Best Small Phone 2025: Our top four choices

The iPhone 13 mini was our go-to recommendation for those on the hunt for a small-screen iPhone for quite some time, but as it’s both no longer available from Apple or third-party manufacturers, the iPhone 16 and its 6.1-inch screen takes its place.

Yes, it’s not quite as compact as the iPhone 13 mini was, but the iPhone 16 is still relatively portable in a world where most flagships ship with something in the region of a 6.7-inch screen, if not larger. That makes the iPhone 16 an easy recommendation for a pocketable iPhone, with its 6.1-inch OLED screen easy to use one-handed, even when reaching for the upper edges of the screen.

Plus, by going with the iPhone 16 over the older iPhone 13 mini, you get not only massively boosted camera performance from the 48MP dual camera setup on the rear, but better battery life and even access to Apple Intelligence – though the latter shouldn’t be the reason to get the phone. It’s a nice to have, but it doesn’t change the way you interact with your iPhone like Apple claims.

Of course, it also comes with all the other benefits of buying an iPhone; the easy-to-use iOS, great compatiblity with other Apple hardware and a wide selection of polished apps from the App Store.

The only real downside, aside from the lack of a telephoto lens, is the 60Hz cap on the refresh rate, with even cheap Androids offering faster 120Hz refresh rates, and it’s noticeable in everyday use.

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More of a refinement than a complete overhaul of last year’s Galaxy S24, the Samsung Galaxy S25 is a fantastic choice for anyone who hasn’t upgraded their smartphone in a few years.

At 6.2-inches and starting at £799/$799, the Galaxy S25 is the smallest and cheapest of the flagship series. It’s also 5g lighter than its predecessor and sports an Enhanced Armor Aluminium Frame for extra durability.

Otherwise, the S25 is extremely similar to the Galaxy S24, sporting a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display which boasts a 1-120Hz refresh rate and 2340 x 1080 resolution.

It even has the same camera hardware, with a trio of rear lenses made up of a 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto. Although admittedly we were less impressed with this setup than the similarly priced iPhone 16 or Pixel 9, the Galaxy S25 still delivers detailed images that performs well in most lighting conditions.

Powering the Galaxy S25 is Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy which we found ensures the phone runs smoothly without any overheating, and enables the running of Galaxy AI.

This year sees a return of the familiar Galaxy AI features alongside new additions such as AI Summarise which gives you a quick overview of content from your screen and Now Brief which gives you a summary of your day.

Google Gemini also has a starring role across the Galaxy S25 series and works as a built-in AI assistant across numerous apps such as YouTube, Spotify and Google Maps.

We found that on average we ended the day with over 30% of battery remaining, so while it certainly can’t be classed as a two-day device, it should see you through one without any issue. If you’d prefer a two-day smartphone, then you’d be better off with a handset like the OnePlus 13.

Equally, with just 25W wired and 15W wireless support, charging speeds aren’t the fastest either and we found the S25 took 90 minutes to get from 1-100%.

Although there’s little reason to upgrade from the Samsung Galaxy S24, if you have an older handset or want a flagship smartphone that’s small and relatively affordable then the Samsung Galaxy S25 is an otherwise fantastic choice.

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What if your budget doesn’t quite extend to flagship-level smartphones like the S25? 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 8a 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.

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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 50 Ultra (or Razr+ 2024 if you’re in the US).

Although the main 6.9-inch 165Hz pOLED panel is anything but small, and surpasses some of the largest smartphones on the market, once folded the external display measures just 4 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 50 Ultra includes two upgraded rear cameras: a 50MP main and a 50MP 2x telephoto, with the latter replacing the ultrawide lens of the previous generation device. We were generally impressed with the performance of the new lenses, though the phone did struggle with challenging shots like vibrant sunsets and HDR performance was sometimes a little hit-and-miss.

The phone sports the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset which, despite not being Qualcomm’s latest processor, is certainly still capable and scored well in our CPU and GPU benchmark tests compared to the foldable competition, with no real notable differences in everyday use.

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 50 Ultra is a great choice for most people.

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