Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact hands-on review: First impressions

Introduction

So, you want an Android power-house that won't rip your pockets, at least not in the literal sense, that is? Sony's Compact line has traditionally been one of the first places to turn to. The choice beyond that is limited to say the least. That being said, while most of us around the office can't exactly relate to the issues of small form factor fans, we can definitely understand some of their feelings for last year's Xperia X Compact.

Don't get us wrong, we appreciate Sony's effort on a solid upper-midrange offer, but it just didn't have the raw power of its predecessors. Judging by the shiny new Xperia XZ1 Compact, we were not the only ones that heard the backlash from Sony's last Compact release. The Japanese giant was clearly taking notes, and pretty thorough ones at that.

Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact key features

• Body: 129 x 64 x 9.3mm, 140 g, glass fiber reinforced plastic unibody, Gorilla Glass 5 front, IP65/68 waterproofing
• Screen: 4.6" Triluminos display, 720p resolution (720 x 1,280px)
• OS: Android OS v8 Oreo with the Xperia launcher and Sony multimedia apps
• Chipset: Snapdragon 835 chipset: octa-core Kryo 280 CPU (4x2.46GHz +4x1.9GHz); Adreno 540 GPU; 4GB of RAM
• Camera: 19MP, 1/2.3" Sony IMX400 camera, f/2.0 lens, predictive hybrid laser/phase detection/contrast AF, burst AF, IR sensor for white balance, LED flash, dedicated hardware shutter key;
• Video recording: 4K video recording @30fps, 1080p @60fps, 720p @960fps, Steady Shot; Stereo audio recording;
• Selfie: 8MP, 1/4" front-facing ultra wide-angle camera with FOV120 and 1080p@30fps video
• Storage: 32GB of built-in UFS storage and a microSD card slot
• SIM: Single and dual-SIM models (market dependent)
• Connectivity: Cat. 15 LTE; Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO; GPS/GLONASS/Beidou/Galileo, Bluetooth v5.0; NFC, USB-C port with USB 2.0 support, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Audio: Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic; 24-bit/192kHz Hi-Res audio; S-Force Front Surround stereo speakers
• Battery: 2,700mAh non-removable battery, QuickCharge 3.0 support, Qnovo adaptive charging, Battery Care smart charging
• Misc: Fingerprint sensor (market dependent), stereo speakers

Join us on the following page for our first hands-on impressions.