Sony Xperia Z5 Compact review

December 30, 2015 Reviews Sony

What is the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact?

The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact is the smaller vesion of the Xperia and the 4K-screen packing Z5 Premium. It's considered as the successor to the Xperia Z3 Compact, having the same 4.6-inch 720p HD screen in a water-resistant body.

Z5 compact

As a family of Z5, Sony realize as many of its high-end features as it can into the smaller frame. So you enjoy the same great camera, 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor powering performance and possible to shoot 4K video you can enjoy on the Z5.

Recently, Sony has its design philosophy. When the first Xperia Z launched in a few years ago, that design makes it different from other smartphone set of Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC that were sold to market at the time. Those same eye-catching elements introduced back then have trickled down into Sony's other handsets, including the Z3 Compact.

The Z5 Compact now can offers a frosted-glass finish on the back and front of the phone, which, although feels very much like plastic to touch, makes some welcome change from the slippery tempered glass which people usually likes. For anyone who's owned a Z3 or a Z3 Compact, you'll know all about how the issues of that glossy back, especially if you like leaving your phone on the your sofa or any soft material surface.


You might have noticed that the Z5 Compact is actually bigger than the Z5 in one size it's a little thicker. That's to fit in all those high-end specs and a bigger battery than the larger phone. I barely noticed the difference in thickness until I put them next to each other, and even then it wasn't all that shocking.

The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact weighs in at 138g, 16g lighter than the Z5. Build wise, it's a similar size and weight to the iPhone 6S.


This Compact has the nano-SIM and micro SD card slot on the left edge of the phone, next to a small gap where you can attach a lanyard. Elsewhere, it's an identical layout to the Z5.



One of strong feature is waterproof technology Sony remains one of the few companies to offer such protection: its IP68 certification means it's technically dust- and water-proof to a depth of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes. Except Sony doesn't want you to take your phone into the water, as the company bizarrely advised its customers recently.


Screen is too small?

The Z5 Compact sticks with the same 4.6-inch 720p HD panel as its predecessor and the LCD screen is scratch-resistant too. Although this means it might not be as impressive as its bigger brother for watching films and playing games, overall there are few areas in which I can pick holes.

Resolution is something that needs addressing. Is it time for Sony to upgrade to a Full HD display? There are a number of significantly cheaper phones out there sporting 1080p screens ? although few similar-sized phones offer a resolution higher than 720p HD. It's arguable whether the benefits of the extra resolution are as noticeable as they are on an 5-inch screen or above.

Z5 compact



Basic features
Key Features: 4.6-inch 720p HD LCD screen (323ppi); Android OS 5.1.1 Lollipop; IP68 dust-proof and water-resistant; Side-mounted fingerprint sensor; Snapdragon 810 processor with Adreno 430 GPU; 2GB RAM; 32GB with microSD card support; 23-megapixel main camera; 5.1-megapixel front-facing camera; Shoots 4K at 30fps; Non-removable 2,700mAh battery
Manufacturer: Sony

Please check out our lineup of Z5 compact.