5 ms·

if anyone knows good android alternatives for a smaller smartphone (something like sony xperia compact series) I'd love to hear about it. Currently, it seems l

by simpss 5y ago

if anyone knows good android alternatives for a smaller smartphone (something like sony xperia compact series) I'd love to hear about it. Currently, it seems like the iphone SE is alone in the segment?

sfblah 5y ago
I used to use a Motorola phone I got off Amazon for like $200. It was great, but various factors have caused me to return to using an iPhone. Looking online a bit maybe it was the G7 plus? My favorite "feature" of these Android phones is the price. It's like having insurance on your phone. If you lose or break it, it's not $1500 down the tubes.
- fouc 5y ago
  > My favorite "feature" of these Android phones is the price Honestly that's my favorite feature of iPhones too. I've always bought used iPhones 2-3 generations behind. And they're often supported for many years. Current iPhone is 1st generation SE 2016, probably worth less than $80 and runs latest iOS.
  - sokoloff 5y ago
    I’ve usually bought 1-2 generations behind, often at the $250-400 price point, and then run them for 3-4 years or so. I just replaced the battery on my wife’s X and that looks like it’ll now go well past the 4 year mark.
hammock 5y ago
iPhone 13 Mini is even smaller than this (and lighter). And with a larger screen due to slimmer bezels.
- simpss 5y ago
  According to this[0] iphone 13 mini is 5.4" and according to the OP new SE is 4.7" 0 - https://www.apple.com/iphone-13/ https://www.apple.com/iphone-13/
  - hammock 5y ago
    Yes screen size. Look at the physical dimensions. https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone13mini,iphoneSE3rdgen https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone13mini...
  - bena 5y ago
    That's the screen size. The 13 mini as a whole is smaller than the SE because the SE has a top and bottom that's not screen.
rchaud 5y ago
Nearly impossible, and I'm saying this as a lifetime Android user. Your best bet would be boutique OEMs like Unihertz, who have a 3.1-inch Jelly phone (underpowered) and a Blackberry style Titan Pocket with a hardware keyboard and 4-inch screen. Neither of these sound like what you want. In the Android world, one can only hope that another small-time OEM will swoop in to fill the gap, before inevitably disappearing.
- fragmede 5y ago
  Since pocketability is a large component of the size question, the foldable Motorola Android phone is worth taking looking at (if you can afford it). Unfolded it's modern-sized but folded up it fits in more places.
  - frosted-flakes 5y ago
    It's the other way around for me. Usability trumps everything. Trying to use my phone one-handed is extremely frustrating, even with a rear grip, and I have what is considered a "small" phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e). I wish phones had thumb trackpads like BlackBerry phones had. The BlackBerry Classic (2014) had one and it worked incredibly well, even in Android apps, surprisingly (it works by moving the focus, not a mouse pointer, except in the browser, where the pointer means desktop mode is actually usable). Being able to reach the entire screen just by twitching your thumb a few millimetres is sadly probably never going to be possible again.
aidenn0 5y ago
I'm typing this from a Unihertz Jelly 2. It's small enough that people make jokes about it when I pull it out. It cost $200 with 128GB of ram and a case included. Battery life gets me through the day, and no more, but it charges fast. I thought the keyboard would be bad, but it's quite usable after you get used to it. I'm probably 90% as fast as on a full sized phone. The camera, on the other hand is just bad. Like $200 Android phone from 2016 bad.
- nerdponx 5y ago
  Does it run a non-Google/free OS? My primary qualm about switching to a budget Android phone from an iPhone is the security and privacy aspect, which seems okay under Apple but atrocious under Google/Android.
  - aidenn0 5y ago
    I'm not aware of one. The bootloader is unlockable from ADB and there's a TWRP image for it though.
  - CameronNemo 5y ago
    I couldn't find any ROMs and that SoC (mt6771) doesn't have upstream kernel support.
    - aidenn0 5y ago
      Though someone did piece together a LineageOS image for the Atom-L which uses the same SoC: https://cgit.typeblog.net/android/device/unihertz/Atom_L/ https://cgit.typeblog.net/android/device/unihertz/Atom_L/
- aidenn0 5y ago
  I was adding info on how app use in it is when the edit-window closed... Most apps are actually fine, if a bit cramped. The exception is dialogs. I usually have to scroll to see all options. You get used to it, but it isn't great. Webpages are alright, but I do occasionally need to hide the keyboard while filling out forms to see feedback provided below the input (e.g. username already taken, passwords don't match, invalid CC #). I've never really gamed on my phones, so can't speak there. The one thing I did with a larger phone that I don't do on my Jelly2 is read things like textbooks and comics where images and text need to be laid out like print. It's too small to fit a whole page of legible text and images at once. 720 horizontal pixels and a 5" screen is the minimum there IMO, though really this is what e-ink tablets were made for.
foresto 5y ago
I think the Samsung Galaxy S10e and some of the Google Pixel models are nearly hand-size, but I don't know of any that rival the (now unsupported) Xperia XZ1 Compact. The XZ2 Compact is (AFAIK) still supported by LineageOS, but it's chunky. I have read rumors that a new Xperia Compact model is likely within the next year. I don't want to get my hopes up too high, because this is unconfirmed and because the definition of "compact" seems to be expanding over the years, but I am optimistic. I doubt that we'll ever see the likes of the Xperia Mini Pro again. Edit: Here's a handy phone size comparison tool: https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size
JamesAdir 5y ago
From about 2 weeks ago: Ask HN: Why is there no small Android phone? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30405011 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30405011 And another discussion from 3 months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29287158 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29287158
wryun 5y ago
Sony Xperia 10 III (same width) Asus Zenfone 8
technovader 5y ago
The Pixel 5 is perfect. It's the only phone that tore me away from the iPhone 7/8 SE form. The fingerprint sensor is arguable in a better position (on the back). Plus you get better battery, an OLED screen, 90hz. It sucks the Pixel 6 series went huge and bulky instead of continuing the successive wins of Pixel 3,4,5.
- makeitdouble 5y ago
  Pixel 5 is "small" in android parlance, but still bigger than the Pixel 4a for instance, which is already slightly bigger than the SE. I think parent could have been fine with a Pixel 4a if it wasn't for it starting to age (using the lastest OS on it, feels definitely slower at times , especially when starting the camera which is a bummer)
wackget 5y ago
Asus Zenfone 8. Excellent specs, 3.5mm jack, 148mm tall
jrib 5y ago
the new s22 isn't too bad. It's about as small as I could find. As a person who has always used android, if apple's iphone mini had usb-c I would have gotten that instead though.
znpy 5y ago
Illbe switching to the iphone se 2022 from android after ~10 years for this exact reason. I'm fed up with not being able to hold my phone in my hand. I miss my nokia n73.

by simpss 5y ago

sfblah 5y ago

I used to use a Motorola phone I got off Amazon for like $200. It was great, but various factors have caused me to return to using an iPhone. Looking online a bit maybe it was the G7 plus? My favorite "feature" of these Android phones is the price. It's like having insurance on your phone. If you lose or break it, it's not $1500 down the tubes.

fouc 5y ago
> My favorite "feature" of these Android phones is the price Honestly that's my favorite feature of iPhones too. I've always bought used iPhones 2-3 generations behind. And they're often supported for many years. Current iPhone is 1st generation SE 2016, probably worth less than $80 and runs latest iOS.
- sokoloff 5y ago
  I’ve usually bought 1-2 generations behind, often at the $250-400 price point, and then run them for 3-4 years or so. I just replaced the battery on my wife’s X and that looks like it’ll now go well past the 4 year mark.

hammock 5y ago

iPhone 13 Mini is even smaller than this (and lighter). And with a larger screen due to slimmer bezels.

simpss 5y ago
According to this[0] iphone 13 mini is 5.4" and according to the OP new SE is 4.7" 0 - https://www.apple.com/iphone-13/ https://www.apple.com/iphone-13/
- hammock 5y ago
  Yes screen size. Look at the physical dimensions. https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone13mini,iphoneSE3rdgen https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone13mini...
- bena 5y ago
  That's the screen size. The 13 mini as a whole is smaller than the SE because the SE has a top and bottom that's not screen.

rchaud 5y ago

Nearly impossible, and I'm saying this as a lifetime Android user. Your best bet would be boutique OEMs like Unihertz, who have a 3.1-inch Jelly phone (underpowered) and a Blackberry style Titan Pocket with a hardware keyboard and 4-inch screen. Neither of these sound like what you want. In the Android world, one can only hope that another small-time OEM will swoop in to fill the gap, before inevitably disappearing.

fragmede 5y ago
Since pocketability is a large component of the size question, the foldable Motorola Android phone is worth taking looking at (if you can afford it). Unfolded it's modern-sized but folded up it fits in more places.
- frosted-flakes 5y ago
  It's the other way around for me. Usability trumps everything. Trying to use my phone one-handed is extremely frustrating, even with a rear grip, and I have what is considered a "small" phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e). I wish phones had thumb trackpads like BlackBerry phones had. The BlackBerry Classic (2014) had one and it worked incredibly well, even in Android apps, surprisingly (it works by moving the focus, not a mouse pointer, except in the browser, where the pointer means desktop mode is actually usable). Being able to reach the entire screen just by twitching your thumb a few millimetres is sadly probably never going to be possible again.

aidenn0 5y ago

I'm typing this from a Unihertz Jelly 2. It's small enough that people make jokes about it when I pull it out. It cost $200 with 128GB of ram and a case included. Battery life gets me through the day, and no more, but it charges fast. I thought the keyboard would be bad, but it's quite usable after you get used to it. I'm probably 90% as fast as on a full sized phone. The camera, on the other hand is just bad. Like $200 Android phone from 2016 bad.

nerdponx 5y ago
Does it run a non-Google/free OS? My primary qualm about switching to a budget Android phone from an iPhone is the security and privacy aspect, which seems okay under Apple but atrocious under Google/Android.
- aidenn0 5y ago
  I'm not aware of one. The bootloader is unlockable from ADB and there's a TWRP image for it though.
- CameronNemo 5y ago
  I couldn't find any ROMs and that SoC (mt6771) doesn't have upstream kernel support.
  - aidenn0 5y ago
    Though someone did piece together a LineageOS image for the Atom-L which uses the same SoC: https://cgit.typeblog.net/android/device/unihertz/Atom_L/ https://cgit.typeblog.net/android/device/unihertz/Atom_L/
aidenn0 5y ago
I was adding info on how app use in it is when the edit-window closed... Most apps are actually fine, if a bit cramped. The exception is dialogs. I usually have to scroll to see all options. You get used to it, but it isn't great. Webpages are alright, but I do occasionally need to hide the keyboard while filling out forms to see feedback provided below the input (e.g. username already taken, passwords don't match, invalid CC #). I've never really gamed on my phones, so can't speak there. The one thing I did with a larger phone that I don't do on my Jelly2 is read things like textbooks and comics where images and text need to be laid out like print. It's too small to fit a whole page of legible text and images at once. 720 horizontal pixels and a 5" screen is the minimum there IMO, though really this is what e-ink tablets were made for.

foresto 5y ago

I think the Samsung Galaxy S10e and some of the Google Pixel models are nearly hand-size, but I don't know of any that rival the (now unsupported) Xperia XZ1 Compact. The XZ2 Compact is (AFAIK) still supported by LineageOS, but it's chunky. I have read rumors that a new Xperia Compact model is likely within the next year. I don't want to get my hopes up too high, because this is unconfirmed and because the definition of "compact" seems to be expanding over the years, but I am optimistic. I doubt that we'll ever see the likes of the Xperia Mini Pro again. Edit: Here's a handy phone size comparison tool: https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size

JamesAdir 5y ago

From about 2 weeks ago: Ask HN: Why is there no small Android phone? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30405011 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30405011 And another discussion from 3 months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29287158 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29287158

wryun 5y ago

Sony Xperia 10 III (same width) Asus Zenfone 8

technovader 5y ago

The Pixel 5 is perfect. It's the only phone that tore me away from the iPhone 7/8 SE form. The fingerprint sensor is arguable in a better position (on the back). Plus you get better battery, an OLED screen, 90hz. It sucks the Pixel 6 series went huge and bulky instead of continuing the successive wins of Pixel 3,4,5.

makeitdouble 5y ago
Pixel 5 is "small" in android parlance, but still bigger than the Pixel 4a for instance, which is already slightly bigger than the SE. I think parent could have been fine with a Pixel 4a if it wasn't for it starting to age (using the lastest OS on it, feels definitely slower at times , especially when starting the camera which is a bummer)

wackget 5y ago

Asus Zenfone 8. Excellent specs, 3.5mm jack, 148mm tall

jrib 5y ago

the new s22 isn't too bad. It's about as small as I could find. As a person who has always used android, if apple's iphone mini had usb-c I would have gotten that instead though.

znpy 5y ago

Illbe switching to the iphone se 2022 from android after ~10 years for this exact reason. I'm fed up with not being able to hold my phone in my hand. I miss my nokia n73.