OnePlus’ Rumored “Compact” Phone Has Had Some Specs Surface – Talk Android

The time of the compact flagship smartphone is gone. Gone are the days of smartphones with sub-6-inch displays and the latest and greatest processors. These days, the smallest devices tend to have screens well over 6 inches, and some manufacturers don’t even bother with “small” phones. The number “6.8” will haunt those with small hands.

That’s why I was particularly excited when word came that OnePlus was working on a compact flagship smartphone of its own. All I could do was speculate as to what the spec sheet would bring to the table, and only now do we get the chance to look at some of the leaked specs.

The “Compact” Smartphone Coming From OnePlus Probably Won’t Be That Compact

There’s a reason why smartphone manufacturers, such as Sony, used to market their smaller phones with words like “compact” and “mini”. It was because those phones were much smaller than the average buyer expected. However, that’s what a lot of people wanted, and it provided a market for those who were getting exhausted by the increasingly large smartphone displays.

With no regular Asus Zenfone 11 being released this year, that effectively marked the end of an era. At the moment, there’s not a single flagship smartphone out there with a sub-6-inch screen; at least as far as I know. I’m not the kind of person who would want to use a smaller phone, but I’ve always admired the option being available.

That’s why it was pretty cool when rumors came out of OnePlus planning a compact smartphone. When you have to explicitly mention that the device is “compact”, then the natural expectation is that it is going to be a lot smaller than the existing things in the market. Thanks to Digital Chat Station, we know that “compact” in this case refers to a 6.3-inch display. Unfortunately, I’d hardly call that compact.

The Definition Of A Small Phone Changes With Time

What we can define as being a small smartphone depends on what is considered normal at that time. Smartphones have generally gotten bigger and bigger, so it isn’t unexpected that the definition of a small phone has also had its threshold continue to increase.

For instance, the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact in 2015 had a 4.6-inch display, while the regular Xperia Z5 had a 5.2-inch display, which was more like the times. Even the Z5 Premium with its 5.5-inch screen would be considered tiny right now.

Right now, the 6.7 or 6.8-inch mark is where most manufacturers sit with their flagship devices, and many offer smaller options that tend to bottom out at 6.3 inches. However, the latter is rarely marketed as being “mini”, so it’d make sense that the definition of a small phone these days would hang around the 6 or 6.1 mark.

The Other Specs Indicate A Proper Flagship Smartphone

Regardless of my gripes about this compact phone not being as compact as I might have hoped, it’s nice to see OnePlus exploring that territory again. the device is rumored to be called the OnePlus Ace 5 Mini, and according to Digital Chat Station, it’ll be coming with a full-blown Snapdragon 8 Elite, which would officially make it a flagship.

Besides the screen and the SoC, we know that the device is expected to come with a 50MP primary camera, no periscope telephoto lens, and an in-display fingerprint reader, and the screen will be flat with 1.5K resolution. That’s not too much about the phone, but it does give a good impression regarding where exactly it’ll stand.

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