First Impression: Xperia Z3 Compact

The best of Z1 and Z2 in one compact package

Yes, that’s what struck me as soon as I saw the Xperia Z3 Compact. Keeping up with the impressive designs that the Sony Xperia Z series is known for, the Z3 Compact is a beautifully crafted smartphone. The front and back sides are elegant with a tempered glass finish, which makes the surface so smooth that a couple of times I did not even realise the phone was sliding off from my hands. Yes, on a lighter note, the phone is not recommended if you have butterfingers! The rounded side panel of plastic is a slight disappointment when compared to most of the new phones in the market with their metallic touch. The phone’s back cover is non-removable and the slots for your nanoSIM card (yes, Z3 Compact supports only a nanoSIM) and memory card are on the side panels.

At a time when phones with display sizes of five inches and more have swept the markets, Sony takes a bold move with a 4.6-inch display. The company has rightly gauged the fact that there are still many takers for medium-sized phones. At 129g, the Z3 Compact is very handy and a delight to your eyes if you are looking for a phone that could be easily held. With dimensions of 127x64.9x8.6 mm, the phone is thinner than the Z1 Compact.

The right-hand panel carries the power, volume and camera buttons. Taking into consideration the medium size of the phone, the power and volume buttons could have been placed a little higher.

A display of 1,280x720 pixels brings an impressive resolution. The Z3 Compact is water- and dust-resistant, and is available in black, green, white and orange colours.

* Camera and audio

Taking cues from the success of the Z1 Compact, Sony has maintained the 20.7MP rear and 2.2MP front cameras that click impressive pictures. The 1/2.3-inch mobile sensor and 25-mm wide-angle Sony G lens helps in clicking sharp pictures and flattering selfies. The camera does an applaudable job even in low-light conditions. The Z3 Compact’s SteadyShot technology helps shoot high-end videos with minimal distortions. Moreover, it offers 4K high-definition (HD) video quality resolution.

Clicking pictures becomes more interesting with apps such as AR fun and Face in, among others. You can even click snaps with sounds using the Sound Photo option.

The phone has two speakers on the front that offer crisp audio. The sound quality is quite satisfactory.

* Gaming

The Z3 Compact comes with the interesting feature of PS4 Remote Play that allows you to use the phone as a remote screen to connect and control games on your PlayStation. So, now, instead of your television, you can connect your smartphone to your PS4 via Wi-fi. With the impressive display and highly sensitive touchscreen, you can be assured of an amazing gaming experience.

* Performance

Powered by a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 Qualcomm quad-core processor, the device showcases power-packed performance. Running on Android 4.4 KitKat, the phone hardly showed any symptoms of fatigue. At 2,600 mAh, the battery is the most effective and long-lasting one from Sony, as far as I have seen.

The phone comes with 2GB of RAM and an internal memory of 16GB, expandable up to 128GB.

* Verdict

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact truly lives up to the meaning of compact — closely and firmly packed together. It is genuine, cute and could give good competition to the iPhone 6 series in terms of size, design, display and camera. At Rs 44,990, though higher than what was estimated, the phone is your answer to one of the smartest in that range.

XPERIA Z3 COMPACT
Price: Rs 44,990
Camera: Rear: 20.7-MP,
Front: 2.2MP
Display: 4.6-inch
Battery: 2,600 mAh
OS: Google Android 4.4 (KitKat)
Processor: Snapdragon 2.5GHz Qualcomm quadcore
RAM: 2GB
Storage: Inbuilt 16GB (expandable up to 128 GB)
Weight: 129g