Best Android Phones Under 5.7 Inches

The industry has sort of agreed that phones with 5.5-inch screens are mainstream. The best phone you can buy at that size is the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

See at AT&T
See at Sprint
See at T-Mobile
See at Verizon
See at Amazon

There’s no question that Samsung hit a home run with its Galaxy S7 line. We already think the smaller GS7 is the best phone under 5.2 inches, and the larger, curved-screen Galaxy S7 edge is our pick for the best phone under 5.7 inches. Why? It takes everything we love about the smaller phone and makes it bigger — but not too much.

This water-resistant phone is comfortable to hold, and even to use in one hand, while the internal specs are some of the best in the business — Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 in the U.S. and an Exynos 8890 internationally — with 4GB of RAM and a standard 32GB of storage. But it’s the dual curved display that is so arresting, with an infinity pool experience that really stands out amongst a sea of flat smartphones. That curvature also has a purpose, allowing for quick access to favorite contacts, apps, web pages, and more.

Around back, the 12MP rear camera is the best in the business; many other devices have been released since the Galaxy S7 edge came out earlier this year, and none — not even Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus — has dislodged it from that top position. And just underneath that camera, a massive 3,600mAh battery keeps things moving all day.

Bottom line: The Galaxy S7 edge is one of the obvious choices for the best smartphones around, but it is definitely the best smartphone between between 5.2 inches and 5.6 inches.

One More thing: This highly-rated device is available at all four major carriers in the U.S., but if you’d rather live dangerously and contract-free, Samsung offers an unlocked model that also works overseas.

Why the Galaxy S7 edge is the best

A beautiful phone that delivers the specs and performance.

In previous years, Samsung managed to out-promote its way to sales victory, even as phones from HTC, Motorola and LG were objectively better. But starting in 2015 that all changed when the company unveiled its Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, two of the most interesting, beautiful, and well-designed phones on the market. That playbook was even more refined this year with the Galaxy S7 edge, which took cues from its curved predecessor while upping the screen size — and the usability.

The phone has a number of things going for it, including water resistance, expandable storage, plenty of speed and power, an enormous battery that lasts all day, and a stunning 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display that curves at both sides in an effortless infinity pool effect. But the whole experience comes together when you realize Samsung took to heart much of the criticism levelled against its software in recent years, improving the way you navigate through the interface, while removing impediments to quick actions and shortcuts. Moreover, there are some truly innovative ideas in the software, from the edge screen to the excellent camera app, which was redesigned for this generation.

While the Galaxy S7 will likely appeal to more people, the GS7 edge’s larger chassis and curved display give it something a little bit extra — including a higher price tag. We say that added cost is worth it if you’re looking for a phone that lasts all day and then some, or use your phone for a lot of media consumption.

Best at many things

OnePlus 3

See at OnePlus

The OnePlus 3 does everything well — that’s what you need to know first. It’s a huge upgrade over the OnePlus 2, and its all-metal chassis doesn’t feel overly large despite the ample 5.5-inch screen size. And that’s what you’re looking for in a big phone: one that doesn’t feel like a brick in your hand.

OnePlus did a great job improving the internals in the OnePlus 3: the 5.5-inch Full HD display is vivid and bright, and the quad-core Snapdragon 820 paired with 6GB of RAM makes the phone a formidable performer — even more so when you consider the $399 price point. While it lacks the little things that add up to justify the S7 edge’s extra cost — water resistance, expandable storage, and a high-quality QHD display — the OnePlus 3 is without compromises, which is something we’re really happy to see at this price tier.

Bottom-line: With a big, bright 5.5-inch screen, a great camera, excellent build quality, and loads of nice software touches, the OnePlus 3 is one of the best smartphone deals you can find today.

One more thing: The OnePlus 3 has a 16MP camera that does a lot more than just shoot great photos — it supports 4K video, slo-mo, and excellent panoramas.

Best for doing more

Moto Z

See at Motorola

The Moto Z is an interesting phone. Yes, it doesn’t have a headphone jack, but there is so much more to the story than that. It’s extremely thin — under 5.2mm to be exact — and light, but is made of strong stuff, including aluminum and stainless steel. And while the Moto Mods story is the one that most people are telling, even without add-ons the Moto Z is one of the best Android experiences on the market. It has a great 5.5-inch QHD display, the specs you’d expect from a $699 phone, including an excellent 13MP rear camera and some fantastic software, but when paired with a Moto Mod, the story becomes more interesting.

Those Mods, which range from inexpensive battery adds-ons to more expensive projector and camera options, add a considerable amount of functionality to the device, and are well worth the investment.

Bottom-line: It may not be cheap, but Motorola, under Lenovo’s ownership, has proven that it is still one of the most innovative companies in phones today.

One more thing: You can buy the Moto Z unlocked directly from Motorola, as well as through Verizon under the Droid name.

Conclusion

There are so many smartphones out there today. It’s not easy picking the right one, especially when tasked with choosing a phone at a certain size. This bracket, between 5.3 and 5.6 inches, appears to be the sweet spot for many people, which is why an increasing number of flagships are settling in it.

The Galaxy S7 edge has no real flaws: it is fast, intuitive, and well-designed, with premium materials and lots of space for a great camera and capacious battery. It may be expensive, but Samsung has proven with this year’s phone lineup that the extra cost over, say, the OnePlus 3, is justified.

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

See at AT&T
See at Sprint
See at T-Mobile
See at Verizon
See at Amazon

There’s no question that Samsung hit a home run with its Galaxy S7 line. We already think the smaller GS7 is the best phone under 5.2 inches, and the larger, curved-screen Galaxy S7 edge is our pick for the best phone under 5.7 inches. Why? It takes everything we love about the smaller phone and makes it bigger — but not too much.

This water-resistant phone is comfortable to hold, and even to use in one hand, while the internal specs are some of the best in the business — Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 in the U.S. and an Exynos 8890 internationally — with 4GB of RAM and a standard 32GB of storage. But it’s the dual curved display that is so arresting, with an infinity pool experience that really stands out amongst a sea of flat smartphones. That curvature also has a purpose, allowing for quick access to favorite contacts, apps, web pages, and more.

Around back, the 12MP rear camera is the best in the business; many other devices have been released since the Galaxy S7 edge came out earlier this year, and none — not even Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus — has dislodged it from that top position. And just underneath that camera, a massive 3,600mAh battery keeps things moving all day.

Bottom line: The Galaxy S7 edge is one of the obvious choices for the best smartphones around, but it is definitely the best smartphone between between 5.2 inches and 5.6 inches.

One More thing: This highly-rated device is available at all four major carriers in the U.S., but if you’d rather live dangerously and contract-free, Samsung offers an unlocked model that also works overseas.

Note: This list is of phones between 5.3 inches and 5.6 inches. We already have a list of the best phones 5.2 inches and under, and the best phones 5.7 inches and above.

Huawei Mate 9: Next Huawei flagship coming Nov. 3

‘New flagship device’ to break cover at press conference in Munich.

Huawei’s holding a launch event in Munich, Germany on November 3 for a “new flagship device”, and that almost certainly means the Mate 9 is on its way. The latest in Huawei’s series of big-screened phones is likely to pack the very best of the company’s high-end hardware, along with the anticipated EMUI 5 interface, based on Android 7.0 Nougat.

Recent leaks out of China point to the Mate 9 being a beast of a phone.

Recent leaks out of China have given us a sneak peek at the phone, which comes in three price tiers and six colors, with up to 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It’s also believed to the first phone to run Huawei’s homegrown Kirin 960 chip, the first to utilize ARM’s speedy new Cortex-A73 cores. In short: Expect a beast of a phone.

The software side of things is equally important. Huawei has drawn criticism over its EMUI interface for years. And based on a leaked version of EMUI 5 that appeared on the P9 over the summer, the new version promises to banish many of the bugbears of earlier versions, like lock screen weirdness, notification area glitches and overbearing visual customizations. The dream of a Huawei phone without weird software could finally be coming true.

A November launch event means the Mate 9 should be on sale in Europe in time for the holidays — an earlier launch window than last year. What’s more, the ongoing difficulties faced by Samsung’s Note 7 could present Huawei’s new “phablet”-class device with a shot at mainstream success.

Google Pixel by HTC: Will the real manufacturer of Google’s phones share in the glory?

HTC’s biggest-selling phones of 2016 might not even bear its logo.

With less than a week to go before launch, Android fans are eagerly expecting Google’s Pixel phones. But just a couple of months back, the idea of a fully Google-branded phone hadn’t yet dawned, and instead the rumor mill swirled around two new HTC Nexuses. (Marlin and Sailfish, if you want to get really nerdy.)

The difference is an important one. As we’ve already explored, the Nexus program was much more a partnership between Google and its chosen manufacturer. Although in recent years Google has hogged the limelight, there’s still a Huawei logo on the back of the 6P, and it still appears right there on the manufacturer’s website, alongside the likes of the P9 and Mate 8.

‘Nexus’ and ‘Pixel’ mean vastly different relationships between Google and the manufacturer partner.

With the Pixel phones being pitched as the first handsets “made by Google,” the relationship becomes vastly different. Essentially, HTC becomes an ODM — an original device manufacturer, which assists in the design and manufacture of the end product, but basically works to Google’s direction. Ideally, an ODM should be invisible to the consumer. (Most people buying iPhones, for instance, don’t know that they’re manufactured and assembled by a company called Foxconn.)

Then again, Foxconn doesn’t also directly compete with Apple — it doesn’t stick its own logo on the back of phones and sell them in carrier stores, like HTC does. And because of the transition from Nexus to Pixel, people who follow these things in the Android space are very much aware of HTC’s role in making the Pixel phones.

Yet when Hiroshi Lockheimer or Sundar Pichai takes to the stage on October 4, don’t expect any mention of the company that’s actually making the first phones “made by Google.” (Even if most of the journalists in the room know the Pixel and Pixel XL come out of the same factories as the HTC 10.)

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, made by… HTC!

HTC is no stranger to the ODM game.

Of course HTC is no stranger to the ODM game. Before it was a big brand in smartphones, it made phones for Sony Ericsson, Palm and others. To some degree or other, HTC’s smartphone endeavors have always been about strategic partnerships in which it was the junior member. And following a rapid decline in its own phone business, perhaps it’s not surprising to see HTC going back to its roots. Its two other business areas — connected devices and VR — have centered around partnerships with Under Armor and Valve. A closer partnership with Google is an extension of that for its phone biz.

But there is a certain tragedy to the possibility that best-selling HTC-made phones of 2016 might not even bear its logo — considering that the HTC 10 doesn’t seem to have moved the needle much, and that Google has vast resources to deploy to market the Pixels. Depending on the terms of its agreement with Google, HTC might not even be able to take credit for its role in creating two of the year’s most interesting Android handsets. (The “made by Google” marketing line makes this vanishingly improbable.)

HTC needs cold, hard cash more than brand exposure, though. And selling what’s likely to be millions of phones to Google as an ODM will be a great way to boost the bottom line, ensuring HTC is still around to sell its own phones in the years to come.

It’s an important deal for HTC, to be sure, but at the same time sign of just how far it’s fallen since the glory days.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Everything we know so far
• New navigation buttons
• Google UI + circular icons
• Android 7.1 Nougat
• Pixel vs Pixel XL
• Older Nexus phones

Google Maps adds hands-free voice input to make driving safer

Google has announced that Maps on Android now officially supports hands-free voice commands, allowing users engaged in navigation to interrupt the helpful narrator to ask the locations of nearby gas stations, or to reroute on the fly to avoid highways.

A long time coming, Google Maps has for a long time supports voice search, but now the app responds to “OK Google” commands at any time, making it considerably easier, and safer, to interact with the app while actually, you know, driving.

Enabling the feature is relatively easy:

Open the overflow menu and tap Settings.
Tap OK Google detection.
Enable “While driving”.

The benefit of this feature is obvious, especially if you’ve ever been in a position where you need to make a change to your navigation route while stuck in traffic or driving down a highway at 60mph.

Google has a list of commands supported by the feature, but many of them, like “How’s traffic?” or “Navigate home” are fairly obvious. But they could also be the difference between an accident and a quiet, uneventful ride home.

Google delays Android Wear 2.0 until early 2017, adds Play Store support

Android Wear 2.0 is coming later than expected, but for a good reason.

Google is pushing back the public release of Android Wear 2.0, the huge upgrade to the company’s wearables platform unveiled this summer, to early 2017. Announced alongside the third developer preview, Google says that after a great response from the developer community thus far, it has “decided to continue the preview program into early 2017, at which point the first watches will receive Android Wear 2.0.” One more developer preview will be released in the coming months before the platform is submitted to OEMs.

While the delay will be disappointing to many Wear fans, it’s clear it is for a reason: The scope of Android Wear 2.0 is growing. To wit, Google is adding Play Store features to the smartwatch platform.

With Play Store for Android Wear, users can browse recommended apps in the home view and search for apps using voice, keyboard, handwriting, and recommended queries, so they can find apps more easily. Users can switch between multiple accounts, be part of alpha and beta tests, and update or uninstall apps in the “My apps” view on their watch, so they can manage apps more easily.

Perhaps the coolest feature: If users want an app on their watch but not on their phone, they can install only the watch app. In fact, in Android Wear 2.0, phone apps are no longer necessary. You can now build and publish watch-only apps for users to discover on Google Play.

That’s right, Google is separating Wear apps from their phone and tablet counterparts, a move that seems poised to herald a new era of cellular connected Android Wear devices.

More: Android Wear 2.0 hands-on from Google I/O 2016!

Google says that it asked developers what they wanted from Wear, and many of them brought up the difficulty of discovering great Wear apps, leading to the decision to add a separate app store.

The new developer preview also adds a number of interesting and useful features to Android Wear 2.0:

• Improvements to complications, including explicit permissions for those that require access to personal information.
• Inline actions for notifications, which is based on the APIs available to developers in Android 7.0 Nougat, allowing users to reply using voice or the new on-screen keyboard shipping with Wear 2.0.
• Smart replies that are generated on the Watch itself, so no personal data is shared with Google. This method uses machine learning, and is based on the same technology Allo uses to create its smart replies.

What do you think of Android Wear 2.0 so far?

FCC Delays Vote on Proposal to Make Subscription TV Available on Any Set-Top Box via Apps

An FCC vote on a controversial proposal that would de-couple cable subscriptions from cable set-top boxes was today delayed as the Commission aims to work out “remaining technical and legal issues,” the FCC said in a statement. [PDF]

“It’s time for consumers to say goodbye to costly set-top boxes. It’s time for more ways to watch and more lower-cost options. That’s why we have been working to update our policies under Section 629 of the Communications Act in order to foster a competitive market for these devices. We have made tremendous progress – and we share the goal of creating a more innovative and inexpensive market for these consumer devices. We are still working to resolve the remaining technical and legal issues and we are committed to unlocking the set-top box for consumers across this country.”

Introduced in January by United States Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler, the proposal initially called for content providers to allow cable and satellite subscribers to access and watch cable content on any set-top box of their choosing, including the Apple TV, rather than being forced to lease a set-top box provided by cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

Cable companies want to have control over content and how and where it’s displayed, so the FCC unsurprisingly met a lot of resistance over the proposal.

Major changes to the measure were announced in early September in response to pushback from cable companies, and the revised version requires cable providers to develop apps featuring access to all of their programming — live and on-demand — for all major platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, and Roku.

Providers are also required to provide open access to their content catalogs for universal search purposes, but the revised measure is much less ambitious and more restrictive than the original proposal, but more agreeable to content providers.

With the first version of the proposal, companies like Apple could have built a full television-viewing interface around content provided by cable companies rather than simply offering content through a cable-branded app.

According to the FCC, the proposal will now go on the Commissions “circulation list” and will “remain under consideration.”

Tag: FCC
Discuss this article in our forums

4K Ultra HD Blu-ray support helps Xbox One S sales soar in September

Microsoft is considerably winning the battle of the slimmed-down consoles. In September, the Xbox One S 500GB and 1TB models helped UK sales soar by 989 per cent week-on-week.

Games industry trade paper MCV reports that GfK data shows Xbox One had 71 per cent of console market share in the week ending 24 September, a staggering 76 per cent increase year-on-year. The PS4, even with its own slimmer version launched that month, could only muster 19 per cent.

Of course, it can be argued that a slow down of PS4 sales can be attributed to the fact that there are plenty of Brits who already own one – a greater number than those with an Xbox One already.

• Xbox One S review: Best console and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player out there
• Xbox One S vs Xbox One: What’s the difference?
• Xbox One S vs PS4 Pro: What’s the difference?

The imminent release of the PS4 Pro, with its vastly improved graphical capabilities, will no doubt have had an affect too, with many consumers willing to wait for it.

However, it can equally be said that Microsoft got it right with the Xbox One S. For a start, it’s the cheapest 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player on the market, which could account for sales to consumers who wouldn’t normally purchase a console.

Sony decided against adding 4K Blu-ray playback to its equivalent new machine.

“It’s great to see how popular both the Xbox One S and the FIFA 17 Xbox One S consoles are with fans, not just over the last week but since the Xbox One S was released in August. 4K video streaming and 4K UHD Blu-ray have been extremely well received by gamers and critics and we believe there is no better value right now for those looking to upgrade their console,” said Harvey Eagle, marketing director of Xbox.

Huawei Mate 9: Specs, release date and everything else we know so far

Huawei is widely tipped to launch the next version of its Mate-series flagships very soon, and with the prevalence of leaks and details having been published online, the picture of what to expect is becoming clearer by the day. 

Let’s dive in to what could be one of the greatest phones the Chinese manufacturer has released to date. 

Huawei Mate 9: Design

If the latest leak is anything to go by, it appears the Mate 9 will very much look like its predecessor, the Mate 8. That’s to say we’re likely to see a slightly rounded, wide, all-metal rear with parallel antenna bands running horizontally near the top and the bottom edges. 

The dual camera system will sit near the top, with the two lenses sitting vertically, rather than side-by-side horizontally like the P9 and P9 Plus. On either side of the camera system, there’s a dual LED flash and a laser sensor for autofocusing, while the round fingerprint scanner sits underneath. 

• Huawei Mate 9 renders confirm Leica branded dual camera

As for colour schemes, it’s likely – according to a Weibo leak – that we’ll see up to nine different colours; including Amber Gold, Ceramic White, Amber Grey, Rose Gold, Moonlight Silver, Sky Grey, Mocha Gold, Champagne Gold and Enamel Gloss Black. Basically, all the golds. 

Weibo

On the front, it seems as though there will be a huge – virtually bezel-free – screen dominating the available space, while the portions of the frame at the top and bottom have a subtle reflective finish like the back of the Honor 8. 

As is common for Huawei phones, the power and volume buttons sit on the right edge, within thumb’s reach, while the bottom edge – in the leaks we’ve seen – plays home to a USB Type-C port flanked by two sets of speaker grilles. Like the Nova Plus we reviewed, it’s likely only one of these actually has a speaker behind it. 

We’ve not seen any clear images of the top edge yet, but we assume this is where we’ll see the 3.5mm jack placed, just like the Nova Plus. It’s not likely Huawei will “do an Apple” and get rid of the port just yet. 

Baidu (via GSMArena)

Huawei Mate 9: Hardware and display

Spec-wise, the Mate 9 should have some of the most powerful and high-end components currently available. That means it’s likely to be the first phone to sport the company’s own Kirin 960 processor. And if that’s anything like the 950 or 955, this phone will be really quick. 

As well as its most powerful processor to date, the aforementioned leaks indicated that we should see the usual pricing and memory tiers we see often from Chinese manufacturers. That means there’s likely to be two versions with 4GB RAM, one of those will have 64GB storage, the other 128GB, while there may also be a 6GB RAM model with 256GB storage. 

Huawei Mate 9: Camera

With Huawei and Leica having recently announced a partnership, it’s no surprise that the two companies are claimed to be working together again on the Mate 9’s optics.

Like the P9 and P9 Plus, it’s claimed the dual camera on the back will again be made up of one monochrome (black and white) sensor alongside a more usual colour one. Rumours have suggested we could see either a similar 12-megapixel sensor in each, or 20-megapixel sensor.  

To keep costs down, and presumably battery life up, there’s been suggestion that the 5.9-inch screen on the front will have a resolution of 1920 x 1080, which doesn’t seem quite as sharp as what you’d expect from a line-leading smartphone. Especially not with a screen this large. We’ve been hoping for a quad HD panel, but it’s not been mentioned yet. 

Huawei Mate 9: Software

Like all Huawei phones, the Mate 9 is bound to launch running Android with the company’s own EMUI skin on top. Which versions of each is possibly up for debate. 

The company’s most recent efforts run Android 6.0 Marshmallow – the OS launched originally in Autumn last year – and EMUI version 4.1.

With LG having already launched an Android 7.0 Nougat phone, it wouldn’t be too unbelievable if Huawei followed suit in offering its first Android N device to market. There has been suggestion in the past that we may see Nougat – albeit a heavily skinned version – running the show on the Mate 9. 

Huawei Mate 9: Release date

Actual retail release date predictions and launch date bets have varied widely from September to December, and everything in between. However, Huawei has just sent out invitations to an event on 3 November in Munich.

• Huawei Mate 9 launch date confirmed, 3 November in Munich

All things considered, it would seem that is the date the Chinese firm will unveil its next creation, with a bigger focus on European and UK launch this year.  

Huawei Mate 9: Price

Of the three storage/memory models mentioned at the top of the post, it’s been claimed that the cheapest model will only be available in Europe, and that it’ll cost around €700. That puts it at a price of around £600, which is virtually iPhone 7 territory. 

While we don’t know for sure how much it will cost here, it’s clear that the next Mate series phone isn’t aimed at the budget/affordable end of the market. This is a high-end phone with a premium price. Best start saving now if you’re certain you want one already.