The iPhone SE is finally in India, and it’s got a lot going for it. After all, it’s the only truly small phone in the market, right? Wrong. While the iPhone SE may be uber powerful, and thanks to Apple’s vertically integrated system, amazing to use, it’s definitely not the only compact phone in the market.
In fact, there may be a problem in the assumption that people want a small screen phone. Do they really? Or do they want a more compact phone.
Apple iPhone SE. (Photo Courtesy: Apple)
The iPhone SE may be powerful, but its 4-inch display just doesn’t suit things like video streaming. On top of that, there’s the price. So, without further ado, here are five compact smartphones that you can buy instead of the iPhone SE.
OnePlus X
OnePlus X. (Photo: The Quint)
The OnePlus X may be powered by an old processor, but the Snapdragon 801, to this day, remains amongst Qualcomm’s best. It’s a quad-core processor that does the job. If this was an Apple device, they’d have said, “it just works.” It has a premium glass body to boot. So, you can’t really complain about the build either.
Sure, it’s bigger and heavier than the iPhone SE, but this may be the right size for smartphones any way. The 5-inch display suits those who watch a lot of movies, or subscribe to services like Netflix. In addition, the screen is vibrant and really good for its price. Speaking of which, it costs less than half of what the 16GB iPhone SE costs!
Honor 7
Honor 7 (Photo: The Quint)
Pound for pound, the Honor 7 is bigger, heavier and less powerful than the iPhone SE. That said, it costs much less than the SE, it has a top class camera, it does day to day tasks admirably and it’s almost the same size as the OnePlus X. It’s one of Huawei’s best smartphones till date and is again a good compact smartphone to buy.
Samsung Galaxy S7
Samsung has even enhanced the edge features on the S7 Edge. (Photo: The Quint)
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge is the best Android smartphone in the market right now, and it’s also the only phone that beats the Galaxy S7. Yes, India doesn’t have the Snapdragon variant yet, but the Exynos 8890 is a beast of a processor. It’s fast, it has a camera that can take the iPhone SE’s camera for a ride any day, and it’s really compact. If a flagship compact phone is what you want, the Galaxy S7 Edge is the one to go for.
Read the review of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge here.
LG Nexus 5X
LG Nexus 5X. (Photo: The Quint)
Ok, this one doesn’t have the premium metal or glass build that the other phones on this list do, but when it comes to power, the Nexus 5X is right up there. Combined with the fact that Google improved the camera this time, it’s easily one of the best smartphones in the market today. The Nexus 5X is another phone that just works, that too at very affordable price tag. Considering it yet?
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact. (Photo: The Quint)
Sony never launched this smartphone in India, but if you can get your hands on one, it’s a really good device. In fact, people overlook how much work Sony has done to enhance gaming on this smartphone. It’s barely bigger than the iPhone SE and Sony did a good job taming the Snapdragon 810’s heating issues. Overall, the Xperia Z5 Compact is a really good smartphone, with a 4.7-inch display and top-of-the-line camera. It’s a very good choice for compact smartphone lovers.
(Som Dasgupta is a freelance journalist who thrives on everything tech. After all the time he’s spent around technology, he’d like to think he’s turned into a robot.)
