The Xperia Z3 Compact is another phone that Sony seems to have created ahead of time. Having only just brought out the Xperia Z1 Compact earlier this year, it seems too soon for an update.
Except this time, it’s not. Trust me. This is a big change to a phone that many already lauded and could be a great asset to Sony’s campaign to be seen as a leading smartphone manufacturer. The problem Sony has is this: small phones are seen as diluted versions of the flagship, rather than a choice to just have a smaller screen.
And in fairness, there are some compromises made with the Z3 Compact. But none that are major enough to take away from the fact this is essentially a flagship phone that’s just been shrunk down to fit those who don’t want a gargantuan handset.
The main upgrade I can see is to the screen: it’s now a whopping 4.6-inches, compared the 4.3 of before, without increasing the footprint. This is one of the places where we’re seeing a compromise, as it’s not a Full HD offering. With the 4.3-inch option that made sense, as squeezing that many pixels into the frame wasn’t easy, especially at the lower price point.
However, Full HD screens at this new size were common a couple of years ago, so it would have made sense to see a pin sharp display here. Well, it would have made sense if the price was the same as the bigger brother Z3, but the Z3 Compact is designed to slot in at a slightly lower price point.
Perhaps if it was exactly the same price, people might take it more seriously, as they will with the iPhone 6 which has a very similar-sized screen. But then again, coming in a little bit cheaper can’t be a bad thing, as long as Sony gets its marketing right.
Beyond that, the Z3 Compact is an astonishingly capable device that takes over from the first Compact and shows the world how it should be done. There are very few flaws, the screen aside, and it could even rival its bigger brother as the top dog thanks to the lower price tag.
Design
The design of the Xperia Z3 Compact is probably one of its best features, especially if you go for one of the alternative colours, particularly the green or red options. The translucent finish is excellent and actually gives more of a premium feel than the full Z3 in comparison.
The phone fits very well in the hand, and while I’m still partial to a larger screen thanks to the increased estate that a 5-inch-plus display brings for movies, gaming and internet browsing, there’s no doubting that this will be the primary rival to the iPhone 6 when it launches, thanks to its diminutive dimensions.
On top of that there’s the same enhanced water and dust resistance as on the Z3, with its IP65/68 rating making it even more impervious to the elements than the Samsung Galaxy S5 competition. Although as a result the seals that cover the ports (headphone excluded) are even trickier to get off, which will make the nightly charge irritating to say the least.
Another element that will get people talking is the fact it’s rolling in with PS4 compatibility. You can check out the hands on: Sony Xperia Z3 review to see what this is all about, but in a nutshell it’s a feature that lets you control your PlayStation 4 from within the same wireless network, allowing the Z3 Compact to function as a secondary screen.
You can even use the dedicated PS4 controller with a dock to slot the Xperia Z3 Compact into (using a sucker to hold it in place) meaning you get the full experience.
Sony has said it is technically possible to play these games remotely, but believes unless you’re on two superfast networks the chances are latency will ruin the experience.
Camera
The camera on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is pretty similar to the previous iteration, with the same Bionz engine, Exmor RS sensor and 20.7MP resolution with G Lens.
The problem with that is, while great in bright landscapes, Sony Xperia phones inexplicably become very grainy in low light which results in muddy overprocessing.
Sony believes it’s solved this problem with the new ISO 12800 setting to allow you to capture these scenes better – although whether this is actually anything more than a hardware tweak remains to be seen.
In the tests Sony showed off, there was a lot more detail to be found in the lower-brightness scenarios, so it does work – it’s whether general twilight snaps will suffer the same over processing as before or if we’ve genuinely seen Sony sort out the snapper that promises to be the best on the market.
Battery
The battery technology is probably, along with the PS4 capabilities, one of the coolest things on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact – although once again, it’s hard to properly test when only playing with the phone for half an hour.
The theory is thus: a more intelligent screen that can ‘remember’ images, plus an enhanced CPU from Qualcomm (still the same Snapdragon 801 chipset, but apparently increased in efficiency) now allows the phone to enter a third day without needing a charge.
I’m used to hearing these claims from manufacturers, so always take them with a pinch of salt – but Sony has some good reasons to back it up this time, and while it claimed nearly two days with the Xperia Z2 (nowhere near with medium use) it should put you well clear of needing a charger every night.
The 2600mAh battery will hold up well anyway, especially with that lower-res screen, so I can see this phone acing our battery tests.
Early verdict
I’m rarely excited about phones at this price point, but there’s something about the Z3 Compact that has me intrigued. More powerful, better built and with an improved screen over its predecessor, there’s a lot to attract consumers here.
The camera, battery and PS4 combination is going to be very attractive to a lot of people, and the fact it’s so much cheaper will impress too.
There are still some overlay issues that Sony needs to deal with (still too cumbersome) and I’m interested to properly assess the new camera modes, but for now it looks like Sony has a winner on its hands.
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