Sony’s latest update to its “no
compromise” smaller flagship smartphone proves size really isn’t everything
with three-day battery, top-spec features and a great camera.
While the rest of the market has been
stretching phone screen sizes, Sony has been offering smaller “Compact” phones
since 2013 fitting the same processor and camera from its larger flagship
phones into a more manageable size.
The Xperia Z3 Compact was an excellent
phone with over two-day battery life. The Xperia Z5 Compact promises something
very similar.
Minimalist
and one-handable
Sony’s minimalist design has reached its
natural conclusion with the Z5 Compact. Some will like it, others will not.
The plain plastic sides and glass front
and back feel and look basic – a step back compared to last year’s model. The
phone is also relatively chunky for a flagship smartphone at 8.9mm thick. Its
larger 5.2in brother the Xperia Z5 is 1.6mm thinner and its predecessor was
just 8.6mm thick, but it is markedly thinner than the 11.6mm Motorola Moto G.
Its size makes it feel really nice in the
hand. With a reassuringly solid build, easy to reach power button and
front-facing speakers that aren’t blocked by hands: there’s no doubt this is
one of the easiest smartphones to use.
Call quality is excellent but the volume
buttons are quite low down on the right-hand edge making them relatively
difficult to reach while holding the Z5 Compact in a secure grip.
The 4.6in screen has relatively low
resolution at 720p with a pixel density of 319 pixels per inch (ppi). It is
colourful and bright, but not quite as pin-sharp as some rivals with much
higher pixel densities in excess of 400 or 500ppi.
The Z5 Compact is waterproof to IP68
standards, but still has an exposed headphones port and microUSB port, meaning
there’s no need to struggle with fiddly doors during normal use.
Specifications
- Screen: 4.6in 720p LCD (319ppi)
- Processor: octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
- RAM: 2GB of RAM
- Storage: 32GB; microSD card slot
- Operating system: Android 5.1.1 “Lollipop”
- Camera: 23MP rear camera, 5MP front-facing camera
- Connectivity: LTE, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4 and GPS
- Dimensions: 127 x 65 x 8.9 mm
- Weight: 138g
Small frame, full-specced hardware
The Xperia Z5 Compact has the same
Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor as the Z5 and performs similarly. I did not
experience any undue heat issues, and the Z5 Compact seemed cooler overall than
its bigger brother.
It wasn’t the fastest feeling Android
smartphone I have tested this year, but it was no slouch either. It runs games,
image editing software and data-heavy Evernote notes without issue. Only having
2GB of RAM compared to 3GB within the 5.2in Xperia Z5 is not noticeable in
daily use.
But what’s really unusual about the
Compact is its battery life: it is exceptional. Using it as my primary device,
receiving hundreds of push notifications, emails, listening to music via
Bluetooth, browsing for a couple of hours and a quick spot of gaming, the Z5
Compact lasted an average of 72.5 hours during my testing without applying any
battery saving modes.
Sony claims up to two days battery life
but, unlike the larger Xperia Z5, the Z5 Compact over-delivers. With the
excellent Stamina mode enabled I suspect it would last closer to four days
between charges.
Sony’s
Android
The Xperia Z5 Compact runs the same
software as the Xperia Z5 - a customised version of Google’s Android 5.1
Lollipop.
Sony’s music, movies and album apps are
all solid, but can be ignored for Google Photos or similar apps if preferred.
High resolution audio playback, digital noise cancelling and access to Sony’s
PlayStation Remote Play all hallmarks of Sony’s recent smartphones are present.
Users wishing to take advantage of noise
cancelling or hi-res music will have to buy the right earphones, although some
may come bundled in the box depending on the deal.
Camera
The Xperia Z5 Compacts camera is the same
one as fitted to the rest of the Z5 range, and it is great. Autofocus is very
fast, images are captured with good detail, video stabilisation is fantastic
and a dedicated two-stage camera button is very welcome.
It performs better than average in
low-light conditions compared to the high-end competition, although, like the
Xperia Z5, the flash is basically not worth using.
The selfie camera produces solid shots in
good lighting, but loses detail in in-door lighting conditions. The photos look
good zoomed out, but noise is apparent when viewed at full resolution.
Fingerprint
sensor
The fingerprint scanner hidden under the
home button is one of the best in the business. During my testing only once did
it fail to recognise my thumb print when trying to unlock the phone. I must
have unlocked the phone hundreds of times.
It cannot be used for some third-party
apps such as Evernote or LastPass just yet, but that will likely change when
fingerprint support becomes standard in Android 6 Marshmallow.
Price
The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact is available
for pre-order in black, white, yellow and pink costing £450. For comparison,
the 4.7in iPhone 6S costs £539 and the Samsung 5.1in Galaxy S6 currently costs
around £400.
Verdict
The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact is the best
smaller Android smartphone of the year and arguably the best smaller smartphone
currently available.
The camera is great, the phone is
powerful. It’s waterproof and the battery life of three or more days between
charges is fantastic. The design will not be to everyone’s liking it could be
thinner and the screen could be of higher resolution, but they are trade-offs
worth making.
Pros:
three+ day battery life, great camera, microSD card slot, fast, useful software
additions, PlayStation Remote Play
Cons:
relatively low resolution screen, no wireless
charging, selfies soft on detail, chunky design, volume buttons difficult to
reach when on a call
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