Apple may have stopped producing the iPhone 13 Mini because we don’t want compact phones anymore, but I get asked about it a lot in my day-to-day life. If it’s already difficult to find compact and powerful handsets, as I found out a few months ago, If you are looking for small and cheap mobile phones, the mission becomes impossible..
AND I know because I checked it: A few weeks ago a good friend of mine asked me for a recommendation. She has a simple Xiaomi Redmi from five years ago, she mainly uses WhatsApp, she occasionally goes on Twitter/Facebook and I love that she takes selfies with us because her camera has what I call “big megapixels” so we always look pretty because the level of detail is just right. Under this premise, her future phone should cost around 200 euros and according to her taste, it should fit well in her hand and pocket. As I said: it was an impossible mission.
Small mobile phones are threatened with extinction. Even though they are cheap, they are no longer available
When you report on and analyze technology, while you tend to be on the cutting edge of what’s on the market, you’re always going to miss things. A good way to do a thorough review is to go to the GSMArena database and use the advanced search. It’s not perfect, but it gives you a considerable amount of filtering to work with.
I set it up to find devices up to 155 mm long (actually I would have preferred 152, but it works in 5s), with iOS or Android and older, at the latest from 2022. Of course, I then applied further filters: Only if it is a high-end phone that was built two years ago would we buy it, as these age better..
You don’t need the latest and greatest, but buying a two-year-old phone with basic hardware is not a good idea as it is unlikely to be updated anymore. Bottom line: If I choose a 2022 phone, it has to be mid-range or high-end. I would set the price myself, check the offers and even open the market for used devices.
Advanced filter in GSMArena
Drama in 77 actsGSMArena delivers 77 results, most of which I can rule out immediately: Either they are foldable like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 or they are high-end like the iPhone 15 Pro, Xiaomi 14, Sony Xperia 5 V, Asus Zenfone 10 or Google Pixel 8. The latter usually costs around 500 euros in the sale, but even that is not exactly cheap. Others like the Sharp Aquos sense8 are not sold here.
What is left for me? A look back and second hand. This boils down to getting high-end devices from previous years or buying devices that are not new, although even in these cases I don’t find any bargains around 200 euros, because the Nokia C2 2nd Edition is a very basic device with Android Go from 2022. I’ve also seen some Cubots, but they were either big or had extremely weak hardware or they were just old.
If the idea Buy a compact and affordable phone that offers a good experienceThe net practically closes around the Google Pixel A. Thus, the Google Pixel 7a of 2023 measures 152 mm, practically the same as the Google Pixel 6a of 2022. Another option: the iPhone SE of 2022 at 138 mm. Looking at the prices on the second-hand market, I see the following: we will not find a mobile phone for less than 200 euros and, given the differences, the best options are the Google Pixel 7a (293 euros) or the iPhone SE (this one in very good condition costs 235 euros).
Paradoxically, the fact that iPhones are more popular than Google phones means that it is easier to find more models of Apple’s compact phone in different versions, prices and conditions. In short: after After an intensive search for a compact and small mobile phone, the result was an iPhone.
Cover | Ivan Linares (Xataka)
