The Best Small Phones for 2024 (2024)

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Buying Guide: The Best Small Phones for 2024

How Big Is Too Big?

Smartphones have increased in size, but our hands haven't. Way back when LG launched its G2 smartphone in 2013, the company said that most people could comfortably hold a phone as wide as 2.8 inches. That might be why the base size for Samsung's flagship Galaxy S phones and Apple's base iPhones has hovered between 2.7 and 2.8 inches for years.

Left to right: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, S24+, S24 (Credit: Eric Zeman)

Palm breadth tells you how wide a phone can be before it falls out of your hand; thumb length tells you how wide a screen can be before it's inoperable with one hand. According to an old NASA study a HealthLine article mentions, the average handbreadth is 3.1 inches for women and 3.5 inches for men. The Center for Construction Research and Training estimates are a bit lower: 2.91 inches for women and 3.3 inches for men. A New York Magazine story cites a US Army study that claims the average thumb length is 2.74 inches for men and 2.49 inches for women. So, that 2.8-inch phone width from LG is just a hair wider than the full reach of the average male thumb.

We've used the 2.8-inch-wide measurement as the maximum width for phones to be eligible for this roundup, but it’s getting progressively more difficult to find phones that meet this requirement. As such, a couple of phones on the list are just a hair over the 2.8-inch mark. Many people might still find these phones to be a bit wide for one-handed use, but small phone beggars can't currently be choosers.

Why Are Phones Getting Bigger?

The push toward mobile internet and video consumption originally drove the growth of phone screens. With phones now serving as people's primary window to the internet and preferred canvas for myriad video streaming services, bigger screens are now more compelling than smaller ones.

Left to right: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro (Credit: Eric Zeman)

When the physical size of hands stopped manufacturers from making phones wider, they still went taller, pushing the screen height-to-width ratio from the common 16:9 to 19:9 or 19.5:9. Sony has gone as far as 21:9, making very tall, narrow phones that beautifully display 21:9 video originally intended for wide-screen TVs. If you care about "small" only in the sense of reaching across your phone, one of those phones might be a good option.

People like bigger batteries, too, and the easiest way to pack in a bigger battery is to make the phone bigger. Unlike other technologies, battery capacity has been extremely resistant to technological improvement—try to get too smart at squeezing more battery capacity into a smaller space, and you end up with a problem.

Finally, phone makers want to charge more. There's a deep theme in the American consumer culture that bigger is better and is worth more: bigger cars, bigger houses, bigger TVs, and bigger phones. It's been difficult for phone makers to convince consumers that something small still holds value.

If you're looking for a small phone because you find big screens distracting or exhausting, small voice phones are worth considering. These little flip phones fit just as well in your hand now as their ancestors did in 2006.

The Future of Small Smartphones

Alas, it looks like small smartphones will remain a niche market. For example, Apple ceased selling the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini because they sold so poorly. Samsung and Sony are sort of keeping smaller premium devices in their lineups. Folding phones (specifically those that mimic the design of old-school flip phones) are also worth considering, as they are at least pocketable.

Still thinking big? Check out our roundup of the best phones overall.

Dave LeClair and Sascha Segan contributed to this story.