hand. Flagships are huge: Apple and Samsung reserve their best cameras, biggest batteries, and most capacious storage for the 3-inch-wide, hand-buster phones in their Max and Ultra models, respectively. But it's still possible to find small, good phones that fit in your hand, give you all the features you want, and generally don't break the bank. Today, we're going to look at the best small smartphones that are available right now. We'll conclude with a couple of other mini phone options you may not have considered before. When you have the best iPhone, you pretty much have infinite possibilities for keepingbusy and entertained, no matter where you are. Sure, the iPhone may not be marketed as a gaming phone specifically, but it's pretty powerful — especially with the A17 Pro in the latest iPhone 15 Pro. That new processor means the Apple mobile gaming experience is only getting better and better, with Apple's new chip being able to play console-level games like Assassin's Creed Mirage and the Resident Evil 4 remake.

If you want the Google Pixel experience, then you can't go wrong with the Google Pixel 6a. Even though it'll be replaced by the Pixel 7a in the coming months, it's still available for sale and it's still one of the best from Google. It's the smallest Pixel (6.1-inch display) that you can buy, and on top of that, the phone is lightweight, making it comfortable to use for longer periods of time. It weighs 2.13 ounces, so it's ideal if you want to strap it to your arm while you jog or work out in the gym. To set up the phone, use the accompanying app to sync the Palm with your primary device. You can still receive calls, messages, and other essential alerts. The iPhone 13 mini is a rare small phone that's still high-end when it comes to hardware. Its 5.4-inch display is a Super Retina XDR OLED display so it looks great, thanks to some strong brightness levels. It's the same tech as you'd see on the iPhone 13, only smaller. There's no denying the iPhone SE (2022) has a small screen. Coming in at just 4.7 inches, the Liquid Retina display has a 1334 x 750 resolution (326 ppi) with a 60Hz refresh rate. The phone looks good, though its traditional style, reminiscent of the iPhone 8, might not be to all tastes. That diminutive screen makes it easy to operate the phone one-handed, though, and you get Touch ID integrated into the Home button rather than the now-more-common Face ID.In 2020, there was a little bit of a reversal. Apple, Google, and Samsung all came out with smaller, less expensive (and slightly de-featured) versions of their flagship phones. In pandemic times when we were all pinching pennies, those trade-offs were more appealing than they might have been before. This short-lived trend has since reversed itself. Considering the phone is just 1.69 x 3.39 x 0.35 inches, we were impressed to learn that it offers dual SIM capabilities. If you frequently find yourself hopping between countries and want a small Android phone, the Sudroid SOYES is a solid choice.

A reliable battery life of 12 hours should last you the day, and while it's not always exciting, the iPhone SE (2022) gets the job done well. There’s perhaps less power here than you might expect from the top 2020 Pixel, as it has just an upper mid-range Snapdragon 765G chipset, but the Pixel 5 is priced accordingly, and still has 8GB of RAM and 5G. The Sony Xperia 10 III isn't a great phone but if size is everything, its mature design makes up for some flaws. Dodging past its poor camera, slow charging, and mediocre processor, its 6-inch display squeezes into a design that's just 68mm wide, only slightly wider than the iPhone SE (2020). When the physical size of hands stopped manufacturers from making phones wider, they still went taller, pushing the screen height-to-width ratio from the common 16:9 to 19:9 or 19.5:9. Sony has gone as far as 21:9, making very tall, narrow phones that beautifully display 21:9 video originally intended for wide-screen TVs. If you care about "small" only in the sense of reaching across your phone, one of those phones might be a good option. Measuring just 3.6 x 1.7 x 0.5 inches, the Unihertz Jelly Pro is one of the smallest fully-functioning smartphones you'll be able to find.

Samsung Galaxy S23

These days, there aren't as many small phones around worth considering but they do still crop up from time to time. If you're wondering what we count as ‘small’, to make the list, entries here need to be phones with a screen size of 6-inches or below to count. On the downside, the phone only runs Android 6.0, so it's one entire release cycle behind the Unihertz device. The Sony Xperia 10 IV is a decent all-rounder for anyone looking for something more slender without making too many concessions.