Wanted - decent android phone with screen <5"

ancient_mariner

ancient_mariner

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I'm at the stage where I want to replace my WinPho because too many apps have stopped working, but want something that will fit a jeans pocket. My old Motorola RAZRi (4.3" screen) was just a little bit big but liveable, but all new phones of 5" and greater are just too large. Does anyone know of a reasonable spec android device that's smaller than 140mm X 74mm (the size of the Lumia 640)?

Ideally it will have a 3-5 day battery life and excellent call quality (like the 640).
 
Agree, I had a moto g which was the rights size but started slowing down so upgraded to a moto G5 which is a good phone but using the phone with one had is a pain.
 
Smart phones aren't made with 3-5 days battery life these us, they are designed to be charged each day/night,
 
Think you will struggle, bit like looking for a camera without video, bigger screens are the current trend.
 
I recently bought an Honor 8 to replace the crappy Microsoft phone work gave me and it's fab.

I bought it as it's dual sim which is handy for when I travel with work but it is actually a really good phone, great screen, great fingerprint scanner (on the back, which I like), powerful enough so that there's no lag in the UI, good amount of RAM, NFC for Google Pay and decent battery life (not the best but easily lasts a few days with minimal usage). Cheap too, at £200 brand new.

If itunes (and therefore all my music) could be used as the default media player on Android (and so work with my car etc) then I wouldn't hesitate to ditch my iphone and just use it as my only phone.

edit: Honor is Huawei's 'millennial' brand and as such comes with some crappy games preinstalled but delete those and you basically have a Huawei phone for half the price of the full brand. Huawei are in the process of taking over the world so not just a random Chinese outfit.
 
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Galaxy s7, small compared to most these days at 5.1". Still a great phone.
 
Byker28i said:
Smart phones aren't made with 3-5 days battery life these us, they are designed to be charged each day/night,
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Which is damn silly, considering how few have wireless charging.

I can get a phablet with a 4000mAh+ battery that will manage 3+ days of minimal use, but not something pocketable.

Nawty said:
I recently bought an Honor 8 to replace the crappy Microsoft phone work gave me and it's fab.

I bought it as it's dual sim which is handy for when I travel with work but it is actually a really good phone, great screen, great fingerprint scanner (on the back, which I like), powerful enough so that there's no lag in the UI, good amount of RAM, NFC for Google Pay and decent battery life (not the best but easily lasts a few days with minimal usage). Cheap too, at £200 brand new.

If itunes (and therefore all my music) could be used as the default media player on Android (and so work with my car etc) then I wouldn't hesitate to ditch my iphone and just use it as my only phone.

edit: Honor is Huawei's 'millennial' brand and as such comes with some crappy games preinstalled but delete those and you basically have a Huawei phone for half the price of the full brand. Huawei are in the process of taking over the world so not just a random Chinese outfit.
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I was looking at an honour earlier. What's the update situation like with them - are they well supported for security or (as I've read recently) are you just given minimal and late updates?
 
ancient_mariner said:
I was looking at an honour earlier. What's the update situation like with them - are they well supported for security or (as I've read recently) are you just given minimal and late updates?
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In terms of security I don't know as I've honestly never thought of it on a mobile phone. Well actually, I have thought of it and decided it isn't worth worrying about but I'm sure you can install some software or other if you wish.

In terms of getting Android updates, unless you buy an actual Google phone your chances of getting an updated OS with new features seems to be minimal, irrespective of brand. Apparently it is a factor of recent regulation as the EU legal requirements mean a lot of expensive testing to show compliance between every OS and device so nowadays manufacturers often don't bother beyond what they are released with.

That said, I've read that a few Huawei and Honor models (the 8 included) have had software updates over time.
 
Just been and dug out my Moto RAZRi XT890 - the first almost bezel-less phone. It's a tiny slender thing of beauty that sits in the hand wonderfully and with its carbon fibre back feels lovely to hold. I'm almost tempted to see if I could get another on ebay for peanuts, even though it doesn't have 4G or recent updates.
 
Nawty said:
In terms of getting Android updates, unless you buy an actual Google phone your chances of getting an updated OS with new features seems to be minimal, irrespective of brand. Apparently it is a factor of recent regulation as the EU legal requirements mean a lot of expensive testing to show compliance between every OS and device so nowadays manufacturers often don't bother beyond what they are released with.
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Not sure that's true, whilst older phones are no longer supported, i.e. my S5 stopped on Android 6, the later phones can have the latest OS, Samsung S8 can update to Android 8 Oreo
 
ancient_mariner said:
Which is damn silly, considering how few have wireless charging.

I can get a phablet with a 4000mAh+ battery that will manage 3+ days of minimal use, but not something pocketable.
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But a Phablet is larger so can have a larger battery. Gone are the days of a Nokia having a weeks battery life as we just used them for calls, texts and snake. The phone is now a small mobile computing device.

It all depends on usage and screen brightness. If you're on the phone all day with a bright screen the battery life will be poor. If I don't use my phone much during the day, I can still be on 75-80% battery at the end of the day.
There's a lot of phones available with wireless charging now. If thats an important feature (and I admit it's nice, I have it with my S5) then pick one of those phones.
 
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Byker28i said:
Not sure that's true, whilst older phones are no longer supported, i.e. my S5 stopped on Android 6, the later phones can have the latest OS, Samsung S8 can update to Android 8 Oreo
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Yes they can, and security updates are vital if a phone is being used for banking.

Byker28i said:
But a Phablet is larger so can have a larger battery. Gone are the days of a Nokia having a weeks battery life as we just used them for calls, texts and snake. The phone is now a small mobile computing device.

It all depends on usage and screen brightness. If you're on the phone all day with a bright screen the battery life will be poor. If I don't use my phone much during the day, I can still be on 75-80% battery at the end of the day.
There's a lot of phones available with wireless charging now. If thats an important feature (and I admit it's nice, I have it with my S5) then pick one of those phones.
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There are phones around with 5" screens and 4000+mAh batteries, but they usually have deficiencies in other ways that make them undesirable (i.e. the USP of the battery is used to mask that fact that they seem to have 1Gb/8Gb and run on Android 6, often only with 3G connectivity). There's a 5" Xiaomi 4X that's slightly smaller than my winpho, but I can only buy China versions that don't have the essential 800MHz band 20 for O2 4G work.

Sadly the few phones with wireless charging (and it does seem relatively few) are normally top end. I could get a used LG G3 at a sensible price, but they have known issues and after 2-3 years the battery isn't going to be ideal anyway. I'd agree about use - we tend to use the phones very little, hence the long standby time, but I want to avoid something that's going to need charging every day, or even every other day, just sitting around doing nothing.

At the moment a Xiaomi 5 plus is looking good, compromising on the dimensions, but getting build quality and long battery life as an acceptable trade-off at a great price.
 
3-5 day battery life. I have yet to see a modern used smartphone last long at all and I have had lg g4, iphones 6 plus, 6s, 5, 4s, 5s, galaxy s6, s7, htc mini 2 and many others.

If it has a nice screen then it burns through battery like nothing else even if it is 4000 mah. Everyone I work with have mobiles and they are constantly charging them.

Even when my boss bought a brand new £600 6 plus it would only last a day and a half for her.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Does anyone know of a reasonable spec android device that's smaller than 140mm X 74mm (the size of the Lumia 640)?
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I have a samsung A3 2016 (model SM A310F) which I brought unlocked and refurbished from ebay last year. The dimensions are approx 135 × 65, battery life is pretty good but obviously depends how you use it and it runs on android 7 so pretty up to date. You can pick them up for around £100 second hand.
 
SteveSc said:
I have a samsung A3 2016 (model SM A310F) which I brought unlocked and refurbished from ebay last year. The dimensions are approx 135 × 65, battery life is pretty good but obviously depends how you use it and it runs on android 7 so pretty up to date. You can pick them up for around £100 second hand.
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I didn't reallt fancy a Sami, but that might be a good bet. thanks.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I didn't reallt fancy a Sami, but that might be a good bet. thanks.
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Yes I too have a refurb Samsung A3 (2016). As it was small and super cheap. And is really solid compared to my flimsy Sony Z4 Compact.
But you are right about not fancying a Samsung. We don't really need to support the biggest phone maker.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Sadly the few phones with wireless charging (and it does seem relatively few) are normally top end. I could get a used LG G3 at a sensible price, but they have known issues and after 2-3 years the battery isn't going to be ideal anyway. I'd agree about use - we tend to use the phones very little, hence the long standby time, but I want to avoid something that's going to need charging every day, or even every other day, just sitting around doing nothing.

At the moment a Xiaomi 5 plus is looking good, compromising on the dimensions, but getting build quality and long battery life as an acceptable trade-off at a great price.
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An older model? You could wireless charge Samsung S5 onwards? that gives you S5, S6, S7, S8, S9 depending on price you want to pay
 
ancient_mariner said:
I didn't reallt fancy a Sami, but that might be a good bet. thanks.
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If you don't want a samsung, another option might be the HTC mini 2. We have just got one for my son as his first phone, it's an older model and only runs android 4.4 (kitkat) so that might be an issue for you but otherwise it's pretty much the same size as the A3 (137 x 65) but is a bit deeper as it has a curved back to it.
 
SteveSc said:
If you don't want a samsung, another option might be the HTC mini 2. We have just got one for my son as his first phone, it's an older model and only runs android 4.4 (kitkat) so that might be an issue for you but otherwise it's pretty much the same size as the A3 (137 x 65) but is a bit deeper as it has a curved back to it.
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Thanks for the suggestion. What I would REALLY like is an iPhone SE running something other than IOS: great hardware, tiny form factor, sensible cost especially used.

The Xiaomi 4X is very close to the size of the A3 (and slightly larger than I'd like) but a bit of a gamble. Some reviews have shown a fantastic screen, bright enough for outdoor use in bright sunlight, while others show a dull screen with muddy colours.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
Thanks for the suggestion. What I would REALLY like is an iPhone SE running something other than IOS: great hardware, tiny form factor, sensible cost especially used.

The Xiaomi 4X is very close to the size of the A3 (and slightly larger than I'd like) but a bit of a gamble. Some reviews have shown a fantastic screen, bright enough for outdoor use in bright sunlight, while others show a dull screen with muddy colours.
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I know what you mean, I had the same issue last year when getting the A3 but didn't want to go the apple route as everything else we have is windows/android based.

I hadn't heard of the Xiaomi phones, wish I had as it looks like they might have been a good choice for my son.
 
A 4X is £115 delivered from the AliExpress Spanish warehouse, including all taxes etc. Wife & I had the conversation about replacing the phone last night, & I wasn't sure I really needed to (the Lumia 640 is the best mobile phone I ever used, including candybar Nokias, Eriksson, Motorola & HTC) but the failure of the few key apps I DO use is really annoying. We found our old Tesco HUDL 2 & I started it up tonight, but the Kindle app auto-dims the screen too much to use in daylight, even with auto brightness off.

I have a feeling a Xiaomi is not far away now.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I have a feeling a Xiaomi is not far away now.
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I was going to mention Xiaomi but I'm only familiar with the Mi series, not Redmi, and as they don't go less than 5" I didn't think it was worth mentioning. For the record I have a Xiaomi Mi5, bezels are so small on the side that it's 5.15" form doesn't feel too big, in fact it feels a little smaller than my 4.95" Nexus 5.

It get's frequent security updates from Xiaomi, lasts 2 days if I don't punish it with youtube videos frequently, the screen is fantastic and the camera quality is tops. I then went and purchased the Mi Fit band and the scales I was that impressed by the quality.
 
Thanks Neil. The Redmi series are great value, and I'm encouraging the wife to consider an upgrade to a Redmi 5 Plus (her eyes are not great, and a 6" screen will help, plus handbags have more space than trouser pockets).
 
So I kinda gave up on the 'small' phone, at least to a degree. A *almost* ordered a Sammy A3 - found a new one for £150, but then realised it was only a couple of mm smaller than my Lumia 640 despite the 4.7" screen.

So I've just ordered a global spec (inc 4G Band 20) Xiaomi 4X from Gearbest with delivery from a European warehouse, so it's not a true grey tax-dodging import, but still just £106. That's pretty much the same size as the lumia, but with a 4100mAh battery that should manage at least 2 days, and hopefully more. Will report when it arrives - shipping should just be a few days, so hopefully next week it will be here.
 
ancient_mariner said:
So I kinda gave up on the 'small' phone, at least to a degree. A *almost* ordered a Sammy A3 - found a new one for £150, but then realised it was only a couple of mm smaller than my Lumia 640 despite the 4.7" screen.

So I've just ordered a global spec (inc 4G Band 20) Xiaomi 4X from Gearbest with delivery from a European warehouse, so it's not a true grey tax-dodging import, but still just £106. That's pretty much the same size as the lumia, but with a 4100mAh battery that should manage at least 2 days, and hopefully more. Will report when it arrives - shipping should just be a few days, so hopefully next week it will be here.
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Great. I'll see the Xiaomi is 5" Had it been smaller I'd have considered it.

I've just ordered 'another' Samsung A3. This time the updated 2017 version for another family member. Over the 2016, the 2017 is waterproof, has a fingerprint reader, 8 core CPU (instead of 4), better spec selfie camera, and more memory.

It would have been nice, though, not to have sent more money to Samsung.
 
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The Xiaomi Redmi 4X runs Android MIUI 8 and is powered by a 4100mAh non removable battery. It measures 139.24 x 69.96 x 8.65 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 150 grams and has a 5" screen. Also 3/32Gb.

The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) runs Android 6.0 and is powered by a 2350mAh non removable battery. It measures 135.40 x 66.20 x 7.90 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 138 grams and has a 4.7" screen. Also 2/16Gb.


Both are octo-core, and have similar performance scores. There's not enough difference in size to make any difference for me, and the phone that prompted me to start this thread is 122 X 61mm (4.3" screen) so neither are anywhere near that level of pocketability. 3 things swung me: price, big battery and updates, with Sammy having a bad rep for updates while Xiaomi have already started rolling out oreo to the user-base of their 4 series phones from 2017 and provide frequent security updates. I really liked the idea of Samsung weatherproofing and their AMOLED screen, but wetness has never been a problem until now and the A3 2017 screen was reported as being fuzzy in the reviews I read.
 
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I've been running MIUI9 based on Android Oreo since the end of last year, they are pretty damn good on updates as the list below shows all handsets that they are still actively rolling MIUI9 (Android 7 - 8 depending on handset), in addition to this they also release the security updates monthly, which differ from the main Android version.

Just wish they'd hurry up and release the Mi7...

2017
Redmi Y1, Redmi Y1s, Mi Mix 2, Mi Note 3, Mi 6, Mi Max 2, Redmi Note 4, Redmi Note 4X, Redmi Note 5A, Redmi 4, Redmi 4X.

2016
Mi Mix, Mi Note 2, Mi 5, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Mi Max, Mi Max Prime, Redmi Note 3, Redmi 3, Redmi 3s, Redmi 4, Redmi 4A

2015
Mi Note, Mi 4i, Redmi 2, Redmi 2 Prime, Redmi Note 4G Prime, and Redmi Note 2

2014-2012
Mi 4, Redmi Note 4G, Mi 3, Mi 2

On a non-phone related topic, they also do lighting from what appears to be a sub-company/brand called "Yeelight", RGB striplights with Google Assistant and Alexa control for £35, damn cheaper than my Philips Hue!
 
I've seen the Yeelight stuff, but IoT isn't something I want yet - apart from a watch that does heart rate, GPS logging etc.
 
Well, the 4X turned up today, 4 days after ordering and coming from Italy.

Initial impressions: it looks and feels extremely like a modern iPhone (from a non-iPhone users perspective) being metal, skinny, slippery & dense. It's also a touch smaller in all directions than the Lumia 640, which is a nice bonus. The sense of it being iPhone-like extends to the slightly 'dumb' icons of Xiaomi's MIUI skin, which don't work for me yet, although I can learn them no doubt, and the way a lot of stuff is 'managed' for the user. The screen seems OK, certainly not neutral colour-wise, but crisp enough. I fully charged it at work this afternoon, and after fiddling for a couple of hours it's down to 87%.

It did an initial update as soon as it was connected to wifi, then a second update to android 7 and MIUI 9.5 plus a security patch dated for March 2018. This is a big change from my previous Moto, where I got 1 minor update and 1 general Android update in 3 1/2 years of use. Wireless reception isn't at the same (very high) level as the Lumia, and it struggles to get signal more in difficult places, but it's better than any non-Lumia phones that I've owned including candybar types.

More data later, if anyone's interested.
 
OK, first 24 hours of usage including quite a lot of screen-on time (for me) setting things up, trying stuff out, installing apps, taking pictures, a couple of phone calls, whatsapp, texts, news feeds & video. Battery down to 68%.

MIUI (Xiaomi's overlay) wants to take over a lot of tasks that might be managed by google/android, including backup of settings and data. All MIUI apps seem to require access to contacts and the ability to make phone calls, as well as getting the user to agree to data acquisition, and refuse to work without being given the un-necessary permissions. I'm finding replacements over time, and will soon begin uninstalling them, but if you're a little concerned about data sharing then you'll probably want to root & flash. I'm not really a fan of MIUI in terms of looks still (but it does provide enormous numbers of options for setting up) and would have probably been happier with a barebones Android install. Never the less I am impressed that Xiaomi keep the systems updated so well. If I didn't mind a slightly larger form factor then I would have definitely bought the Mi A1 with Andoid 1 (i.e. native Android, google only, immediate updates) faster processor etc, but it's quite a lot bigger for the extra screen size. It's presently on Android 7.1 and Oreo is already being rolled out in some places.

Usage-wise, it's quite nice and responsive. Opening applications isn't instant, but neither is it laggy, and animations etc are smooth - it's certainly the most fluid smartphone that I've owned. GPS works well indoors and out, and there's both a gyroscope & compass onboard so the device always knows which way it's facing. I had a quick browse on 4G in Oxford today while waiting for someone, and both Opera mini and the BBC app were fast and smooth. Over wireless, downloads are very quick *for a phone* with a 28Mb app taking a couple of seconds. The fingerprint scanner gets it right every time I put my finger in the right place, opening quickly, and I know that it's already become a habit that will be hard to break on a non-FPS phone.

The screen isn't the brightest, but it's usable in direct sunlight. It's also 780P, but that's fine for me on a 5" screen. Photos seem OK for a phone. Video - no idea. The device itself feels good in the hand, very solid, buttons nice & snug.

*edit* Call quality is pretty decent, and close to the Lumia, although it struggles to get signal a little more than the Lumia did: I can make calls in my livingroom, but need to be aligned with a window. I took a call at work from someone who traditionally tends to break up when on mobile, and there were periods of clarity and periods of breaking up, just like normal. Another call in Oxford was loud & clear. This is probably as good as I could reasonably hope for (I hate calls on any kind of phone).

It's probably comparable to the new Moto E6 plus, which has a similar processor, RAM, slightly bigger battery & screen, but £169 vs £106.

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Less fiddling today, not least because work got in the way. ;)

Sorting my way through how Android works, plus the difference MIUI makes, and generally getting settings as I want them including ringtones for different whatsapp groups. All working smoothly still, battery on 38% at the 48 hour mark.

At this point in time I am reminded as to why I bought a Windows phone originally - application access is generally easier and better organised than Android (and iOS) and the tiles on the Start menu are a really really good idea. There's no denying that the 4X is much faster and smoother, has lots more memory and is slightly smaller & lighter - an all-round better mobile computing device - but I'm quite impressed with how the Lumia works so well, and the endurance that it had on a 2500mAh battery compared to this one with a 4100mAh battery. It's just astonishing how a company like Microsoft can just screw up such a colossal investment as they did with Nokia.

Anyway, at the moment it's a nice, low cost upgrade.
 
OK, the phone is down to 8% this evening. Since yesterday it's had a couple of hours screen-on time including 35min satnav use, the rest being browsing, whatsapp and text messaging plus a bit of calculator. Hopefully with a few charge cycles the battery will get a little stronger, and combined with lower use once the novelty & present situations have worn off then I'll get 4 full days of mostly standby.

Anything else? The notification light is dim and only does white, but at least it has one. It would also be nicer if the capacitive buttons on the bottom front face lit up with the screen. There is a very wide selection of ringtones available, but many sound similar & aren't especially pleasing (tend towards chimey, happy & harmonious sounds) however I like the Frog chirrup that has been assigned to one particular whatsapp group.

That's it, really. It's not *amazing* but for £106 it's an extremely good value, highly functional smaller smartphone with the good battery life I hoped for. I can feel the small difference in size compared to the Lumia when I carry it in my back pocket, and it's surprisingly much more comfy to carry about. If you should decide to buy one the way I did, make sure you get a global version (international and CNN versions don't have band 20 (800mhz) needed for 4G by a number of UK carriers.

Now to go plug it in. Looks like it takes about 2 1/2 hours for a full charge - up to 92% at the 2 hour mark using a 'fast charger'.
 
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OK, probably my last post in the thread unless anyone wants to ask questions. It's 4 days less 3 hours since I disconnected the phone from the charger (10.30pm Thursday night) and it's just chirupped to tell me it's down to 10% charge. In that time it's probably had a couple of hours screen-on time, and I've made 20min of phone calls, used Endomondo to track a run, used maps a couple of times, numerous whatsapp messages & photos, sent and received email and checked the BBC news and weather. i.e. normal usage for me. It does 4 days OK, and that's exactly what I wanted.
 
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