Sony Xperia X Compact review: Small and brave

17 September 2016
The Compact series by Sony used to occupy a niche of its own as it combined top-of-the-line specs with a pocketable footprint. The latter is still very much true for the just released Xperia X Compact but it no longer has the flagship specs that we’re used to.

Sort by:

  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • E8T
  • 18 Sep 2016

Anonymous, 18 Sep 2016The only problem with this phone is the bottom bezel and no... moreAnd to be clear about the beauty of the phone, it's not the plastic that bothers me. In fact, the rounded frame feels seamless and actually very nice to hold for long periods of time. It's all about the bottom bezel. The phone looks and feels unnecessarily long.

I want to see a teardown of the phone to see what the hell is down there and why they felt the need to increase the size. If it's only due to the speaker I'll be pissed, as using the phone in a comfortable manner is far more important to me than stereo sound on a tiny phone.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • E8T
    • 18 Sep 2016

    Lex79, 18 Sep 2016I'd be more concerned with thermal management in a smaller ... moreWhich problems are you referring to with those models?

    I have been using the xc for a few days now. The only issue with a little heat was when I was transferring all apps and settings from my z3c. The only bug I have experienced is the auto brightness gets too low in dark room usage. The slider basically goes to zero. I'm sure that will be corrected with an update.

    The screen is actually quite amazing. Yo against my wife's s7 I really don't feel like I am missing much if anything at all.

    I can't wait to see the battery results, at least with web browsing because in my experience so far it's closer to the z3c rather than the z5c.

      • D
      • AnonD-411799
      • XNa
      • 18 Sep 2016

      sony should put their devices on a diet. resembles like a 2006 device.

        • L
        • Lex79
        • nxi
        • 18 Sep 2016

        Anonymous, 18 Sep 2016I would be willing to bet Sony decided to go with the 650 o... moreI'd be more concerned with thermal management in a smaller form factor when using the 650 as opposed to the 820 personally.

        Especially considering the use of stock ARM reference cores and the 28nm process.

        Also the 650, with its less capable ISP block has to cater to that 23mp camera.

        I'd be willing to bet that the same problems that cropped up in the X and X-P will be just as present here.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • E8T
          • 18 Sep 2016

          Anonymous, 18 Sep 2016The only problem with this phone is the bottom bezel and no... moreI would be willing to bet Sony decided to go with the 650 over the 820 due to overheating concerns using the 820 in a smaller form factor. They really got burned with the 810. Anyone who says the phone didn't suffer with heating up and average battery life is a homer. That phone, while beautiful, was a major disappointment operationally.

          This phone kicks the z5cs ass. It's a shame the beauty was lost, or it would be perfect.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • E8T
            • 18 Sep 2016

            AnonD-507785, 18 Sep 2016To me this brand actually died. I am a Compact user now, an... moreThe only problem with this phone is the bottom bezel and no water resistance.

            I have the phone, and last week I sent the z5c back because of poor performance, overheating, and random reboots.

            The 650 runs way smoother on this phone. It's a lot snappier and does not heat up with normal operation.

            The battery life is back. I was very disappointed with the z5c battery life. Average was about 7.5h on screen time using Gsam Battery Pro. With the zxc I'm getting 9.5 - 10.5h.

            I don't know what it is you people want. This phone outperforms the z5 compact in nearly every way except possibly gaming. I would bet gaming is a lower priority for most on smaller screen phones.

            Operationally I'm completely blown away by how much better this phone handles than the previous versions. I didn't realize the last two were actually a little laggy and sluggish until I used this one.

            The only true complaint I have is the bezel. I don't know why the bottom bezel is so huge. If Sony's excuse is the stereo speakers I gladly give those up for a smaller form factor. Or make them fire down. I am not sure if they understand the number one draw to these phones is the form factor. Every mm counts.

              • D
              • Dark
              • mxM
              • 18 Sep 2016

              The reason for usb defaulting to charge only that you couldn't think of in the article is work PCs with secure usb ports. As soon as a phone identifies as a storage device of any kind, charging is stopped.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • pWQ
                • 18 Sep 2016

                AnonD-260558, 18 Sep 2016The answer is simple, they have Walkman players selling sep... moreOkay then, I won't.

                  • D
                  • AnonD-260558
                  • 95c
                  • 18 Sep 2016

                  Anonymous, 18 Sep 2016And why haven't they gotten the problem ruled out yet? As f... moreThe answer is simple, they have Walkman players selling separately . I have Z3 compact and Walkman e574. I can tell the sound quality difference between them. So don't expect too much volume output from Sony

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • pWQ
                    • 18 Sep 2016

                    AnonD-260558, 18 Sep 2016Sound quality is there, but the problem less power output f... moreAnd why haven't they gotten the problem ruled out yet? As far as I remember, their phones have had a good quality, but so damn quiet audio output on headphones. The problem has been the same for YEARS. Or do they just ignore it? If they are known as the "go-to" phone for audio, then I'm not expecting anything else than the HTC-level of audio quality and volume on headphones as well.

                      • D
                      • AnonD-260558
                      • 95u
                      • 18 Sep 2016

                      Anonymous, 18 Sep 2016Do you really expect us to believe all that? Yeah, the disp... moreSound quality is there, but the problem less power output from the headphone jack.

                        • H
                        • Hummimg mob
                        • pRB
                        • 18 Sep 2016

                        Xperia means total package, not like other brands. Some brands have camera is better other one have audio better etc. But you will not get everything in one brand except xperia.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • pWQ
                          • 18 Sep 2016

                          Ali, 18 Sep 2016I am from pakistan and engineer, every mobile company in th... moreDo you really expect us to believe all that? Yeah, the display was reviewed as being really good, but the sound quality on headphones wasn't. No need to fool yourself into believing the opposite. Or well, the audio quality on headphones could be fixed quite easily with a small portable DAC.

                            • A
                            • Ali
                            • uZa
                            • 18 Sep 2016

                            I am from pakistan and engineer, every mobile company in the world is cheating the people, only sony gives you a quality and innovation, display, batery, design, software, and sound and camera pics all are stunning, display color are lovely, leave black level, sound base is mind blowing

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • nC2
                              • 18 Sep 2016

                              Anonymous, 18 Sep 2016i think xperia x is better choice than this even xperia z5 ... moreXperia X Compact is better than the normal X.
                              You get a better camera, new design.
                              Only advantage of X is the higher res screen.

                                • D
                                • AnonD-510275
                                • U}}
                                • 18 Sep 2016

                                Anonymous, 18 Sep 2016i think xperia x is better choice than this even xperia z5 ... moreYes, their Superior Auto-Mode can only take picture up to 8mp, but X Compact and XZ now can do with 23mp.

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-576060
                                  • D7I
                                  • 18 Sep 2016

                                  Anonymous, 18 Sep 2016noise is not a problem !! because you cant see it just when... moreYou can also use some PC apps to reduce them as photoshop or lightroom .

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-576060
                                    • D7I
                                    • 18 Sep 2016

                                    another phone from sony

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • 648
                                      • 18 Sep 2016

                                      noise is not a problem !! because you cant see it just when u zoom on pictures enough you can see them ..

                                        Wow it outshines z5 compact with SD650. Can't wait battery test result...As reviewer mentioned Xperia X scored decent figure with higher-res, bigger screen and smaller battery so this one would smoke other compact phones hands down.

                                          5 of 8