Small travel phone suggestions

[dizmo]

Ok, so I'm looking to get a small phone for travel. I'd like something with decent battery life, and a very small footprint.

The most important aspect though, is camera. It's gotta be excellent. I'd like expandable storage, but it's not a huge issue.

An IP rating of some kind would be a plus.

 

I'm not looking to get something super expensive, so we'll keep the budget around $300 and used devices are fine.

I know a point and shoot would likely be cheaper, but I want something quite compact, plus the ability to make calls and use GPS is a massive plus.

 

I've thought of the Xperia compact devices, and the Apple iPhone SE. Are there any I've missed? Which one would you go for?
If I went for the Apple, does it capture the images in an easy to remove file format, or does it have some stupid convoluted way of getting them off the device. I'm fine with iTunes, as long as once it's free from Apples grip it's not still in an Apple only format.

[MegaTechPC]

I would think the iPhone SE would fit the bill perfectly.  Just noticed this phone at Best Buy the other day for the first time (I know its been out a long time) and was amazed at just how small the thing is, but still provides a decently modern experience.  I mean, I know its just an iPhone 5 but it still amazes me that just a few years ago people were just fine with a 3.5 inch screen on a smart phone!  Seems like I've had 5+" phones for so long now, I can't even remember what it was like to use such a small device!  It also remains one of the best looking phones ever made along with the iPhone 4s, back before Apple got lazy with design and quality.

[dizmo]

11 minutes ago, MegaTechPC said:

I would think the iPhone SE would fit the bill perfectly.  Just noticed this phone at Best Buy the other day for the first time (I know its been out a long time) and was amazed at just how small the thing is, but still provides a decently modern experience.  I mean, I know its just an iPhone 5 but it still amazes me that just a few years ago people were just fine with a 3.5 inch screen on a smart phone!  Seems like I've had 5+" phones for so long now, I can't even remember what it was like to use such a small device!  It also remains one of the best looking phones ever made along with the iPhone 4s, back before Apple got lazy with design and quality.

Yeah, usually I wouldn't consider an Apple phone but since it wouldn't be a daily driver I'd give it a go. They have great point and shoot photography and it has the same internals as the 6s. It's actually top of my list. I just have to look into app support. The 4 inch screen is a little small and it has such a shite front facing camera. The front shooter is the biggest iffy point for me. 

[TheSLSAMG]

With the iPhone, you can use Windows' built-in photo/video import tool to get the images onto your PC. Otherwise, they also save as JPEGs that can be removed through File Explorer by plugging the phone into your PC.

 

The cameras in the Compact models appear to be identical to the normal sized ones, which is nice. If you trust DxOMark scores, the Sony phones are well above the SE at 88 (X), 87 (Z5) and 82 (6S, same camera as the SE). Keep in mind that DxO tests cameras at standard settings, so they tested the Z5 in 8MP mode instead of 23MP mode. This all being said, smartphones with the same cameras can still differ in performance. The iPhone 8 Plus scores lower than the iPhone X even though most of the camera hardware is shared.

 

With the two main things you want being water/dust resistance and a good camera, I'd take the Z5 compact. It's the only phone out of the three that has water/dust resistance (IP68), it has a MicroSD slot, and it has a good enough camera to impress the folks at DxO.

[MegaTechPC]

Keep in mind that the Z5 Compact is definitely no where near as compact as the iPhone SE if that's important to you.  That Snapdragon 810 would also of course be slaughtered by the A9 in the SE.  But yeah, it does have a better camera (though the 6s camera is hardly bad) and the IP68 rating so you just have to decide what you want.  

[DrMacintosh]

47 minutes ago, dizmo said:

If I went for the Apple, does it capture the images in an easy to remove file format,

.JPEG

[Daniel Z.]

iPhone SE has a nice camera but the screen was just not for me. I think the decision comes now to which ecosystem you are more invested in. Z5 or SE gets my vote

[DrMacintosh]

Also keep in mind the lack of updates you would be getting with the Android phones over the iPhone. Not sure if that’s important.

[dizmo]

33 minutes ago, MegaTechPC said:

Keep in mind that the Z5 Compact is definitely no where near as compact as the iPhone SE if that's important to you.  That Snapdragon 810 would also of course be slaughtered by the A9 in the SE.  But yeah, it does have a better camera (though the 6s camera is hardly bad) and the IP68 rating so you just have to decide what you want.  

The 810 was one of the iffy points for me tbh. I just imagine it chewing through battery like a starving pig through human flesh. 

1 minute ago, Daniel Z. said:

iPhone SE has a nice camera but the screen was just not for me. I think the decision comes now to which ecosystem you are more invested in. Z5 or SE gets my vote

Yeah, I'd just be using it when traveling so the ecosystem doesn't much matter to me. 

47 minutes ago, TheSLSAMG said:

With the iPhone, you can use Windows' built-in photo/video import tool to get the images onto your PC. Otherwise, they also save as JPEGs that can be removed through File Explorer by plugging the phone into your PC.

 

The cameras in the Compact models appear to be identical to the normal sized ones, which is nice. If you trust DxOMark scores, the Sony phones are well above the SE at 88 (X), 87 (Z5) and 82 (6S, same camera as the SE). Keep in mind that DxO tests cameras at standard settings, so they tested the Z5 in 8MP mode instead of 23MP mode. This all being said, smartphones with the same cameras can still differ in performance. The iPhone 8 Plus scores lower than the iPhone X even though most of the camera hardware is shared.

 

With the two main things you want being water/dust resistance and a good camera, I'd take the Z5 compact. It's the only phone out of the three that has water/dust resistance (IP68), it has a MicroSD slot, and it has a good enough camera to impress the folks at DxO.

Thats kind of surprising, I would have figured the Apple phone would have even higher. That makes it a little more difficult. The tricky part is finding a good price on the Z5 Compact. Seems like people want way more than they're worth, though I've seen some excellent bargains on XZ1 Compacts...which slay all of the above. 

 

2 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Also keep in mind the lack of updates you would be getting with the Android phones over the iPhone. Not sure if that’s important.

It's not really, even the Z5 Compact still gets the update to 7.1.1. I've read quite a few sources that showed the SE getting a bit knee capped by newer updates. 

[DrMacintosh]

8 minutes ago, dizmo said:

I've read quite a few sources that showed the SE getting a bit knee capped by newer updates. 

It’s not. The SE has 2GB of RAM and an A9, same as the iPhone 6s/Plus and these phones run iOS 11 great. Any lag or slowdowns are 90% most likely due to extensive use and junk that the OS has built up from never being restored.

 

Oh and that’s besides the fact that the A9 would put the Sony phone to shame anyway.

 

Apple has made it really hard for me to want to upgrade from the 6s Plus, not because their new phones are bad, but because the 6s Plus was and still is so good. 

[dizmo]

18 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

It’s not. The SE has 2GB of RAM and an A9, same as the iPhone 6s/Plus and these phones run iOS 11 great. Any lag or slowdowns are 90% most likely due to extensive use and junk that the OS has built up from never being restored.

 

Oh and that’s besides the fact that the A9 would put the Sony phone to shame anyway.

 

Apple has made it really hard for me to want to upgrade from the 6s Plus, not because their new phones are bad, but because the 6s Plus was and still is so good. 

I was referring more to battery life; people have shown that it loses some longevity when upgrading.

The processor I'm not overly worried about as it's not doing anything intensive and the SD810 is more than enough.

[MegaTechPC]

I personally would get an SE for sure.  I think that your requirements for this "travel phone" are so low that pretty much any small phone should easily fit the bill.  Probably should just come down to whichever phone you can find the best deal on, though keep in mind that Apple's definitely retain their value much better than Android phones (meaning possibly a higher price to buy but conversely more money you can recoup when you sell it).

[dizmo]

2 minutes ago, MegaTechPC said:

I personally would get an SE for sure.  I think that your requirements for this "travel phone" are so low that pretty much any small phone should easily fit the bill.  Probably should just come down to whichever phone you can find the best deal on, though keep in mind that Apple's definitely retain their value much better than Android phones (meaning possibly a higher price to buy but conversely more money you can recoup when you sell it).

Yeah. I wish it had a better front facing camera. If it had a 5mp or better one, I'd be settled.
The Apple is actually cheaper, but that's more due to popularity; there's way more of them, thus the market forces the price down.

Decisions decisions...