Introduction
Of all the features that set smartphones apart, screen size is as close to a decider as they get. Counter to the trend of the last decade that saw cell phones become as small as technology allowed, the emergence of touchscreen and the resolution race have brought about a major shift towards the larger form factor.The 5.2" Sony Xperia Z3, 5.5" LG G3, and the 5.7" Samsung Galaxy Note 4 have all made it clear that screen real estate is in high demand. Even Apple has to play along now - the 5.5" iPhone 6 Plus, which looked less than certain until its very premiere, is now the platform's major weapon against Android flagships.
The actual iPhone 6 that should've been the star of the show, has in a way been relegated to the role of a mini - in Android terms. A giant leap for the 4.7" iPhone (up from 4") is a small step in an industry that has long crossed the 5" mark.
Yet, size is both an asset and a liability, making the redefined compact flagship an increasingly valuable commodity. Sony were among the first to realize this and the second generation of their Xperia Z compact series will look to consolidate their leadership.
Enter the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact.
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact official shots
The industry is no stranger to more reasonably sized screens, with the likes of Samsung, HTC, and LG all offering downsized versions of their past and present flagships. Unfortunately, most of these also come with a respective reduction in specs, which is a big no-no in our books. As you know, we're huge believers in capable compact smartphones.
Key features
- 4.6" IPS LCD, 720 x 1280px, 319ppi, ambient light sensor
- LTE connectivity
- Android 4.4.4 KitKat with Xperia UI on top
- 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
- Stylish dual glass-panel design
Main disadvantages
- Non user-replaceable battery
- Lacks the metal frame of the Xperia Z3
Sony's quick release cycle should be no news by now, but the improvements to the Z3 Compact are still significant. Although it doesn't sport the metal frame of the Z3 flagship, its protruding dual glass-panel design has a unique feel all to itself. The screen diagonal has been upped to 4.6 inches from 4.3, but Sony was able to actually make the device thinner and lighter than before - a very impressive feat, especially considering they were able to increase the battery capacity to 2,600mAh as well.
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact in our studio
Initially, we were disappointed to not see a 1080p screen on the Z3 Compact spec sheet, but Sony more than makes up for it with sharp colors, a brighter display, and some vastly improved viewing angles over its predecessor. Other welcome additions include the 2160p video recording capabilities and the improved water resistance rating.
The Xperia Z3 Compact is not only a pleasure to behold but also has a markedly premium in-hand feel. Up next, we'll be taking a closer look at the design and handling, and what makes the Xperia Z3 Compact worthy of flagship status.
Robust retail package
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact comes with some healthy extras in its retail package. Besides a standard USB adapter comes a robust 1.5A charger, which means you'll be able to juice up your Z3 Compact that much faster compared to a standard 1A unit.
The robust retail package
More importantly, in some markets the smartphone is also bundled with Sony's MDR-NC31E Digital Noise Cancelling headset, which integrates with the built-in noise cancellation capabilities of the new Z3 series devices. It works quite well (you check out our own review of the headset), and is the only headset that can take advantage of the Z3's noise cancelling capabilities - third party units won't be able to. Keep in mind that the presence of the headset in the package is strictly market-dependent so you might need to purchase it separately.
Design and handling
Sony has greatly improved the design of the Xperia Z3 Compact over its predecessor, the Z1 Compact. The latest Compact generation is no longer a mere miniature copy of its fullsize counterpart, but remakes Sony's Omnibalance design into something uniquely its own. So much so, that you may even prefer it over the Xperia Z3.While it lacks the metal frame of the Xperia Z3, the Compact does sport the former's front and rear glass panels. Although we would have liked to see some metal on the Z3 Compact as well, its glass panels are elevated - unlike those of the Z3 - giving the Z3 Compact a premium feel without the added weight that a heavier frame would bring.
Another benefit that the Z3 Compact holds over the Z1 Compact is that its rear panel is actual glass, like on the front, which does not tend to get scratched up like the plastic rear panel on the Z1 Compact.
The Xperia Z3 Compact's design stands apart from the rest of the Z3 series
In hand, the Z3's glass edges are pleasantly rounded to be comfortable to hold, and its small size makes one-handed operation a breeze. Although its thickness is greater than that of the Z3, it actually helps when holding the device as its larger size makes it easier to grip.
Speaking of, the glass panels have a tendency to be very slippery both in the hand and on smooth flat surfaces like wood or plastic. This, combined with its small size also makes it somewhat easy to drop, so care should be taken when handling the Xperia Z3 Compact.
Handling the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
Controls
The Xperia Z3 Compact features a control layout that's identical to the rest of the Xperia Z3 series. Up front, you'll find the 2.2MP front-facing shooter above the display, next to the earpiece, a small status LED, and some sensors.The capacitive control buttons are built into the display itself, so the only thing you'll find under the display is the front speaker.
The front of the Z3 Compact
Both sides of the phone are chock-full of slots and controls. On the left side lies a dock for connecting the Z3 Compact to a charging cradle or car kit, flanked by a slew of ports on either side. The microUSB port and microSD card slot are under their own flap, while the nano-SIM card slot is under its own flap.
The plastic flaps are there to ensure IP68 water and dust resistance - certified for up to 1.5meters for 30 minutes - so you better keep them covered if you plan on exposing the Z3 Compact to the elements.
The left side of the phone for connectivity
The right side houses Sony's characteristic rounded power/lock button, next to a tiny volume rocker and a dedicated camera shutter key.
The right side of the phone for control
Up top you'll find an exposed 3.5mm audio jack of the waterproof variety alongside a secondary microphone, while on the bottom rests a lanyard eyelet and the primary microphone.
The top and bottom houses dual microphones
Around back is the 20.7MP camera lens alongside an LED flash. The rear panel is not removable, so you won't have access to the 2,600mAh battery.
The back of the Xperia Z3 Compact
One final note on controls - Sony is planning on releasing complete PS4 connectivity exclusively to the new Xperia Z3 series this coming November. This means that you'll be able to connect the Xperia Z3 Compact to a dualshock 4 controller with the provided mount accessory, and stream full PS4 games directly from a PS4 system on the same wireless network.
The Xperia Z3 series will be getting full PS4 integration
4.6-inch IPS panel with ultra-slim bezels
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact has an IPS LCD just like its predecessor. That's where the similarities end, however, as Sony has not only bumped up the screen diagonal to 4.6 inches, but also squeezed it into the same footprint as the Z1 Compact. What's more, they've improved on it by making the colors more vibrant and brighter, while greatly reducing the contrast degradation when looked at from the sides.The secret behind these improvements lies in the Live Color LEDs that Sony has incorporated into the TRILUMINOS display technology found in previous Xperia mobiles. Live Color LED combines red and green phosphor with blue LEDs to produce brighter and more uniform light without oversaturating the image.
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact screen
Here's how the display looks under our digital microscope:
The Sony Xperia S3 Compact posted great scores in our display test. It provided some great contrast for its size.
| Display test | 50% brightness | 100% brightness | ||||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | |||
| - | - | - | 0.77 | 725 | 942 | |
| - | - | - | 0.34 | 626 | 1819 | |
| 0 | 274 | ∞ | 0 | 529 | ∞ | |
| 0.12 | 91 | 752 | 0.52 | 398 | 748 | |
| - | - | - | 0.41 | 488 | 1195 | |
| 0.19 | 220 | 1141 | 0.42 | 501 | 1196 | |
| 0.14 | 109 | 763 | 0.72 | 570 | 789 | |
| 0.22 | 248 | 1135 | 0.4 | 448 | 1123 | |
| 0 | 228 | ∞ | 0 | 456 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 226 | ∞ | 0 | 432 | ∞ | |
| 0.39 | 317 | 805 | 0.75 | 598 | 799 | |
The screen proved to be not very reflective and resulted in some decent outdoor visibility, beating out its predecessor by almost a full number.
Sunlight contrast ratio
-
Nokia 808 PureView
4.698 -
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II
2.832 -
Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
2.801 -
BlackBerry Z30
2.79 -
Sony Xperia ZR
2.672 -
Huawei Ascend P1
2.655 -
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
2.616 -
Sony Xperia T3
2.609 -
Nokia Lumia 900
2.562 -
Motorola Moto G 4G
2.546 -
HTC One Max
2.537 -
Nokia Lumia 720
2.512 -
Samsung Galaxy mini 2
1.114
Battery life
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact saw a healthy increase in battery capacity to 2,600mAh, up from 2,300mAh on the Xperia Z1 Compact. It also comes with the latest Android 4.4.4 KitKat update, which means that you'll get all of the latest performance optimizations baked right in as well.We were sure that the extra 300mAh would outshine the 65h endurance rating posted by the Z1 Compact, but we had no idea that it would almost double it! The excellent figures posted in web browsing and video playback mean that the Compact has a very power-conscious screen, while the 16 hours of call time aren't bad either. Excellent standby times also contributed to an overall endurance rating of over 100 hours.
This means that the Xperia Z3 Compact will last you for over four days on a single charge if you do an hour each of web browsing, calling, and video watching per day. Truly impressive!
We didn't even go into Stamina mode. It helps extend your battery life by toggling things like Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth screen brightness, auto sync and background data on and off automatically when the battery charge falls below a certain user-defined threshold. You can also turn off the Wi-Fi receiver if there is no saved Wi-Fi network in range or turn off mobile data when the screen is off, among other things.
Connectivity
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact comes in a single SIM version only, which has quad-band GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 support. 3G and LTE support depend on the region, with either quad- or penta-band 3G alongside a boatload of LTE networks including LTE TDD 2300.The rest of the connectivity features include dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac and Wi-Fi Direct. There is also support for Bluetooth 4.0 with apt-X, GPS and GLONASS, plus an FM radio with RDS. There is also NFC connectivity with support for Android Beam for sending files to other Android devices.
The ultra-low power ANT+ connectivity protocol handles connections to various sports accessories such as heart rate monitors or bicycle speed & cadence meters.
There is a microUSB 2.0 port for charging and data connections. Media transfer mode is supported for accessing the phone's built-in memory and microSD card over USB.
The microUSB 2.0 port can also be used in USB On-the-go mode for connecting USB peripherals such as pen drives, keyboards or real USB hard drives. There is also MHL support for connecting the Z3 Compact with TV-out, and if you own a compatible HDTV, you can output your phone's screen wirelessly via the Miracast protocol.
Chrome
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact comes with Google Chrome as the default web browser out of box instead of the generic Android browser. While the minimalist interface hasn't changed since Chrome launched on Android, the browser is being constantly refined by Google, and this has resulted in one of the smoothest and most powerful browsing experiences we've encountered on a mobile.Of course, one of Chrome's strengths is its ability to seamlessly sync with the desktop version using nothing but your Google account. This allows you to open an article on your PC and finish reading it on your mobile phone. It also syncs your bookmarks and favorite sites.
Google Chrome
Other apps
Sony's Smart Connect app comes pre-installed. It allows you to set your device to do a variety of things - like launch an app or set an alarm - whenever you connect an accessory like a headset or a charger. You can also set events to occur during a time interval (e.g. mute alarms at night). As for NFC compatibility, the Smart Connect app doesn't work with ordinary NFC tags, but only Sony's Smart tags, which is kinda disappointing. However, one of our readers duly pointed out, you can purchase cheap generic NFC tags, which are programmed as SmartTags so the app can recognize them just fine.
Smart Connect
Sony Select does the same as the Sony's What's New app, but comes with much less functions and old UI. We feel Sony should retire it.
Sony Select
The calendar has three different types of view - daily, weekly and monthly. The lower section of the screen is reserved for a list of upcoming events. Adding a new event is quick and easy, and you can also set an alarm to act as a reminder.
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact comes with a Track ID TV app that will recognize a TV show if you have the device to listen to what you're watching - neat.
Calendar • Track ID TV
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact also features the Office Suite 7, which comes with a Premium license for one month, allowing for viewing and editing office files (docs, xls, ppt), and it can also read PDFs.
OfficeSuite 7
Calculator, Clock app (with stopwatch, world clock and timer), Sketch, Notes and File Manager apps are also here by default.
Clock • Calculator • File Manager • Notes
There is the Sony PlayStation app too, which allows you to browse your PlayStation profile, avatar and achievements. It's far from Microsoft default Xbox app on Windows Phone, but it's something. It can also connect to your PS4 and extract various content from there.
The Power Saver - now part of the settings menu - helps you extend your battery life by toggling things like Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth screen brightness, auto sync and background data on and off automatically when the battery charge falls below a certain user-defined threshold. You can also turn off the Wi-Fi if there is no saved Wi-Fi network in range or turn off mobile data when the screen is off, and more.
Sony also provides a Backup & restore app, which can use the internal storage, a microSD card or even an attached USB mass storage device. You can backup the system and downloaded apps and their data along with any media files.
The Power saver app • Backup & Restore app is a great tool to have out of the box
Final Words
Sony was the first to redefine the compact flagships concept with its Xperia Z1 Compact, setting a pretty high bar for both the competition and the potential successor. The company's short release cycle, on the other hand, is doing the Z3 Compact no favors.
Although there obviously aren't many significant improvements in the Xperia Z3 Compact, it nevertheless brings a refreshed design and updates in key areas like display and battery life. Not only did Sony fix the screen's contrast degradation at an angle, which plagued the 4.3-inch IPS panel of the Z1 Compact, but it squeezed a 4.6-inch screen in the same size chassis, making it brighter along the way.
Here's what else that stood out about the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact:
- Built quality is top notch, and stands apart from the rest of the Z3 series
- The display is adequately bright and has good sunlight legibility
- Battery life is phenomenal
- It has an all-round connectivity package including LTE, USB Host and FM radio
- Speaker loudness scored an Average rating, likely due to the IP rating
- Benchmark performance is flagship grade, although helped by only having to push out 720p pixels
- Audio quality is very good, with minor exceptions in some areas
- Video player handles all the major formats except for AC3 audio and AAC audio with AVC video
- Camera is OK, but not as good as competing offerings from Samsung. 2160p videos come out smooth
And we're comfortable saying that because the competition's mini flagships, in their second generation now, are still having trouble matching the original Z1 Compact. They're getting close, no doubt about that, but not quite there yet.
Despite a number of premium extras such as water-proofing and a fingerprint scanner, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is powered by a proprietary Exynos chipset that's roughly in the same league as Snapdragon 400. The latter is ticking inside the likes of the HTC One mini 2 and the Motorola Moto G (2014) - which may not be a mini in size but not far off in attitude and, above all, price.
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini • HTC One mini 2 • Motorola Moto G (2014)
So, the 4.7-inch Alpha is probably the only droid that can hang with the Xperia Z3 Compact in terms of both looks and performance. It's Samsung's first Galaxy smartphone with a metal chassis and has a slimmer 6.7mm profile. The screen is of the 4.7-inch 720p variety, and its 12MP shooter provides both superior still images and 4K videos.
The Alpha comes with either a quad-core Snapdragon 801 or an octa-core Exynos chip inside, and the Mali-T628 GPU found on the Exynos version provided better graphics performance than the Z3 Compact's Adreno 330. The only drawback to the Alpha is its 1860mAh battery, which resulted in just about half the endurance rating we achieved with the Z3 Compact in our own testing.
Samsung Galaxy Alpha
While the Z3 Compact is all about keeping dimensions small, a bigger screen may be what you're after, which is where the Sony Xperia Z3 comes in. The Xperia Z3 is virtually identical to its compact counterpart, except that it sports 3GB of RAM and a 5.2-inch 1080p display. Obviously, Sony was also able to squeeze in a larger battery, but the Z3 also comes in a stylish metal frame to complement the dual glass-panel design, resulting in a slightly different look and feel.
Sony Xperia Z3
Finally, no way we can miss the latest member of the compact flagship club, the just-announced Apple iPhone 6. It features a 4.7-inch display of 750 x 1334px, which results in a slightly higher pixel density compared to the Z3 Compact. This also makes the iPhone slightly larger however, but the thickness is just under 7mm. You also get Apple's extensive app library and the new iOS 8 version. Keep in mind that the new iPhone 6 will retail for significantly more than the Z3 Compact.
Apple iPhone 6
With the release of the Z3 Compact, its predecessor could become a valid recommendation depending on how much its price drops. The Xperia Z1 Compact has many of the same features: a robust chipset with great performance, compact size with 720p display, along with dust and water resistance. The latest Android 4.4.4 update is in tow as well.
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
Ultimately, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact brings a very capable and stylish package in a comfortable footprint, at precisely the right time. If you're looking for a robust device at this size, Samsung's Galaxy Alpha and Apple's new iPhone 6 are the only real threats. Big ones though, quite obviously, especially considering the original Z1 compact ruled that same market segment virtually unchecked. Oh well, Sony's in for a fight - and looks up to it.
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