E first thing that immediately stands out is that the Xperia Z5 Compact’s build quality is superb. The back is smooth-touch frosted glass, and the edges are attractively finished in rounded matte plastic with the Xperia logo embossed on the side.
It’s available in yellow and coral, as well as the more sedate black and white variants. It feels pleasing and secure in the hand, and is generally the sleekest and most professional-looking compact phone we’ve seen in ages.
The form-factor is also one of the most comfortable we’ve seen for one-handed use, and functions like tweeting, texting and web browsing are all smooth and painless. We never found ourselves stretching to reach the furthest edges of the screen, which can sometimes be a problem on larger devices.
This isn’t hugely surprising – the form-factor was one of our favourite things about the earlier Z3 Compact, and the newer version is almost identical in that regard. The Z5 Compact is, however, a little heavier and a few millimeters thicker than the Z3 Compact, which gives it a decidedly chunkier feel when compared side-by-side.
It’s not unwieldy per se, but given the razor-thin and feather-light flagships currently doing the rounds, it’s disappointing that Sony’s new compact hasn’t at least equalled the dimensions of its predecessor.
The only other quibble we have is that the volume rocker has changed position. Rather than being located directly under the power button, it’s now just above the camera trigger. This is an incredibly awkward placement, and requires much annoying thumb-stretching, whereas the Z3’s volume rocker was near-perfectly placed.
Display
The Z5 Compact's 4.6in IPS screen is decent, with reasonable brightness and good colour balance, but there are issues. It feels absolutely tiny, for starters. Although it's roughly the same size screen as an iPhone 6s, compared to the recent wave of phablets at 5in and above, it's one of the smallest screens on the market.
It’s only got a 720x1280 resolution, too, which is less than we’d expect from a quasi-flagship in late 2015, and the same resolution as 2014's Z3 Compact. Another slight wrinkle is the screen bezels, which are a touch larger than we’d like, and give the phone an unimpressive screen-to-body ratio of 69% .
One big drawback of the tiny screen is that watching videos or viewing pictures isn’t nearly as pleasant an experience as on a larger phablet. High-resolution media tends to get swamped in detail, which is a particular shame given how good the camera is on the Z5 range – the screen definitely does not do your photos justice.
The small screen size also does not make the Z5 Compact conducive to productivity tasks like document editing or answering emails. You can still dash off a quick response on your phone, but for anything longer or more intensive, switching to a tablet or PC is much less of a headache.
Specs and hardware
The Xperia Z3 Plus – an updated iteration in the vein of the iPhone 6s – debuted earlier in the year, and was arguably seen as a mis-step for Sony. The phone was powered by a Snapdragon 810 octocore CPU, but the chip( and subsequently, the phone) had something of a problem with overheating.
The new Z5 Compact features the same Snapdragon 810 processor, which has led to much doomsaying about similar cooling problems. Unfortunately, the pessimists were right on this occasion: the Z5 Compact’s CPU still overheats.
It’s not a total write-off – the issues aren’t pronounced enough to be concerning or dangerous, and we’ve definitely seen phones that run hotter. However, the fact is that the Z5 Compact gets noticeably and almost uncomfortably hot at times. These problems occur seemingly at random, happening both during intense workloads and also when performing lighter tasks.
The Snapdragon 810 is paired with 2GB RAM, which is a little disappointing, as it means the Z5 is now lagging behind cutting edge smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S6 family, which have 3GB and 4GB memory allocations.
Despite this, its benchmark scores, while far from the steller results achieved by the iPhone 6s Plus, were nonetheless respectable and performance-wise, the Z5 Compact is generally ok. Its HTML rendering capabilities are good, swiping through menus and apps is smooth and responsive, and the Z5 Compact remains acceptably quick even when hopping between high-intensity apps.
However, its initial load times occasionally felt a tad sluggish in practise, and it had a particular problem with HD movies. Trying to watch a HD copy of Mad Max: Fury Road downloaded from the Google Play store caused frequent and pronounced frame-skipping. Features
The Z5 Compact’s fingerprint sensor works well, and its location – combined with the power button on the side of the device – is the most sensible and convenient we’ve seen to date.
As with most Android fingerprint sensors, its utility is essentially limited to device security and a handful of payment options for now, although increased functionality should arrive with theAndroid Marshmallow update.
In previous generations, one of the main features trumpeted by the Xperia range was its full IP68 rating, certifying the devices for immersion in 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes. Marketing materials for devices like the Xperia Z3 were full of images of the phone in a fishbowl while remaining perfectly operational.
Unfortunately, as members of IT Pro can testify, these claims proved to be less than 100 per cent accurate. We’ve personally witnessed two Xperia Z3 Compacts irreparably damaged by submersion when they should have been well within acceptable limits.
Despite having the same IP rating as the Z3, Sony has now drastically scaled back its claims for the Z5 Compact, and instead only says that it’s “built to withstand the splashes that are a part of everyday life”.
Given that it’s still technically rated for full submersion, we’re pretty confident that accidentally dropping the Z5 Compact in the toilet won’t destroy it, but we’re no longer quite so sure about taking it in swimming, thereby eliminating one of the Xperia range's most attractive features.
Camera
Sony provides the imaging components for a great deal of major smartphone cameras, and has brought all its expertise to bear on the Z5 range. As such, it’s carrying one of the very best smartphone cameras on the market, second only to the iPhone 6s Plus and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus.
Autofocus is fast and accurate, and thanks to the 23MP sensor, photos have fantastic detail and clarity. It’s also great at picking up colour and depth, and snaps are vibrant even in low-light conditions.
The dedicated hardware button is great for quickly launching the camera and snapping rapid-fire shots, providing reliably awesome pictures.
Battery
The Xperia Z3 Compact had an absolutely stonking battery life, which is partly why it was one of our favourite phones of last year. The new Z5 Compact, however, is a little less impressive than its predecessor.
While we could confidently get around a day and a half of moderate use out of the Z3 Compact, this phone will only manage just over a day. With heavy use, that’ll shrink to around 8 to 10 hours. That’s hardly embarrassing, and it’s a lot better than many of its competitors, but it’s another area where the Z5 still hasn’t bested the older model.
However, the sting is taken out of this significantly by the inclusion of fast charging, which allows users to top up their devices with a quick, concentrated burst of power. This means that even if the Z5 Compact’s battery levels start dipping worryingly low, 12 to 15 minutes charging is all you’ll need to get them back up.
The Z5 Compact also still includes Sony’s excellent Stamina Mode, which subtly lowers power consumption by throttling app activity when you’re not using the phone. This reliably extends the battery life by a good few hours.
If you’re really hurting for charge, Ultra Stamina Mode disables everything but a selection of core functions, and drastically scales back screen performance and brightness in order to make your remaining battery last as long as possible.
Software
The Xperia Z5 Compact runs Android Lollipop 5.1.1 build as its stock OS, but should be set for an Android Marshmallow upgrade before too long. Sony’s own skin has been applied over the top of the software, but the user interface has been slightly redesigned from previous versions, and now has a little more in common with Google’s Material Design.
As is common with Sony phones, it’s packed with quite a few pre-loaded apps, only some of which are any use. Social media tools such as Twitter and Vine will no doubt be convenient for many, but the numerous others( at least three of which are barely-disguised marketing for Sony’s other products and services) are less welcome.
Verdict
The Z3 Compact was one of the unquestionable standouts of 2014, so the Z5 compact had some pretty big shoes to fill from the outset. To its credit, it’s gone a good way to filling those shoes; the camera is leagues better than its predecessor and the Z5 compact runs rings around the Z3 from a design perspective.
Sadly, it’s just not done enough. While the processor has received an upgrade over the Z3 Compact's, it has added potentially problematic overheating issues, and the RAM is still the same as the Z3 Compact. It’s also got the same screen, and very few additional features that compensate for the somewhat lacklustre components.
The fingerprint reader, fast-charging and new, improved chassis are all great features; it’s just a shame they’re not backed up by more impressive hardware. The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact is good, but when you can pick up the near-identical Z3 compact for more than £100 less, it’s not good enough.
