Sony Mobile has announced the Xperia X Compact (F5321) to sit alongside the new Xperia XZ flagship. Sony has some pedigree when it comes to ‘compact’ Xperia models of the past. However, this time around Sony has compromised too much on the spec-sheet to truly call this a diminutive version of this year’s flagship in our view.
It is worth clicking here and reading all about the Sony Xperia XZ if you haven’t done so already. Now there are a number of differences between the Xperia XZ and X Compact, some are not a big deal, but some are surprising given Sony’s heritage with past Compact models:
1) The Xperia X Compact has a 4.6-inch 720p display (319 PPI pixel density and screen-to-phone ratio of 69.57%) with Corning Gorilla Glass. This compares to the 5.2-inch 1080p display of the Xperia XZ. This is as we expected and in line with previous models such as the Xperia Z3 Compact and Z5 Compact.
2) The Xperia X Compact uses a Snapdragon 650 (MSM8956) chipset with hexa-core processor and Adreno 510 graphics. This one took us by surprise – in previous iterations, the Compact model used the same SoC as the flagship device. We fully expected the Xperia X Compact to use the same chipset as the Xperia XZ here (Snapdragon 820).
3) The Xperia X Compact has no dust/water resistance. This one surprised us the most. Every Compact model has had water resistance since the Xperia Z1 Compact first appeared. We’re not sure why Sony felt it should take a backwards step here. Sony built some great marketing around its ‘waterproof’ smartphones and this should be a standard feature for its premium devices.
4) The Xperia X Compact only has a 1/3.06-inch 5MP front-facing camera (22mm wide-angle lens F2.0), versus a 13MP camera used in the Xperia XZ. Again, in the past, the spec-sheet on the camera side has been identical for both flagship and compact models. We’re beginning to see why this model is not called the Xperia XZ Compact…
5) The Xperia X Compact does not support 4K video recording. This is a strange one as even the Xperia X Performance does not support 4K despite housing a Snapdragon 820 chipset. It is obviously frustrating that it is not included, but perhaps Sony felt it could not deliver a consistent and reliable 4K recording experience given the issues with overheating in the past.
6) The Xperia X Compact has a 2700mAh battery (the XZ has a 2900mAh battery). This one is no surprise and fully expected. It has the same battery capacity as the Xperia Z5 Compact, but with Qnovo adaptive charging which should deliver a longer lasting battery.
Sony has used the same triple image sensing technology found in the Xperia XZ within the Xperia X Compact, this means there is lazer autofocus and RGBC-IR sensor. The Xperia X Compact has a 1/2.3-inch 23MP Exmor RS rear camera (24mm G Lens / F2.0).
We also see Sony using the USB Type-C port for the first time, along with the Xperia XZ. Other features include 32GB eMMC storage, 3GB RAM, microSD memory card support and a fingerprint sensor power button (not supported on US variants).
The Xperia X Compact has dimensions of 129 x 65 x 9.5 mm and weighs 135 grams. The Xperia X Compact will be available in three colours: Mist Blue, Universe Black and White. The handset is due to launch later in September.
Xperia X Compact (F5321) white paper
Via Sony.net and Sony Mobile Blog.
