We Want a Small, Compact and Lightweight Android Smartphone – August 07, 2023

If you also like small and lightweight phones and looking for a compact smartphone (Android specially) in 2023, you might be out of luck like me.

Since 2 or 3 years, I’ve been searching for a small smartphone which can fit in my hands/pocket and can be used with single hand. But it seems, smartphone companies have stopped manufacturing compact phones. When the smartphones started coming with edge to edge display (with notch, punch hole camera, etc), I used to think how wonderful and compact a smartphone will look if the company puts only 5 inch display.

That’s why I’m going to talk about my dream smartphone and available compact smartphones in this article!

I remember those good old days when smartphones used to come in 4 or 5 inches display size. That was the perfect screen size in my opinion.

Now-a-days, all smartphones are coming with 6.5″ or larger display size which makes the phone large, bulky and difficult to use with single hand. There was a time when smartphones with 5″+ screen size were considered as Phablet not a phone. Phablet was a new term for those large phones created by combining phone+tablets words.

All mobile phone manufacturing companies are trying to provide larger display or screen in their smartphones. I understand that we are living in an era where everyone is using the phone for browsing Internet, using social media (WhatsApp, Facebook, etc) and watching movies and series on OTT platforms (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc). Oh and how can I forget games. People love watching movies, videos and playing online games on big screens of their smartphones. That’s the reason, all smartphone companies are making their phones with large screens.

But we should not forget that there are still many people who want to use their phone like a phone. I mean, many people don’t use smartphones to play games or watching stuff. They just use the phone for calls and messages.

I’m also among those people who don’t play games and watch movies or web series on smartphones. I just use my smartphone for calls, WhatsApp and for UPI payments like PayTM, PhonePe, etc. For these basic tasks, I don’t need a large screen in my smartphone. That’s why I want a compact and lightweight phone.

The major problem with today’s larger smartphones is their weight. Increasing display size requires more battery which is making the phones bulky. I have noticed that almost all smartphones are coming with 170+ grams weight which is not easy to handle.

Since many years, I’ve been suffering from Tennis elbow and Carpal tunnel syndrome and usage of large and heavyweight phones makes me uncomfortable. My hands and back start paining a lot if I use these bulky smartphones for a few minutes.

People like me love those small, compact and lightweight phones which used to come in past years. 4-5″ screen size and 100-150 grams weight was a standard for those phones.

I’m still using my good ol’ Samsung Galaxy S9 phone as my primary phone. It’s small and lightweight but it’s quite old and needs a replacement.

But it’s very hard in 2023 to find a small and lightweight smartphone.

Apple iPhone 12 Mini or 13 Mini or iPhone SE

I know you’ll suggest iPhone 12 or 13 Mini as it’s very small and lightweight and I really love its look and how compact and lightweight device it is but there are some issues with iPhones which don’t allow me to switch to iPhone.

First reason is the call recording. I need call recording feature and unfortunately, iPhones do not come with this essential feature. In today’s era when many people are working from home, attending important meetings, call recording has become a very important and useful feature. It helps us in recalling things and information which we forgot after disconnecting the call. We can hear the recorded call and can write important phone numbers, addresses, etc discussed on the call.

Apple do not allow call recording due to privacy issues and 3rd party apps also don’t work. I have talked about it in details in following article:

iPhone Call Recording: Possible or Not? Explained in Details

On the other hand, Android smartphones come with built-in or native call recording functionality. That’s why I want an Android smartphone. It’s true that Google has restricted 3rd party apps from recording calls but many Android smartphones come with native call recorder which works perfectly.

Secondly, iPhone is less customizable compared to Google Android smartphones. If a person has used Android phone, he’ll face lots of difficulties and problems while switching to iPhone.

The low battery backup is also a major issue.

Here are the specifications of iPhone 12 mini, 13 mini and SE for interested people:

iPhone 12 Mini Specs:

Display size – 5.4 inches

Dimensions – 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4 mm (5.18 x 2.53 x 0.29 inches)

Weight – 133 grams

iPhone 13 Mini Specs:

Display size – 5.4 inches

Dimensions – 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.65 mm (5.18 x 2.53 x 0.30 inches)

Weight – 140 grams

iPhone SE Specs:

Display size – 4.7 inches

Dimensions – 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches)

Weight – 144 grams

Samsung Galaxy S22 or Galaxy S23

UPDATE: Samsung has released Galaxy S23 which is an improved version of previous S22 model. It comes with similar dimensions 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6 mm (5.76 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches) and weight 168 grams.

I’m a loyal customer of Samsung. I have been using Samsung smartphones since the launch of Galaxy S first model. I remember how small and compact phones Samsung has developed in past.

The latest Galaxy S22 is a very small and compact phone but it’s not lightweight. The weight of S22 is 167 grams which can not be considered as lightweight.

Also when we’ll put screen guard and back cover to protect the phone, it’ll increase the phone weight up to 200 grams.

So Samsung Galaxy S22 is small but not lightweight.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Specifications:

Display size – 6.1 inches

Dimensions – 146 x 70.6 x 7.6 mm (5.75 x 2.78 x 0.30 inches)

Weight – 167 grams

Asus Zenfone 8/9/10 (or Asus 8z/9z/10z)

UPDATE 2: Asus has released Asus Zenfone 10 or Asus 10z which is an improved version of previous Zenfone 9 (9z). It comes with similar dimensions 146.5 x 68.1 x 9.4 mm (5.77 x 2.68 x 0.37 inches) and weight 172 grams. At the moment, Asus Zenfone 10 is not available in India but it might release soon in India with the name Asus 10z.

UPDATE 1: Asus has released Asus Zenfone 9 or Asus 9z which is an improved version of previous Zenfone 8 (8z). It comes with similar dimensions 146.5 x 68.1 x 9.1 mm (5.77 x 2.68 x 0.36 inches) and weight 169 grams.

There is another super compact smartphone available which is Asus Zenfone 8 also known as Asus 8z but again it’s not lightweight similar to Samsung Galaxy S22. If this phone was under 150 grams weight range, it would have been the perfect choice for a small and lightweight smartphone.

Asus Zenfone 8 or 8z Specifications:

Display size – 5.9 inches

Dimensions – 148 x 68.5 x 8.9 mm (5.83 x 2.70 x 0.35 inches)

Weight – 169 grams

Motorola Edge 30 and Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite

Motorola and Xiaomi have also tried to make thin and lightweight smartphones. Both Motorola Edge 30 and Xiaomi 11 Lite come with 6.8 mm thickness which makes both the phones very slim.

But both the phones come with larger display 6.5 inches which puts these phones out from small or compact size category.

Motorola Edge 30 Specifications:

Display size – 6.5 inches

Dimensions – 159.4 x 74.2 x 6.8 mm (6.28 x 2.92 x 0.27 inches)

Weight – 155 grams

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite Specifications:

Display size – 6.55 inches

Dimensions – 160.5 x 75.7 x 6.8 mm (6.32 x 2.98 x 0.27 inches)

Weight – 158 grams

Google Pixel 4a and Samsung Galaxy S10e

Google Pixel 4a and Samsung Galaxy S10e were 2 real compact and lightweight smartphones but unfortunately both phones are now old and not available in the market. Even if we find these phones, it’ll not be a wise decision to purchase them as both the phones are not 5G ready. Although Google launched Pixel 4a 5G version too but it’s neither compact (153.9 x 74 x 8.2 mm) not lightweight (168 grams).

Now Google is making Pixel phones larger in size and Samsung has discontinued the “e” variant.

Google Pixel 4a Specifications:

Display size – 5.81 inches

Dimensions – 144 x 69.4 x 8.2 mm (5.67 x 2.73 x 0.32 inches)

Weight – 143 grams

Samsung Galaxy S10e Specifications:

Display size – 5.8 inches

Dimensions – 142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9 mm (5.60 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches)

Weight – 150 grams

Cubot Pocket: Another Small 4G Smartphone

Cubot Pocket is another small, compact and super lightweight smartphone which is worth to mention in this article. It’s a 4G smartphone which is available in very selected countries. Unfortunately it’s not available in India.

It comes in 2 variants or models: Cubot Pocket and Cubot Pocket 3.

Cubot Pocket Specifications:

Display size – 4.0 inches

Dimensions – 119 x 58 x 12.5 mm (4.69 x 2.28 x 0.49 inches)

Weight – 128 grams

Cubot Pocket 3 Specifications:

Display size – 4.5 inches

Dimensions – 133.2 x 58.5 x 12.3 mm (5.24 x 2.30 x 0.48 inches)

Weight – 135 grams

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, Motorola Razr+ and Oppo Find N2 Flip

Foldable flip smartphones are also strong contenders for small and compact smartphone hunt. When you fold a flip smartphone, it becomes very small and compact and can be carried easily in your pocket. Also the display given on the cover screen can be used to open and access almost all kind of apps.

At the moment, following flip smartphones are popular and can be used by people who are looking for small smartphones:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Specifications:

Display size (full) – 6.7 inches

Display size (cover screen) – 3.4 inches

Dimensions (unfolded) – 165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm

Dimensions (folded) – 85.1 x 71.9 x 15.1 mm

Weight – 187 grams

Motorola Razr+ Specifications:

Motorola Razr+ is also known as Razr Plus, Razr 40 Ultra, Razr 2023, Razr 4 and Razr gen 4 names.

Display size (full) – 6.9 inches

Display size (cover screen) – 3.6 inches

Dimensions (unfolded) – 170.8 x 73.9 x 6.9 mm

Dimensions (folded) – 88.4 x 73.9 x 15.1 mm

Weight – 184.5 grams (Viva Magenta color) and 188.5 grams (Infinite Black and Glacier Blue colors)

Oppo Find N2 Flip Specifications:

Display size (full) – 6.8 inches

Display size (cover screen) – 3.26 inches

Dimensions (unfolded) – 166.2 x 75.2 x 7.5 mm

Dimensions (folded) – 85.5 x 75.2 x 16 mm

Weight – 191 grams

Micromax Canvas Sliver 5 Q450 – The Best Small and Lightweight Smartphone Ever

If someone asks me which was the best compact and lightweight smartphone ever made, my answer would be Micromax Canvas Sliver 5.

It was the thinnest, slimmest and lightest smartphone available in the market. I still have this smartphone. Unfortunately, it’s very old now and Micromax stopped releasing updates for this phone since many years.

It was an excellent phone with just 97 grams weight. You can’t imagine how light and slim it was in hands when compared to today’s bulky smartphones.

Micromax Canvas Sliver 5 Q450 Specifications:

Display size – 4.8 inches

Dimensions – 141.9 x 68.1 x 5.1 mm (5.58 x 2.68 x 0.20 inches)

Weight – 97 grams

Companies are Discontinuing their Compact Smartphones

At the moment almost all big companies have stopped manufacturing compact smartphones.

Samsung already stopped releasing the compact ‘e’ variant of S series. Sony has also discontinued its famous Xperia Z compact series.

Now there are rumors that Apple will also stop releasing iPhone Mini variant, so there will be no iPhone 14 Mini phone.

My Dream Phone – Small, Lightweight Android 5G Smartphone

Now I’ll share specifications of my dream smartphone:

• Display size – 5 inches (perfect for basic tasks and one handed use)
• Weight – Under 135 grams (if Apple can make iPhone 12 mini of 133 gm why not others?)
• OS – Google Android (due to native call recording and full customization ability)
• Network – 5G ready
• Protection – Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ or later on both front and back (so that we don’t need to put guards and covers)
• SIM – Dual SIM (Most of the people use 2 phone numbers now-a-days)
• Sensor – Must have fingerprint sensor. Face ID feature is less secure.
• Brand – Any but I wish if Samsung manufactures it.

Other things like Camera, Processor, etc must be the best and latest available at the time of release.

I’m ready to pay a price of a premium smartphone for my dream compact and lightweight phone and I’m sure many will do.

Another Person Who also Wants Small Android Phone

While searching for compact and lightweight smartphones, I discovered that there is another person like me who also wants a small Android phone. Eric Migicovsky (Pebble smartwatch founder) has also shared a similar discussion about need of a small compact Android smartphone.

He has also launched a site to sign a petition to convince smartphone manufacturer companies to create small and lightweight smartphone.

You can sign the petition at following link:

Small Android Phone Petition Site

I hope companies like Samsung will listen to our requests and will think about releasing small Android phones in future.

Also Check:

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[Tip] Enable Hidden Secret Features and Menus in Samsung Galaxy Smartphones

Hidden Secret Codes for Samsung Galaxy Mobile Phones

Hidden Secret Codes for Google Android Mobile Phones