Notebookcheck's Top 10 Compact Smartphones

The Apple iPhone 11 Pro hardly changed compared to last year's model and is definitely the most compact high-end smartphone. It has a 5.8-inch OLED screen with 2436 x 1125 pixels. The fast SoC always ensures a responsive user experience. The storage cannot be expanded, so you have to choose between 64, 256 and 512 GB SKUs.

The new triple camera now includes an ultra wide-angle lens, which enables really great shots both for pictures and videos. The Apple smartphone once again offers an IP68 certification and supports wireless charging. The significantly increased battery capacity also enables excellent battery runtimes.

Samsung's Galaxy S10e shows that a flagship smartphone from the Korean manufacturer does not have to be overly expensive. The AMOLED screen is 5.8 inches (2280 x 1080 pixels), the smartphone is powered by a fast Exynos 9820 SoC in combination with 6 GB RAM. You also get 128 GB internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD. The main lens of the dual-camera is identical with the other Galaxy S models, and you also get an ultra wide-angle lens, but not the telephoto.

The biggest deficit of the Galaxy S10e is the pretty small battery, which cannot really convince in the review. There are also positive aspects like the IP68 certification, wireless charging as ell as a stereo jack and USB-C 3.1.

The smaller Google smartphone has a 5.5-inch (2160 x 1080 pixels) OLED screen with an aspect ratio of 2:1. The Pixel 3 is equipped with 4 GB RAM and 64 or 128 GB internal storage, which is common for a flagship smartphone from 2018. You should consider the size of the storage, because you cannot expand the storage. In return, there is plenty of space in the cloud. Otherwise, the Google smartphone is well-equipped with USB 3.1, quick charging, wireless charging, a good camera and IP68 certification.

The battery runtime is not great, but sufficient for normal use. The display brightness on the other hand could have been higher.

The visuals of the Apple iPhone 8 are very similar to the previous model. The design is identical, but the rear is now made of glass. this makes it more prone to scratches, but enables wireless charging in return. The display still measures 4.7 inches and Apple did not change the resolution, either. The camera was once again improved and the processor got its yearly update. The iPhone now supports AR content and the entry-level model now has 64 GB storage, twice as much as before. We like the long battery runtime as well as the dust and water protection (IP67), but we still miss the stereo jack and the speakers could be better, too.

The Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact does not really have any competitors in the Android segment considering its size and components. The display is slightly bigger compared to the previous model, but it is still the most compact high-end smartphone. At 5.0 inches (64.52 cm²), the screen appears much bigger than before (4.6 inch, 58.33 cm²), but it is not that big of a change when you convert the surface area of the Sony smartphone to an 16:9 equivalent (4.84 inch). Only the height is a bit unfortunate, since it is a bit thick.

We like the high performance, good camera, and the protection against dust and water. The battery runtimes are also really good despite the comparatively small battery. Similar to the Xperia XZ2, however, we are not really convinced by the speaker.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco has a very noble chassis design. The former high-end smartphone from HDM Global is also one of the few devices, which is still equipped with a 16:9 OLED screen, which also offers high pixel density. The battery capacity might not be very high, but the battery runtimes are still very good.

Only the cameras are an indicator for the age of the smartphone, although the results in daylight are good and even the low-light results are okay. Besides the usual wide-angle, the camera also offers a telephoto. The Nokia smartphone is also waterproof and supports wireless charging.

With the iPhone SE, Apple has ventured to create a powerful new edition of the iPhone 5s and put the big iPhone's up-to-date hardware into an extremely compact case. The user does not have to accept compromises in performance or features here, since the iPhone SE also uses the powerful Apple A9-SoC.

Among others, the smartphone could impress with a high-end chassis, a great GPS receiver, good battery runtimes and a display with precise colors in our test. However, the latter has quite a high black value. Moreover, the NFC chip remains reserved for Apple Pay as in other Apple products.

The only disadvantage of the device is that there is only a 16 GB and a 64 GB variant.

The Samsung Galaxy A40 has a 5.9-inch Super AMOLED panel and a great screen-to-body ratio. The smartphone is equipped with a mainstream SoC, 4 GB RAM as well as 64 GB internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. The dual-camera has an additional ultra wide-angle lens and convinces with decent shots during our review.

We also like the long battery runtimes as well as the high build quality of the A40. The display on the other hand could have been brighter and the voice quality can be improved as well.

The third generation of the Samsung Galaxy A3 brings several notable improvements. The camera lens are flush with the case now, a USB Type-C port is available, and the smarpthone is protected against dust and water according to IP68. It uses a fast SoC, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB internal storage. The storage capacity can be expanded with a microSD card. Cameras and battery runtimes are also really good. The display has a diagonal of 4.7 inch and uses Samsung's Super AMOLED technology. Its resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels is good and the display can get very bright.

The Sharp Aquos C10 is very light and has compact dimensions. it also features an IPS display with the pretty unique aspect ratio of 17:9. Inside, we find typical mainstream hardware with the Snapdragon 630 in combination with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. The second lens of the good dual-camera only collects depth information.

The C10 manages impressive runtimes in our review, despite the small battery. It can also convince with its bright panel as well as the fast WLAN module. The LTE bands on the other hand are limited and the voice quality is also pretty mediocre.