Price and specifications of Sony Xperia Z3 Compact advantages, disadvantages, and a comprehensive explanation

Overview of Sony Xperia Z3 Compact

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, released in September 2014, stands as a testament to Sony's innovation in the smartphone arena. It was designed to offer high-end features in a compact form factor. With its elegant design, powerful hardware specifications, and excellent camera capabilities, the Z3 Compact quickly became a favorite for those seeking a small yet competent smartphone.

Design and Build Quality

The Xperia Z3 Compact is crafted with premium materials, featuring a glass front and back, and a sturdy plastic frame. Measuring 127.3 x 64.9 x 8.6 mm and weighing 129 grams, this device is both lightweight and easy to handle, making it perfect for one-handed use. The phone's slim design does not compromise on durability, as it is equipped with shatter-proof glass to protect against accidental drops.

Additionally, the device's IP68 rating ensures it's dust-tight and water-resistant up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes, enhancing its durability further.

Display Technology

The Z3 Compact sports a 4.6-inch IPS LCD with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, resulting in a sharp and vibrant display with a pixel density of approximately 319 ppi. The screen offers good viewing angles and color reproduction, making it suitable for multimedia consumption. It occupies about 70.6% of the front surface, which is impressive for its time.

Performance and Hardware

Under the hood, the Xperia Z3 Compact is powered by the Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 chipset, featuring a Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400 CPU and an Adreno 330 GPU. This combination ensures smooth performance, capable of handling most daily tasks and even some demanding applications and games with ease.

The device comes with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. For those needing more space, the Z3 Compact includes a dedicated microSDXC card slot for expanded storage.

Camera Capabilities

One of the standout features of the Xperia Z3 Compact is its camera. The main camera is a 20.7 MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and features such as LED flash, HDR, and panorama. This camera can capture high-quality images in various lighting conditions and record videos in 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps, and 720p at 120fps.

On the front, the phone has a 2.2 MP selfie camera capable of recording 1080p video, adequate for video calls and selfies.

Battery and Charging

The Z3 Compact is equipped with a non-removable Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery. The device supports Quick Charge 2.0 technology with an 18W wired charger, allowing for faster charging cycles. In terms of endurance, the phone can last up to 12 hours on a 2G call, 14 hours on a 3G call, and offers an impressive 110 hours of music playback, providing excellent battery life for its compact size.

Software Experience

Originally launched with Android 4.4.4 KitKat, the Xperia Z3 Compact is upgradable to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The Sony UI overlay adds additional features while maintaining a clean and intuitive user interface. Supported by regular updates during its active period, Sony ensured the device remained relevant in terms of security and new features.

Connectivity and Additional Features

The Xperia Z3 Compact supports a wide range of connectivity options including GSM, HSPA, and LTE networks. Other communication features include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP and aptX, NFC, and FM radio with RDS. The USB 2.0 port supports MHL TV-out and USB On-The-Go features, enhancing the phone's connectivity capabilities.

The phone also features essential sensors such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass, and barometer, adding to its functionality in various applications.

Audio and Multimedia

The Xperia Z3 Compact is equipped with stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack, offering quality audio output. The loudspeaker delivers clear audio with voice and noise levels measured at 65dB and 62dB respectively.

With a combination of good audio quality and multimedia features, the Z3 Compact provides a satisfying mobile entertainment experience.

Conclusion

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is a remarkable smartphone offering a balanced mix of performance, camera capabilities, and durability in a compact form. Even though the device is discontinued, it left a lasting impression on the market, especially for users seeking a small yet powerful smartphone option. With its notable feature set, the Z3 Compact showcases Sony's dedication to crafting devices that meet diverse consumer needs without compromising on quality.