In September 2016, Sony adedd two smartphones – Xperia XZ and Xperia X Compact to its Xperia series.
Following a setback with the Xperia X, the manufacturer claims that these two handsets are it flagship and premium devices respectively for this year. Sony announced the arrival of these smartphones at the IFA 2016 event in Berlin. The former handset is said to focus more on photography and is said to be the king of the company’s smartphones in the camera department. While the flagship is expected to hit the market in a couple of weeks, the premium version is already available to the public. There are talks that the Sony Xperia XZ outdoes the iPhone 7 or is at par with this handset from Apple. Sony has worked in depth to fine tune the configuration of the XZ to win the hearts of its customers.
Dimensions, Weight and Body Material/Finish
The Xperia XZ is undoubtedly the bigger and bulkier smartphone. The handset has a size of 146 x 72 x 8.1mm and weighs 161g. To give it a classy look, the company has designed it using a fully metallic body. True to its name, the Xperia X Compact is smaller and not as heavy. However, it is surprisingly a little thicker. The device is sized at 129 x 65 x 9.5mm and is nearly 135g in weight. This smaller size and lesser weight makes it fit more easily both in your pocket and hand. But, unlike its metallic counterpart, the X Compact sports a ceramic finish. The Sony Xperia XZ has a distinct advantage over the Sony Xperia X Compact in the sense that it is IP68 certified, making it dust and water resistant.
Screen Display and Size, Pixel Resolution and Density
Both smartphones use IPS LCD display screens with a maximum of 10 fingers multi-touch support and 16 million colors rendition. They also incorporate Sony’s standard Triluminous display and X-Reality Engine. The similarities between the screens end right there. The Xperia XZ has a 5.2-inch screen with better pixel resolution and pixel density of 1080 x 1920 and 424ppi respectively. As far as the Xperia X Compact is concerned, it sports a smaller 4.6 inches screen with appropriately smaller pixel resolution and pixel density values of 720 x 1280 and 319ppi in that order. The XZ comes with a Corning Gorilla Glass to make it free of scratches while the X Compact features a scratch resistant glass and an oleophobic coating to avoid fingerprint smudges.
Rear and Front Optics
As stated above, when the two devices are compared, the Sony Xperia XZ rules over the Sony Xperia X Compact in terms of the selfie cameras. Surprisingly, they rate more or less at par with respect to the primary shooters. The difference is in focusing and video recording abilities. Each handset has a 23MP camera with an LED flash and phase detection, with support for standard camera functions. Even as the XZ offers more focusing precision with laser autofocus, the X Compact makes use of only the usual autofocus. While the former records both 2160p videos at 30 fps and 1080p videos at 30 fps and 60 fps, the latter confines to recording just the 1080p videos. Talking of the front shooter, the XZ renders brilliant performance for its selfies and video calls with a 13MP shutterbug that records HDR and 1080p videos. In comparison, the X Compact delivers the standard results with a 5MP snapper and records 1080p videos.
Hardware, Memory and Software
With the Sony Xperia XZ, you have a choice to take your pick from a combination of 3GB RAM and 3GB ROM as internal storage or 3GB RAM and 64GB ROM (The second option is higher priced). You can build up on this memory by another 256GB through the insertion of a memory card into its dedicated slot if you opt for a single SIM device. But, if you are taking the dual SIM variation, you will have to use the slot intended for the second SIM. The Sony Xperia X Compact leaves no option leaving you with only a 3GB RAM and 32GB ROM smartphone. There is a dedicated memory card slot to enhance the memory by a further 256GB.
At present, the two handsets operate on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. However, plans are being made to upgrade to the next higher level Android 7 Nougat.
Battery and Battery Life
The Sony smartphones have non-removable Li-ion batteries. The Xperia XZ uses a 2,900 mAh battery in place of the 2,700 mAh battery in the Xperia X Compact. Yet, talk time and standby times are a tad more in the X Compact than the XZ.