The Best Small Phone 2017 [Sony XZ1 Compact Review] _ The Tech Chap

# Sony XZ1 Compact Review: A Modern Compact Phone Done Right

## Introduction: The Sony XZ1 Compact - Small but Mighty

The Sony XZ1 Compact is the little brother of the larger Xperia XZ1, offering a compact form factor with a 4.6-inch screen. While this size might feel tiny by today's standards, it’s precisely why many people might consider adding it to their device collection. The phone strikes a perfect balance between portability and performance, making it an excellent choice for those who appreciate one-handed usability without compromising on features.

## Design and Build Quality: Compact Meets Functionality

Launched back in October, the Sony XZ1 Compact has been under my review for about a month now. One of the first things you notice is its compact size, which feels surprisingly refreshing after using larger phones like the Galaxy Note 8 or Pixel 2 XL. The phone’s 4.6-inch screen allows for easy one-handed operation, and the small form factor makes it a joy to carry around.

However, the design isn’t without its flaws. At 9.3 millimeters thick, the XZ1 Compact feels chunkier than expected, even though it’s made from a unibody design using glass fiber woven plastic. While this material gives it an almost metallic finish, the phone doesn’t quite exude the premium feel that many other flagship devices do. The sharp corners and squared edges might not be to everyone's taste, but they certainly add to its industrial aesthetic.

One thing worth noting is the inclusion of front-facing speakers and a fingerprint reader built into the power button, which adds functionality without compromising on style. Additionally, the phone is IP65/IP68 water-resistant, making it suitable for outdoor use.

## Display: Triluminos Display Delivers Surprising Results

The XZ1 Compact features Sony’s Triluminos display, a 720p LCD panel that might not sound impressive on paper compared to Full HD or 4K displays. However, the smaller screen size (4.6 inches) means it offers roughly the same pixel density as the iPhone 8, making for a sharp and enjoyable viewing experience.

The lower resolution also contributes to better battery life, which is always a plus in a compact device. While larger screens are often seen as the norm, the XZ1 Compact proves that smaller screens can still deliver excellent visuals without sacrificing performance.

## Performance: High-End Specs in a Compact Package

Under the hood, the Sony XZ1 Compact packs the latest Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB of RAM, putting it on par with high-end devices like the Galaxy S8 or Pixel 2 XL. Running on Android 8.0 Oreo, the phone feels fast and responsive, though not as smooth as flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S10+ or Google Pixel 3.

Sony’s UI is one of its strengths, even if it comes with a fair share of bloatware. The pre-installed apps (like Movie Creator, Sketch AVG, Antivirus, and others) can be annoying at first, but disabling or removing them makes the experience much cleaner.

## Camera: Decent Performance with Room for Improvement

The XZ1 Compact shares the same 19-megapixel f/2.0 camera setup as its larger sibling, utilizing Sony’s innovative stacked sensor technology. This allows for faster photo processing and improved low-light performance. However, the results are a mixed bag.

While photos and 4K videos can look stunning in good lighting conditions, they don’t quite match up to the competition in terms of noise levels and dynamic range. The camera tends to oversaturate colors, which can make images appear more vibrant but less natural. A wider aperture would undoubtedly help here, but overall, it’s a decent camera that gets the job done.

One standout feature is the 960 FPS super slow-motion video capture, inherited from the flagship Xperia XZ Premium. While not always easy to use consistently, it’s a fun and impressive feature when conditions are right.

## Battery Life: Impressive Stamina for Its Size

Battery life is another area where the XZ1 Compact shines. With a 2700mAh battery, the phone manages to deliver excellent performance despite its compact size. Using Netflix for an hour drains about 13% of the battery, and even after a full day of use, I still had around 5% left. While it doesn’t quite match the Huawei Mate 10’s stamina, it easily lasts a day and a half, making it a great choice for on-the-go users.

## Conclusion: A Modern Compact Phone Done Right

The Sony XZ1 Compact isn’t perfect, but it offers a compelling combination of high-end specs, compact size, and reasonable price. At launch, it was priced at £499/$599, which has since dropped by around £100/$100, making it an even better deal.

While its design might feel a bit dated and the camera isn’t the best on the market, the XZ1 Compact fills a niche that few others do. If you’re looking for a compact phone with top-tier performance and excellent battery life, this is one of the best options available right now. And while we wait for the rumored iPhone SE 2, the Sony XZ1 Compact stands out as the best compact phone you can buy today.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is the Sony xz1 compact the little brother of the XL one and with a 4.6 inch screen it feels tiny by today's standards but for a lot of people that's exactly why you might want to buy it this thing really is small the egg said one compact came out back in October and I've had about a month with it now to find out if it's actually any good and what surprises most people is that this isn't some budget compact phone with rubbish specs it actually packs in the latest Snapdragon 835 and four gigs of RAM that's the same specs as the Galaxy sa or pixel two and it runs the latest Android 800 software recently I've been using some pretty big phones like the Galaxy Note 8 or even the pixel to excel and go back to the excel one compacts 4.6 inch screen it feels really weird I'm not used to it I'm used to these big phones now it's actually really refreshing to be able to use a phone one-handed for a change your thermal reach right across the screen easily get to the top it's actually really quite nice to be able to do that what I will say though is it's not the best looking phone and nine point three millimeters thick it does feel quite chunky and also perhaps a little bit cheap technically the body is plastic but the unibody design is actually made from a fancied glass fiber woven plastic giving it an almost metallic finish which looks reasonably nice but on the whole it just doesn't give you that premium feeling a lot of other phones do but really it's those huge bezels that make the phone feel a bit clunky and old-fashioned although to be fair a lot of people do still love this Omni balance design that Sony's been using for the last few years with a slightly more industrial aesthetic and squared off edges but I actually find the sharp corners quite uncomfortable and overall I just think it looks a bit dated although the chunky bezels do leave room for front-facing speakers you also get a fingerprint reader built into the power button and you get IP 65 68 water-resistant so the design may be a little bit dated but Sony's triluminos display is actually just right I say that because on paper the 720p resolution may not sound great especially next to Full HD quality and even 4k rivals like the Sony exit premium but it's perfect for this four points inch screen size and it means it's got about the same pixel density as the iPhone eight and the other benefit of this lower resolution is better battery life the screen is almost always the biggest drain on battery life and with the same 2,700 milliamp hour cell as its bigger brother the Sony X said one but with a small at low res screen the compact delivers really impressive battery life an hour of Netflix uses about 13% of the battery and by the end of a normal day I still had about 5% left so it's not quite at the same level as the huawei mate 10 other than over p2 but it lasts longer than most phones and can easily last you a day and a half but as I was saying earlier most people look at a compact phone or one this size and think it's play some cheap rubbish but the fact that it's got a snapdragon 835 processor 4 gigs around android 8 oreo means it feels really fast and responsive to use it's not quite as smooth and slick as Sade 1 + 5 t or the pixel - as they're much closer to stock Android but Sony's UI is still one of my favorites although I have to admit it's a bit annoying the amount of bloatware you get on the sony phone apps like movie creator sketch AVG Antivirus 3d creator a pen up there's a lot of stuff pre-installed here which isn't very nice but once you remove and disable most of that then it's absolutely fine as for the camera the compact shares the same 19 megapixel f 2.0 camera as its bigger brother and makes use of their innovative stacked sensor which uses a little bit of the phone's ramp to let the camera process photos faster and other bits of trickery but what's interesting is that like most Sony phones recently it all sounds great on paper with lots of fancy tech and high-end sensors but the end results are a little bit of a mixed bag photos and 4k videos can look really nice especially in good light but it doesn't quite compete with the galaxy s 8 pixel - all the latest iPhones in terms of noise levels and dynamic range I also find that over does the contrast and saturation of it which can make it look more vibrant but it is less natural I think a wider aperture would definitely help here and it's a decent camera overall just not as good as the competition but surprisingly you do also get the cool 960 FPS super slow motion feature taken straight from the flagship exit premium it's cool when it works and you have really good light but I found it kind of a pain in the ass to use consistently well but it's still a nice option to have so while it may not be perfect I really do like the Sony exit 1 compact there's so few good phones especially with high-end specs like this with smaller screens and I still think there's a big market for it it doesn't look the most modern the camera is good rather than great but you get a great compact size really good battery life solid performance a good screen and best of all it's actually pretty good value for money it launched at 499 pounds of $599 which was reasonable but it's been a little over a month since it came out and it's already dropped by a hundred pounds or a hundred dollars I've put links to all that in a description if you want to check those up but really for me this is one of them I have to say whew Sony phones recently but I do genuinely highly recommend and while we wait for an iPhone se 2 which will hopefully be coming next year right now I think this is the best compact phone you can buy so thank you very much for watching click that like and subscribe button if you liked the video helped me get to 200,000 subscribers I'll see you next time right here on the tech jabthis is the Sony xz1 compact the little brother of the XL one and with a 4.6 inch screen it feels tiny by today's standards but for a lot of people that's exactly why you might want to buy it this thing really is small the egg said one compact came out back in October and I've had about a month with it now to find out if it's actually any good and what surprises most people is that this isn't some budget compact phone with rubbish specs it actually packs in the latest Snapdragon 835 and four gigs of RAM that's the same specs as the Galaxy sa or pixel two and it runs the latest Android 800 software recently I've been using some pretty big phones like the Galaxy Note 8 or even the pixel to excel and go back to the excel one compacts 4.6 inch screen it feels really weird I'm not used to it I'm used to these big phones now it's actually really refreshing to be able to use a phone one-handed for a change your thermal reach right across the screen easily get to the top it's actually really quite nice to be able to do that what I will say though is it's not the best looking phone and nine point three millimeters thick it does feel quite chunky and also perhaps a little bit cheap technically the body is plastic but the unibody design is actually made from a fancied glass fiber woven plastic giving it an almost metallic finish which looks reasonably nice but on the whole it just doesn't give you that premium feeling a lot of other phones do but really it's those huge bezels that make the phone feel a bit clunky and old-fashioned although to be fair a lot of people do still love this Omni balance design that Sony's been using for the last few years with a slightly more industrial aesthetic and squared off edges but I actually find the sharp corners quite uncomfortable and overall I just think it looks a bit dated although the chunky bezels do leave room for front-facing speakers you also get a fingerprint reader built into the power button and you get IP 65 68 water-resistant so the design may be a little bit dated but Sony's triluminos display is actually just right I say that because on paper the 720p resolution may not sound great especially next to Full HD quality and even 4k rivals like the Sony exit premium but it's perfect for this four points inch screen size and it means it's got about the same pixel density as the iPhone eight and the other benefit of this lower resolution is better battery life the screen is almost always the biggest drain on battery life and with the same 2,700 milliamp hour cell as its bigger brother the Sony X said one but with a small at low res screen the compact delivers really impressive battery life an hour of Netflix uses about 13% of the battery and by the end of a normal day I still had about 5% left so it's not quite at the same level as the huawei mate 10 other than over p2 but it lasts longer than most phones and can easily last you a day and a half but as I was saying earlier most people look at a compact phone or one this size and think it's play some cheap rubbish but the fact that it's got a snapdragon 835 processor 4 gigs around android 8 oreo means it feels really fast and responsive to use it's not quite as smooth and slick as Sade 1 + 5 t or the pixel - as they're much closer to stock Android but Sony's UI is still one of my favorites although I have to admit it's a bit annoying the amount of bloatware you get on the sony phone apps like movie creator sketch AVG Antivirus 3d creator a pen up there's a lot of stuff pre-installed here which isn't very nice but once you remove and disable most of that then it's absolutely fine as for the camera the compact shares the same 19 megapixel f 2.0 camera as its bigger brother and makes use of their innovative stacked sensor which uses a little bit of the phone's ramp to let the camera process photos faster and other bits of trickery but what's interesting is that like most Sony phones recently it all sounds great on paper with lots of fancy tech and high-end sensors but the end results are a little bit of a mixed bag photos and 4k videos can look really nice especially in good light but it doesn't quite compete with the galaxy s 8 pixel - all the latest iPhones in terms of noise levels and dynamic range I also find that over does the contrast and saturation of it which can make it look more vibrant but it is less natural I think a wider aperture would definitely help here and it's a decent camera overall just not as good as the competition but surprisingly you do also get the cool 960 FPS super slow motion feature taken straight from the flagship exit premium it's cool when it works and you have really good light but I found it kind of a pain in the ass to use consistently well but it's still a nice option to have so while it may not be perfect I really do like the Sony exit 1 compact there's so few good phones especially with high-end specs like this with smaller screens and I still think there's a big market for it it doesn't look the most modern the camera is good rather than great but you get a great compact size really good battery life solid performance a good screen and best of all it's actually pretty good value for money it launched at 499 pounds of $599 which was reasonable but it's been a little over a month since it came out and it's already dropped by a hundred pounds or a hundred dollars I've put links to all that in a description if you want to check those up but really for me this is one of them I have to say whew Sony phones recently but I do genuinely highly recommend and while we wait for an iPhone se 2 which will hopefully be coming next year right now I think this is the best compact phone you can buy so thank you very much for watching click that like and subscribe button if you liked the video helped me get to 200,000 subscribers I'll see you next time right here on the tech jab\n"