Looking for smallish phone with modern SoC

[hybrid2d4x4]

Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some input on updating my dying S4mini. I'm pretty tech savvy but don't really have time to keep up with all the different SoCs being released, much less individual phones.

I'm only looking at small-ish phones (mine is 125mm tall) that nobody seems to release nowadays, so I guess I'll settle for up to a 5" screen. I mostly care about the overall height of the phone, so devices with big top & bottom bezels are out if it's a 5". Side bezels and thickness don't matter (within reason). Other than size, I care about having something on a current process (14/16nm FinFET) and good battery life. My limited usage doesn't justify >USD$600 flagship devices, and those tend to be larger phones anyway, so mostly lower- and mid-rangers for me. Android only.

Please suggest me some phones that fit the above criteria, or at least add to my list of current/new FinFET SoCs to watch for. So far I have the SD 820 & 625, Kirin 650, Exnyos 7870...

Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[poofyhairguy]

Your post basically read like a love letter to the iPhone SE until I got to "Android Only."

Then I went "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

 

[hybrid2d4x4]

You must've also skipped over the part about bezels and overall height. My S4mini is the same height as the the iphone 5 generation (same as SE?) and fits a 4.3" screen where the ip5 only gives you 4". And my s4m has a big top bezel and average bottom bezel.

The older iphones and the current SE are probably the worst offenders in the industry when it comes to screen size : overall size ratio.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The older iphones and the current SE are probably the worst offenders in the industry when it comes to screen size : overall size ratio.

True that.

Anyway, the only small Android phone left with a decent SoC is the Sony’s Xperia Z5 Compact.

 

[paperwastage]

att/tmobile/gsm?

if it's verizon or sprint, you have almost zero choices (verizon, maybe able to get z3compact to work data only)

(gsmarena has a phone finder, i've selected >2014 phones, max 130 height, LTE 2/4, android with touchscreen)

http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2014&nHeightMax=130&s4Gs=2,4&sOSes=2&idTouchscreen=1

 

[cbrunny]

Sony Xperia X Perf is almost there for you. Large top & bottom bezels but I think its still the only 5" screen on the 820 SoC.

Edit: Suppose I should mention I have this phone. No complaints. Exceptional. AMA.

 

[mrochester]

You must've also skipped over the part about bezels and overall height. My S4mini is the same height as the the iphone 5 generation (same as SE?) and fits a 4.3" screen where the ip5 only gives you 4". And my s4m has a big top bezel and average bottom bezel.

The older iphones and the current SE are probably the worst offenders in the industry when it comes to screen size : overall size ratio.

The Galaxy S4 Mini is taller, wider and thicker.

 

[hybrid2d4x4]

The Galaxy S4 Mini is taller, wider and thicker.

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5375&idPhone2=7969

Taller by 0.6mm = same in my books, but the 0.3" difference in screen size is definitely noticeable. My brothers have the 5 and in their cases (and my phone in a case) they are the same height, which is the only dimension that matters to me. I don't want this to come off as apple bashing, but I have zero interest in iphones. I've owned one and didn't like the OS even after jailbreaking and customizing some of it.

att/tmobile/gsm?

None of the above since I'm in Canada. Doesn't matter where it's from. Not looking for anything tied to a carrier, just want to buy an unlocked phone and afaik our carriers here are using the more common frequencies in the world.

(gsmarena has a phone finder, i've selected >2014 phones, max 130 height, LTE 2/4, android with touchscreen)

http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3...dTouchscreen=1

Thanks, though I guess it's pretty telling of how grim things look for small phones when you have to go all the way back to 2014 to get anything smallish. Newest phone on that list is from 1yr ago.


Maybe it'd be more productive to jump on the part B of my original question: are there any other SoCs on 14 or 16nm other than the ones I listed? Performance tier doesn't matter much to me, I just want the latest process and the battery life improvements it brings...

 

[poofyhairguy]

If you want the best Android SoC for battery life that is the Samsung Exynos 8890 (basically the SoC in the international version of the Galaxy S7).

The second best is the Qualcomm 820.

Nothing else is close.

If you don't hate a full 5 inch screen I would outright recommend the international S7 for you.

 

[paperwastage]

None of the above since I'm in Canada. Doesn't matter where it's from. Not looking for anything tied to a carrier, just want to buy an unlocked phone and afaik our carriers here are using the more common frequencies in the world.

there are more options (a lot more low/mid range phones) since you're not american

original link I had required LTE bands 2/4... Removing those requirements, yo have more choices

go play around. think canada uses a mixture of 12/17, 13, 4, 7, depends on your provider

http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2014&nHeightMax=130&sOSes=2&idTouchscreen=1

 

[sweenish]

Allowing for mid-range widens the field, and the S4 mini was definitely mid-range.

 

[Oyeve]

Isn't there an s7 active?

 

[Synomenon]

Is the Snapdragon 810 too old? The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact was a very nice phone. I got to use an international version for a couple of months and I miss it. Small, build quality was pretty good and the international version has the fingerprint reader.

 

[hybrid2d4x4]

I like the Sony 'compact' phones but doesn't the 810 eat through batteries and have overheating issues? Maybe the implementation in this phone is better than the phones reviewed on this site, but I got the impression that the 801/810 era is a shit year for SoCs where they may have gained a bit of performance over the previous year, but at huge cost to battery life and thermals. There are better SoCs out now in terms of efficiency, so that's what I want.

As you can probably tell, I'm on a long upgrade cycle and nowhere in my original post do I mention caring about performance, I just don't want something that's going to be approaching a landline phone in 2 years or less.

The S7 and its variants would fit the bill, but I don't want flagship prices (over $900 in Canada). I was considering the Xiaomi Mi5 (~$450 in Canada) for a while but when I saw how much bigger it is than a non-mini S4, I was put off. Like I said in the OP, I'd rather have a low or mid-range phone on the current manufacturing node.

 

[Adam595]

Xperia Z3 compact is old but I remember it had amazing battery life. It runs a SD801, 3000mah battery vs SD810, 2700mah on the z5 compact. The huawei p9 lite is a good deal in the UK but I don't know if it's available in the US and it's probably too big but I know it runs a kirin 650.

 

[Deeko]

My Sony Z5 Compact gets great battery life (for an Android phone anyway - I've never had an Android phone with *good* battery life). It can get a little warm during heavy usage but it's nothing like the brick of fire that is my wife's GS6. It's small, it's fast, the battery good, the camera is excellent (if a little slow), it's fully waterproof, and it's durable (still not a nick on mine and I'm hard on my phones). It's the way to go if you want a small Android phone, even if it's almost a year old now. Maybe if you hold out they'll release a new model, Sony tends to push out updates fast and furiously, but I do recall them cutting back on their models, so that tactic might not pan out.

 

[linkgoron]

As a (happy) Xperia Z3C owner, I'm really disappointed with the small phone Android market. There have been rumors about small phones, but so far nothing has surfaced. There were rumors (as there always are, apparently) about an S7 mini, and even a HTC 10 mini, but I haven't seen anything concrete. Maybe we'll hear something during IFA (first week of September).

The price of the Xperia X performance might totally crash after IFA, as Sony is still doing its 2 flagships per year routine (it's already going down).

 

[luv2liv]

trying to find wife something small and good for her bday.
the sub 5inch phones are pretty lousy. their OS is ancient or non-upgradable, terrible cam, low ram, etc...
the best 1 i can justify buying is the 5 inch samsung s6 edge. more than good enough to last her and im sure she will enjoy the slightly bigger screen

 

[linkgoron]

There are solid rumors of a new Sony Xperia X compact coming out, hopefully launching at IFA next week.

The fact that it's not an X performance compact or XR compact or whatever, but an X compact probably means that it'll have a 6 series snapdragon and not a 820.

http://www.xperiablog.net/2016/08/25/xperia-xz-and-xperia-x-compact-confirmed-on-sony-site/
http://www.phonearena.com/news/This-is-the-Sony-Xperia-X-Compact_id84521

Edit:
Well, according to the latest rumors the compact will have a 820. Hopefully that's really how it'll pan out.