Characteristics of the Sony Xperia z3 compact phone. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone review with video and technical specifications of the phone. A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

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Pros

Full of necessary and not so necessary functions, very advanced in functionality, easy intuitive menu, a 5+ device, if not for the build quality and, as it turned out, the complete lack of dealer support

Cons

According to reviews from servicemen, not only from the workshop where the device was repaired, there are frequent calls due to manufacturing defects or when purchased under the guise of a new repair device, even in large “grids”

Impressions

"Compact Z-3" - a complete "hat" - was purchased on 12/01/14, and already on 01/18/15 the screen began to peel off from the corner and a stripe appeared along the entire length of the screen on the side, the sensor did not work at first, but after the phone was completely dead , tormented by the fact that he lived his life for almost two days (played a video, made sounds as if he was photographing something, turned on the alarm clock, while the screen was “off” and due to problems with the sensor it was impossible to turn it off) and it again charged/rebooted touch screen It worked, albeit with a stripe and a screen extending from one corner of the body. And all this taking into account the fact that the device was purchased new from Svyaznoy. Naturally, under warranty, it was delivered to the Sony dealership in Moscow, in the hope that “Sony” is the name, support from the “end”, etc., such as quality control, etc., but in the end after 30 days that he stayed there, instead of repairs, a conclusion was received, not even from the manufacturer, but from some third-party LLC, in which “a type of independent examination was carried out” (such a “mastodon” as Sony turns out to be in Russia does not have its own expert institution): refusal to repair, allegedly due to water getting inside, allegedly scratches and careless operation, although it was covered with films on both sides when purchased at the Svyaznoy office for more than 2 TR, for which there was even a guarantee separate from the device from Svyaznoy and was always in a case, the device was not dropped into water and in the rain they didn’t go with it (it was winter, it was used carefully, by a girl) - they sent it to an independent workshop with a good reputation, it was opened in front of us - the verdict: it wasn’t even opened at the dealership, there are no traces of water getting inside the device, it’s a factory defect. As a result, repairs cost 14.5 thousand rubles. and the loss of waterproofing function as a negative “bonus”, because The touch screen assembly was replaced. As explained in the workshop, there are many complaints about this kind of breakdown, there are frequent cases of sales even in branded network centers (M-video, Svyaznoy, Euroset) of repair devices under the guise of new or defective devices, as in our case. After that, I found out from friends - two who bought the same devices had similar problems, although from experience with the Z-1 there were no such problems, they even filmed underwater at sea - and everything was ok, and not just me. Since then, this long-suffering "Z-3 compact" seems to be working and not glitching. Verdict - dealer service, despite the high price of the gadget, is simply absent; the manufacturer does not bear any responsibility for its defects to the buyer. Although I am completely satisfied with its qualities, it is advanced and full of functions. “Bits” that I also use, that the 4th, that the 5th dropped several times - I only changed the broken glass panels, dropped them in the bathtub, after drying they came back to life, once I even poured hot coffee on the 4th - it dried up, but about After two weeks the home button started to malfunction - I had to replace it for 1.5 rubles.

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Salmin Ivan

Pros

Build quality.

Speed.

Possibility of increasing memory.

Glass on both sides.

Waterproof.

Cons

The above mentioned problem is with spontaneous discharge.

Impressions

After the Lumia 925, the impressions are entirely positive. I will no longer return to the wretched WP crutch I spent 2 years with. But Sony also gave me a surprise with a minus sign.

After a month of use, the phone began to discharge very quickly (within 7 hours) in all modes, active, “sleeping” and even (attention) in the off (!!!) state and was constantly warm. In search of the cause of this accident, I searched all over the Internet, tried to turn off everything I could, and completely reset the phone several times. to the factory settings, I flashed it a couple of times via cable, through the Sony utility. In general, I took it to the service center, and after 2 weeks I received a fully working device. To the question: “What did you do?” - received the answer: “We asked again.” In general, I was glad that they didn’t take it apart, but I didn’t understand the answer a little, because... I flashed it myself 2 times.

It doesn’t matter, now the phone holds a charge for 2 days in average use mode (talks 3 hours a day, a little Internet) and about 20-30% remains. Happy as an elephant. Yes, I also bought protective glass for the front and back, I really love the tactile sensations of the glass and a couple of wires for magnetic charging, so as not to bother with plugs.

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Today people are divided into two categories: some crave devices with large screens, the second, remembering the commandments of Steve Jobs about the ideal diagonal of a smartphone, demand from manufacturers compact, but powerful phones. At IFA 2014, Sony catered to everyone's needs. The Japanese showed not only new flagship Z3, but also its smaller version Z3 Compact, which differs from its “big brother” only in dimensions (well, and some other small points). If you could already review the first one on our website, then we will get acquainted with the second one now. Make yourself comfortable!

Video review of Sony Xperia Z3 Compact

To begin with, I propose to understand the main differences between the Z3 and Z3 Compact. There are not so many of them anymore. It is clear that our today’s hero has lost a little in dimensions (64.9 x 127 x 8.6 mm versus 72 x 146 x 7.3 mm) and weight (129 grams versus 152 grams). The Z3 Compact is a little thicker, but that's logical. The battery in the Z3 is set at 3100 mAh, and in the Z3 Compact it is 2600 mAh. In the first case, 3 GB of RAM is available, in the second there is 1 GB less - 2 GB. Due to the smaller diagonal of the Z3 Compact (4.6 inches versus 5.2 inches), the resolution has also decreased: from Full HD to regular HD. That's it. Otherwise, these devices are identical, which is good news.

Appearance

Externally Sony Xperia Z3 is similar to previous models company, so it will be difficult to confuse the device with solutions from other companies. But it's for the better. Personally, I like the design solutions of the Japanese over the past few years. For example, in our case, the smartphone has very thin side frames (they are also quite small at the top and bottom), so the 4.6-inch screen was placed in a body that is much smaller in size than competitors with a similar display diagonal.

Above the screen there was a place for the Sony logo, two sensors (lighting and proximity), a front camera and a speaker. Moreover, the latter has a twin brother, who is already located under the display. You understand that stereo sound in any device is always pleasant. By the way, about the sound. It is of very high quality and clean, but at maximum volume (this is especially noticeable in games), the smartphone begins to vibrate in your hands.

Exactly in the center of the right side, the engineers placed the power control key, which is made in the best traditions of Sony - round and silver. On the black version (there are also red, light green and white) it looks very impressive. Just below you can find a volume rocker. It has two features: it is small (on my Lumia 1520 the lock button is the same size) and it is located too close to the aforementioned power control key, so the first few days random clicks can't be avoided. But then you get used to it. A two-position camera button is also present.

On the left everything is hidden behind plugs. Only a two-pin connector for connecting to the docking station in a visible place. Under the top “flap” you can find a microUSB connector and a slot for memory cards, and under the bottom there is a tray for SIM cards in Nano format. To be honest, opening the cap every time to charge a smartphone or transfer some data to a computer is not always convenient. Although security (according to the IP 65/68 standard) is never superfluous. But HTC, as we all know, does not believe that plugs are a mandatory parameter. , which is not afraid of water (IPX7) - good for that example.

On the bottom edge, in addition to the microphone, you can also find a place for attaching a strap, and on the top there is an audio output and another microphone. Rear panel, like the front one, is covered with protected glass. There you can find the Sony logo, the inscription “Xperia”, the “N” icon, which indicates the location of the NFC chip and, of course, the main camera peephole and flash. The Japanese are very proud of their camera, so they unobtrusively placed the “20.7 MP” mark next to it.

In general, the device can be safely given a solid “A” for its appearance, build quality and body materials. Nothing creaks or plays. The only problem is fingerprints. They are visible very well. Although this problem is solved in just a few seconds by a regular napkin. The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact feels great in your hands. However, I have to admit that it was difficult to get used to after my 6-inch Lumia 1520.

Display

We figured out the display diagonal and its resolution at the very beginning of the review - 4.6 inches and 1280 x 720 pixels. There was no point in Full HD here, and the company did the right thing by not chasing dry numbers. HD is quite enough for such sizes that you cannot see individual pixels on the screen - 319 PPI. Glove control is provided, and up to 10 touches are supported simultaneously.

Everything is fine with viewing angles, maximum and minimum brightness, and font readability. The only thing worth understanding is that a small screen (although a few years ago a 4.6-inch smartphone seemed gigantic) means a small keyboard. When typing, you often press the wrong key. It would seem that this is also a matter of habit, but during the test I never managed to get the hang of it.

Camera

The main camera received 20.7 MP, and the front camera received 2.2 MP. In terms of software everything is pretty good (although, as we remember, this was not always the case; the company took a noticeable step only in its latest devices). There are a lot of modes here. The only funny thing is that the maximum quality (that is, 20 MP) can only be selected in manual mode, the rest use 8 MP. Although let's face it, for most daily tasks this is sufficient. You can also shoot videos in 4K and broadcast live on YouTube. Bloggers, rejoice! Yulia spoke in more detail about the camera’s capabilities in her .

But, as they say, it’s better to watch once than to read seven times (or something like that). Here are some sample pictures:

I was very pleased with the quality of the pictures. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is the case when 20-megapixel (and even 8-megapixel) quality is not a shame. It often happens that there seem to be a lot of megapixels, but the pictures are such that even on Instagram with one subscriber you can’t even raise your hand to upload them. But in our case everything is different. The camera is good. I would even say that it is very good.

Features and software

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is a true flagship! Here you have a Snapdragon 801 (4 Krait 400 cores, 2.5 GHz), and 2 GB of RAM (we have already found out that the Z3 has 3 GB of RAM), and an Adreno 330 graphics accelerator. The smartphone copes with games and other demanding tasks excellent. This is quite expected, because such “hardware” is paired with not very high resolution capable of a lot. Asphalt 8 starts with maximum graphics, and Dead Trigger 2, despite average parameters, does not slow down even in dynamic scenes (where everything explodes and crowds of zombies are running towards you). In various tests, the smartphone also showed its best side: 45 thousand in AnTuTu, 20 thousand in Quadrant and 19 thousand in 3DMark. During the entire time I tested the device, I did not notice any shortcomings even when flipping through the desktops (although here, most likely, the issue is proper optimization proprietary shell). The operating system used here is Android (wow, what a surprise!) version 4.4.4.

As for the built-in memory, there is 16 GB of it. MicroSD cards up to 128 GB are also supported. But autonomy is a completely different matter. The Sony smartphone is clearly one of the best in this regard. The thing is that the manufacturer managed to install a battery with a capacity of 2600 mAh in such a compact case. For example, the same battery is installed in, but there is already a Full HD screen. If we talk about the “lifetime” of the Xperia Z3 Compact, then the device will last one and a half or even two days. This is during normal use ( social media, mail, a little YouTube, calls, e-reader). If you squeeze all the juice out of the phone (play games all the time, watch movies and all that), then the charge will last for 10 hours. In the settings there is also a STAMINA mode, which will make the Z3 Compact immortal. For example, at 32 percent, the program promises 7 hours of battery life, and when energy saving is activated, this figure increases to some sky-high indicators - 1 day and 16 hours!

All technical specifications look like this:

• Dimensions: 64.9 x 127 x 8.6 mm.
• Weight: 129 grams.
• operating system: Android 4.4.4.
• Processor: Quad-core Snapdragon 801 clock frequency 2.5 GHz.
• Graphics: Adreno 330.
• Display: IPS, 4.6 inches, 1280 x 720 pixels.
• Memory: 16 GB + microSD slot.
• RAM: 2 GB.
• Camera: main - 20.7 MP, front - 2.2 MP.
• Battery: 2600 mAh.

In the end

The positioning of the phone fully explains its name. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is not a mini version of the Xperia Z3 with simplified characteristics, but simply a compact version of it. Before us is a real flagship in a small package. He has very few controversial points. The only things I can complain about are the keys on the right side (they are located too close) and the price. If the amount of 490 dollars still sounds acceptable, then 13 thousand hryvnia or 32 thousand rubles is somehow too much (but the company itself is unlikely to be able to help customers in any way here). Otherwise, I really liked the smartphone: high quality camera, good screen, beautiful appearance, powerful “filling” and for a long time life from one charge. If you've been dreaming of a flagship device with a small screen for the last few years, then the Xperia Z3 Compact may be just about the only viable option.

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Detailed testing of the new mini-version of the flagship in the line Sony smartphones Mobile

New line mobile devices Sony Xperia Z3 was presented at the very beginning of autumn during world exhibition IFA 2014. Among other things, it includes three main top-end devices: the flagship Sony Xperia Z3, its compact version Xperia Z3 Compact, as well as a new eight-inch tablet called Sony Z3 Tablet. As for the most important device of the new line, the flagship Z3, we have already published a review of it. Now it’s time to look at its miniature version in detail, which was presented simultaneously with the flagship during an exhibition in Berlin.

In this regard, it is worth immediately noting two points. Firstly, the Z3 Compact can be called a “miniature” only according to its status in the line and the positioning established by the creators for this model in relation to the flagship. The device received the prefix “Compact” in its name, but this does not mean that the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone is small. In terms of size and screen area (4.6″), this is a completely ordinary smartphone, although it cannot be classified as a “shovel phone”.

The second interesting point is that the Japanese, having again updated the entire main line of mobile Xperia devices Z, was given to all devices included in the updated series, without exception, serial number 3. So miniature version Xperia Compact“jumped” one digit in its index so as not to differ from its comrades in the line, and there will never be a model called Xperia Z2 Compact.

Video review

First, we suggest watching our video review of the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone:

Main characteristics of Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (Model D5803)

	Sony Xperia Z3 Compact	ZTE nubia Z7 mini	HTC One mini 2	LG G2 mini
Screen	4.6″, IPS	5″, IPS	4.5″, IPS	4.7″, IPS
Permission	1280×720, 319 ppi	1920×1080, 443 ppi	1280×720, 326 ppi	960×540, 234 ppi
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 Krait 400 cores) @2.5 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 Krait 400 cores) @2.0 GHz		Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (4 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @1.2 GHz
GPU	Adreno 330	Adreno 330	Adreno 305	Adreno 305
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	1 GB	1 GB
Flash memory	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB	8 GB
Memory card support	microSD	microSD	microSD	microSD
operating system	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4
Battery	non-removable, 2600 mAh	non-removable, 2300 mAh	non-removable, 2100 mAh	removable, 2440 mAh
Cameras	rear (20.7 MP; 4K video), front (2.2 MP)	rear (13 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)	rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP)	rear (8 MP; video 1080p), front (1.3 MP)
Dimensions and weight	127×65×8.6 mm, 129 g	141×69×8.2 mm, 143 g	137×65×10.6 mm, 137 g	130×66×9.9 mm, 121 g
Average price	T-11028554	N/A	T-10829000	T-10833941
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact offers	L-11028554-10

• SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC), 2.5 GHz, 4 cores
• GPU Adreno 330
• operating room Android system 4.4.4 KitKat
• Touchscreen IPS display, 4.6″, 1280×720, Triluminos
• RAM(RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 16 GB
• MicroSD card slot up to 128 GB (SDXC)
• Protection against dust and moisture according to IP 65/68 standard
• GSM communication GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communications 3G UMTS HSPA+ 850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz
• LTE Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 20 (2600/800 FDD are used in the Russian Federation)
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
• Support DLNA, MHL 3.0, OTG, Media Go, MTP, Miracast
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), point Wi-Fi access
• GPS/Glonass
• Exmor RS 20.7 MP camera, autofocus, LED flash, 4K video
• Front camera 2.2 MP
• Non-removable battery 2600 mAh
• Dimensions 127×65×8.6 mm
• Weight 129 g

Scope of delivery

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone is packaged in a fairly simple-looking, flat and square box made of thin unvarnished cardboard, which has already become classic for the latest products in the Sony mobile line, with a cardboard tray and three different-sized compartments inside, separated by thin partitions.

The smartphone's equipment is extremely modest: in the box you can only find a compact charger yes Micro-USB connecting cable, nothing more. Sony has decided not to include headphones in the package with its flagship products; they will be offered separately at a fairly reasonable price, as an additional accessory.

Appearance and ease of use

Unlike the flagship Xperia Z3, the changes in relation to its predecessor are almost exclusively cosmetic, the difference between the compact modifications is more significant. The new Xperia Z3 Compact has changed not only the hardware platform, but also the most noticeable element - the display, which has increased the diagonal size. At the same time, the dimensions of the device remained unchanged, but the frames around the screen became narrower, which made it possible to integrate a larger screen into the same body dimensions - everything is logical.

Regarding appearance devices, then changes are noticeable here too. If the flagship only had its flat side edges redone, which were now rounded and pleasant to the touch, but remained the same metal, then the Xperia Z3 Compact also changed the materials of the side frame. Now it is made not of metal, but of polycarbonate, and besides, it has become transparent, which has radically changed the status perception of the device.

If previous Xperia smartphone The Z1 Compact really looked and felt like a serious, expensive product, like a real miniature version of the flagship, with the same materials, with the same heavy metal frame that gave the device brutality, then transparent plastic running along the entire side perimeter of the body of the new Xperia Z3 Compact , I’m simply not able to give such a serious look. On the contrary, it seems to simplify and reduce the cost of the device in appearance, transferring it into the category of youth solutions. Of course, colorful and transparent plastics may well captivate the younger generation, but for a high-status, serious item such changes in appearance are disastrous. As a result, if you put the Z1 Compact and Z3 Compact side by side, they will look like two products of completely different levels, especially considering the variety of colors that have appeared in the latter, including green and carrot-orange options.

But there is also a positive aspect to all this: the corners of the side frame are now made of polycarbonate material, so that they play the role of a kind of shock absorbers, supposedly helping the smartphone to “survive” after falls from a height.

The side plastic frame is hard and slightly rough to the touch, so the smartphone is held quite securely in the hand, this cannot be taken away. In general, dimensions and thickness new Sony The Xperia Z3 Compact is such that the smartphone can be held comfortably in your hand and carried in a pocket of any size. Compared to most modern mobile devices, the smartphone is indeed quite compact, although not the thinnest solution on the mobile market.

As for the general structure of the body, the smartphone is still a non-separable candy bar, consisting of two glass plates and a wide frame running along the entire side perimeter. The non-disassembly of the case also implies the way of installing cards: the SIM card and memory card are inserted into the side slots; no paper clips are required to remove them; you just need to open the covers covering the slots from the outside.

The covers on the side frame are made of the same transparent polycarbonate and equipped with rubberized gaskets, since the smartphone, like its predecessors, is provided with maximum protection against water and dust according to the IP 65/68 standard. There are two covers; they hide slots for a memory card and SIM card, as well as a Micro-USB connector. By the way, changes have occurred here too: now top-end Sony mobile devices use Nano-SIM cards, obviously with an eye to a painless possible transition for some users from Apple iPhone. The rest will have to go to the communication store again and change their SIM card to a new one.

There is another very noticeable improvement that should please fans of mobile devices of the Japanese brand. Now the back surface, like the front, is made not of plastic, but of real glass. Both glasses do not have factory protective film, the characteristics of the glass are similar to the famous Corning Gorilla Glass.

There have also been changes in terms of sound. Now the smartphone has two grilles for sound output, they are located above and below the screen; the role of the grilles is played by two symmetrical slits cut directly into the glass. A completely logical solution is to turn the speakers “facing” the user, and there are now two speakers themselves.

Another change: previously, it was through the top slot of the speaker that the light of the alert indicator came through, but now it is brought out into the traditional separately located round peephole. There is an item in the settings menu where you can disable some of the indicator’s functions, leaving it to notify only about the charging status.

There are traditionally no hardware buttons below the screen; control is carried out using virtual buttons on the screen.

From functional elements on back side You can only find the camera window and the flash eye. The flash here consists of one section and is located a little further from the camera than before. It can be used as a flashlight; for this purpose, the smartphone has a corresponding pre-installed program.

There are no changes in terms of mechanical hardware controls. The power and lock button are still located on the right side, traditionally for latest smartphones Sony, has the appearance of a metal round, but in models of the third series it is somewhat different in appearance. Next to it you can find a double volume rocker. All the keys are large, easy to feel blindly, have a distinct springy action, there are no complaints in this regard.

At the bottom of the right side there is a dedicated hardware camera control key, with its help the smartphone can be used to shoot even underwater, although the screen at this time becomes insensitive to touch. The ability to shoot underwater is a signature feature of Sony mobile devices, constantly played out in advertising and on posters.

A special connector with an open pair of contacts for installing a smartphone in a docking station has not been forgotten. The connector is universal: most modern Sony devices, including tablets, can be installed in the same docking station, purchased separately.

The headphone audio jack (3.5 mm) is located on top here, and it is not covered by any plugs. However, it is also protected from water entering the housing. At the bottom end you can only see the microphone hole - a universal Micro-USB connector that supports connection external devices in OTG mode, hidden under a cover on the left side. For daily charging, you will have to open this cover every time - or use a separately purchased docking station.

There is also another hole at the bottom - this is a traditional strap mount, which is present in all Sony smartphones, and it is a pity that other manufacturers neglect this useful element.

The color scheme of the new mini-flagship has undergone significant changes. The smartphone is presented not only in traditional black and white, but also in completely unexpected bright cucumber-green and carrot-orange colors, which, coupled with transparent plastic, is clearly designed to attract the interest of a young audience.

Screen

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone is equipped with an IPS touch matrix. The screen dimensions are 57x101 mm, diagonal - 4.6 inches, resolution - 1280x720 pixels. The pixel density here is 319 ppi, which by modern standards is not so much. The developers themselves call this type Triluminos display. Naturally, there is also proprietary X-Reality image enhancement software technology for mobile devices.

The screen is covered from the outside protective glass without a factory protective film - Sony finally decided to abandon it. The thickness of the side frames from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is approximately 3 mm - the frames are very narrow.

The display brightness can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment. Multi-touch technology here allows you to process up to 10 simultaneous touches. The display can be operated with gloves or wet fingers. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is locked using a proximity sensor.

Detailed examination using measuring instruments conducted by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens of both devices (Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, as it is not difficult to determine, is on the right; then they can be distinguished by size):

Both screens are dark, but the Sony screen is still darker (its brightness in the photo is 119 versus 122 for the Nexus 7). The tripling of reflected objects in the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the outer glass (also known as the touch sensor) and the surface of the matrix (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass-air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better under strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, much like the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 530 cd/m², and the minimum was 3.5 cd/m². The maximum value is high, and, given the good anti-glare properties, the image on the screen should be clearly visible in bright daylight. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. Works automatic adjustment brightness by the light sensor (it is located in the left top corner on the front panel). IN automatic mode When external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the brightness adjustment position. If it is at maximum, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 100 cd/m² (a bit too much, but it will do), in an artificially lit office (about 400 lux) it sets it to 200 cd/m² (normal), in a very bright environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 450 cd/m² (sufficient). If the brightness slider is at half the scale (it is very non-linear - after 50% the brightness goes up sharply as the setting value increases), then the screen brightness for the three conditions indicated above is as follows: 50, 125 and 450 cd/m² (suitable values). If the brightness control is set to minimum - 4.5, 40, 450 cd/m². As a result, the auto-brightness function works absolutely adequately. At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.

This screen uses an IPS type matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of the Nexus 7 and Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, while the brightness of the screens is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m² (across the white field in full screen), and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K. White field perpendicular to the plane of the screens:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:

The colors on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact's screen are oversaturated, skin tones are heavily red-shifted, and the color balance is different from the standard. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to the strong brightening of blacks. And a white field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (by at least 4 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but in the case of the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact the drop in brightness is less (brightness according to photographs is 232 versus 214 for the Nexus 7). However, the color tone did not change much. When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly and acquires a violet or red-violet hue. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same for the screens!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is average, since there are areas with slightly increased brightness along the edge:

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - about 900:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 32 ms (18 ms on + 14 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 46 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals according to the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the indicator of the approximating power function the result was 2.48, which is higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates greatly from the power law:

The smartphone has a dynamic (and cannot be turned off!) adjustment of the backlight brightness depending on the nature of the displayed image. The general tendency is that in dark images the brightness decreases, but the algorithm is somewhat complex, and as a result, periodically the brightness jumps noticeably, which is annoying, and decreasing the brightness in dark images reduces the visibility of gradations in the shadows under external illumination. That is, there is zero benefit from this function, only harm. As a result, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates with a consistently average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen. Of course, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen.

The color gamut is noticeably wider than sRGB:

Let's look at the spectra:

They are very atypical. As they write on the Sony website, this screen uses LEDs with a blue emitter and green and red phosphor (usually a blue emitter and a yellow phosphor), which, in combination with special matrix filters, allows for a wide color gamut. Unfortunately, as a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and these are the vast majority) have an unnatural saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. The result is shown in the photo above.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is not ideal, since the color temperature is significantly higher than the standard 6500 K. True, the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the variation in color temperature and ΔE is small, which has a positive effect on the visual perception of color balance. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

This smartphone has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the intensities of the three primary colors.

That's what we tried to do, the result is data signed as Corr. in the graphs above. As a result, we reduced the ΔE a little and set the white point to 6500 K (but also greatly reduced the brightness):

However, this correction did not reduce the oversaturation of colors. If someone still finds the image on the screen of this smartphone not bright enough, you can turn on the proprietary mode X-Reality for mobile. The result is shown below:

Saturation and contour sharpness are increased by software, and distinct gradations of shades in the area rich colors gets smaller. But the picture, yes, has become brighter. There is also a “maximum brightness” mode, in which color contrast increases even more:

And alternately (if you have scripts enabled) all three modes on the gradient:

Off:

Let's summarize. The brightness adjustment range of this screen is wide, and the anti-glare properties are all right, which allows you to comfortably use the smartphone both on a sunny day outside and in complete darkness. It is permissible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works absolutely adequately. The advantages also include an effective oleophobic coating, no flicker and no air gap in the layers of the screen. The disadvantages are a strong highlighting of black color when the gaze deviates from perpendicular to the surface of the screen and aggressive dynamic brightness adjustment. Color rendering is not all right, as the colors are oversaturated (skin tones are especially affected) and the color temperature is too high. The presence of appropriate adjustments allows you to adjust the balance to almost ideal, but at the expense of reducing brightness. Taking into account the importance of characteristics specifically for this class of devices (and the most important thing is the visibility of information in a wide range of external conditions), the quality of the screen can be considered high.

Sound

While I was pleased with the significant improvement in the sound of the flagship Sony Xperia Z3, the sound of the compact version remained so inexpressive, even with two stereo speakers. Low frequencies are present, but the speakers sound somewhat muffled, they do not impress with either the purity of sound or the power, and at the maximum volume level they even wheeze slightly. In conversational dynamics, the interlocutor’s speech, intonation and timbre remain distinguishable and recognizable, however, it also sounds rather muffled.

The internal arrangement and sound settings remain the same. To play music, the device traditionally uses its own proprietary Walkman player. The standard audio player is rich in settings and additional software sound improvements, such as a built-in equalizer with a lot of preset values ​​(you can set your own), Clear technology Phase, xLoud and virtual surround sound. Control of most settings is available if the complex ClearAudio+ function is turned off, otherwise all settings are left to the machine. It is worth noting that the new “compact”, like the new flagship, implements Sony’s proprietary digital noise reduction technology. The developers promise that when using a special headset MDR-NC31EM, the level of external noise can be reduced by 98%.

FM radio is included as standard with the smartphone. Traditionally, it only works with connected headphones as an antenna; it does not have the ability to record programs. There was no voice recorder in the standard configuration of the smartphone, just like the main one, by the way. Xperia versions Z3.

Camera

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is equipped with the same two digital camera modules with a resolution of 20.7 and 2.2 megapixels, which were equipped with previous flagships and which ones are now installed in the Xperia Z3. The hardware here is exactly the same, only software effects are added. The main 20.7-megapixel camera is equipped with a G Lens series lens with a focal length of 27 mm and an aperture of F2.0. The camera uses a 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS for mobile sensor and a Bionz for mobile processor.

By default, the cameras of all Sony devices operate in the so-called super auto mode (iauto) with a wide aspect ratio, but you can switch the shooting to manual settings. It is noteworthy that when you press the hardware button on the side of the device, the camera quickly turns on, but is always activated in automatic shooting mode, even if the mode was previously turned on manual settings. If you launch the camera application from the desktop or from the program menu, then in this case everything goes as usual, and the camera leaves the previous settings, that is, it starts in manual mode, if one was set earlier. Note that there is a big difference between automatic and manual modes, because the maximum resolution can only be set in manual adjustment mode. When shooting in automatic mode, which is set by default, photographs are obtained in size 3840 × 2160 (8 megapixels), and in manual mode the maximum possible resolution is exactly the same 20.7 megapixels (5248 × 3936).

The camera can shoot video in 1080p and UHD (4K) resolution, but the main thing is that it also has the ability to shoot in the most interesting mode - 1080p at 60 frames/s. An example of such a video is presented below.

• Video No. 1 (85 MB, 1920×1080, 60 frames/sec)

	Good and uniform sharpness across the entire field of the frame, it only falls off a little in the corners.
	The handling of foliage in the distance hurts the eye a little.
	The camera works well near foliage, but you can find areas of blur.
	Good job with shadows and noises in them.
	Sharpness is good in almost all plans.
	Good dynamic range - the camera handles shadows.
	You can find slight sharpening on the wires.
	The text is worked well, but the sharpness drops a little towards the bottom of the frame.
	The outbreak does little to improve the situation.
	The camera copes well with macro photography without a flash.
	Still, the flash helps a little with macro photography.

	Lighting ≈3200 lux. The camera does a good job.
	Lighting ≈1400 lux. The situation is not changing.
	Lighting ≈130 lux. The noises are still not noticeable.
	Lighting ≈130 lux, flash. The flash hardly helps.
	Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. В темноте хорошо видно, что вспышка очень слабая. Единственное заметное падение разрешения.

The compact model managed to rehabilitate its older brother in terms of camera. The Z3 Compact's camera isn't perfect. Or rather, it’s not perfect yet. But it is clear that it is well designed. In some places you can find echoes of the unpleasant moments that were pronounced in the Z3, but overall the camera is ready for use.

However, oddly enough, the Z3 Compact has a different module installed than the Z3. At the same time, it is very similar to the Z1 Compact and Z2 modules. This assumption can be made from the size of the resulting image. On the other hand, it is possible that all the latest flagships have the same modules, since the size of a full image of 20 megapixels is no different. And since in Superior Auto mode only the Z3 stood out in image size, we can assume that all flagships, starting with the Z1 Compact, work according to the same program with minor differences, and only the Z3 should be fundamentally different from them (and its program is fully we haven't seen it yet). However, all these guesses are partly confirmed by the graph.

The camera itself does a very good job, which is quite expected. Its graphical resolution curve is almost perfect. And although the gap with the leader is slightly more than 0.1 lines per pixel, the dependence is almost constant, which indicates equally good performance in different conditions. Field photographs confirm this, although in their case there is still something to complain about. As already mentioned, echoes of the Z3's shortcomings are also present here, but are much less pronounced. You can find barely noticeable sharpening, sometimes there are small areas of blur, and the program does not work very smoothly over foliage in the distance. But there is practically no noticeable noise, and by and large the camera does not have any significant problems. So it's still great for shooting a variety of subjects.

Telephone and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth generation networks (LTE) used in Russia. In practice, with a SIM card from the domestic operator MTS, the smartphone confidently recognizes and works with 4G networks. The network capabilities of the smartphone are extensive and correspond to a truly top level: there is support for the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, and as a standard you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The mode for connecting external devices (USB Host, USB OTG) is supported, so you can connect flash drives and mice with keyboards to the Micro-USB port. The navigation module works with both GPS and the domestic Glonass system.

There were no spontaneous reboots/shutdowns observed during testing, as well as system slowdowns or freezes. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is blocked by the proximity sensor. The LED indicator at the top of the front panel provides notification of charging status and incoming events.

There is no dedicated top row with numbers on the standard keyboard - you need to switch the layout every time. The layout itself and the location of the keys are standard: to switch the language layout, just click on the button with the corresponding icon. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. There is a convenient option to move the keyboard closer to one of the sides to make it easier to reach with the fingers of one hand. Naturally, the ability to continuously enter by sliding your finger from letter to letter is also supported - Swype.

OS and software

The operating system is the latest version of the Google Android 4.4.4 KitKat software platform, on top of which is traditionally installed its own proprietary graphical user interface. The internal structure of the shell, all menus, settings items and pop-up contextual submenus - everything remains exactly the same. However, the external shell has undergone significant measurements. Previously, Sony's graphical interface elements were drawn quite finely. Now, unexpectedly, all the elements on the screen, and most importantly the application icons themselves, began to look much larger and clearer. The fonts have increased; such sudden transformations have only benefited the smartphone. There are also less obvious, but in some ways more useful, improvements. For example, the menu finally has a function to reboot the device, because before this only Sony smartphones lacked such an option.

New Sony mobile devices now have close integration with the Sony PlayStation 4 game console. If you already have one in your home, then the new Xperia Z3 line of smartphones or the Xperia Z3 Tablet will be able to serve as a “portable screen”, that is, everything that happens begins to be displayed on the mobile screen devices. This is convenient when, for example, you need to free up the TV if one of the family members suddenly wants to watch some program. For this use, Sony will produce a special fastener that will allow you to connect a smartphone or tablet to the joystick of a game console. This mode is called PS4 Remote Play.

Performance

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact hardware platform is based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 single-chip system (SoC) with four Krait 400 cores, like the flagship Xperia Z3 (the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact was based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800). Here, the maximum frequency of the processor cores is a maximum of 2.5 GHz, since the most advanced version of Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC) is used.

Graphics processing is handled here by the same Adreno 330 video accelerator. About 11 out of 16 GB of own memory for the user’s needs are initially available in the device. The smartphone's RAM capacity is 2 GB, and this makes the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact unfavorably different from the company's flagship, which has as much as three gigabytes of RAM. Cards microSD memory this model supports up to 128 GB, you can also connect external flash drives, keyboards and mice to the Micro-USB port using a special adapter in OTG mode.

To get an idea of ​​the platform performance of the smartphone under test, we will conduct a standard set of tests.

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry numbers). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing in MobileXPRT, as well as in the latest versions of AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

In the AnTuTu test, the smartphone demonstrates very high numbers, but it is worth considering that the new, fifth version of the popular benchmark is now used, and all previous models were tested in the fourth version. The resulting numbers have increased greatly, so it is not worth directly comparing such results. (We will mark in tables which versions of the benchmark this or that model was tested with, until there are again enough models tested in the fifth version of the test for comparison.) In any case, all top smartphones based on the Snapdragon 801 are the most powerful and Today's productive mobile devices, the power of which will be sufficient for a long time to complete any assigned tasks.

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

Results of testing the graphics subsystem in the Epic Citadel gaming test, as well as Basemark X and Bonsai Benchmark:

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.

According to testing results, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone was not equipped with all the decoders necessary for full playback of most of the most common files on the Internet. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, even in it you will first have to change the settings, switching from hardware decoding to software or to a new mode called Hardware+(not supported by all smartphones), only then will sound appear. All results are summarized in a table.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3	Hardware+
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3	plays fine with decoder Hardware+	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3	plays fine with decoder Hardware+	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹

¹ MX Video Player only played sound after switching to software decoding or a new mode Hardware+; The standard player does not have this setting

Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it we used a monitor ViewSonic VX2363Smhl, supporting direct MHL connection (in version 2.0) using a passive adapter cable from Micro-USB to HDMI. In this case, output via MHL was carried out at a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels at a frequency of 60 frames/s. Regardless of the actual orientation of the smartphone, the image is displayed on the smartphone and monitor screens only in landscape orientation with the connector on the smartphone facing down.

In this case, the image on the monitor fits exactly within the boundaries of the display area (if you don’t forget to set the Image Size 100%) and one to one repeats the image on the smartphone screen in an interpolation variation from 1280 by 720 to 1920 by 1080 pixels.

When connecting via MHL, an icon for accessing MHL settings and an icon for launching several selected programs appear in the list of events:

Traditionally, in the case of Sony, a smartphone connected via MHL can act as a remote control for a TV, if the latter supports such a function.

Sound is output via MHL (in this case, the sounds were heard through headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of good quality. In this case, sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume is not adjusted using the buttons on the smartphone body, but is turned off. In our case, the smartphone with the MHL adapter connected was charging, judging by the charge indicator.

Next, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”), we checked how the video is displayed on the screen of the smartphone itself. Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied: 1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels and frame rates of 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps. In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The results of this (block entitled “Smartphone Screen”) and the next test are tabulated: excellent

No 720/50p Fine No 720/30p Fine No 720/25p Fine No 720/24p Fine No

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the corresponding files.

According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. The displayed brightness range is equal to the standard range of 16-235; in the shadows, only a couple of the darkest shades are indistinguishable in brightness from black, but in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed. When playing video files with a resolution of 720p (1280 by 720 pixels), the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly on the edge of the screen, in the original resolution.

With a monitor connected via MHL, when playing video, an exact copy of the smartphone screen is displayed on the monitor, but the output is already carried out in true Full HD resolution in the case of 1080p files.

The brightness range displayed on the monitor is equal to the standard range of 16-235; in the shadows, again, only a couple of the darkest shades are indistinguishable in brightness from black, but in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed. The results of the monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the “MHL (monitor output)” block. The output quality is good.

The conclusion is typical - an MHL connection can be used for games, watching movies, displaying web pages and other activities that benefit from an increase in screen size.

Battery life

The lithium-ion battery installed in the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact has a capacity of 2600 mAh, not the maximum, but quite decent for a modern smartphone - this is even more than that of the previous model (2300 mAh for the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact). As a result, the smartphone demonstrated excellent results in terms of battery life, which is due to the screen being not the largest in area and the resolution being far from Full HD.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact	2600 mAh	22:00	10:00 am	5:00 a.m.
ZTE nubia Z7 mini	2300 mAh	13:20	7:20 am	4 hours 50 minutes
HTC One mini 2	2100 mAh	15:20	8 a.m. 20 p.m.	3 hours 50 minutes
Alcatel Idol 2 mini S	2000 mAh	15:50	9:00 a.m.	4:00 am
Asus Padfone E	1820 mAh	15:20	7 h. 10 m.	3 hours 50 minutes
Samsung S4 mini	1900 mAh	16:40	10:30 a.m.	4 hours 40 minutes
LG G2 mini	2440 mAh	16:00	10:00 am	5:00 a.m.

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted 22 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching videos from YouTube in high quality (HQ) The device lasted 10 hours at the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone worked for about 5 hours. The smartphone charges quite quickly; a full charge takes less than 3 hours.

Bottom line

Sony Mobile has released another compact smartphone that is quite good in terms of all its characteristics. Unquestionable workmanship, body materials, highest performance and maximum autonomy, comfortable dimensions and excellent ergonomics - these are the strengths of the new product, which it adopted from its predecessor, and improved some things (the rear window, for example). As usual, the camera and screen quality can be criticized when compared with products from other market leaders, but overall they are quite consistent with the high level of the smartphone. We were very surprised by the sudden transition from a metal frame, as a visual basis, giving the smartphone the status of an expensive thing, to transparent, cheerful teenage plastic, but perhaps many will like it, because the ergonomics, in general, did not suffer. The price of the device, at which the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact will be officially presented in our stores, was announced just the other day: the smartphone on the Russian market will be sold at a price of 24 thousand rubles. The start of sales was scheduled for September 19, so by the time of publication of this article, retail did not experience a shortage of offers. At the same time, the flagship Xperia Z3 appeared on store shelves, the recommended price of which was set at 30 thousand rubles. It is worth noting that the flagship will also be offered in a version with two SIM cards at a price of 31 thousand rubles, but the Z3 Compact is not expected to support two SIM cards.

The compact version of the flagship smartphone Sony Xperia Z3 turned out to be even more interesting than its older brother - it is worth considering as a purchase if you do not need a device with a large display.

Design, construction

I received this smartphone just before a September trip to Munich, a friend and I went on a classic trip - look at the queue, drink festive beer (Oktoberfest was just beginning), buy an iPhone 6, have a delicious breakfast in a cafe near the market and go home. I took the Z3 Compact with me, I had the idea of ​​broadcasting on YouTube, but in the end I didn’t have the strength in the evening, and the idea fell through - but you should know that the smartphone also has this very nice option. And throughout the trip, the Z3 Compact haunted my friend, he really liked it, he constantly asked to look at it, twirl it in his hands, and tell me what functions and features it had.

It would seem that the iPhone 6 has been awaited for so long. What do you care about a small Android smartphone? But, as practice shows, the Z3 Compact really evokes positive emotions in people and almost instant addiction. It is small - and very thoughtful. When I first saw it, I still didn’t want to come to terms with the fact that this “compact” did not have a metal frame; it was replaced by polymer. After a month of use, I can confidently say that there’s nothing wrong with it. It looks good, doesn’t slip, you can lift the device off the table simply with your fingertips (unlike the Z3), what else do you need?

And the device is also very photogenic, each photo received a bunch of likes wherever possible. For example, here's a photo.

As many as 161 likes! And here is a photo where the Sony Xperia Z3 is in full combat equipment, with a microphone, next to it is a noise-canceling headset, all these accessories are supported, since it uses a five-pin 3.5 mm connector. And the sound quality is very good. And the speaker is very loud, about as loud as an iPhone 5S.

In addition to white, there are also black, mint and red color options. It seems to me that the Z3 Compact should be bought in some difficult version, black is too boring.

But the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is an emotional thing; it’s hardly worth putting it on a par with other Android smartphones. Samsung and LG don’t have such smartphones, I don’t even know what to call them. These are fashion devices, fashionable in terms of design, materials, a certain emotional charge - the buyer of the Z3 Compact receives a smaller version of the flagship, but not only. There is also the feeling of a thing with a capital B. This is very pleasant. Girls really like the device, it fits well in a small hand, while men are pleased with the functionality. Water protection? Yes. Good camera? Yes. Interesting accessories? Yes. Can I increase the memory? Yes. Powerful processor? Yes. All these are words for an advertising video, but this is exactly how many people choose their gadgets.

Let me remind you that there is a very detailed video, where there are several colors of the device and a fairly detailed story about the smartphone.

Well, let's go back to the traditional review. I like the way the smartphone looks when viewed from the front. They tried to remove the frames, the polymer ends are rough, and the device as a whole fits better in the hand and is easier to take out of your pocket. The buttons are well made, and despite the compactness, they left the camera button. Like the flagship, there are rounded inserts at the ends. Neat plugs, the 3.5 mm jack without protection supports work with all branded accessories for this pinout, the device is protected according to the IP68 standard.

It's a pity that summer is over and all Z3s will go on sale in the fall; the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact would look great somewhere on the beach. Although the winter holidays are coming soon, and many will fly to warm countries. So, don't forget about this little smartphone.

Let me remind you that it uses nanoSIM, you will need to change your large SIM card - but for iPhone 5S users it will not be difficult to switch to Sony's new small flagship.

Regarding the reliability of the glass panels on the front and back: the device fell once from a height onto a stone floor in the kitchen, I did not find any damage. Fingerprints and scratches are invisible on white, so keep this in mind when purchasing.

If the end cap annoys you, use magnetic charging. However, you will have to buy it separately. And one more complaint about the assembly - everything is very cool here, glass panels and all that, but the buttons move a little. This is especially noticeable on the volume button.

Display

The diagonal of the IPS display is 4.6 inches, the resolution is 1280 x 720 pixels, everything is not bad with brightness and viewing angles. I like how the fonts have been changed here, pay attention to the branded clock on the screen in standby mode, it’s done well. And in general, the fonts are chosen interestingly, but the icons seem too large. On the other hand, they are clearly visible on a small screen, you can immediately select the desired program, and you don’t have to look around the screen.

In the display settings, you can enable the “With Gloves” mode, select white balance, and there is a function to activate the device by double-tapping on the screen when the smartphone is turned off. Previously, this feature was only available on large flagships. The smart backlight function is supported - the screen remains on while the smartphone is in your hand. You can choose the brightness yourself, or trust the automation; I prefer the first option.

This is not entirely related to the display, but the proximity sensor did not always work adequately for me; during a conversation, I opened the quick settings menu with my cheek several times, turned on the flashlight, etc. If you have the same problem, tell me in the comments.

I would like to note one more point. Small screen - small keyboard. Writing large SMS or long messages on Facebook here is a real pain, I’m already used to turning my smartphone over and writing with two fingers. But the keyboard itself is not bad.

Scope of delivery

I want to say this separately - I still wouldn’t advise Sony to skimp on things; many people are upset that there is no headset, stand or any other accessories. The “you can buy this separately” strategy is good, but even Apple tries to give the user everything they need to use the smartphone. And Sony has always pleased us with interesting “extras”. I would like to believe that in the Sony Xperia Z4 everything will return to normal and at least a headset (preferably with noise cancellation) will be included.

Performance

It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with a clock frequency of 2.5 GHz, an Adreno 330 video adapter, 3 GB of RAM, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact has 2 GB of RAM, but you don’t need more, the display diagonal is smaller. 16 GB of memory is installed, you can use microSD, cards with a capacity of up to 128 GB are supported. All devices work very quickly, this also applies to the E3. Android 4.4.4 is installed, but of course there will be an update to the latest version. Branded wallpapers are used, icons have been redesigned, the clock widget has undergone changes, the hour numbers have become thicker - or rather, the font has become thicker, the minutes have remained unchanged. We'll see how the software changes by the time the devices hit the market.

Wireless interfaces are typical: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC. It uses a five-pin connector, like on the Z2, and supports all new accessories that require power from the gadget, such as a microphone and a noise-canceling headset. There will probably be other things as well - for example, headphones with support for Hi-Res audio. A magnetic stand on the end allows you to charge the Z3 without using the microUSB connector. If you get tired of the plug, we recommend purchasing a docking station. By the way, the headset will be removed from the package of all Z3s; you will have to buy it separately.

In his review of the Sony Xperia Z3, Eldar told everything about performance, I recommend reading the article.

There is also a separate article about the features of the Sony interface, I recommend reading it.

Among the pre-installed programs there is Deezer, a music service (its usefulness is questionable),

Already in November of this year, a very interesting feature will appear for the entire Z3 family, called Remote Play. The firmware for PS4 will be released, the Z3 Compact will have a function, and what will happen? Here's what: you can connect a smartphone or tablet via Wi-Fi to the console and use the device's screen to play together with the DualShock 4 joystick. The display ceases to be touch-sensitive; the image from the console is transferred there. To put it into words, the Z3 Compact turns into a miniature TV. There will be a special holder for the joystick; you can put a smartphone or tablet there. For now, all this will only work within the home Wi-Fi network, but they promise to expand the possibilities - for example, in Berlin I could turn on the console using the Z3, launch BF4, put the smartphone in the joystick and quietly play for an hour before going to bed. But in the case of the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, there is a question of whether this should be done, given the size of the display.

Yes, the Z2 will not have such functionality.

Camera

The camera is 20 MP, the front one is 2 MP, there are a number of new effects, for example, you can draw something like graffiti in the air, the drawing will freeze and become three-dimensional, you can hold the camera at different angles and examine the resulting something. This is also very, very unusual. There is a video recording of what is happening on the screen, which will appeal to authors of reviews of applications and Android games, and there is an online broadcast on YouTube. There are other effects, see the video at the beginning of the article for more details. The quality of the images, as they say in the company, has not changed or has become better - in my opinion, there are few differences from the Z2. In his review of the Z3, Eldar spoke in detail about the camera and effects, I recommend reading his article.

I note that the default quality is not the best and I advise you to play with manual settings, the Z3 Compact is capable of a lot. A separate shooting button plays a very important role; you can quickly launch the camera and take the first frame. And it works like a camera: press the button - focus, press all the way - shoot.

Nutrition

The smartphone uses a 2600 mAh battery, they promise a battery life of up to two days even without Stamina mode, you can use any microUSB cable for charging. Here's an observation: if you use a watch with Android, then in Stamina mode no notifications will be received on the watch; one friend complained that the Moto 360 paired with the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact simply turns into a watch - until you activate the smartphone, nothing happens is happening. And Stamina should be turned on, as it seriously affects the operating time. For example, with my quiet use, the device lives quietly for a couple of days - in this sense, the smartphone behaves much better than flagships with huge displays.

And besides the simple Stamina mode, there is an UltraSTAMINA mode, only phone and messages work. If you suddenly find yourself in a situation where there is 30% charge left and you know that you won’t be able to charge your smartphone for a long time, feel free to turn on UltraSTAMINA - you’ll last until the evening (you’ll last a very long time). Pay attention to the screenshot: battery charge is 56%, approximate operating time is 10 days 16 hours. Not bad, right? I personally often find myself in this situation; I have to carry external batteries with me.

Conclusions

The smartphone retails for about 23,990 rubles, the price seems quite reasonable to me - behind the “cute” appearance lies a functional and powerful device that can serve you faithfully for years. After all, many people still use Sony Xperia Z, we have such a person in our editorial office - why not, if everything suits you? Likewise, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact can become your faithful companion. Interesting design, good display and camera, protection from water - and not just protection, you can literally wash yourself with your smartphone. It's a shame that there aren't any accessories included, but you can buy a noise-canceling headset or a stereo microphone if you want to get good concert videos. The fonts in the menu are well chosen, there are really interesting camera effects, if you are sitting in a group and have nothing to do, turn on the AR Effect and enjoy. The speaker, as I already said, is quite loud, there are no complaints about the quality of reception. LTE is supported, everything worked perfectly with Beeline and MegaFon.

The quality of speech transmission is at a good level, unlike the Z2, there is no effect when you catch the sound from the speaker with your ear - one of the latest firmware for the Z2 corrected this bug, everything is fine in the Z3 Compact. There are also no complaints about the volume of the speaker in the Z3 Compact.

There are no films. This is also a huge plus.

In times of huge smartphones with large screens, finding a quality small smartphone turns out to be very difficult. It is gratifying that Sony is following the previous path, when the miniature version of the flagship is identical in characteristics and has its own features. What would I like in the Z4 Compact? Maybe they will do without frames entirely, add a good headset to the set, make the frames out of metal - after all, users love metal, so what? They will completely get rid of plugs while maintaining protection from water. What else do you dream about regarding small Sony flagships, write in the comments.

If you are looking for something miniature and functional based on Android, be sure to take a closer look at the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact. There are many advantages, there are also disadvantages, but the advantages outweigh. In my opinion, this is one of the best smartphones at the end of 2015, you can safely buy it.

P.S. Many people ask whether it is worth replacing the first generation Compact with the model reviewed. It seems to me that this is not worth doing, the old one is also cool and if the thing works and makes you happy, then there is no need to look for good from good.

Can anyone live at least one day without a mobile phone? Of course not! Currently, young people do not even consider this possibility. From year to year, the devices are constantly being improved. Manufacturers equip them with innovative technologies. Now a mobile phone is a mini-computer. With its help, you can access the Internet from anywhere, type documents and much more. The graphics and sound of modern devices are at a high level, so quite often you can see people playing games or listening to music.

Two years ago, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact was introduced. It is a smaller version of the Xperia Z3. The device is designed for people who, for various reasons, do not want to purchase a “shovel”. Large smartphones received this nickname. What’s surprising is that this category of buyers sacrificed software and technical characteristics due to their size, as they had to buy the simplest models. Although consumer demand for them is small, it still exists. For this reason, some manufacturers have released phones in compact sizes. The Sony brand was no exception.

Xperia Z3 Compact (specifications, reviews and description will be presented in the article) is a full-fledged smartphone. The hardware platform and software fully meet modern requirements. At least that's what the manufacturer claims. But is this really so, let's find out.

Equipment

Sony has recently abandoned bright packaging materials. The Xperia Z3 Compact model was no exception. The box is very simple, made of unvarnished cardboard, without any frills. On it, the buyer will see an image of the phone, the model name, and a brief description. Inside it is divided into three compartments. The partitions between them are quite thin. The manufacturer included a charger, the device itself, simple headphones and a USB cable. If the package box contains the index D5803, then the headset is not included in the package. It must be purchased additionally. The only way to reassure the buyer is that the price of the headphones is quite reasonable. Documentation must be included with any device:

• The instruction manual contains technical specifications of the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact phone and other useful information.
• The warranty card is filled out by the seller on the day of purchase.
• List of service centers.

The equipment, to say right away, is quite modest. However, it is fully justified by the cost, which starts at 20,000 rubles. Phones intended for sale in Ukraine are not equipped with a headset.

Appearance

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact has a large screen, which is a definite advantage. They were able to increase it by reducing the frame. Now it is very narrow (3 mm), almost invisible. Manufacturers preferred to abandon clear straight shapes with rough angles. Now the side edges have a rounded shape, but the rectangle is still visible. The arc bend is small, but this is what softens the familiar traditional design. There are two speakers. They are located symmetrically (top and bottom). The holes have the same shape. The company name is emblazoned under the top speaker. There is also a camera in this part on the right side. There is no standard arrangement of control buttons; they are located on the screen. You can see them only by unlocking your phone. The side frame is made of polycarbonate. Thanks to the change in material (previously metal was used), it became possible to give the device originality due to transparency. This design solution significantly increased the status perception of the model and transferred it to the category of youth equipment.

The side edges are somewhat rough to the touch. This makes it possible to prevent slipping, so you can confidently hold the phone and operate it with one hand at the same time. The manufacturer claims that polycarbonate material has excellent shock-absorbing properties, which provide serious protection when a smartphone falls from a height.

The design type of this model is monoblock. The body of the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (the characteristics of the phone are in the article) consists of two plates and a frame. Slots for memory cards and SIM are located on the sides. The slots are closed with special caps. In order to get the cards, you just need to open them. Next to these slots there is a connector for a USB cable. The back panel is made of glass. It only has a flash and a camera lens. Currently, you can purchase the device in four colors: black, white, green, red-orange.

The power and lock button of the phone is located on the side, on the right side. It is round in shape and has a chrome-plated surface. Next to it is a volume rocker. At the bottom of the side edge there is a hardware camera key. Shooting can even be done underwater. The manufacturer also equipped the device with a special connector for the docking station. At the bottom there is a microphone and a hole for a lanyard. Headphones are connected from above, the jack is standard - 3.5 mm.

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact: technical specifications

Before describing in detail the main components of the smartphone, it is necessary to dwell on the technical characteristics. Let's look at what the manufacturer offers in this model:

Screen

Will the display on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone surprise buyers? The screen characteristics are quite acceptable, although by modern standards the indicators are not very high. In the manual you can read the following information provided by the manufacturer:

• Screen type - Triluminos.
• Resolution - 1280×720.
• Matrix - IPS, touch.
• Diagonal - 4.6".
• Pixel density - 319 ppi.

To improve the image, special X-Reality technology is used. This model does not have the usual film protecting the screen. The manufacturer decided to use glass. Brightness settings are adjusted in two ways: automatically and manually. Multi-touch is designed for 10 simultaneous touches. You can work with the display either with wet hands or with gloves. There is a proximity sensor on the front surface. If you close it while on a call, it automatically locks the screen.

The colors are quite saturated. The display can reproduce up to 16 million colors. Viewing angles are good. When the device is tilted 45°, the contrast decreases. Changes occur due to highlighted black areas.

Sound

What sound should you expect from the Sony D5803 Xperia Z3 Compact (black)? The characteristics of the speakers are not very high. Unfortunately, there is no expressiveness. The sound is muffled and there is some noise. When the volume is turned up to maximum, wheezing appears. Considering that there are two speakers in this model, buyers were hoping for a better result.

The owners will not be happy during the conversation either. Although the interlocutor’s voice is recognizable, it is not clear. However, timbre and intonation are recognized well.

To play music files on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (the phone's characteristics are presented above), a Walkman player is used. It is equipped with standard settings and, according to audiophiles, has nothing remarkable. The only thing that deserves attention is the surround sound and innovative xLoud and Clear Phase technologies. To improve performance, you can use the ClearAudio+ option. For connoisseurs of music tracks, the manufacturer recommends using the MDR-NC31EM headset, guaranteeing a 98% noise reduction.

Camera

This model is equipped with two cameras. This no longer surprises anyone. All modern smartphones are equipped in a similar way. The only difference is the resolution. Will photography enthusiasts like the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (D5803)? The characteristics of the main camera are impressive - 20.7 megapixels. It is equipped with a G Lens, autofocus with a distance of 27 mm. If necessary, the settings can be changed manually, choosing the best result. It is worth noting that in automatic mode, pictures are taken with a size of 3840 × 2160 pixels, which corresponds to a resolution of 8 megapixels. In the settings, you can select the highest value, which will allow you to take photos of 5248x3936.

The owners, having tested the main camera, came to the following conclusions. The pictures come out of fairly good quality. At close range, sharpness decreases only in the corners, and then only slightly. In photographs, shadows are reproduced well, and noise is practically absent. The main advantage of this model is the ability to take pictures underwater.

There is no point in stopping for a long time with the front camera (2.2 megapixels). Its resolution means that selfie lovers will not be able to get high-quality images.

Video shooting

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (camera specifications above) opens up great opportunities for shooting videos. For example, you can record the same scene from different viewing angles or use background sound (the sound of rain, birdsong, etc.). Video resolution: 4K (UHD) and 1080 r. There is a high frame rate mode. You can also use slowdown effects if desired.

A wide range of video recording functions appealed to many owners. The shooting mode with a speed of 60 fps (resolution - 1080 p) received the greatest number of positive reviews.

Software

The characteristics of the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact phone directly depend on the power of the processor and operating system. They influence the performance of the device. This model is equipped with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with a Krait 400 core type. Frequency is 2.5 GHz. As for the platform, the phone runs on the updated version of Google Android 4.4.4. The interface is proprietary and is Sony's own development. Icons and settings items are large and clear. The surprising thing is that only this model has a reboot option. Previously, this required simply turning off the phone and turning it on again. The new devices have the ability to integrate with a game console, and not only a smartphone, but also a Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact tablet can act as a screen. The characteristics of these devices are compatible with the Sony PlayStation 4 model. Mobile devices are capable of displaying everything that happens on the TV screen. The manufacturer has provided a special mounting stand as an additional accessory. With its help, a phone or tablet is connected to the joystick.

Battery

In modern smartphones, battery life is a very important parameter. The battery is responsible for this, of course. But not everything depends on its capacity. Also quite important are parameters such as screen resolution, brightness level, etc. How did the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (black) perform?

Battery specifications:

• Type - lithium-ion.
• Volume - 2600 mAh.
• Charging time - 3 hours.
• Standby mode - about 900 hours.
• Playing music through the headset - 110 hours.
• When talking - 14 hours.

During testing of the device, the following results were obtained. It is worth considering that Wi-Fi was turned on on the phone.

• Reading mode with low brightness level - 22 hours.
• Watching video in high format - 10 hours.
• 3D game option - 5 hours.

So, these results indicate quite decent characteristics. Not every smartphone has such indicators. How was the manufacturer able to achieve them? For battery life, the screen is a major advantage. It is not very large and does not have FullHD resolution. It is thanks to him that the operating time without recharging is so high.

Connection

This model supports network formats: 2G, 3G, 4G. You can use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to receive and transmit data. When the Internet was turned on, the owners did not notice any system freezes or slowdowns in the operation of the device. Data transfer can be performed at speeds of up to 150 Mb/s. As for the signal from the mobile operator, the owners had no comments; the phone picks up the network perfectly.

Conclusion

Describing the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact model (the full characteristics are now known to you), we can highlight a large list of advantages. Reviews from owners confirm them 100% of the time.

Of course, there were some comments. Some owners are unhappy with the screen. We will have to agree with them, since there are some shortcomings. Replacing the material on the side edges can also hardly be called an advantage, since the phone has lost its status as an expensive piece of equipment. Now he is positioned more as a teenager. By the way, it’s not for nothing that the manufacturer added green and orange options. They are great for young energetic people. And buyers with conservative views can opt for the classic design - white and black.