It's really slim pickings if you're in the market for a new small smartphone. Apple's newly announced iPhone SE is the only real "small" smartphone with a 4-inch screen that's worth buying. All of the alternatives are basically junk.
All of the major smartphone makers -- Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony, etc. -- have all but abandoned smartphones with small screens. These days, huge phablets and phones with screens larger than 4-inches rule the planet.
We looked high and low for some small phones that didn't suck, but the truth is, we couldn't find any that didn't. Even the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, which are ancient by now, are better than the options listed below.
The only thing the crappy 4-inch phones below have going for them is pricing -- they all cost significantly less than the iPhone SE. (That, or you really want that FM radio.) Nobody should buy them unless you need a burner phone or really only need the basics (messaging, phone and web).
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iPhone SE
Lenovo A1000
Samsung Galaxy V Plus
LG Joy
Microsoft Lumia 430
Release
May 2016
September 2015
July 2015
May 2015
May 2015
Price
$399 (16GB), $499 (64GB)
~$200
~$100
~$80
~$120
Screen size
4.0 inches
4.0 inches
4.0 inches
4.0 inches
4.0 inches
Resolution
1,136 x 640
800 x 480
800 x 480
800 x 480
800 x 480
Pixels per inch (PPI)
326
233
233
233
235
Design
Aluminum and glass
Plastic
Plastic
Plastic
Plastic
Dimensions
4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches
4.90 x 2.52 x 0.42 inches
4.78 x 2.48 x 0.42 inches
4.83 x 2.52 x 0.47 inches
4.74 x 2.49 x 0.42 inches
Weight
3.99 ounces
4.66 ounces
4.34 ounces
4.52 ounces
4.52 ounces
Operating system
iOS 9
Android 5.0
Android 4.4.2
Android 4.4
Windows Phone 8.1
Cellular network
LTE
HSPA
HSPA
LTE
HSPA
Processor
A9 and M9 motion coprocessor
Spreadtrum SC7731
Spreadtrum SC7727S
Qualcomm Snapdragon 200
Qualcomm Snapdragon 200
CPU speed
1.8GHz dual-core
1.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A7
1.2GHz dual-core Cortex-A7
1.2GHz dual-core Cortex-A7
1.2GHz dual-core Cortex-A7
GPU
TBA
Mali-400MP2
Mali-400MP1
Adreno 302
Adreno 302
Storage space
16GB and 64GB
8GB
4GB
4GB
8GB
MicroSD card slot
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
RAM
TBA
1GB
512MB
512MB
1GB
Battery Life
TBA
Removable 2,000 mAh
Removable 1,500 mAh
Removable 1,900 mAh
Removable 1,500 mAh
Charging port
Lightning
Micro USB
Micro USB
Micro USB
Micro USB
Wireless charging
No
No
No
No
No
Quick charging
No
No
No
No
No
Back camera
12-megapixels
5-megapixels
3.15-megapixels
5-megapixels
2-megapixels
Front camera
1.2-megapixels
0.3-megapixels
0.3-megapixels
0.3-megapixels
0.3-megapixels
Fingerprint sensor
Yes
No
No
No
No
FM Radio
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
NFC
Yes
No
No
No
No
BONUS: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
[video id=EybGlzMTE6T0UyCop8RjQrthrxuSykIt]