Over the last three to four years the only noticeable change in the smartphone market has been an increase in screen size. Sure, specs have advanced in leaps and bounds at the same time, but to the average user it isn‘t completely evident ““ unless you buy a budget device.
In a world of ever growing screens, few have tried to make a proper flagship device in a smaller size. The only exceptions are the previous iPhone 5 models and last year‘s Xperia Z1 Compact. The successor to the Z1 Compact is the Z3 Compact ““ Sony chose to align the naming with its bigger brother, the Xperia Z3, that launched at the same time.
Before we look at the device in more detail, check out some of the key specs and features of the device before we get to our Xperia Z3 Compact Review:
- 4.6″ IPS LCD, 720 x 1280px, 319ppi, ambient light sensor
- Android 4.4.4 KitKat
- IP68 certified – dust and water proof up to 1.5 meter and 30 minutes
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset with quad-core 2.5GHz Krait 400 processor, Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM
- 20.7MP camera, single LED flash, 2160p video recording, dedicated hardware shutter key
- 2.2MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
- 16GB of built-in storage, expandable via the microSD card slot
- Active noise cancellation with a secondary microphone
- 2,600mAh battery; STAMINA Power Saving Mode
Design and Build
If you have predominantly used flagship Androids over the last couple of years, this device will appear small in comparison. It is endearingly petite, with a ‘smallish’ 4.6-inch display, but it is extremely comfortable to use. The Z3’s sturdy-feeling body isn’t the slimmest out there ““ it measures a chunky 8.7mm thick ““ but despite a screen that’s only the tiniest bit smaller than Apple’s iPhone 6, the Z3 feels markedly more compact than the iPhone and any other top-end Android.
The white version we reviewed is quite a looker as well. While there are other colour options, this one is the classiest in our opinion.
You find the usual flaps and covers to make it waterproof, and Sony certainly has become very proficient at making these as unobtrusive as possible (unlike with the Galaxy S5, for example). Around the edge of the Xperia Z3 Compact is a translucent plastic surround. While it helps cushion impacts if you drop the Z3 Compact, it also gives the phone a premium frosted look that works very well.
The design of the Xperia Z3 Compact isn’t perfect, however, with the screen being a veritable magnet for fingerprints. I was often wiping the screen to rid it of paw marks, and though it’s not a major issue in the grand scheme of things, it’s never nice to have a touchscreen that makes you feel guilty about laying a finger on it.
That being said, one-handed use has never been so easy and comfortable. We applaud Sony for including so much power in such a small chassis.
Screen
As this screen is smaller than almost any other top-end phone, you don‘t need as many pixels to give you the same crisp image. Sony incorporated a 720p display on this device, coming in at “˜only‘ 319 ppi. In fact, this display is more than adequate for this screen size and the fit just seems right. We have bemoaned the impressive QHD displays in the LG G3 and Galaxy Note 4 as the pixel bump is hardly noticeable to the human eye, yet it compromises battery life ““ more on the Xperia Z3‘s battery life later.
The panel at play here is an IPS LCD affair, with Sony’s Triluminos and X-Reality technologies that promise richer, more natural colours and enhanced contrast. The white balance of the panel is spot on as far as I can tell (you can always tweak the default setting in the display menu if you find otherwise). Colours are bold and bright too. However, blacks aren’t quite as deep as they could be, but this is common to LCD technology, and it’s something OLED screens are inherently better at producing.
This is nit-picking, though, as it even outperforms 1080p panels from a bit more than a year ago.
PlayStation Remote Play and User Interface
The Xperia Z3 Compact is running Android 4.4.4 KitKat, with Lollipop to be available soon. As we‘ve seen with previous Xperia‘s , the skin in quite a minimal one with a limited amount of bloatware. While Android purists will find this to their liking, it also means that there is nothing really special in the Sony software that sets it apart.
From my point of view, however, it means that everything just works. You switch the device on and it‘s immediately intuitive and functional, anyone vaguely familiar with Android will be able to dive right in, no tutorial required.
Overall though, just like the design of Sony’s hardware, its software hasn’t evolved much over the years either. Thus, the UI does feel a little dated in comparison to, say, the most recent iterations of HTC’s Sense skin.
That said, there are a few gems baked in here, like the easy-access screen-recording feature. Also, for the gamers out there, you have the extremely impressive Remote Play feature (which is completely useless if you don‘t have the PlayStation 4).
As with its bigger sibling, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact features Remote play, which lets PlayStation 4 owners stream games from the console to the Z3 Compact. Setting it up is simple ““ download the Remote Play app from the Google Play store. Once downloaded, I turned on the PlayStation 4 and enabled Remote Play. This gave me a code that I could then type in to the Xperia Z3 Compact to securely log in to the PS4.
You then pair your PS4 DualShock controller to the Xperia Z3 Compact via Bluetooth. It can make things a little complicated in other ways, however, as you need to un-pair the controller with the PS4 before you pair it with the Z3 Compact.
Initially I was extremely concerned about this feature, as I couldn‘t imagine it working without major lags and stutters. It wasn’t flawless, as when other people were using the Wi-Fi network there could be occasional stutters and graphical artefacts, but with a strong Wi-Fi signal I was very impressed.
There was very little input lag whilst playing, which means hardly any delay when using the controller. This is essential for fast-paced action games where every button press is important. It might still be ambitious to play trigger happy FPS games that need lightning reactions, though.
Overall I was extremely impressed with the technology, and I can see it go from strength to strength over the next couple of years.
Battery Life and Performance
With the specs included we were expecting great performance from the Z3 Compact, and we weren‘t disappointed. Like the bigger Z3, the Compact uses a quad-core 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801, except it has 2GB of RAM instead of 3GB on the Z3.
The performance is great ““ when scrolling through the menus, hopping in and out of apps and playing 3D games. Web browsing is also very slick, thanks to a reliable LTE connection, and audio performance is much more than an afterthought. While it won‘t challenge BoomSound found on HTC devices, we can safely say the front firing speakers on the Z3 and Z3 Compact are the second best out there, period.
The battery is non-removable and 2,600 mAh in size, which is a lot of juice for a phone this size. Pair that with a 720p panel instead of a full HD 1080p display, you have a phone with a “˜never say die‘ attitude. The battery life is nothing shy of incredible. Sony claims a “œground-breaking two day battery,“ but for once I believe a smartphone company is underselling the battery life.
With moderate use, you will easily get 3-4 days of battery life. We try to push phones to their limit when testing, however, and we got more than 6 hours of screen on time with heavy use. Try as you may, you cannot kill this battery in a single day. Sony has achieved what we have been asking for for years!
Camera
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact’s camera uses the same 20.7MP sensor that was introduced back with the Xperia Z1. It shoots with a maximum resolution of 5248 x 3936 pixels (20.7MP) in manual mode, or 3264 x 2448 (8MP) in Superior Auto. There is also a LED flash to help you with some low-light photos. Speaking of low-light, the sensor in the new Xperia Z3 series has received ISO 12800 support for improved shooting in poor lighting environments.
As we have come to expect from Sony, the Z3 Compact has that dedicated camera button. Seriously, when are other companies going to do the same?
Slightly over-aggressive compression does smear details in good light, and the autofocus isn’t the quickest ““ definitely outperformed by the iPhone and Galaxy Note series. In low light, however, it can outperform both sometimes. Other times, not so much. Colour reproduction can also suffer sometimes, as with the picture below.
Although the camera is unquestionably good, I don’t think it improves enough over its predecessor’s. Given how rival phone cameras have improved in the same time period, in particular, the Galaxy S5, I think Sony should have pushed for “superb”, not just “good”.
Conclusion
Without a shadow of a doubt, one of our top three smartphones of last year was the Xperia Z1 Compact. This year will most likely be no different, given the impressive performance of the Xperia Z3 Compact.
It is quite a shame that the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is a bit of a niche product ““ not many people wants a phone this size anymore. But for those who do, there is no other choice, period.
What do you think of our Xperia Z3 Compact Review? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
