Suggestions for a very compact android phone - under 5.5 inches ...

[Bonefish Blues]

If you've increased your budget I'd not be looking further than a Pixel 8 or 9. Pure Android, without all the bloatware that comes with Samsung and the like, and supported fully for another 4+ years.

I've had a Pixel 8 Pro since new (which is rather too large for your requirements) and I'll be keeping it for many years yet.

 

[alicat]

Have you considered just getting a replacement battery?

Yes, I started from that position; however I don't get on with the Apple OS and my current health diagnosis has made me realise that it's time to have things around me that bring me joy, including an operating system that feels more intuitive.

 

[DRM]

https://www.giffgaff.com/mobile-phones?sort=price-asc
You could have a look on GiffGaff above, filter out iPhones, then sort price ascending to see if anything fits your requirements, both new or refurbished

 

[Electric_Andy]

If you've increased your budget I'd not be looking further than a Pixel 8 or 9. Pure Android, without all the bloatware that comes with Samsung and the like, and supported fully for another 4+ years.

I've had a Pixel 8 Pro since new (which is rather too large for your requirements) and I'll be keeping it for many years yet.

I'd second that. I have a Pixel 7 and £ for £ it's better than the previous phones I've had, which have been quite a few due to accidental damage. I've had Samsung Galaxy 7 (actually the best phone I had but after 5 years my gf smashed the screen). Then a Motorola flagship 5G which was ok but quite buggy, then a galaxy S10 which would sometimes bug out/crash. I then decided I wasn't going to pay Samsung Galaxy prices when the phones weren't much better or robust than cheaper models. The Pixel 7 has been great if you don't want/need all of the expensive add-ons like optical zoom camera.

You probably won't find any new/old stock 7s now but you may find an 8. I'd absolutely go brand new, unless you can get a reliable 1 year warranty on a used one. All the used ones I've had in the past have had either battery or screen issues which seemed to appear just after the warranty expired.

Edited to add: I would not sacrifice a good phone like the Pixel for something inferior with a small screen, unless you really don't need a smart phone. A new larger screen looks massive at first but after a while it becomes normal

 

[chrisleuty]

I have the iPhone13 Mini, about 5 years old and, like the op, am not happy with the battery, but I also don't want want to get a bigger phone. I am not a particular fan of IPhones, but then my use of the phone is so limited technically that I don't notice any difference between IOS and Android so I'll probably end up having a new battery fitted

It cost me £85 for Apple to fit a new battery in my 13 mini last September and it's working fine with iOS 26. I expect it will get iOS updates this year and next but from 2028 it'll likely be a countdown before apps stop being supported. So even if the phone itself is still working, its usefulness will start to diminish. I don't want a bigger phone but I can't see that something iPhone mini sized will ever get launched again. Ho hum…

 

[alicat]

Quick update:

I bought a grade B Google Pixel 9 Pro at CEX. 256mb of memory. To my eye, it looked new. The cost to change was £415, of which £32 was cases, screen protector etc. I got £92 trade-in for my iPhone 12 mini.

I cut a bigger hole in my leather case and a very plastic slim case to fit inside. The phone plus inner case is about 3mm longer than the outer case but even with my picky eye that's not bothering me.

I feel very pleased to have an Android again. It ties in very well with my Google Chromebook. I just need to keep an eye on the cost for paying for Google Drive/other storage online capacity.

Josh at CEX in Lichfield was very helpful and explained how to buy the Google Pixel so that I could take both phones home to transfer the data and then trade in the iPhone. He patiently answered all my questions and adapted his approach to my recent memory loss. I knew that I could get a better price by buying the phone online but I also knew that I wouldn't get round to selling the iPhone if I did it that way.

I'm a very happy bunny and grateful for all your input. Thank you.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Glad you got something suitable. I have just got a new pixel 9a (on contract) and it's basically the same as my old 7a but with more gadgets in the camera app. Hopefully I won't break this one. It's an expensive way of doing it but I got a fairly good deal with IDMobile and cut my data from 100gb to 25gb, as I was only using about 3Gb/month anyway.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Good choice, and nice to hear a story like that about a shop too - in an increasingly online world it's sometimes good to actually go and talk face to face with someone who can advise.