Talking about counting, so far this year, about 350 smartphones have been launched, out of which about 90 phones have 5 inches or less display. These include the Freedom 251 smartphone from Ringing Bells. But it is not only very difficult to buy it but this phone is also out of stock. However, many of these smartphones are very good and there are some phones that we would not recommend buying.
After all, why are there so few smartphones with small screen sizes available in the market? On this, Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer Shubhajit Sen says that along with the availability of content, fast internet speed is responsible for this.
“70 percent of smartphone users in India stream videos on their phones,” Sen told Gadgets 360 over email. Additionally, audio-video consumption is on the rise with the availability of content in English and regional languages, and It’s a great experience on a big screen smartphone. Mobile brands are directly cashing in on this opportunity and are targeting young people who are keen to use these services.
Micromax started focusing on large screen smartphones about two years back and now it is not easy to find small screen smartphones from the company. But some people want a good phone which can be used with one hand as well as convenient to carry. But it is true that finding such a phone was a challenge for us too.
We asked Gadgets 360 readers on Facebook and Twitter about their preferred screen size. Of the 2,336 respondents, 27 percent said they would prefer a phone with a screen less than 5 inches.
Rishi Seth, founder and CEO of Evoke, a Delhi-based PR and marketing company, told Gadgets 360 that he prefers phones with screen sizes between 4.3 and 4.7 inches. “If the screen is too small, it’s difficult to watch a movie, and if it’s too big, it’s not easy to type with one hand,” he says. He also feels that if the phone screen is smaller than 5 inches, Pictures can be clicked by holding the phone with one hand only. And they are not the only ones who want a smaller screen phone. Readers of Gadgets 360 like Umesh also agree with Rishi. Umesh from Hyderabad told via Facebook that he prefers less than 5 inch display and light weight phone which can be easily held in hand. Harshal Patil, a student from Palgarh (near Mumbai), explained that small and light phones are easy to carry in a pocket.
One out of four people want a smaller size smartphone. But what are the options available in the small screen size in the market?
We started this process with the phones we have reviewed. We found very few affordable and good phones with a display of 5 inches or less. You Unique was launched in 2015 but is still available online for Rs.6,000. The phone has a 4.7-inch screen and in our review, we found the display to be very good for the price. Although the camera and battery life could have been better in the phone, but the overall performance of the smartphone was liked by us (there have been many changes in the market since then but maybe not in the small smartphone market).
Coming in at 4.5 inches screen size, the InFocus Bingo 21 is a smaller smartphone than the U Unique. In the review, we had told the battery of this smartphone is good but apart from this this phone is not very good. On the other hand, the low-cost InFocus Bingo 10 (Review) of the same series proved to be more useless in our review, so we cannot recommend buying it.
The Panasonic Eluga Arc is one option that can easily fit in your hand. We rated it 6 out of 10 in the review just like the InFocus Bingo 21. The Eluga Arc costs Rs 10,000 more, so it is a bit expensive considering its features and specifications.
These phones are included in the Android smartphones reviewed by us and they are available in the market. But there are many such phones which we have not reviewed yet. We also got the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact but it is not available in India.
Asus Zenfone Go, Samsung Galaxy J1 2016, Gionee Pioneer P5L 2016 and Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) also look good in terms of specifications and features but we haven’t had a chance to review them yet.
Atul Jain, Smart Electronics Business, LeEco India, told Gadgets 360 over email that, “Even though the demand for large screen smartphones is on the rise, there are still people who prefer to have pocket friendly smartphones. But it is a fact that 5.5 to 5.7 inch screen smartphones are in demand.
This news is not good for those who want a smartphone that is not oversized. Keshav Bansal, Director, Intex Technologies clarifies, “The big screen smartphone trend is not good for people who want a small phone that can be used with one hand. There is still a consumer segment that wants less than 5-inch screens.” He says, “You can still find small screen phones for sure but these phones are budget smartphones which are a step back from flagships. Are.”
Another reason behind this trend is the thinness of the smartphone. Apart from this, it has become necessary for the smartphone to be thin and wide to give space to the big battery. Budget phones with low resolution screens and weak processors will also reduce battery consumption so the size of the phone is manageable.
Intex’s Keshav Bansal says, “Mobile screen size does not depend on battery size but battery size depends on screen size.” It is decided accordingly. He further added, “Due to this technological advancement, the screen size is increasing which gives more space for bigger battery to support more power.”
But there are some different phones in this trend and you are looking for a small screen phone that does not have to compromise. Apple has several options that are available in sizes less than 5 inches. The iPhone 5s is available for Rs 20,000 and can be a great option for you without stretching your budget. This smartphone can also be discontinued after the launch of the new iPhone in September 2016. It is a good phone for general use. The camera is decent and most games run smoothly without any lag in performance.
The iPhone SE (Review) is the best small screen phone out there. However, we did not like its front camera very much. And the phone still comes with 16 GB of storage space but the rest of the phone is good. If you want to spend a little more money then this is a better phone.
It’s easy to forget that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s have smaller than 5-inch screens, which easily earn them a spot on our list. However, their overall size puts them in the category of Android smartphones with large displays. The performance of the iPhone 6 may not be the same as that of the iPhone 6S, but many people like it very much. If you want a slightly bigger screen than the iPhone SE, then the 6S is the best option in the market. But buying the iPhone 6S about a month before the launch of the next iPhone is not a wise move unless you find a great deal online.
Which is your favorite smartphone in small screen size? You can tell us through the comments below.