The 9 Smallest Cell Phones You Can Currently Buy

Even as bezels shrink and convenient features such as the headphone jack disappear from our phones, these devices have seemingly inexplicably grown ever larger. As the line between phones and tablets becomes well and truly blurred, it's understandable that many people now desire a more portable and pocketable mobile phone. Sadly, such petite devices have grown increasingly few and far between. Miniaturization requires sacrifice in most cases, and in the endless smartphone arms race, it's all about power, cameras, and maximizing screen real estate. Small phones are unable to compete in the war for mobile supremacy.

Despite this, there are still good options out there for less obtrusive phones. From flip phones as basic as they are affordable, to cutting-edge folding screen devices that offer flagship power in a diminutive pocket-friendly form factor, to more traditional smartphones that appear to have been hit by a shrink ray, there are compelling tiny phones to be found even in this age of the phablet.

The Zanco Tiny T2 is an honorable mention for this list. It is a scant 1.8 x 0.8 x 1 inch, which gives it a total volume of 1.44 cubic inches. Unfortunately, the phone is no longer being produced, although you can find it on sites like Amazon or eBay from third-party sellers. If it were still available, it would be the smallest phone on the list.

The Moto Razr Plus is a tiny phone with a familiar form factor. The foldable, when unfurled, measures 6.73 x 2.91 x 0.59 inches, which is a total volume of 5.484 cubic inches. That narrowly beats out the Asus Zenfone 10 as the largest phone on our small phones list today. Its small physique is augmented by a 3.6-inch screen on the cover. Opening the phone reveals a surprisingly large 6.9-inch display, making it one of the largest displays of any phone on the list. 

Motorola packs a lot into this little phone. The cover screen is meant to do a lot of the heavy lifting with basic functions like looking at text messages or performing light web searches. Once open, the phone looks and acts like most other 6.9-inch phones on the market, although it is demonstrably thinner. One of the reasons for that is the phone's smaller-than-average 3,700 mAh battery. It still lasts a while, especially if you lean on that cover screen, but thicker smartphones are that way so that they can house larger batteries. Performance on the phone is okay, according to our review, so it's a perfectly serviceable small phone. 

The phone is available on Amazon and Best Buy unlocked for $999.99, although it consistently goes on sale for less than that. You can also get the phone from T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. While it is the largest phone on the list, it's smaller than most other phones, and once folded, it's super easy to slide into a purse or a pocket.

If you're looking for a cheap smartphone, BLU has you covered. This thing runs for well under $100, although it's admittedly getting a bit more difficult to find these days. The phone is 4.89 x 2.53 x 0.43 inches, resulting in a total volume of 5.320 cubic inches. This phone was launched in 2018 and runs budget-level specs from 2018. That means you'll probably want to skip over this one since there are sub-$100 phones on the market that are newer than this one. 

What you do get is a relatively light, small smartphone that can do the most basic stuff. It houses a 4-inch display with a 480p display. That means it's not even a regular HD display. It also houses a surprisingly small battery at 1,300 mAh. What's curious is that there are phones on this list smaller than the BLU C4 with larger batteries. We'll chalk it up to age and let BLU have a pass this time. The Mali-400 CPU is also quite old — you won't be able to do all that much more than make phone calls, browse the web, or slowly scroll social media. 

It's available in limited quantities on Amazon, but you'll likely have better success finding this one on eBay and other reseller websites. This is not the most impressive phone on the list, but it fulfills the qualifications of being small. It also reinforces the unfortunate stereotype that small phones aren't as good as big phones. 

A tiny, fashion-focused smartphone, the Cubot Pocket has a more interesting design that sets it apart from the nearly identical slabs that are typical of modern phones. Its attractive colors and textured back are appealing, and designed to make it more durable to better stand up to outdoor activities or being tossed into a cluttered handbag. It's more compact than the iPhone 13 Mini, with a petite 4-inch display that's smaller than the screens found on all but a handful of current phones.

Its camera quality and screen quality are acceptable in a phone with such a low price point, as are its admittedly rather slow processor and 4GB of RAM. While it only has 64GB of storage, that's fortunately expandable via a microSD card slot, which is something most other manufacturers have sadly abandoned. If you're looking for a stylish, budget-friendly tiny phone, the Cubot Pocket is an attractive option. 

The Cubot Pocket is available for $149 on Amazon and measures 4.69 x 2.28 x 0.49 inches — the total volume is 5.240 cubic inches

The Cubot KingKong Mini 2 Pro is an interestingly designed smartphone. The shell and design look like something from the early 2010s, and honestly, that's okay. This phone is 4.69 x 2.28 x 0.49 inches for a total volume of 5.240 cubic inches. That means it's tied with its stablemate, the Cubot Pocket, in size. As its rugged design suggests, the phone is water and dust-resistant. The shell is thick enough that you don't feel like you need to wear a case with this one. Plus, it has a microSD card slot, which is always a nice touch. 

In terms of performance, it's not half bad. It runs Android 11, which is a bit old at this point. However, the specs are good enough to reasonably do things like scroll TikTok or send text messages without difficulty. If you push it with something like a heavy mobile game, then you'll likely wind up a bit disappointed, but to be honest, playing games on its 4-inch screen might be a little rough on the eyes anyway. The 3,000 mAh battery should also last you all day without much drama.

For availability, this one is a bit funky. It's available on AliExpress for $249.99, although it goes on sale fairly frequently for north of 50%. You may be able to find some on reseller sites like eBay, but larger retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy don't seem to have them in stock very often. 

The BLU Advance L5 is another budget-oriented smartphone with a small form factor. It measures 4.91 x 2.57 x 0.41 inches, which gives it a total volume of 5.174 cubic inches. Like most BLU models, it comes in a variety of colors and at a low price point. Otherwise, it's not considerably different from BLU's other devices released around the same time. It runs Android 8.1 Oreo, which is practically paleolithic at this point. You're not getting the latest in smartphone tech from this phone. 

For specs, it's very similar to another small smartphone that BLU makes, which is the BLU C4. It has the same 4-inch screen at 480p, the same CPU, RAM, storage, and even battery size at 1,300 mAh. That means this thing won't particularly fly through anything, but it's strong enough to send texts, make phone calls, browse the web, and scroll social media. This is a phone that technically runs Android, but it might as well be a feature phone. 

The lack of performance makes sense when you look at the price. This commonly goes for as low as $29.99 on Amazon. At that price, it's difficult to expect much more than the BLU Advance L5 delivers. On the plus side, the phone is unlocked and usable on the big three carriers in the U.S., although mobile data won't be quick. Like the C4, this phone is becoming increasingly difficult to find in the wild, so it'll likely be discontinued sooner rather than later. 

Samsung made a surprisingly small smartphone with the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The phone measures 6.50 x 2.83 x 0.27 inches, which results in a total volume of 4.967 cubic inches. That gives it the distinction of being one of only four devices on the whole list that squeezes in under five cubic inches. Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 has identical measurements, so both phones would occupy this spot on the list. This is also one of the most recently released small phones on the list with a release date in 2023. The Moto Razr+ is the other 2023 phone on the list. 

Like most foldables, there is a give and take when it comes to design and performance. You lose out on dust resistance due to the hinge mechanism. However, Samsung makes up for it by having an excellent overall design, a great camera system, and a powerful processor. Plus, the 3,700 mAh battery is larger than most of the small phones on this list, which is an impressive feature for Samsung. The battery life isn't great thanks to all of the horsepower, but it's certainly better than competing small smartphones. 

We'd go so far as to say this is arguably the best small phone on the list with its excellent screen, small stature, and up-to-date specs. However, you'll pay for it. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 sells for $999.99 when it isn't on sale on online retailers such as Amazon. It is available on all U.S. carriers so you can usually get it at a discount or for a payment plan if you go that route. 

Checking the boxes for both small size and rugged build quality, the Unihertz Atom is the result of a successful kickstarter campaign. It's only 3.8 x 1.8 x 0.7 inches, runs Android 9 and is one of the smallest fully functional smartphones available. Its 4GB of RAM and older CPU mean you won't be playing demanding mobile games, but it does have all the basics you expect in a smartphone, such as cameras, fingerprint and face ID, and USB Type-C. Though it's certainly getting on in years, the age of the Atom does mean you get the increasingly rare luxury of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

What's really important here is its aforementioned small size and its remarkable durability. The Atom boasts an IP68 waterproofing rating, and with a shock-resistant design and Corning Gorilla Glass display, it's clearly meant to survive the rigors of even the most rough-and-tumble lifestyle. This would be an excellent phone for hikers, climbers, kayakers, and all manner of other outdoors enthusiasts. You can purchase this phone from Unihertz on Amazon for around $240.

Note that the Palm Phone below has the same height as the Unihertz Atom. The Palm Phone is wider than the Unihertz Atom, but thinner and significantly lighter — and both devices are the same height. The Palm Phone weighs in at 62.5 g (2.22 oz) while the Unihertz Atom weighs a comparatively hefty 300.5 g (10.6 oz) — Unihertz also lists the phone with a weight without the battery, but since we cannot use the device without the battery, that weight is meaningless for this list.

The Unihertz Atom measures  3.8 x 1.8 x 0.7 inches, with a total volume of 4.788 cubic inches

While it's not as compelling as the iPhone 13 Mini (which you'll see lower on this list, too), the Apple iPhone SE (2022) is a slightly more affordable iPhone that will easily fit in both your pocket and your budget. While the iPhone SE (2022) is very slightly larger and heavier than the iPhone 13 Mini, the SE has a screen that's 0.7 inches smaller than the Mini due to the beefy bezels surrounding the display on the SE. Just to get the bad news out of the way more quickly, the screen on the SE also suffers in terms of brightness and sharpness compared to the Mini and is afflicted by decreased storage and battery capacity. A greater loss still is that the SE lacks an ultra-wide camera, though fortunately, the single 12MP camera it does sport is capable of capturing pleasing shots.

With that said, there's a lot to recommend the SE — primarily its price point, which is $300 less than the iPhone 13 Mini. Also, while the SE is taller and wider than the Mini, it's thinner, and it's powered by the same A15 chip as the SE. It measures 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches and has a total volume of 4.188 cubic inches. The iPhone SE (2022) may not be the best iPhone or the best tiny iPhone, but it does deliver remarkably good value for money given its attractive price point. 

It's available starting at $351 on Amazon, but that's locked into a carrier contact. If you want an unlocked one you'll have to opt for a renewed phone. 

The concept of the Palm Phone is slightly unusual. It is officially only referred to as the Palm and is meant more as a companion to a smartphone. Think of it as being halfway between a smartphone and a smartwatch. The Palm is designed to work alongside another smartphone, the idea being that with the Palm you can leave your large, primary phone at home and carry the more portable 3.8 x 1.99 x 0.29 inch (total volume is 2.193 cubic inches) Palm instead. Users have the option of using it standalone with a separate phone number and data plan or connected via Numbershare to an existing line so that it shares their current phone number.

The Palm features a "Life Mode" which silences incoming calls and notifications every time you turn the screen off. When you turn the screen on it goes back to functioning normally. This helps prevent unwanted interruptions and minimizes the influence your phone has over your daily life. It's still a fully functional phone, with cameras, Android 8.1 (at launch), and a minuscule 3.3-inch display. It's even got an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, making it even more attractive, as you don't have to worry so much about it getting damaged by accident.

While the Palm was originally only sold by Verizon to customers who already owned another Verizon phone, it's now available unlocked and works with most major US carriers. You can pick it up for $199 on Amazon.