Sony Xperia Z1 Compact vs iPhone 5s and Moto X: specs comparison
The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is finally here, and it’s the first Android smartphone to pack the latest and most powerful Snapdragon 800 system chip in a ‘mini’ sized form factor. While most current Android flagship hover around a large 5” screen size that is not perfectly convenient for single handed use, the Z1 Compact is able to shrink it down to 4.3 inches.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 system chip with a full-on 2GB RAM, however, is not the only highlight of the Xperia Z1 Compact. It also packs the same excellent 20.7-megapixel camera that the flagship Xperia Z1 had, and that’s great news.
You might still be wondering, though, whether there are downsides to making this phone this small?
There are a few trade-offs we ought to mention, but few of them will be real downsides. The first is the fact that the Xperia Z1 Compact is a hair thicker than the Z1 at 9.5mm. That’s more than the average, but this does not make the new ‘mini’ chubby by any means. Also, the smaller, 4.3” screen size dictated a lower resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. That might seem like a downgrade from most 1080 x 1920-pixel flagships of today, but in reality the smaller screen justifies the lower resolution decision, and pixels look very sharp at 342ppi. The battery has also shrunk in size to fit the smaller chassis, and it’s now a 2300mAh unit on the Z1 Compact. Sony claims that the smaller screen consumes less power, and - even with a smaller juicer - it’s capable of delivering similar battery longevity.
You might still be wondering, though, whether there are downsides to making this phone this small?
There are a few trade-offs we ought to mention, but few of them will be real downsides. The first is the fact that the Xperia Z1 Compact is a hair thicker than the Z1 at 9.5mm. That’s more than the average, but this does not make the new ‘mini’ chubby by any means. Also, the smaller, 4.3” screen size dictated a lower resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. That might seem like a downgrade from most 1080 x 1920-pixel flagships of today, but in reality the smaller screen justifies the lower resolution decision, and pixels look very sharp at 342ppi. The battery has also shrunk in size to fit the smaller chassis, and it’s now a 2300mAh unit on the Z1 Compact. Sony claims that the smaller screen consumes less power, and - even with a smaller juicer - it’s capable of delivering similar battery longevity.
For all other technical details, and how they compare against the Xperia Z1’s closest rivals - the similarly sized and specced iPhone 5s and Moto X - take a look at the table right below.
|
|
|
| Sony Xperia Z1 Compact | Motorola Moto X | Apple iPhone 5s |
Design
| Dimensions | ||
|---|---|---|
| 5.00 x 2.56 x 0.37 inches 127 x 64.9 x 9.5 mm |
5.09 x 2.57 x 0.41 inches 129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4 mm |
4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm |
| Weight | ||
| 4.83 oz (137.0 g) | 4.59 oz (130.0 g) | 3.95 oz (112.0 g) |
| Materials | ||
| Back: Aluminum | ||
| Resistance | ||
| Water, Dust; IP58 | ||
| Biometrics | ||
| Fingerprint (touch) | ||
| Keys | ||
| Right: Volume control, Camera shutter, Lock/Unlock key | Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key | Left: Volume control, Other |
| Colors | ||
| Black, Pink, Green, White | Black, Brown, Green, Blue, Red, White | Gold, Silver, Space gray |
Display
| Size | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4.3-inch, 61.72% screen-to-body | 4.7-inch, 70.63% screen-to-body | 4.0-inch, 60.82% screen-to-body |
| Type | ||
| IPS LCD | AMOLED | IPS LCD, 500 nits |
| Resolution | ||
| 1280x720px, 342 PPI | 1280x720px, 316 PPI | 1136x640px, 326 PPI |
| Colors | ||
| 16 777 216 | 16 777 216 | |
| Protection | ||
| Corning Gorilla Glass | ||
| Features | ||
| Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor | ||
Hardware
| System chip | ||
|---|---|---|
| Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 | Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960 | Apple A7 (28 nm) |
| Processor | ||
| Quad-core 2200 MHz Krait 400 |
Dual-core 1700 MHz Krait |
Dual-core 1300 MHz Cyclone |
| GPU | ||
| Adreno 330 | Adreno 320 | PowerVR G6430 |
| Memory | ||
| 2GB (LPDDR3)/16GB | 2GB (LPDDR2)/16GB 2GB/32GB 2GB/64GB |
1GB (LPDDR3)/64GB 1GB/16GB 1GB/32GB |
| Storage expansion | ||
| microSDXC up to 64 GB | not expandable | |
| OS | ||
| Android (5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.2, 4.3) | Android (5.1 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.3, 4.4.2, 4.4, 4.3, 4.2.2) | iOS (12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x, 7.x) |
Battery
| Type | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2300 mAh | 2200 mAh | 1570 mAh, Li - Ion |
Camera
| Rear | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single camera | Single camera | Single camera |
| Main camera | ||
| 20.7 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F2.0 Focal length: 27 mm Sensor size: 1/2.3" |
10 MP (Autofocus) Aperture size: F2.4 Focal length: 30 mm Sensor size: 1/2.6" Pixel size: 1.4 μm |
8 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, Autofocus, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal length: 29 mm Sensor size: 1/3" Pixel size: 1.5 μm |
| Flash | ||
| LED | LED | Dual LED |
| Video recording | ||
| 1080p HDR, Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS | 1080p (60 fps) | 1080p (30 fps), 720p (120 fps) Time-lapse video, Picture-taking during video recording, EIS |
| Front | ||
| 2 MP Video capture: 1080p |
2 MP | 1.2 MP Video capture: 720p |
Connectivity & Features
| Bluetooth | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 4.0, Yes | 4.0 |
| WLAN | ||
| a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac | a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac | a,b,g,n,dual-band Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n |
| USB | ||
| microUSB, USB 2.0 | microUSB, USB 2.0 | Lightning |
| Sensors | ||
| Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Thermometer, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor |
| Hearing aid compatible | ||
| M3/T3 | M4/T4 | |
| Location | ||
| GPS, A-GPS, Glonass | GPS, A-GPS, S-GPS, Glonass | GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning |
| Other | ||
| NFC, ANT+, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync | NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync | UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop |
Multimedia
| Headphones | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | 3.5mm jack | 3.5mm jack |
| Speakers | ||
| Earpiece, Loudspeaker | Earpiece, Loudspeaker | Earpiece, Loudspeaker |
| Features | ||
| Album art cover, Background playback, Music recognition, Custom equalizer | Album art cover, Background playback | Album art cover, Background playback |
| Screen mirroring | ||
| DLNA,MHL,MirrorLink,TV-out | TV-out | |
| Radio | ||
| FM, Stereo, RDS | ||
| Additional microphone(s) | ||
| Noise cancellation, Video recording | ||
Cellular
| 4G (FDD) Bands | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20 | 13, 5, 4, 2 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25 |
| 3G Bands | ||
| 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 | 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 | 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 |
| Data Speed | ||
| LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS | LTE, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS | LTE Cat 3 (100/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS |
| SIM type | ||
| Micro SIM | Nano SIM | Nano SIM |
Phone Features
| Notifications | ||
|---|---|---|
| Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone | Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone | |
| Other features | ||
| Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording | Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording | |
Regulatory Approval
| FCC approval | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date approved: Jan 25, 2014 FCC ID value: PY7PM-0640 | Date approved: May 10, 2013 FCC ID value: IHDT56PA1 | Date approved: Sep 20, 2013 FCC ID value: BCG-E2642A |
| Measured SAR | ||
| Head: 1.43 W/kg Body: 1.00 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.58 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.96 W/kg |
Head: 1.21 W/kg Body: 0.65 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.52 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.08 W/kg |
Head: 1.18 W/kg Body: 1.18 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.58 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.20 W/kg |
Availability
| Officially announced | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jan 06, 2014 | Aug 01, 2013 | Sep 10, 2013 |
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Sony Xperia Z1 Compact vs Motorola Moto X vs Apple iPhone 5s specs comparison
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