As handsome as ever

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One thing that’s been consistently true of Sony’s OmniBalance design — "symmetry in all directions," as the company defines it — is that it looks better than it feels. Introduced with the Xperia Z a year ago, this design language has propagated throughout Sony’s mobile portfolio, lending the company’s products a sophisticated and classy appearance, but it ultimately comes at a cost.

A single piece of milled aluminum forms the handset’s frame and turns it into a sublimely rigid and sturdy-feeling piece of technology. Its sharp straight lines are identical to those on last year's Z1, and just as with the earlier phone, the new smaller handset feels too angular in the hand. Whereas the Moto X gently snuggles into my hand, the Compact presses its corner into my palm and never feels entirely comfortable. That’s a significant shortcoming for a device whose core appeal over its predecessor lies in being more diminutive, and thus easier to handle.

The Z1 Compact is indeed a major improvement over the Z1 in terms of ease of use, but as long as Sony persists with the blocky design language, ergonomics will continue to suffer. Other little annoyances include the exposed dock connector on the left side — whose edges I habitually rub up against — and the excessively stiff power button and spongy volume rocker on the right. On pure handling alone, I’d pick the Moto X over the Z1 Compact every time.

The Z1 Compact isn’t without its strengths, however. Firstly, unlike the vast majority of high-end phones, it's waterproof. That means as durable as your friend’s iPhone may be, this smartphone will always outlast it in a rainstorm or an accidental dip in the pool. You can also use the Z1 Compact with gloves on — thanks to the addition of a hypersensitive touchscreen mode — plus there’s a dedicated camera key, a feature that’s growing out of style these days.

Sony’s greatest feat with the Xperia Z1 Compact can be found on the inside. Unique among phones of its size, the Compact has a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 20-megapixel camera alongside a 2,300mAh battery. That’s 100mAh more than on the Moto X and exactly as much as you’d get on the significantly larger Nexus 5. When you add in all the usual wireless radios like Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC, the end result is a very densely packed phone that feels surprisingly heavy and substantial.

Sony has tucked away a single loudspeaker at the bottom of the Z1 Compact, which does a reasonable job of conveying notifications and blaring out the occasional tune. Cellular reception and call quality are similarly competent — neither stands out as excellent, but there’s little cause for complaint either.