Posted in: Android, Battery tests, Featured, Mobile phones

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact promises to be everything the big Z1 is except in a smaller package. The reduction in size, however, meant less room for the battery and the Z1 Compact has a 2,300mAh battery compared to a 3,000mAh battery for the big one.

That’s still great for the class – the HTC One mini has a 1,800mAh battery and the two are roughly the same size.

Sony is promising up to 18 hours of talk time, but our tests show that this is a conservative estimate. The Xperia Z1 Compact fell a little short of 21 hours talk time (on a 3G network), which is well above the next mini on the list (S4 mini duos).

The Galaxy S4 mini (single-SIM) and HTC One mini are both around 12-13 hours. The Z1 Compact also did double what the iPhone 5s achieves. As the first proper Android mini flagship, the Z1 Compact offers an alternative for those wanting to switch from iOS but turned back into Apple’s arms by Android’s trend of huge phones.

Talk time

Nokia Lumia 1520

28:34

Sony Xperia Z1

26:53

LG G Flex

25:19

Huawei Ascend Mate

25:12

Alcatel One Touch Hero

25:02

LG G2

25:01

Oppo N1

25:01

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

24:23

BlackBerry Z30

23:19

Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue

22:16

Nokia Lumia 1020

22:13

HTC One Max

22:13

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)

21:18

LG Optimus G Pro

20:45

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

20:42

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX

20:24

Motorola RAZR i

20:07

BlackBerry Q10

20:00

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3

19:54

Sony Xperia SP

19:49

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

18:12

Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)

18:03

Sony Xperia ZR

17:48

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos

17:33

Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100

16:57

LG Nexus 5

16:40

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

16:40

Sony Xperia Z

16:03

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom

15:32

LG Optimus G

15:30

Sony Xperia ZL

15:22

Nokia Lumia 720

15:17

BlackBerry Q5

14:31

Huawei Ascend P6

14:17

Oppo Find 5

14:17

Google Nexus 4

14:17

Moto X

14:06

HTC One

13:38

HTC One X+

13:31

Nokia Lumia 520

13:33

Sony Xperia C

13:29

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini

13:10

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos

12:45

LG Optimus GJ

12:39

Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE

12:37

Huawei Ascend P1

12:30

Sony Xperia L

12:30

HTC Butterfly

12:18

Samsung Galaxy Note

12:14

HTC One mini

12:04

HTC Desire 600 dual sim

11:58

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam

11:58

Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core

11:52

HTC Desire 500

11:31

Samsung Galaxy Premier

11:30

Asus Padfone 2

11:20

Acer Liquid E2

11:07

HTC Droid DNA

11:07

HTC Windows Phone 8X

11:07

Samsung Wave 3 S8600

11:07

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus

11:06

HTC Desire X

11:03

Meizu MX3

11:02

Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)

11:01

Apple iPhone 5s

10:46

HTC One X (AT&T, LTE)

10:35

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III

10:20

Apple iPhone 5c

10:18

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)

10:15

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2

10:03

HTC One V

10:00

Meizu MX 4-core

10:00

Samsung Galaxy Express

10:00

HTC One X

9:57

HTC One S

9:42

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R

9:40

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3

9:32

HTC Sensation XL

9:30

Nokia Lumia 810

9:05

Nokia Lumia 710

9:05

Acer CloudMobile S500

9:05

Motorola Atrix HD

9:04

HTC Vivid

9:02

Nokia Lumia 920

8:56

Nokia Lumia 610

8:51

HTC Rhyme

8:48

Apple iPhone 5

8:42

LG Optimus 3D Max P720

8:42

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V

8:41

Meizu MX

8:39

Samsung Galaxy S II

8:35

Samsung Galaxy S Duos

8:28

Nokia Lumia 800

8:25

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

8:23

Nokia Lumia 510

8:22

Samsung Galaxy Fame

8:21

BlackBerry Z10

8:20

HTC Desire V

8:20

Samsung Captivate Glide

8:20

Sony Xperia T

8:15

HTC Rezound (LTE)

8:10

Samsung Galaxy Note (LTE)

8:02

LG Optimus Vu

7:57

Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2

7:42

LG Optimus 4X HD

7:41

Apple iPhone 4S

7:41

Samsung i937 Focus S

7:25

HTC Evo 4G LTE (LTE)

7:21

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G

7:14

Nokia Lumia 820

7:09

Sony Xperia acro S

7:09

Samsung Rugby Smart I847

7:09

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro

6:57

Nokia N9

6:57

HTC Radar

6:53

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos

6:53

BlackBerry Curve 9380

6:52

Sony Xperia E dual

6:42

Samsung Galaxy S III mini

6:22

Samsung Galaxy Pocket

5:54

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T (LTE)

5:53

Sony Xperia ion LTE

5:52

Sony Xperia P

5:33

Nokia 808 PureView

5:16

LG Nitro HD (LTE)

5:16

HTC Titan II (LTE)

5:10

BlackBerry Bold 9790

5:00

Pantech Burst

4:46

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact has a smaller screen, which allowed Sony to drop the resolution to 720p without major damage to the screen sharpness. This also upped the battery efficiency in web browsing a great deal, the Z1 Compact is one of the best performers. The Galaxy S4 mini and iPhone 5s both last nearly three hours less. The Xperia Z1 has a bigger battery by around 30%, but the screen surface area is 35% bigger, not to mention that 1080p is nearly twice the pixels of 720p. This means the big Z1 burns through its battery in just under 6 hours.

Web browsing

Sony Xperia C

12:45

Nokia Lumia 1520

12:40

Acer Liquid E2

12:39

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

12:37

LG G2

11:22

HTC One Max

11:20

Sony Xperia ZR

11:20

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos

10:10

BlackBerry Q5

10:04

HTC One

9:58

Apple iPhone 5s

9:58

Apple iPhone 5

9:56

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini

9:47

Alcatel One Touch Hero

9:40

LG G Flex

9:31

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)

9:12

Apple iPad mini

9:05

Apple iPhone 5c

9:05

Oppo N1

9:05

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

9:04

ASUS Nexus 7 (2013)

9:03

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom

8:51

Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100

8:48

BlackBerry Q10

8:42

Nokia Lumia 810

8:20

Asus Padfone 2

8:20

Moto X

8:17

Huawei Ascend Mate

8:17

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3

8:17

HTC One mini

8:12

Nokia Lumia 610

8:01

HTC One X+

7:56

Sony Xperia E dual

7:42

Samsung Galaxy S III mini

7:38

Nokia Lumia 720

7:37

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

7:35

BlackBerry Z30

7:34

Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)

7:24

Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue

7:23

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX

7:23

HTC Radar

7:17

Nokia Lumia 520

7:15

Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE

7:13

LG Optimus GJ

7:11

Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2

7:10

Meizu MX3

7:09

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos

7:09

Samsung Galaxy Express

7:09

Nokia Lumia 625

7:07

Motorola RAZR i

7:06

Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)

6:58

Apple iPhone 4S

6:56

Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core

6:54

HTC One V

6:49

LG Optimus G Pro

6:40

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus

6:40

Sony Xperia L

6:40

HTC Droid DNA

6:40

Samsung Galaxy Premier

6:40

Motorola Atrix HD

6:40

BlackBerry Curve 9380

6:40

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3

6:38

Sony Xperia Z

6:37

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2

6:35

HTC Desire 600 dual sim

6:34

HTC Desire 500

6:31

Huawei Ascend P6

6:30

BlackBerry Z10

6:27

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)

6:27

HTC Butterfly

6:24

Sony Xperia SP

6:18

Samsung i937 Focus S

6:15

Nokia Lumia 510

6:13

Sony Xperia ZL

6:04

HTC Windows Phone 8X

6:01

Sony Xperia Z1

5:59

Sony Xperia ion LTE

5:56

Samsung Galaxy Fame

5:55

Samsung Rugby Smart I847

5:53

Pantech Burst

5:51

Nokia Lumia 1020

5:50

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G

5:45

HTC Desire V

5:44

HTC Evo 4G LTE

5:41

Nokia Lumia 920

5:40

Samsung Wave 3 S8600

5:34

Oppo Find 5

5:33

Sony Xperia T

5:33

Samsung Captivate Glide

5:33

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam

5:28

Samsung Galaxy Note LTE

5:24

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

5:23

Samsung Galaxy S Duos

5:23

HTC Sensation XL

5:20

Meizu MX 4-core

5:19

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III

5:17

Sony Xperia acro S

5:16

HTC Rezound

5:16

HTC Desire X

5:16

LG Optimus G

5:15

HTC Rhyme

5:08

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R

5:07

HTC One X (AT&T)

5:03

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro

4:50

LG Optimus Vu

4:49

HTC Vivid

4:46

LG Nexus 5

4:46

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos

4:45

Meizu MX

4:35

Google Nexus 4

4:34

Nokia N9

4:33

Acer CloudMobile S500

4:32

Nokia Lumia 820

4:24

Samsung Galaxy S II

4:24

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V

4:20

HTC One X

4:18

Nokia 808 PureView

4:14

LG Optimus 3D Max P720

4:10

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T

4:10

Nokia Lumia 800

4:07

HTC Titan II (LTE)

4:05

HTC One S

4:03

BlackBerry Bold 9790

4:02

LG Nitro HD

4:00

LG Optimus 4X HD

3:59

Sony Xperia P

3:59

Nokia Lumia 710

3:51

Nokia Lumia 620

3:50

Samsung Galaxy Pocket

3:47

Samsung Galaxy Note

3:35

Huawei Ascend P1

3:23

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

3:01

The video playback was problematic on the Xperia Z1 when it launched with Android 4.2.2, but the Xperia Z1 Compact comes with Android 4.3 out of the box and Sony has fixed up its codec support since then. It’s still not perfect though as the video player drained the battery in 10 hours. Note that we test the web browser till the phone dies, while some video players automatically exit at 10% charge so we stop the video test there. Factor in those extra 10% and the video playback time would be roughly on par with the web browsing time.

For what it’s worth, the iPhone 5s rival is less than half an hour ahead and the Xperia Z1 once again turns in a lowly 10 hour score.

Video playback

LG G Flex

19:57

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)

16:35

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX

14:17

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

13:32

Nokia Lumia 1020

13:12

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini

13:12

HTC One Max

13:11

Sony Xperia C

12:53

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos

12:52

Apple iPad mini

12:51

Samsung Galaxy Premier

12:51

Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE

12:32

Nokia Lumia 1520

12:31

Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)

12:30

BlackBerry Q5

12:28

Huawei Ascend Mate

12:18

LG G2

11:51

Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)

11:29

Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100

11:27

BlackBerry Q10

11:15

Oppo N1

11:15

BlackBerry Z30



10:35

Apple iPhone 5s

10:31

Apple iPhone 5

10:12

HTC One

10:02

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

10:01

Moto X

10:01

Samsung Galaxy Express

10:00

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus

10:00

Nokia 808 PureView

9:53

Alcatel One Touch Hero

9:49

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam

9:42

Samsung Rugby Smart I847

9:34

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom

9:30

HTC One S

9:28

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)

9:27

Apple iPhone 4S

9:24

HTC Evo 4G LTE

9:07

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

8:45

BlackBerry Z10

8:44

LG Optimus G Pro

8:40

Nokia N9

8:40

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3

8:34

HTC Butterfly

8:28

Samsung Galaxy Note

8:25

LG Optimus GJ

8:15

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos

8:11

HTC One X+

8:11

Motorola RAZR i

8:11

Samsung Galaxy S II

8:00

Samsung i937 Focus S

7:55

Samsung Wave 3 S8600

7:52

HTC Desire 500

7:50

Samsung Galaxy S III mini

7:46

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V

7:45

Apple iPhone 5c

7:41

Asus Padfone 2

7:38

Huawei Ascend P1

7:38

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G

7:33

Acer Liquid E2

7:30

Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core

7:30

Sony Xperia ZR

7:30

HTC Droid DNA

7:30

Samsung Galaxy Note LTE

7:30

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2

7:30

Sony Xperia SP

7:27

HTC One mini

7:23

Nokia Lumia 610

7:23

LG Optimus G

7:16

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

7:03

Asus Nexus 7 (2013)

7:03

Huawei Ascend P6

6:55

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3

6:54

HTC Desire 600 dual sim

6:49

Nokia Lumia 720

6:43

Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue

6:40

Meizu MX 4-core

6:33

Nokia Lumia 620

6:32

Nokia Lumia 625

6:29

HTC Windows Phone 8X

6:27

Sony Xperia E dual

6:27

Nokia Lumia 810

6:27

HTC Desire V

6:26

HTC One X (AT&T)

6:26

Nokia Lumia 820

6:25

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos

6:25

Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2

6:24

Nokia Lumia 510

6:23

LG Optimus Vu

6:23

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R

6:21

Nokia Lumia 920

6:19

Sony Xperia Z1

6:12

HTC Sensation XL

6:12

LG Nexus 5

6:06

Samsung Galaxy Pocket

6:06

Samsung Captivate Glide

6:04

Sony Xperia ion LTE

6:03

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

6:02

Sony Xperia T

6:01

Motorola Atrix HD

6:01

HTC Vivid

6:00

HTC Radar

5:54

Nokia Lumia 800

5:52

Nokia Lumia 520

5:50

HTC Titan II

5:50

BlackBerry Bold 9790

5:47

HTC One X

5:45

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro

5:44

Sony Xperia Z

5:39

Meizu MX3

5:38

Sony Xperia acro S

5:38

HTC Desire X

5:38

Pantech Burst

5:38

Sony Xperia ZL

5:28

Meizu MX

5:27

HTC Rhyme

5:23

HTC One V

5:20

Acer CloudMobile S500

5:18

Oppo Find 5

5:18

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T

5:18

BlackBerry Curve 9380

5:09

HTC Rezound

5:03

Samsung Galaxy Fame

5:02

Google Nexus 4

4:55

Sony Xperia L

4:44

Samsung Galaxy S Duos

4:30

Sony Xperia P

4:30

LG Nitro HD

4:17

LG Optimus 4X HD

4:14

LG Optimus 3D Max P720

3:28

Nokia Lumia 710

3:27

Overall we’re pretty impressed by the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact battery life. Part of that is because Sony managed to cram a relatively large battery in the device. The smaller, 720p screen also helped a good deal here. Sony made no compromises with the chipset and camera for the Z1 Compact and it turns out there’s no compromise with the battery life but an actual improvement instead! The Z1 Compact scores an endurance rating of 65 hours, compared to the 53 hours of the big Xperia Z1.

It also managed to beat it where it counts – 6 hours of web browsing or videos is quite low for a flagship, while the difference between 21 hours of talk time and 27 hours is less important. The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact will get you through two days of usage, three if you use it moderately.