It has long been the case that if you bought a compact version of a flagship smartphone your device would not only have a smaller screen, but also have worse tech specs. Sony have decided to change that with the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, giving you that smaller size you crave — along with a smaller price point — but still the top of the range specs you’ll get on its big brother.
Performance
The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is an incredibly fast phone featuring best in class hardware. The processor is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core 2.2 GHz chip, which combines with an Adreno 330 GPU and 2 GB RAM to produce an incredibly fast and powerful device. Make no mistake, this is top of the range performance that will allow you to play all the latest 3D games and browse multiple webpage tabs at once.
Camera
Sony has the most impressive cameras of any Android manufacturer, and the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is no exception to this rule. With a 20.7 megapixel main camera that includes autofocus and LED flash and can take Full HD stabilised video at 30 frames per second, it’s hard to beat. There’s also a secondary camera that can also take Full HD video as well as 2 megapixel photos.
Internals
The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact comes with 16 GB of memory built in, which is enough for most users but also contains a MicroSD card slot allowing those who need more space for music, apps and videos to add up to an addition 64 GB to their phone. The battery on the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is an impressive 2300 mAh which will easily last all day and can give you up to 18 hours of 3G talk time.
Display
The major difference between the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact and the Sony Xperia Z1 is the display. Obviously the compact model is smaller, and comes in at 4.3 inches. While this is noticeably smaller than the Z1, it’s actually larger than the latest iPhone. Still it means that the Z1 Compact can fit into more pockets and handbags than its larger brother. The display here is 1280 x 720 pixels, which means it’s HD quality. It also uses Sony TRILUMINOS technology for brilliant colours and brightness.
Design
Sony are known for iconic designs and the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact proves they are still creating amazing looking devices. The edge of the phone is a brilliant metallic trim while the front is glass plated. The phone has a choice of four colours – white, black, lime and pink – and the entire thing is waterproof and dust resistant. You can even use it for underwater photography in a swimming pool!
Connectivity
Sony have produced a range of accessories for the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact which connect to the device with NFC technology. Among these are arguably the most impressive smart watch currently available and attachable lenses that use Carl Zeiss optics. The phone naturally comes with 4G, 3G, 2G, WiFi, Bluetooth 4, GPS, Stereo FM and a range of sensors.
Verdict
Sony have created a whole new category of devices with the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. While before you’d either have to choose from a large screen, high performance Android phone or a smaller screen but smaller performance phone, you can now also get a phone with top range performance in a more manageabley sized device. And the result is fantastic. We were expecting a price tag around the same as the main Xperia Z1 — after all the hardware is practically the same — but thankfully Sony has given us a phone at a more affordable cost. The Xperia Z1 Compact is fast, it’s well designed, it’s got great connectivity, and excellent features and camera. There’s no better Android phone available in this size.
