Xperia Z1 Compact disassembly guide

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is a marvel of engineering in that it packs most of the Xperia Z1’s innards including the powerful chipset and 20.7MP camera sensor in a smaller chassis. The main compromise is a 4.3-inch 720p display instead of a 5-inch 1080p display, although we doubt in real life use you’d be able to tell the difference in pixel density between the two handsets.

To give you an idea of Sony’s engineering prowess, Russian site DGL disassembled the Xperia Z1 Compact and included a teardown video to show how it was done. They confirm in their write-up that the back cover is indeed plastic, which can be removed with heat from a hair dryer. Click through to find some disassembly pictures and teardown video (in Russian).



Xperia Z1 Compact disassembly

Once the case is opened, you can see the 2300mAh battery and NFC-antenna.

In previous Sony flagship devices, you could access the electronics as soon as the back cover was removed. In the Xperia Z1 Compact, to access the electronics you need to remove both the battery and another plastic partition first .

This plastic partition is mounted on double-sided tape, ensuring a water tight construction. It is impossible to remove this part without damaging the tape, therefore be aware your phone will no longer be water resistant. Another issue when removing the motherboard is that all connectors are located underneath it. This means trying to reconnect it is very tricky.

The back side of the motherboard is almost bare, unsurprising given the tight fit.

The front part is arranged tightly. You’ll notice the chipset covered with thermal paste.

Most antennas do not use latches and pads.

The handset uses two microphones to help with noise reduction. You can also see the main speaker here, the rear of the speaker is covered to protect it from water.

The Xperia Z1 Compact uses the same camera as its bigger brother.

Here you can see the headset jack towards the top right (where the white plastic piece sits).

The headphone jack in more detail.

Via DGL.ru.