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MagyarThe Best Compact Smartphones
Smartphone with screens smaller than 5.5 inches were standard a short while ago, but devices with 6.3 inches or more are dominating the market right now. This is a a result of the popular aspect ratios 2:1, 19:9 or even 21:9. Then we have a new category of foldable smartphones, so devices with screens bigger than 7 inches will not be unusual in the near future.
Compact devices are still popular, so we want to present the best compact smartphones in the following ranking. The display size ist not as important as the actual size of the smartphone, so devices with a good screen-to-body ratio will benefit. The contenders must not surpass a length of 150 millimeters, but we will also sort out very bulky devices.
The following smartphone ranking might be interesting as well:
The Best Compact Smartphones
Pos. | Datum | Bew. | Bild | Modell | Länge | Dicke | Gewicht | SBR | Größe | Auflösung | OS | Preis ab |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12/2020 Neu | 90 % |  | Apple iPhone 12 mini Apple A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic GPU 4 GB Memory, 128 GB NVMe | 131.5 | 7.4 mm | 133 g | 85 % | 5.40" | 2340x1080 | Apple iOS 14 | |
| 2 | 11/2020 Neu | 90 % |  | Apple iPhone 12 Pro Apple A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic GPU 6 GB Memory, 256 GB NVMe | 146.7 | 7.4 mm | 189 g | 87 % | 6.10" | 2532x1170 | Apple iOS 14 | |
| 3 | 11/2020 Neu | 88 % |  | Apple iPhone 12 Apple A14 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic GPU 4 GB Memory, 64 GB SSD | 146.7 | 7.4 mm | 162 g | 85 % | 6.10" | 2532x1170 | Apple iOS 14 | |
| 4 | 04/2020 | 87 % |  | Huawei P40 HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G ARM Mali-G76 MP16 8 GB Memory, 128 GB | 148.9 | 8.5 mm | 175 g | 87 % | 6.10" | 2340x1080 | Android 10 | |
| 5 | 11/2019 | 86 % |  | Google Pixel 4 Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Qualcomm Adreno 640 6 GB Memory, 64 GB UFS 2.1 | 147.1 | 8.2 mm | 162 g | 78 % | 5.70" | 2280x1080 | Android 10 | |
| 6 | 05/2020 | 85 % |  | Apple iPhone SE 2020 Apple A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic GPU 3 GB Memory, 128 GB NVMe | 138.4 | 7.3 mm | 148 g | 65 % | 4.70" | 1334x750 | Apple iOS 13 | |
| 7 | 10/2020 | 84 % |  | Google Pixel 5 Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G Qualcomm Adreno 620 8 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 | 144.7 | 8 mm | 151 g | 87 % | 6.00" | 2340x1080 | Android 11 | |
| 8 | 09/2020 | 84 % |  | Google Pixel 4a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Adreno 618 6 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.0 | 144 | 8.2 mm | 143 g | 83 % | 5.80" | 2340x1080 | Android 11 | |
| 9 | 03/2020 | 82 % |  | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus Qualcomm Adreno 640 8 GB Memory, 256 GB | 167.3 | 7.2 mm | 183 g | 82.5 % | 6.70" | 2636x1080 | Android 10 | |
| 10 | 04/2016 | 80 % |  | Apple iPhone SE Apple A9 Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 2 GB Memory, 64 GB eMMC | 123.8 | 7.6 mm | 113 g | 61 % | 4.00" | 1136x640 | Apple iOS 9 | |
| 11 | 06/2020 | 79 % |  | Samsung Galaxy A41 Mediatek Helio P65 ARM Mali-G52 MP2 4 GB Memory, 64 GB eMMC | 149.9 | 7.9 mm | 152 g | 85 % | 6.10" | 2400x1080 | Android 10 |
The table above contains an overview over the best compact smartphones reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Editors' Comments
The final quarter of 2020 turned out to be a triple-success for Apple as they secured the first three spots on this list with their iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12, the first of which is truly emperor among dwarfs.
1st – Apple iPhone 12 mini
The Apple iPhone 12 mini is the new and highly anticipated iPhone SE while outperforming the latter at the same time with ease. It is also very similar overall to the larger iPhone 12. Next to other high-end smartphones, the small iPhone 12 mini seems incredibly tiny in comparison. Its 5.4-inch OLED display is very sharp, and the built-in Apple A14 is supported by 4 GB of RAM and either 64, 128, or 256 GB of storage space.
Compared to its Pro sibling the mini’s rear-facing dual-lens camera lacks the telephoto lens, the LiDAR scanner, and support for ProRAW. Apart from that we noted its bright and color-accurate display, its accurate location services, and its Sub6 5G with a wide range of supported frequencies. Due to the smaller capacity battery life was on the short side yet still acceptable.
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2nd – Apple iPhone 12 Pro
The Apple iPhone 12 Pro is a well-made upgrade to last year’s devices with a design language reminiscent of iPhones of yore. The 6.1-inch display turned out to be excellent, and its triple camera is now supported by a LiDAR sensor for 3D modelling as well as portrait mode assistance in low-light situations. The rear-mounted internal magnets are new and support much more than just the brand-new wireless MagSafe charger.
We did not find too many flaws on the iPhone 12 Pro. Its peculiarities are not going to bother long-time iPhone users, and there are almost no annoying limitations worth noting. Except for maybe the lack of Bluetooth High Res Audio support and the fact that 5G is not supported in Dual SIM mode.
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3rd – iPhone 12
The Apple iPhone 12 is practically identical to the iPhone 12 mini from a technical perspective with the only real difference being its 6.1-inch OLED display and consequently larger body at identical thickness. Thanks to its larger case it also features a larger battery ensuring noticeably longer battery life.
In our review we noted its good dual-camera, its accurate location services, and its wide array of supported frequencies. Considering its price, we would have expected a display with a refresh rate higher than 60 Hz. Its speakers also turned out to be mediocre at best.
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4th – Huawei P40
Who says everything needs to be “Pro”? The Huawei P40 is a compact flagship smartphone by Chinese OEM Huawei. Not only does it include top of the line high-end hardware, but it also comes at a surprisingly low price. Its 6.1-inch OLED display runs in FHD+ resolution, and the device is powered by a fast Kirin 990 SoC with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, the latter of which can be further expanded via NM card. The device supports modern communication standards, such as Wi-Fi 6 and 5G, and features a great triple-camera setup.
We liked the P40 a lot during our review but found its lack of wireless charging and its unexpectedly low IP rating lacking. Its biggest downside, however, is the complete lack of Google services.
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5th – Google Pixel 4
The Google Pixel 4 feels great in hand and can be considered a compact smartphone despite its average display-to-body ratio. Its 5.7-inch OLED display supports a refresh rate of 90 Hz. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 855, 6 GB of RAM, and either 64 or 128 GB of non-expandable internal storage. Its dual camera includes an additional 2x optical zoom and took decent photos.
The Pixel 4 also supports wireless charging, 3D face recognition, and comes with an IP68-certification. Even though the Pixel 4 was already a bit older at the time of writing it would still receive at least two more years of updates and offered a great system performance.
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6th – Apple iPhone SE2
Apple’s iPhone SE is based on the iPhone 8 and features the exact same case with identical footprint and somewhat antiquated display to body ratio. In return, its internal hardware is up to date as it features Apple’s fastest currently available SoC as well as numerous other noteworthy features, such as Wi-Fi 6, wireless charging, or an IP67 certification.
All in all Apple did a great job with the SE2, but it is not free of disappointments, namely the included power supply, the fairly limited single-lens camera, and its below average call quality.
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7th – Google Pixel 5
The Google Pixel 5 features a 6-inch large OLED display with a good display-to-body ratio. Unlike its predecessor it no longer has any high-end ambitions but rather a healthy focus on the premium mid-range market. It comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of non-expandable storage. Its plastic case feels great in hand and is IP68-certified against ingress of dust and water. Wireless charging remains supported, the dual camera now includes an extra ultra-wide angle lens, and it continues to take decent photos.
Unfortunately, the Pixel 5 lacks Wi-Fi 6 support and its speakers were actually worse than on its own predecessor.
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8th – Google Pixel 4a
The Google Pixel 4a's main benefits are its compact design and Google’s promise of long-time update support. However, those aren’t its only benefits by far. Its Snapdragon 730G with access to 6 GB of RAM makes for a snappy system performance. Its internal storage may not be user-expandable but at 128 GB it should be sufficiently large for most users. Uncommon for its price class are the support for fast USB 3.2 Gen. 1 speeds as well as a very good headphone jack.
In return, the Pixel 4a no longer supports face detection but comes with a traditional rear-mounted fingerprint reader instead.
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9th – Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is a foldable phone inspired by the design of the folding phones of yore, and thus very compact when folded. It comes with a small Super AMOLED display on the outside that is used among other things to display notifications or control music playback. Unfolded it transforms into a 6.7-inch large smartphone powered by a Snapdragon 855+, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of non-expandable internal storage.
In our review we praised the overall well-thought out concept, the great display, its good cameras, and plentiful connectivity. In return, call quality was mediocre at best.
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10th – Apple iPhone SE
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.
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Top 10 in Comparison
Test Results
| Apple iPhone 12 mini | Apple iPhone 12 Pro | Apple iPhone 12 | Huawei P40 | Google Pixel 4 | Apple iPhone SE 2020 | Google Pixel 5 | Google Pixel 4a | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip | Apple iPhone SE | Samsung Galaxy A41 Mali-G52 MP2, Helio P65, 64 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | |||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 4.4 (2.4, 2) | 4 (2, 2) | 10 (5, 5) | 8 (3, 5) | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 36.8 (9.2, 27.6) | 6.8 (3.6, 3.2) | 8.8 (4.4, 4.4) | 4.8 (2, 2.8) | 31 (17, 14) | 5.6 (2.8, 2.8) |
| Response Time Black / White * | 4 (2, 2) | 3.2 (2, 1.2) | 22 (19, 3) | 6 (3, 3) | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 21.2 (6, 15.2) | 3.2 (1.6, 1.6) | 3.6 (2, 1.6) | 3.6 (2, 1.2) | 22 (11, 11) | 3.2 (2, 1.2) |
| PWM Frequency | 250 (99) | 277.8 | 226.2 | 245 | 367.6 | 367.6 (99) | 255.1 (99) | 245.1 (99) | 245.1 (99) | ||
| Screen | |||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 623 | 822 | 642 | 583 | 554 | 688 | 635 | 705 | 705 | 603 | 554 |
| Brightness | 623 | 820 | 639 | 593 | 550 | 659 | 636 | 707 | 709 | 579 | 559 |
| Brightness Distribution | 98 | 99 | 97 | 94 | 94 | 92 | 97 | 96 | 97 | 93 | 92 |
| Black Level * | 0.28 | 0.88 | |||||||||
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 3.03 | 0.8 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 2 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 2.1 | 3.5 | 2.42 | 5.33 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 7.7 |
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Gamma | 2.21 100% | 2.18 101% | 2.188 101% | 2.301 96% | 2.22 99% | 2.25 98% | 2.23 99% | 2.26 97% | 2.11 104% | 2.21 100% | 2.11 104% |
| CCT | 6258 104% | 6337 103% | 6404 101% | 6621 98% | 6213 105% | 6790 96% | 6492 100% | 6576 99% | 6264 104% | 6955 93% | 6589 99% |
| Contrast | 2457 | 685 | |||||||||
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 62.13 | ||||||||||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 96.74 | ||||||||||
| Heat | |||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 30.1 | 34.2 | 37.8 | 39.9 | 35.5 | 40.5 | 33.6 | 38.2 | 38.8 | 44.2 | 36.6 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 29.1 | 33.5 | 37.3 | 41.3 | 34.5 | 41.4 | 35.5 | 37.1 | 35.8 | 42.8 | 37.7 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 28.8 | 27.8 | 30.7 | 31.5 | 27.2 | 36 | 28 | 27 | 27.7 | 30.9 | 26.2 |
| Idle Bottom * | 26.5 | 26.6 | 30.3 | 30.8 | 26.9 | 31.4 | 26.4 | 26.4 | 27.3 | 26.8 | 26.1 |
| Battery Runtime | |||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 1537 | 2091 | 2602 | 2063 | 1007 | 1938 | 2245 | 2270 | 1741 | 1274 | 1843 |
| H.264 | 968 | 1117 | 1135 | 1052 | 617 | 681 | 1466 | 1045 | 527 | 759 | 998 |
| WiFi v1.3 | 655 | 781 | 945 | 806 | 460 | 694 | 808 | 669 | 647 | 673 | 650 |
| Load | 316 | 311 | 283 | 236 | 185 | 143 | 333 | 225 | 157 | 207 | 268 |
| Power Consumption | |||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 0.62 | 0.64 | 0.9 | 1 | 1.01 | 0.44 | 0.69 | 0.49 | 0.59 | 0.54 | 0.96 |
| Idle Average * | 1.18 | 1.22 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.63 | 1.56 | 0.82 | 0.96 | 0.88 | 1.26 | 1.57 |
| Idle Maximum * | 1.21 | 1.24 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 1.69 | 1.63 | 0.85 | 1 | 0.95 | 1.4 | 1.61 |
| Load Average * | 2.1 | 3.04 | 5.5 | 3.5 | 4.67 | 2.32 | 2.73 | 3.11 | 4.97 | 2.45 | 2.93 |
| Load Maximum * | 5.71 | 3.86 | 10.4 | 6.9 | 8.78 | 4.12 | 4.4 | 5.23 | 8.37 | 6.46 | 4.97 |
* ... smaller is better
Benchmarks
| PCMark for Android - Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei P40 | |
| Google Pixel 4 | |
| Google Pixel 5 | |
| Google Pixel 4a | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip | |
| Samsung Galaxy A41 | |
| WebXPRT 3 - --- (sort by value) | |
| Apple iPhone 12 mini | |
| Apple iPhone 12 Pro | |
| Apple iPhone 12 | |
| Huawei P40 | |
| Google Pixel 4 | |
| Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
| Google Pixel 5 | |
| Google Pixel 4a | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip | |
| Samsung Galaxy A41 | |
| Networking | |
| iperf3 Client (receive) TCP 1 m 4M x10 (sort by value) | |
| Apple iPhone 12 mini | |
| Apple iPhone 12 Pro | |
| Apple iPhone 12 | |
| Huawei P40 | |
| Google Pixel 4 | |
| Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
| Google Pixel 5 | |
| Google Pixel 4a | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip | |
| Samsung Galaxy A41 | |
| iperf3 Client (transmit) TCP 1 m 4M x10 (sort by value) | |
| Apple iPhone 12 mini | |
| Apple iPhone 12 Pro | |
| Apple iPhone 12 | |
| Huawei P40 | |
| Google Pixel 4 | |
| Apple iPhone SE 2020 | |
| Google Pixel 5 | |
| Google Pixel 4a | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip | |
| Samsung Galaxy A41 | |
