Hello all. My wife is after a new phone and she has stipulated she wants a good 4 ish inch android phone. I haven't bought a new phone for 5 years so any help would be appreciated.
Main categories it needs to fit:
Decent price (I'd prefer sub $400)
Good battery life
Good resolution
Micro sd slot
Aussie stock (not grey import)
Have done a little research and it seems the Sony Z3 compact is a standout in that class but wondering if there are others out there that fit the bill.
Thanks
Yeah you are correct about the size, I probably should have said sub 5 inches. In fact I'll update the title to reflect that
IIRC, the S5 mini is junk performance wise compared to the Galaxy S5. I think Samsung just wanted to call it the S5 mini so it would sell better.
Z3 compact is a good bit of kit.
Was a little small for me so I upgraded. It had a great battery life, easily 2 days with moderate usage, has solid hardware, and although the screen is only 720P it was still pretty good. Only annoying thing was the charger was under a flap because of the water resistance rating, but it has an external magnetic charger contacts you can buy a cable for separately so you don't have to fiddle with the flap all the time.
Thanks for your input, another tick in the z3 box
small battery and only 720p
Unfortunately no Aldi in my state :( also seems like consensus here that the S5 mini isn't very good
Actually its not a bad choice and the battery is removable, meaning you can have as many battery as you want to replace it.
but concrens are old android v5.1.1 (Lollipop), CPU (Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A7) and TouchWiz UI.
Also camera is far worse than Sony Z3
HTC One m8
Thank you, I had not considered the m8, will show my wife
It is very hard to find a phone with good battery and price locally at this size.
Sony z5 Compact is too expensive
iPhone 5s has no SD card slot.
Sony Z3/ Z3 compact I don't think they're avaliable in AU anymore.
Sony M5 this model has been cursed, full of problem.
Huawei P8 5.2", SD card, decend battery Endurance rating 64h, $439Note: Huawei only provide one year local warrenty in Australia.
You need to look for sub 5.5" mobile.
Moto X Play should be your best choice, 5.5" FHD screen with 3600mAh battery, some vodafone store should still have it, if you cant get it outright, just get a $30 month to month plan and cancel it later. it was $518 when launched last September, so you can bargain abit about the price.
Moto Z Play is 2016 model and should be avalible this year if you can wait.
Moto G4 Plus is a good choice with decend battery at below $399
If you dont mind 6" mobile, there is a few more options with 4000mAh battery.
OPPO R7 Plus
Huawei Ascend Mate7 you can try to bargain a good price here since Mate 9 is coming this year.
Thanks for your detailed reply. She is going from a Note 2 (cracked screen, sick of having a big phone) and really wants something smaller so it really does have to be under 5". At this stage I'm leaning towards the z3 if I can actually get local stock
Good Luck.
Phone at 4.7" or smaller will only have 720p screen and 2000mAh battrey.
but since Note 2 is 720p as well, the only problem is the battery or price.
Here is a list you should look at.
Special mention "Panasonic Lumix CM1" 4.7" 1080p, 2600mAH (but camera use alot), BEST camera (even better than s7/note 7), if you can still get one at $499
Actually I find it lol, ask him if its still under warranty. or you can look at some camera store.
Only downside is, Panasonic wont update their mobile operating system, so it will be with android 5.0 forever.
Thanks again, you obviously know your phones. $499 is too much unfortunately. Am working through your link atm
Subway have good Subs but they are six inch. I recommend Windows phones because most Androids with small screens have lousy performance.
If OP cant find a local brand new z3(extremely likely), grey import still not an option and his wife doesn't use medium to low demand apps, yes windows phone is better option.
She had a Windows phone once and hated it, so no go. It's more my issue about the grey import, I'm paranoid about lack of support if something goes wrong with it
Some grey import come with 12 months 3rd party local australia warranty, so if you dont mind. i.e. this one. pay with paypal gives you a bit more protection.
If you don't want to go the ebay route, $349 for a grey import with 12 months local warranty at Becextech https://www.becextech.com.au/catalog/sonxperiaz3c16gb4gblk-n…
Moto G3
I have a Moto G3 and love it, good value for money in my opinion. Just that it's >9mths since release.
Seriously love my Z3 Compact. I get 3 to 4 days battery and I prefer a smaller phone.
Ideally my perfect phone would be a Chinese ripoff of the iPhone SE running Android. 4" screen, 115 grams.
For a holiday phone I still use my Xperia Ray
Sony Z3 is 4.6 inches my friend
The Galaxy S5 mini is even smaller than the Z3 compact, by 0.1 inch, however thats the screen only. The body is actually bulkier.