Best Small Phone 2024: The top five compact smartphones (2024)

Every phone included in the list below has been properly tested and used for an extended period by one of our product experts. We don’t review phones based purely on specs or a manufacturer’s claims – we use them as our everyday devices for at least five days and usually for much longer.

If you read a phone review on Trusted Reviews, you’ll know the reviewer has popped their personal SIM card into the phone, transferred across their most-used apps and even their backlog of WhatsApp messages. We go all in, so you know you’re getting an honest view of a product.

Our review process includes a mixture of real-world tests, along with more than 15 measured tests and industry-standard benchmarks. We believe this gives the most rounded view of a device. The scores a phone receives from a run under our professional colourimeters aren’t worth much if the screen can’t be used comfortably on a sunny day.

£679$699

£749.99

£799$799

£499$499

£1049$999

iPhone 13 Mini

Best small iPhone

The iPhone 13 mini is the very definition of a compact phone in our eyes, sporting a similar size to the 4.7-inch iPhone SE while sporting a larger 5.4-inch display that essentially takes up the entirety of the front of the phone.

That combination allows for a form factor that’s refreshingly small and easy to use one-handed, especially at just 140g, while still offering a larger screen than most smartphones its size. Granted, the 5.4-inch 120Hz panel is still far from the 6.1-inch options used by most other compact smartphones in 2024, but if you’re really looking for the smallest, most compact option, this is it.

It’s not just great because it’s small either; though outshone by the newer iPhone 14 range, the iPhone 13 mini is still an incredibly tempting choice in 2024.

It sports a powerful A15 Bionic chipset, a decent dual 12MP camera offering and, of course, access to the iOS platform – the only option in our small phone chart able to do so. If using an iPhone is of the utmost importance, this is really your only option.

The only downside to the iPhone 13 mini is battery life, with a relatively small cell providing just about enough power for our reviewer to get to the end of the day – but only usually with around 3-5% left in the tank. That’s a little too close for comfort.

Review: iPhone 13 mini review
Reviewer: Max Parker

Asus Zenfone 10

Best small Android

If you’re after a small phone but want to stick with Android, the Asus ZenFone 10 is your best bet.

It’s not quite as small as the iPhone 13 mini, sporting a 5.9-inch 120Hz OLED display, but it’s still comfortably within compact territory when most Android flagships sport 6.7- or even 6.8-inch displays. And as with the iPhone 13 mini, don’t let the compact nature fool you; this is very much a flagship smartphone with specs to match.

That includes the latest and greatest Qualcomm chipset in the form of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, coupled with 8- or 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage to play with, allowing the ZenFone 10 to handle whatever you throw at it with absolute ease. Gaming was also a joy on the compact phone, managing to stay cool even over extended gameplay sessions.

There’s also great camera performance from a combination of a 50MP main and a 13MP ultrawide, particularly when it comes to image stabilsation, and a 32MP RGBW selfie camera delivers some of the best selfies we’ve seen this year.

What really makes the ZenFone 10 stand apart from the competition, however, is its hugely customisable approach to Android 13.

You can either opt for Asus’ ZenUI skin or adopt something very close to stock Android, with additional support for Material You and other customisable elements of the UI. It goes much further than practically any other Android OEM, making it a joy to use day-to-day.

Throw in comfortable all-day battery life from a 4,300mAh cell and you’ve got a great compact Android smartphone that doesn’t cost the Earth.

Review: Asus ZenFone 10 review
Reviewer: Lewis Painter

Samsung Galaxy S24

Best small Android flagship

The Asus ZenFone 10 remains the smallest flagship Android smartphone around, but the Samsung Galaxy S24 is not only more powerful, but offers a larger screen in a body that’s not much bigger than that of the ZenFone.

The 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen is a slight increase on last year’s 6.1-inch panel, but don’t fret; that’s possible due to Samsung shrinking the screen’s bezels, leaving the form factor near-identical to its older sibling. That means it’s not only bigger while still maintaining a compact form factor, but it boasts high-end specs like an LTPO-enabled 120Hz refresh rate alongside HDR10+ support and a maximum brightness of 2600nits.

It gets a little bit confusing in the chipset department with the UK, Europe and other regions finding the Exynos 2400 chipset while those in the US get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy.

We reviewed the former, though we’ve benchmarked the latter and it’s clear that the Snapdragon-equipped variant is more powerful in GPU tests, but you likely won’t notice a difference in everyday use. It’s rapid, responsive and utilises GenAI capabilities to provide on-device translation, voice recording transcription and more. That should only continue to improve with its improved seven years of OS upgrades, the longest of any small-screen phone right now.

The only disappointment is camera performance; while it’s far from a bad camera setup, comprised of a 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto, it remains entirely unchanged for a third year running and, as such, there are more performative options on the market – though many of these are attached to bigger screens like Samsung’s own 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Still, if you’re looking for a solid small-screen flagship that can handle just about anything you throw at it, the Galaxy S24 remains a tempting option.

Review: Samsung Galaxy S24 review
Reviewer: Max Parker

Google Pixel 8a

Best small mid-ranger

What if your budget doesn’t quite extend to flagship-level smartphones like the S24 or ZenFone 10? The Google Pixel 8a is our recommendation for compact smartphone fans on a bit more of a budget.

The Pixel 8a measures in at a compact 6.1 inches, boasts a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and even borrows the Actua tech from the flagship Pixel 8 to boost brightness to 2000nits. It’s also a nice compact size that sits nicely in the hand, especially with the Pixel 8a’s rounded edges.

Where the Pixel 7a flexes its mid-range muscles is in the camera department, using the flagship-level Tensor G2 chipset to power a range of AI features like Super Res Zoom and Night Sight, along with exclusive photo editing features that remove distractions from the background and even sharpen blurry images.

That AI goodness also extends to the general experience, with the Pixel 8a’s stock Android 14 littered with handy AI features to improve your day-to-day, be it displaying upcoming calendar invites and the weather on the Home screen to Recently Played, an AI feature that automatically detects music in your environment as you go about your day – a real boon for music discovery.

Battery life is also solid, though it’s still very much just a one-day device – one of the downsides of more compact smartphones.

Still, if you’re looking for a compact phone on a budget, you won’t find a more capable option than the Google Pixel 8a in 2024.

Review: Google Pixel 8a
Reviewer: Max Parker

Motorola Razr 40 Ultra

Most compact foldable

If you’re looking for a truly compact Android smartphone that doesn’t compromise on a large-screen experience, boasts a solid camera, strong performance and an all-day battery life then you can’t do much better than the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra.

Although the 6.9-inch pOLED panel is anything but small, and surpasses some of the largest smartphones on the market, once folded the external display measures just 3.6-inches. This is perfect for one-hand use as all corners can be easily reached using just your thumb.

Not only is the external screen tiny yet still highly functional, the handset is just 15mm thick when folded so you can easily slip it into your pocket or your bag. Plus as the display is fitted with Gorilla Glass Victus, you shouldn’t have to worry about scratches either.

Aside from the displays, the Razr 40 Ultra includes two rear cameras: a 12MP main and a 13MP ultrawide lens. We found that the main snapper does an admirable job in well-lit scenarios, resulting in vibrant colours and detail, however it’s worth noting that in low-light sometimes images were too soft despite the PDAF focusing technology.

Similarly, the ultrawide lens is generally sufficient in well-lit environments although there can be notable blurs in areas which need more detail.

Running on the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset which, despite not being Qualcomm’s latest processor, is certainly still capable and scored well in our CPU and GPU benchmark tests. If however you plan on using your smartphone mainly for intense gaming then we wouldn’t recommend this handset as it struggled with higher-specced titles.

If that’s the case, then we’d recommend checking out our best gaming smartphones list for dedicated gaming options.

Whether you want the smallest smartphone you could possibly get your hands on, or you’re just keen to recreate the flip phone experience of the noughties, the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra is a great choice for most people.

Review: Motorola Razr 40 Ultra review
Reviewer: Lewis Painter

We’ve reviewed

15,872

Mobile Phone

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iPhone 13 Mini

1765

4399

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524 nits

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Asus Zenfone 10

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2020

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35 Min

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111 fps

Samsung Galaxy S24

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79 min

32 Min

49 %

22 %

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3957

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Google Pixel 7a

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Motorola Razr 40 Ultra

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iPhone 13 Mini

£679

$699

€809

CA$949

AU$1199

Apple

5.4 inches

128GB, 256GB, 512GB

12MP + 12MP

12MP

Yes

IP68

–

Yes

Yes

64.2 x 7.65 x 131.5 MM

140 G

B09G99YW4K

iOS 15

2021

–

–

2340 x 1080

Yes

60 Hz

Lightning

A15 Bionic

–

Red, Starlight, Blue, Back. Pink

Asus Zenfone 10

£749.99

–

€799.99

–

–

Asus

5.9 inches

128GB, 256GB, 512GB

50MP + 13MP

32MP

Yes

IP68

4300 mAh

Yes

Yes

68.1 x 9.4 x 146.5 MM

172 G

B0CBKTS53T

Android 13

2023

28/06/2023

–

2400 x 1080

Yes

144 Hz

USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

16GB, 8GB

Midnight Black, Starry Blue, Aurora Green, Eclipse Red, Comet White

Samsung Galaxy S24

£799

$799

–

–

–

Samsung

6.2 inches

128GB, 256GB

50MP + 12MP + 10MP

12MP

Yes

IP68

4000 mAh

Yes

Yes

70.6 x 7.6 x 147 MM

167 G

B0CNTQRBHP

Android 14 (OneUI)

2024

17/01/2024

B0CNTQPCM6

-4 x

Yes

120 Hz

USB-C

Samsung Exynos 2400 for Galaxy

8GB

–

Google Pixel 7a

£449

$499

€509

–

–

Google

6.1 inches

128GB

64MP + 13MP

13MP

Yes

IP67

4385 mAh

Yes

Yes

72.9 x 9 x 152.4 MM

193 G

B0BYZFBQR1

Android 13

2023

10/05/2023

–

–

Yes

90 Hz

USB-C

Tensor G2

8GB

Sea, Coral, Snow, Charcoal

Motorola Razr 40 Ultra

£1049

$999

€1199

–

–

Motorola

6.9 inches

256GB

12MP + 13MP

32MP

Yes

IP53

3800 mAh

Yes

Yes

74 x 7 x 170.8 MM

184.5 G

B0C6Y22MS9

Android 13

2023

08/06/2023

–

2400 x 1080

Yes

165 Hz

USB-C

Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1

8GB

Black, Blue, Viva Magenta