Sony Xperia Z3 Compact review: Not your usual suspect

12 September 2014
Of all the features that set smartphones apart, screen size is as close to a decider as they get. Counter to the trend of the last decade that saw cellphones become as small as technology allowed, the...

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  • D
  • AnonD-209094
  • vaN
  • 12 Sep 2014

One thing that should be added since it is a dealbreaker for some people is that the WHATS NEW cannot be disabled from longpress on the home button unless you disable Google Now or if you root it. It would be a 100% dealbreaker for me but i always disable Google Now anyway, still its quite sad that Sony is pushing their bloat so hard, soon Xperias may be as worthless as Galaxy and Huawei phones.

    • C
    • Christian
    • n4W
    • 12 Sep 2014

    AnonD-209094, 12 Sep 2014Quite expensive for an upper midrange but the battery life ... moreThis phone is not upper midranger!Its "full" fledged flagship in smaller form factor.Considering this something must have been sacrificed i.e. 720p screen,which actually isn't downgrade... still has 300ppi+ great colors-contrast-viewing angle and allows exceptional battery life.
    About the price,you know that you cant get something for nothing?!Considering all that Z3c has to offer and the competition as well,I think the price is more than adequate.

      • D
      • AnonD-306521
      • 3ye
      • 12 Sep 2014

      Tap to wake and integrate answer machine: are presente as Xperia Z2?

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • NUh
        • 12 Sep 2014

        Z3c contrast ratio is really low at ~900 compared to +1800 of Z1c :\

          • D
          • AnonD-209094
          • vaN
          • 12 Sep 2014

          And one thing that i been posting lots of times and i think Sony heard me: Give us back the option for 4:3 aspect ratio in Superior Auto, like we had with Xperia Z!

          And there it is, finally. This means a lot to me, photos has to be 4:3 (or 2:3, like many real cameras have). And why? Disable autorotate and try to look at a 16:9 photo, its terrible, and its equally terrible when you try to view a portrait orientation 16:9 photo on a PC, for example on facebook, it will be too narrow to see any detail. But now no editing needed.

          Btw, the camera sux in daylight but i know from experience that Xperia cameras are the best all rounders, by far. No other phone will give so few failed photos.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • 6%n
            • 12 Sep 2014

            deal breaker :
            - Non user-replaceable battery
            - no native video calling

              • p
              • post-it-can
              • QZ0
              • 12 Sep 2014

              i am so buying this! time for my SII to retire. hopefully the price is not steep!

                • D
                • AnonD-85136
                • 6Qm
                • 12 Sep 2014

                wel done sony

                  • S
                  • SirCube
                  • n0@
                  • 12 Sep 2014

                  Please you have to change antutu score! Its antutu 5 not antutu 4!!!!!

                    • D
                    • AnonD-209094
                    • vaN
                    • 12 Sep 2014

                    Quite expensive for an upper midrange but the battery life says it all. However its crap that its because its 720p, the GPU is barely above idle during web browsing and video, it should have been FHD and 3GB and 100 Euro higher price.

                    And the regular Z3 will prove that 1080p can bee just as good for the battery, what you 720p fanatics forget is that Z3 and Z3c has display memory, meaning the GPU is SHUT DOWN a lot of the time.

                    Anyway, i will get this if i want or need a new phone, being a downgraded Z3 it is not a must-have but still the best phone out there as of today.

                      • D
                      • AnonD-265341
                      • J8y
                      • 12 Sep 2014

                      A truly amazing phone, the battery life is INSANE! Great work sony! Keep this up. I love that you focus on the important thing like 🔋.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • 4{2
                        • 12 Sep 2014

                        You guys arguing about Antutu results crack me up. There's a reason nobody uses Combo benchmarks like that on Windows.

                        They suck.

                        Use GFX Bench Manhattan Off-screen for GPU, Geekbench 3 for CPU, and Octane, Browsermark for web benchmarking. These benchmarks work on multiple platforms and are designed to test one thing at a time.

                          • v
                          • varun
                          • KAc
                          • 12 Sep 2014

                          thank u for such a quick review.

                            • d
                            • der
                            • Ycp
                            • 12 Sep 2014

                            Let this come to Canada, PLEASE.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • 4{2
                              • 12 Sep 2014

                              lower resolution extends battery life. give me 720p all day. the trade off is not worth it.

                                • I
                                • Iris 6
                                • wra
                                • 12 Sep 2014

                                This beast is seriously astounding, no kidding. Feature packed, almost perfect.

                                Why lesser capable phone like iPhone 6 got more highlight than this is beyond me.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • CRq
                                  • 12 Sep 2014

                                  [deleted post]Yeah I felt the same on the camera, didn't think the pics were bad. Plus Sony's don't excel outdoors. low-mid light is where they destroy the competition.

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-81000
                                    • PxV
                                    • 12 Sep 2014

                                    The camera isn't bad. As a matter of fact when I play around in gsmarena's compare tool. Z3C's cam is better than GS5 and on par with Alpha.. If you don't believe me then check it yourself

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-59186
                                      • IaV
                                      • 12 Sep 2014

                                      The Z3 compact is SONY's real flagship.
                                      It doesn't have a single flaw.
                                      Name one and take my money !!!


                                      IMO, I gave the ISO, comparison charts of Samsung ALPHA and the Z3 compact a look, and honestly they look nearly the same.
                                      Add to it, the fact that the Z3 inevitably takes better low light images...I think calling the Camera average is not just on GSMarena's part.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-248419
                                        • uCh
                                        • 12 Sep 2014

                                        dat battery :o :o :o
                                        for the first time i thought i will go for samsung, this case is alpha. compact flagship grade, good design, new hardware tech, but poor battery.
                                        The came this beast, and smash that alpha to bits. battery is much more important. i will buy it when it come to my country.