In any pocket: 10 best compact smartphones of 2022

All of them are small, but very remote - with almost flagship functionality

There are very few small, functional smartphones on the market today. If you just need a small device, then there are essentially only two options or, if you like, paths. The first is to take something ultra-budget that costs up to 6-7 thousand rubles. Yes, in this case you can count on a smartphone with a diagonal of 6 inches or less. However, it should be understood that such models have a number of unpleasant - and inevitable - limitations. For example, very weak cameras, slow processors, unattractive and/or outdated design... In general, budget products are what they are.

Therefore, we move on to the second way: buy one of the smartphones described below in this article. Yes, almost all of them are not budget. But they are compact: from 5.4 to 6.2 inches. By today's standards, this is really not much: almost all models announced today in the price range from 7 thousand rubles to infinity have a diagonal of around 6.5 inches. And this is a completely different story: in practice, the difference between a 6.2- and 6.5-inch smartphone is not huge, but very noticeable.

So, what small smartphones did we manage to scrape together?

Samsung Galaxy A41 (6.1 inches)

This is the most inexpensive serious compact smartphone on the market. Moreover, quite possibly, the last of its kind from Samsung. Why do we think this way? The Galaxy A40 was compact, the Galaxy A41 was also small, but the Galaxy A42 was made quite ordinary - 6.6 inches. So the Galaxy A41 is still interesting today, a year after its announcement. Moreover, it offers a number of very tasty options: for example, an AMOLED screen with a built-in fingerprint scanner and a decent 48 megapixel camera. It’s a pity that they didn’t bring water protection... But they could: it’s available in the Japanese version of this model.

DIGMA LINX ATOM 3G

The simplest budget employee from DIGMA. As the name implies, it supports 3G networks, but you can’t even dream about 4G. But there are a large number of colors to choose from, including bright ones.

It uses a very small 4-inch display with a low resolution of 800x480 pixels, two cameras, and the front resolution is very tiny - 0.3 MP, and the manufacturer added Spreadtrum SC7731 as a chipset. The memory capacity is small - 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of ROM.

• Dimensions (WxHxD): 64.60x125x10.50 mm

• Screen diagonal: 4 inches

• Screen resolution: 800×480

• Weight: 129 g

• Number of SIM cards: 2

• Processor: Spreadtrum SC7731

• Memory capacity: 4 GB

• RAM capacity: 512 MB

• Battery capacity: 1200 mAh

• Rear camera: 2 MP

• Front camera: 0.3 MP

• Memory card support: yes

iPhone SE 2022 (4.7 inches)

But the iPhone SE 2022 has water protection, as well as wireless charging, and also optical stabilization in the camera. Before the arrival of the Galaxy A52, it was the most affordable current smartphone with options one and three. But the Galaxy A52 is hefty, and the iPhone SE 2022 is tiny. And yes, the model has not yet received a successor, although insiders reported that it is being prepared for announcement in April 2022. But Apple showed us only color Macs, new tablets and some other non-smartphone products.

Which company should you choose?

There are several categories of smartphones.

1. Budget smartphones cannot boast of high performance, but they are easy to set up, reliable and inexpensive. These are Prestigio, Fly, Huawei and Nomi.
2. Image ones are more sophisticated in terms of design . These are NTS, Sony, Lenovo, LG, Huawei, Motorola.
3. The flagships are the most functional, stuffed to the very top with wonderful gadgets . If you spare no expense and choose a model from Apple or Xiaomi, they will pleasantly surprise you.

You can learn more about the ratings of smartphones for a specific price in these articles: models up to 30,000, 25,000, 20,000, 15,000, 10,000, 5,000 rubles.

Huawei P40 (6.1 inches)

A compact flagship from China that gets much less attention than its older brother P40 Pro. On the one hand, it is understandable: the device is specific (if only because of its size) and not so functional, because the P40 was, for example, taken away from water protection and wireless charging. On the other hand, the model still turned out to be interesting - she takes good photos and looks great. True, it does not have Google services - this should be remembered when buying any more or less recent Huawei smartphone. And yes, it’s not a fact that the P40 will have a compact successor (or any successor at all): at Huawei now everything, as they say, is very complicated.

Huawei P40

Ulefone Armor 3T

Dimensions : width – 77.13 mm, height – 158 mm, thickness – 13.8 mm.

Price : 21,990 rub.

For many, a long charge is a priority. This is especially true for those who are always on the go and often use the phone. I would like to immediately please those who have their eye on the Ulefone Armor 3T - it has a huge battery, you will be delighted! The capacity will impress even the most experienced smartphone user - 13,000.

Also obvious advantages include shock resistance and water resistance. You're unlikely to dive into water with your phone, but this bonus is still nice. This stylish phone works well with a walkie-talkie - perfect for cyclists who go on mass walks.

Samsung Galaxy S20 (6.2 inches)

Despite the fact that this model is over a year old, it is still on sale and... well worth purchasing. Simply because it is a) cheaper than the Galaxy S21 and b) also better in some ways. For example, the “twenty” has a glass body, a curved screen with a higher resolution, a MicroSD slot... This smartphone also comes with a charger, which was removed from the Galaxy S21 package. Yes, the Galaxy S20 is a little weaker in terms of hardware, but there is an opinion that in practice you won’t feel the difference. Otherwise, everything is very cool: the cameras are decent, there is water protection, and the design is still relevant.

Samsung Galaxy S20

The most compact smartphones

Palm

• Dimensions : 50.6 x 96.6 x 7.4 mm
• Display : 3.3 inches, IPS, 1280x720

Price: 5,800 rubles

Palm is a compact smartphone that has been sold on foreign markets for several years now. From October 2022 officially available in Russia.

The device turned out to be unusual - its size is slightly larger than a bank card, it has IP68 protection, Gorilla Glass on the display, a battery designed to last a full day, and a Type-C connector for charging. At first glance, it seems that such a baby will have a mediocre filling, but the device offers buyers a Snapdragon 435 chipset, 3/32 GB of memory and a camera - 12 MP on the back and 8 MP on the front. OS – Android 8.1 Oreo.

This is a truly compact smartphone without any reservations, but who could use it? Representatives of the company say that their brainchild is an assistant that will allow you to free yourself from digital dependence and focus on important matters. You can take it with you for a run, workout, important meeting and not be distracted by social networks and other companions of procrastination.

Advantages:

• Nice design.
• IP68 protection.
• Mini size.
• The battery will last for a full working day.

Flaws:

• Not very convenient controls - instead of a navigation panel, one button is used that distinguishes the number of presses.
• No headphone jack.
• It is positioned as an assistant, and not a full-fledged smartphone.

Buy

Unihertz Jelly

• Dimensions : 92.4 x 43 x 13 mm
• Display : 2.45 inch, IPS, 432x240

Price: 17,990 rubles

Here it is - a truly compact smartphone that fits in the palm of your hand and fits into the tightest pocket. It runs on a 1.1 GHz quad-core processor, has 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of ROM and a dual SIM card slot. The camera resolution is 8 and 2 MP for the main and front sensors, respectively. Battery capacity – 950 mAh.

All this runs Android 7.0 Nougat. This gadget is simply ideal for jogging: it weighs only 60 g and is almost unnoticeable in your pocket or shoulder holder. There is also a Pro version. Its differences from the base one are in the expanded memory capacity: 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of ROM.

Advantages:

• Guaranteed to get rid of the habit of sitting on social networks.
• There is a slot for microSD up to 256 GB.
• Supports 4G.

Flaws:

• Poor battery life even taking into account the small screen and weak hardware (according to numerous comments).
• Not enough internal memory.
• No fingerprint scanner.
• Old OS.

Buy

Unihertz Atom

• Dimensions : 96 x 45 x 18 mm
• Display : 2.45 inch, IPS, 432x240

Price: 24,390 rubles

If the goal of your search is a miniature but secure smartphone, take a closer look at the Unihertz Atom. It is slightly larger in size than Unihertz Jelly, and its performance is noticeably higher.

The design hints at the impenetrability of the gadget: the body is shockproof, has IP68 protection against dust and water, and the screen has Gorilla Glass coating. Unihertz has developed a set of sports accessories especially for this model, which includes bicycle and shoulder holders.

The Unihertz Atom uses an eight-core processor (the manufacturer is not named) with a frequency of 2 GHz, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of permanent memory, as well as a 16 MP main and 8 MP front camera. Power comes from a removable 2000 mAh battery. At the end there is a programmable key, there is a USB-C port, a fingerprint scanner and a headphone jack.

Advantages:

• There is a fingerprint scanner.
• Acceptable power.
• Autonomy within 3 days.
• Android 8.1 out of the box.

Flaws:

• Inconvenient to type text.
• Very quiet speakers.

Buy

Samsung Galaxy S21 (6.2 inches)

It's worth buying this device if novelty is important to you. However, if you turn on the radio and think about practicality, it turns out that the plastic case of the Galaxy S21 is more reliable than glass, a flat screen is more convenient than a curved one, and the super high resolution in the Galaxy S20 wastes battery power in vain (however, it can be deactivated by turning on regular Full HD ). So the Galaxy S21 also has the right to life. Although we are not ready to forgive him for the lack of charging included.

Sony Xperia 5 II (6.1 inches)

The Sony Xperia 5 II has a 6.1-inch form factor, but has a 21:9 aspect ratio screen, and is therefore compact even by the standards of all the previous small smartphones in this article. Plus, the device looks unusual: Japanese beauty as it is. The hardware is also decent: from an OLED screen with a frequency of 120 Hz through stereo speakers to last year’s top-end Snapdragon 865 platform. And, of course, let’s remember water protection - a Japanese smartphone is not a Japanese smartphone without it. On the other hand, we can’t resist chiding the Xperia 5 III for its cameras: in this regard, the device lacks stars from the sky. No, he takes good photos, but for that kind of money I would like more. But Sony smartphones are not about cameras at all, to be honest.

Sony Xperia 5 II

Xiaomi Redmi 7A

An ultra-budget answer from Xiaomi, which offers the best smartphone for your money. The only thing the Redmi 7A lacks is an NFC sensor. That is, contactless payment for purchases with this model becomes impossible, which every potential buyer should remember.

Putting aside the impossibility of contactless payment, you can focus on the advantages of the gadget. These include optimization of a weak but stable processor, as well as battery life. Redmi 7A holds a charge for a long time and is able to compete in this indicator with the newer and larger Redmi 9A. Finally, a certain feature of the model is its heavy weight in combination with miniature dimensions.

Pros:

• price;
• optimization;
• autonomy.

Minuses:

• no NFC.

iPhone 12 Mini (5.4 inches)

The cutest smartphone of the 12 series, which, as has been repeatedly reported, is selling much worse than its counterparts and most likely will not receive an heir in 2022. But is this really important if you need a high-quality and prestigious small smartphone right now? Hardly! Moreover, the iPhone 12 Mini has decent cameras, water protection, wireless charging, and Face ID. And for some very recent times, this model has also been available in a pretty lavender design.

iPhone 12 Mini

Sony Xperia 5 III (6.1 inches)

An update to the Sony Xperia II, which, in addition to the Roman unit in the name, received the top-end platform of the latest generation Snapdragon 888, increased memory capacity, improved sound, improved (but still not advanced for such a price) cameras, and so on. In a word, everywhere and everywhere they improved a little - and generated a new model. Again with water protection and again without wireless charging (only the Xperia 1 III has it, but it’s big). At the same time, the compactness remains in place: the Xperia 5 III is again equipped with a 6.1-inch 21:9 cinematic screen with a refresh rate of 120 Hz.

Sony Xperia 5 II

Main evaluation criteria

All the smartphones discussed below were evaluated according to certain criteria, and based on them, an overall rating was compiled:

CPU. Manufacturers install powerful chips in flagship models that can handle the most demanding games and multitasking. However, gadgets from different brands can differ significantly in performance.

Camera. Modern smartphones have more than two cameras with a resolution of 48 megapixels or more. But there are also exceptions. For example, the iPhone 12 has a main sensor of 12 megapixels, but this does not prevent it from creating high-quality images. For many users, the quality of the front camera and maximum video resolution are important. Some flagships are capable of shooting not only in 4K format, but also in 8K.

Screen. There are two main display technologies - AMOLED and IPS. The former have wider viewing angles and produce a rich picture, but are more expensive. IPS is cheaper, but is inferior in image contrast to AMOLED screens. Also, in the case of flagships, the diagonal is important, but since we are considering compact gadgets, we will not chase record sizes. Also, when assessing the quality of the screen, we took into account the maximum frequency, which reaches 90-120 Hz.

Autonomy. It directly depends on the battery capacity, measured in mAh. But everything is not so simple. Smartphones with the same batteries can vary greatly in battery life due to differences in screen sizes, display technologies and other factors.

RAM. The more it is, the easier the smartphone copes with modern games, demanding applications and multitasking. Modern flagships have a memory capacity of 8-16 GB, but not everyone needs such high performance in real life.

Value for money. Another important parameter that flagship buyers pay attention to. The fact is that a high price is not always justified, and sometimes we have to pay simply for a well-promoted brand.

Bonus #1: Google Pixel 5 (6 inches)

We can’t help but remember the Google Pixel 5 - the device is not officially supplied to us, but you can get it (through cross-border orders or from resellers). The smartphone may not be the most advanced for its price, but it has cameras with magical software from Google, which, despite being simple “on paper,” allows you to get absolutely fantastic results. We also note the clean version of Android with the fastest updates, protection from water and... an aluminum case! This is a real rarity: almost no one makes metal smartphones these days, using only glass or plastic.

Google Pixel 5

Why are phones getting bigger and bigger?

New technologies and trends require scaling in size. Here are some reasons why our phones are getting bigger, thicker and heavier:

5G - Regardless of the state of 5G networks , all major phone brands will use 5G support this year. 5G support requires larger batteries and thicker antennas.

Number of cameras - combining multiple cameras requires more space. With quad-camera modules increasingly becoming the norm, phones are also getting bigger.

Camera Size – Not only does the number of cameras affect the size of a smartphone, but the resolution of camera sensors also increases dramatically. Quad-Bayer sensors - 48MP, 64MP, 108MP - thicker.

Larger batteries – People are using their phones more and more and require more power to meet their needs. Our batteries are becoming more compact over time, but still the battery capacity requires constant increase and larger batteries require more space and increase the size of phones.

Fast charging - Batteries that support fast charging require thicker separators between the anode and cathode and must be less dense than batteries with slower charging. So they end up making the phone thicker.

Bonus #2: ASUS Zenfone 8 (5.9 inches)

And for a snack, keep the latest compact flagship - it was presented just yesterday, May 12, 2022. The model is at least not without interest: it has water protection (a first for ASUS), a front camera with autofocus (a rarity for smartphones), and up to 16 GB of RAM, and the most powerful Snapdragon 888. At the same time, there are only two rear cameras, which is probably and it’s good: the user receives only important and necessary modules, but he doesn’t have to pay for useless “plugs” (like cheap 2-megapixel macro cameras). Zenfone 8 is not yet on sale, but will probably appear on Russian shelves soon. It is possible that it will be relatively inexpensive for its capabilities: in Europe the device is priced at 600 euros (about 54 thousand rubles). Similar models from Sony and Apple are much more expensive!

ASUS Zenfone 8

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Unihertz Jelly 2 – 127 mm high

Jelly smartphones from Unihertz has been repeatedly recognized as the smallest device running Android 10 OS . The model is equipped with a 3-inch screen, which is 20% larger than its predecessor. In terms of pixel density of 326 PPI, the smartphone managed to surpass even its larger counterparts.

The performance of such a small device deserves special attention. The combination of the MediaTek Hello 10 processor, 6 GB of RAM and 128 internal memory allows the model to solve the most complex tasks without bugs or freezes.

Unfortunately, it was possible to achieve the small size of the smartphone at the expense of its thickness. Comments regularly appear on the Internet claiming that using the gadget, to put it mildly, is not very convenient.