Sony has decided that in the premium smartphone market, smaller can be more beautiful. Having peaked with the 6.44in Xperia Z Ultra phablet, Sony’s latest smartphone has a 4.3in screen – far smaller than the 5in of the Samsung Galaxy S4 or 4.7in HTC One – and is being pitched as a “premium compact” rather than a budget small Android phone.

When the phone was announced in January, Sony Mobile's head in Europe, Pierre Perron, claimed Sony was "inventing our own market segment: the premium compact Android smartphone".

Sony sees a significant market for a smaller, more manageable Android smartphone specifically targeted at the iPhone and with smaller hands in mind, but without compromising on quality or specifications.



The Xperia Z1 Compact bucks the 5in and larger screen-size trend, demonstrated by Samsung's ever expanding Galaxy S and Galaxy Note line, which Sony reckons is getting out of hand.



Recent data from research firm Kantar appears to support this theory, which showed 42% of people who owned phones with a 5in or greater screen size bought a smaller phone to replace it when upgrading.



Designed to be small but not cheap

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact review Photograph: /Sony Photograph: Sony

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, as the name might suggest, looks like a shrunken Xperia Z1 – a flat glass slab both front and back with rounded metal edges available in black, white, yellow and pink.

It is solidly built, if a little dense, and is constructed of premium materials with only a small bit of flex noticeable in the body when twisted. It weighs 137g - comparatively heavy for a premium smartphone given that most weigh less than 130g, even with larger 5in screens - but isn’t heavy enough to be noticeable in use.

Its smaller stature is refreshingly easy to use for a powerful, premium Android smartphone. Easy to use with one hand, it fits well in the palm and has good button placement, which means reaching the power or volume buttons doesn’t require the dexterity of a Spanish guitarist. The Z1 Compact is also slips into pockets easily, something that’s often overlooked by much larger smartphones.

Like the other models in Sony’s Xperia “Z” range, the Z1 Compact is waterproof and dust resistant. That means slots for the microUSB port, SIM and microSD slots are covered by little sealed doors, but thankfully the headphones port is exposed, waterproofed on the inside.

Sony has equipped the Z1 Compact with a 4.3in screen with a 720p resolution meaning it has a screen density of 342 pixels per inch – besting the 326ppi of the iPhone 5S on its smaller 4in screen. Most premium Android smartphones with their larger 5in screens have much higher pixel densities in the region of 445ppi, but the difference is not appreciable at usable distances.

The screen looks sharp, colourful and vibrant. It includes technology from Sony’s Bravia TV division called “Triluminos”, which enhances its overall colour saturation, colour accuracy and contrast, and as a result makes photos and videos look really good on the 4.3in screen.

Specifications

Screen: 4.3in 720p HD display



Processor: 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800



RAM: 2GB of RAM



Storage: 16GB plus a microSD card slot for expansion



Operating system: Android 4.3 “Jelly Bean”



Camera: 20.7-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front-facing camera



Connectivity: 4G LTE, Wi-Fi (n/ac), Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC and GPS



Dimensions: 127 x 64.9 x 9.5mm



Weight: 137g



Fast and lasts two days

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact review Photograph: Sony

The Xperia Z1 Compact is Sony’s first attempt at a “premium compact” and as such has crammed as many high-end components as possible into the 4.3in phone.

At its heart is the same top-end 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which is one of the fastest and most powerful chips currently available in a smartphone or tablet.



That makes the Z1 Compact powerful enough to handle anything you are likely to want to do on a modern smartphone – graphically intensive games fly, apps load instantly and there is no lag to be seen anywhere during usage. With 2GB of RAM fitted, multitasking is fluid too making swapping between running applications smooth and seamless, something that often can’t be said of smaller Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini.



For storage the Xperia Z1 Compact has 16GB of built-in memory, which is plenty of space to store applications given the phone also sports a microSD card slot for memory expansion up to 64GB for storing music, photos and videos.



Smaller phones are prone to shorter battery life, which is primarily down to the lack of available space in the smaller frames in which to fit a big battery. The Z1 Compact sports a sizeable 2,300mAh battery, which although of smaller capacity than many larger smartphones like the 2,600mAh cell in the 5in Samsung Galaxy S4 is significantly larger than the 1,900mAh battery fitted to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, for instance.



As a result of the large-for-its-size battery, the Z1 Compact lasted about two days of full usage with about two hours of emailing, an hour of browsing, 30 minutes of video and constant connectivity pulling in messages and notifications. In most people’s hands the Compact is likely to last much longer.



Sony has also integrated some aggressive, automated power-saving modes it calls “Stamina” mode, which shuts off data and inhibits power usage when the phone’s screen is off. Stamina mode is capable of extending the standby battery life by around 50 to 75%, should you need to be away from a charger for longer periods.



Still Jelly Bean

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact review Photograph: Sony

While the Z1 Compact disappointingly does not ship running the latest version of the Android software, limited to Android 4.3 “Jelly Bean” instead of 4.4 “KitKat”, Sony’s customisations to the standard Android experience are light and easy to use.

A suite of Sony applications come pre-installed, including the Sony Walkman music app and Sony’s “Unlimited” media subscription service applications, which provide access to movies and music for a monthly fee, but all of them can be safely ignored if you prefer alternatives like Spotify or Netflix.



The Z1 Compact has full access to the Google Play store, including its 1m or so standard Android apps, and comes bundled with all of the standard Google applications including Gmail, Maps, Google+, Search and Google Now.



For gaming, the Z1 Compact is also a PlayStation certified device, meaning it has access to the PlayStation Mobile store for buying and playing PS1 and other PlayStation games.



The software running on the Xperia Z1 Compact should be familiar to anyone who has used an Android smartphone before, looking and acting very similarly to the perfectly usable standard Android experience.



Camera snapping fun

One of the biggest standout features of the Z1 Compact versus other “Mini” competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and the HTC One Mini is the camera.



Sony has managed to squeeze the same, impressive 20.7-megapixel camera from the full-size Xperia Z1 into the Compact and the results are great. The view finder is incredibly quick and lag-free, photos are sharp, detailed and colourful, while the Superior Auto mode makes taking a great-looking picture as easy as point and shoot.



The Z1 Compact also has a dedicated two-stage shutter button, just like a traditional camera, and can be used to launch the camera application even when the phone is locked, making capturing a quick snap easier.



A “Timeshift burst” mode is also available, which captures a series of photos before and after you hit the capture button to make sure you get the right shot – something particularly useful if you’re trying to capture a baby’s first steps or a celebrity racing by in a nice car.

Sony also gives the user a load of manual controls, should people want to dig in and control things like the white balance, ISO settings or metering.

In addition to the standard camera application, Sony has also used the impressive camera to have a bit of fun. The augmented reality-effect camera, for instance, will overlay a walking, roaring dinosaur on the real world, or put a knight's helmet on your friends and family.



Sony’s Info-Eye application is capable of visually recognising objects, landmarks, text and QR codes. It can identify a bottle of wine, for example, and show reviews, more detailed information on the region it came from and what foods it is likely to go best with – a handy feature that allows you to pretend you know more about wine than the fact that it was on offer at £5 from your local supermarket.



Sony Xperia Z1 Compact review Photograph: Sony

Premium priced

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact costs £450 without a contract and will be available free on contracts costing £29 a month.



At £450 it is £100 cheaper than the £550 iPhone 5S, but £150 more than the Google Nexus 5. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and HTC One Mini cost around £315.

Verdict: a great, small premium Android phone

Sony identified a gap in the market for a premium, all-singing all-dancing Android smartphone packaged in a smaller sized frame. The 4.3in Xperia Z1 Compact is its first stab at capturing that market, and as a non-compromises smaller Android phone it is a very good first attempt.



Sony has made a very good small Android phone with the Xperia Z1 Compact, but the biggest question is whether anyone will by a smaller but still premium-priced Android smartphone. Compared to the “mini” competition – cut-down variants of larger, more powerful smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini – the Z1 Compact is in a league of its own.



The smallest of the Xperia Z line feels good in the hand, is sturdily built and is waterproof. It has a great screen, an excellent camera and applications simply fly on its powerful processor.



It also lasts around two days on a single charge without having to resort to aggressive power management. It is slightly thicker than competing phones like the 4in iPhone 5S, and is slightly heavier too, but in general usage its not noticeable. Its smaller frame makes it easy to use one handed and slip into your pocket.



The Sony Z1 Compact is the first of a new generation of small, premium Android phones. Now its time to see if that market gap that Sony seems to have identified really exists.



Star rating: 5 stars

Pros: Waterproof, compact, fast, great camera, microSD card slot



Cons: Not the latest version of Android, relatively heavy for its size, waterproofing ports doors can be fiddly

