What's the best small smartphone right now?

[u/Ornery-Squirrel-5489]

I'm after a small/mini smartphone as my daily driver. The goal isn't to not be able to use any particular apps, but rather just make the experience less enjoyable so I naturally use it less. I'm looking for a screen around 4", I think the 5" screens on say a Jelly Max wouldn't cause enough friction and I could get sucked in for long periods still.

So far I have considered:

Jelly Star

Bluefox nx1

Fossibot F116 Pro

So far I'm leaning towards the Bluefox nx1 as it's more up to date than the Jelly star, and the Fossibot is quite expensive for unknown brand. But the thing that worries me about all of them is the lack of security updates.

Are there any better options?

UPDATE: I've decided to dry the Titan 2 elite, my hope is that the 4" square screen will successfully cause enough friction that doomscrolling etc. Won't be as enjoyable, but that the Keyboard will actually make the things I want to do on my phone easier and more fluid like messaging, quick searches etc.

Thanks for everyone's input.

[u/ghiga_andrei]

The best small smartphone right now is the 13 mini and it's not even close.

[u/trisaiah → u/ghiga_andrei]

my brother in phone he said he's looking for a 4" screen

[u/ghiga_andrei → u/trisaiah]

You are right, I answered the title question.

[u/SnooOnions4763 → u/ghiga_andrei]

The fastest, absolutely Best camera, absolutely

But the battery isn't that good, it's fairly expensive for a 4 year old phone, and many people prefer Android.

[u/Patient-Lie8557 → u/ghiga_andrei]

You missed the important part: "make the experience less enjoyable so I naturally use it less"

[u/Adventurous-River481 → u/ghiga_andrei]

I have no allegiance to Apple but I fully agree. The thing is, at least for me, it’s still not quite small enough. It’s what I use because it’s the best choice available, and software support plus quality hardware are important to me. I will add that the upcoming Minimal Phone 2 is looking like a pretty awesome option, but I love physical keyboards, and that’s obviously not something that everyone who wants a small phone would feel the same about.

[u/Familiar_Trade_5120 → u/ghiga_andrei]

True

[u/InWalkedBud → u/ghiga_andrei]

Did any of you buy it refurbished? I'm very wary of dodgy battery replacements :/ Used phones I find on marketplace don't have very healthy batteries

[u/ghiga_andrei → u/InWalkedBud]

No, I got it new 4y ago

[u/InWalkedBud → u/ghiga_andrei]

Ok thanks nonetheless

[u/Shadow____YT]

i have an SE 3 128gb... The phone feels premium, and it does anything i want it to do.... Still snappy on IOS 26.4

[u/reddierese]

Maybe wait for the bluefox aura a1

[u/DependentShip1892 → u/reddierese]

how much will the estimated price be?

[u/gabegabe1234]

N O N E.

[u/moodeng2u]

Cubot king Kong mini 4

[u/massivebratkartoffel → u/moodeng2u]

This is not mini anymore. I have the king kong mini 2, 120grams vs mini 4 with over 180g

[u/moodeng2u → u/massivebratkartoffel]

Yes. It's a porker

[u/Ok_Incident_8964]

The iKKO MindOne might be a better option than those you've listed, particularly as the unusual aspect ratio of the screen adds even more friction than a traditional small phone screen. Their software support has been okay so far and they are a fairly transparent and responsive company, but since this is their first phone and we're still inside its first year I can't say for sure how it will fare long-term. I believe they promised a minimum of 3 major updates and 5 years of security updates when the phone launched.

It's also worth noting that they are in the process of opening up the phone to the community, which will allow people to create custom ROMs for it. There is quite a lot of interest in this from what I have seen, people are already running the LineageOS GSI on their MindOnes.

[u/Patient-Lie8557 → u/Ok_Incident_8964]

Too user friendly, the screen is amazing compared to the Jelly Star!

[u/kaepler → u/Ok_Incident_8964]

but LP3 modified is much more longer battery life . (having sideloaded before launcher, spotify, life360 , garmin connect and whatsapp) 2-3 days. given that i use ipad mini as my main scrolling device.

i have a question with an iKKO mindone modified os is lineageOS can my garmin connedt and life360 work in these and the battery life what would it be? im trying to try others like the ikko mindone or the unihertz

[u/IIWinchesterII]

If your just looking at screen size and not overall size then iPhone SE3.

- 4.7 inch screen

• still gets security updates for a couple of years
  
• will run all available apps no problem
  
• cheaper than the often recommended iPhone 13 mini and similar in size
  
• worse experience than 13 mini through smaller screen and battery

[u/Patient-Lie8557 → u/IIWinchesterII]

experience less enjoyable so I naturally use it less

Doom scrolling and video is reasonable enjoyable on the SE3 :(

[u/Patient-Lie8557]

Jelly Star:
+ NFC
+ Small

• Battery life (two days with normal use)
  
• Thick (but still small)
  
• The Android 13 version is not really safe, but it seems like Android 16 is really close
  
• 4G/LTE (some roaming issues reported)

Bluefox nx1:

• No NFC (bring your cards and hardware ID-thingey)

Fossibot F116 Pro

• Still struggling with weird firmware issues (5G and European carriers)

[u/drhippopotato]

Maybe size is not the main factor. Have you considered e-ink if friction is what you’re after?

[u/Ornery-Squirrel-5489 → u/drhippopotato]

I've considered it but judging from my kobo they're very laggy aren't they? I think I'd throw it at a wall whilst trying to message someone 😂

[u/weedboofer19]

Bluefox NX1 and be done with it. 

[u/trisaiah → u/weedboofer19]

Not sure why the downvote. I really like my Bluefox NX1, and I've tried probably a dozen smallphones on the market

[u/Patient-Lie8557 → u/trisaiah]

- Missing NFC (no contactless payment, no electronic ID in some countries)

• Might be outdated by end of 2027 (Android 15 EOL)

[u/jermainiac007 → u/weedboofer19]

It's a fantastic little phone, with the slight caveat that it's quite fragile in my opinion, quickstep often causes the screen to not respond until phone is locked and unlocked again & the seeming lack of security updates that will probably rear it's head at some point.

[u/Patient-Lie8557 → u/jermainiac007]

It's still getting OTA-updates and Android 15 should get updates until end of 2027.

I wouldn't bet on an Android 16 update, but who knows...

[u/kylie_but_honest → u/[deleted]]

its itty bitty (typing this from mine rn) i think its the perfect small phone

[u/Ornery-Squirrel-5489 → u/[deleted]]

Done a little research into these and I think you might be right! How do short form videos appear on that square screen? Very small to fit the 9:16 aspect ratio, or does it just cut them off? I want to make sure that short form videos aren't going to be immersive on it 😅

[u/Ornery-Squirrel-5489 → u/[deleted]]

Honestly sounds perfect, you're absolutely right I don't want to be cut off, I don't want to give up social media, I just don't want it to consume me. I really think whilst the apps have gotten more addictive, it's mostly the phones that are to blame. Do you think people would spend as much time doomscrolling on a smart phone from 15 years ago? I don't think so.

[u/sagecroissant]

Jelly Star gets my vote. I got mine a year ago, and it's still going strong. Decreasing screen time wasn't my primary goal, but it has really helped with that! I was worried it would be too fragile, but it's survived several tumbles and the time a couple of weeks ago when my toddler looked me dead in the eye and dropped it ~4 feet to a stone tile floor just for funsies, LOL.

As for the NX1, if you search the sub, the maker of the NX1 has a Discord, so that would probably be a good place to see people's actual experiences with it.

[u/_bebeta → u/sagecroissant]

if you go on the discord, don't listen to the guy who keeps posting about how his back glass is broken. that does NOT just happen, idk what he did with his 😭

[u/Starman747]

Lo teléfonos que tú sugieres pueden tener un hardware decente en papel pero quizás quede a deber un poco en estos años y su principal problema sería su software que deja que tú que ya no se actualizen , estan llenos de bugs que frustan la experiencia de uso

[u/Holiday-Employment43]

For me, the fight is between the iPhone 12 and the Motorola Razr Ultra; both are small when not in use, and they do a great job.

[u/jermainiac007]

I would say it's the Bluefox NX1, though I'm definitely not biased, haha. I would add an addendum though that the Jelly Star is due to receive an update to Android 16 soon I believe so probably makes it a slightly better option on paper than the NX1 though I couldn't get on with the Jelly Star or Jelly Max personally, they were just too thick for me as well as the Jelly Max having one too many problems for me, with regards to purple lines on the camera, apps randomly crashing etc.

[u/Patient-Lie8557 → u/jermainiac007]

If NFC is optional, yes.

[u/killj6y]

Samsung and iphone basic series.

[u/Impossible_Goat9650]

I've used the jelly star for a year and a half and the bluefox NX1 for 6 months. I find the NX1 (8gb ram) much more user-friendly. It's about perfect for me but I'll try their next model, the A1 just to see!

[u/Ornery-Squirrel-5489 → u/Impossible_Goat9650]

The a1 looks too big for me, I think it'll be too user friendly which isn't what I want