I challenge you to find me a great affordable compact Android phone (that’s not the Pixel 8a)

After doing some extensive research on Amazon and eBay, I realized that finding an affordable Android phone that’s not super large is a very tricky task…Sure, there are great mid-range and budget phones that won’t break the bank, such as the Galaxy A35/A55, Motorola Edge 50 Fusion, Nothing Phone 2a, and the OnePlus Nord 4 (to name a few)… The problem is that they are huge compared to my mum’s Galaxy S9.

Why is that? Well, because most people seem to want phones with large displays nowadays – even budget and mid-range phones are now large.

The thing is that “the majority of people” doesn’t quite mean “everyone”… Not everyone wants a big phone. In fact, nobody in my family does.

Right now, the only option for those who want a compact phone that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg is the Google Pixel 8a, but that’s not what I’d call “having choice”. It’s also not what I’d call a “budget” phone.

Another way to go is to buy a used/refurbished old flagship like the Galaxy S23, Pixel 8, or iPhone 14 (or older models) – but this doesn’t fill the gap in the market, and (although I don’t mind) many people would prefer to buy a brand new device.

There’s a big gap in the market for compact and affordable phones: Samsung, Apple, and Chinese phone-makers need to do something about it

So, here I am… Asking if there are any phone-makers who want to fill the “affordable compact phone” gap in the market, and help me find my parents a new phone.

At the moment, with the upcoming Galaxy S24 FE getting a 6.7-inch screen (up from 6.4-inch on the Galaxy S23 FE), it looks like our compact phone hopes will fall on the shoulders of the rumored iPhone SE 4. But the iPhone is… an iPhone – not an Android.

Motorola is about to launch the Edge 50 Neo, which might have a relatively compact screen (around 6.5-inches), and while that’s not something I’d call “compact”, it’s certainly a bit better than 6.7-inches.

Not everyone wants a large phone – the best-selling smartphone in the world has a 6.1-inch screen (but it’s not an Android)

Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo make excellent affordable phones but they all have one thing in common – most of them are large, because they are supposed to present the best value even when compared to more expensive phones from Apple, Samsung, and Google. But “the best value” means different things for different people.

I see and understand the trend – most people want larger phones. But “most” people aren’t “all” people. In fact, the best-selling phone in the world (right now) is the iPhone 15, which has a 6.1-inch screen. If anything, this proves one-hand-friendly phones are here to stay!

But let’s make more of them… and make them cheaper… please.