Hands-on: Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

Sony yesterday announced the baby sibling of their flagship Xperia Z1 smartphone and called it the Xperia Z1 Compact. That’s because it has similar hardware specs as the Z1 but in a smaller form factor. We took a quick hands-on of the device at the CES floor yesterday.

While Samsung and HTC has resorted to using “Mini” with sibling handsets, Sony used “Compact” instead.

The Z1 Compact looks and feels exactly the same as the original Z1, just a little smaller. When you hold it in your hands, you will notice the solid build and construction and the cold feel of the metal and glass materials — but none of that biting effect of the edge against the palm of your hands. That’s what the reduction in size achieved — a lighter and more comfortable grip on the handset.

The Xperia Z1 Compact also comes in a variety of colors, and very bright ones at that — black, white, pink and lime. We especially liked the look of the Lime colored Z1 Compact.

The display, while now at just 720p, the pixel density is more than eough at 341ppi. Besides, Sony is now also using an IPS LCD on the Z1 Compact.

The physical look and placements of the buttons are also identical to the Z1. With a Snapdragon 800 chip, 2GB of RAM and 20MP camera, the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact takes the title of the most powerful mid-sized (or “Mini”) smartphone yet.

The very first question I was asked by one of the reps manning the booth was about the size of the device. They were taking feedback on what people think of the smaller 4.3-inch form factor of the Z1 Compact and it looks like they have a winner here.

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact specs:
4.3-inch IPS LCD Triluminous display @ 1280×720 pixels, 342ppi
Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 2.2 GHz quad-core CPU
2GB RAM
1/2.3-inch 20.7MP Exmor RS CMOS image sensor
27mm wide angle and bright F2.0 aperture
BIONZ for mobile image processing engine
16GB of internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD
HSPA+, LTE 150Mbps
WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi Hotspot
NFC
ANT+ support
Bluetooth 4.0
aGPS
DLNA
GLONASS
MHL support
IP55/58 dust and water resistance
2,300mAh battery
9.5mm
137 grams
Android 4.3 Jellybean

Aside from the downgrade to 720p display, the battery capacity was also reduced to just 2,300mAh. That’s the same as the one on the Xperia Z so we think the performance should be the same or better with the Z1 Compact.

We don’t have any details on the retail price and the release date of the Xperia Z1 Compact yet but we’ll update once we get them.

You can read our full review of the Sony Xperia Z1 here.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

14 Comments

whappack26 says:

11 years ago

As per Sony PH, end of Feb – early March daw. No specific details pa. Inquired through e-mail in the FB support page. Ire-retire ko na Nexus 4 ko. :)

z1c’s strengths = nexus 4’s weaknesses and v.v.
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classic says:

11 years ago

naku reply ng sonymobileph at post nila sa FB nila, by the end of 2nd qtr pa daw eh, grabeh ang tagal..

classic says:

11 years ago

kelan kaya release date nito? sabi mid february eh, ng pm ako sa sony mobile ph stay tuned lang daw for further annoucement…
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karen says:

11 years ago

bgong features po sa sony meon po ba?
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fernando says:

11 years ago

.grabe nmn mahal niang Z1… ilan nlng bibili nian mga manager nlng….
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adie says:

11 years ago

Z1 compact looks pricey.. ;(
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pytz says:

11 years ago

Now that’s what a mini should be.. damn nice..:)
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jd says:

11 years ago

like

Miongb says:

11 years ago

All i read are glowing reviews of this phone in all tech sites i visited. The perfect size, the premium build, and unexpectedly, even good battery life (considering that it has a small battery; but i think just enough for the 4.3 size). Remember, this phone zoomed to no. 1 in japan, beating the iphone 5s ! Looks like sony has a winner here. Cant wait to get my hands on this phone. The lime one looks great btw! Hope its not that pricey when it reaches philippine shores.
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epiquestions says:

11 years ago

mga 30-33k kung coconvert mo to peso from 450-475pounds
Miongb says:

11 years ago

Naku wag naman sana. Kaprice na nya mga flagship phones pag ganun
jd says:

11 years ago

maybe priced at 25k-30k

Benchmark says:

11 years ago

Well my motorola razr is 4.3″ and I think they hit the right spot of the so called mini or compact. The screen size is just right, not so big as the pablets (spelling?) but not too small ala iphone 4.

And I just hope I can save enough for this kind of phone :-)
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