Sony Xperia Z3 Compact - BLTN

When I go back to try older devices, I don't always do a BLTN (Better Late Than Never) review of them. While some of them may still be viable alternatives, many of them has been reviewed to death already by review sites. Some of them have already been replaced by a newer and better model, and others that are just not that interesting at all. But this is special though. This is one of those rare devices that took the path less travelled. This is one of those rare devices that I just had to write about despite its age (in tech years).


The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact was announced almost 11 months ago as the younger brother of Sony's new flagship smartphone the Xperia Z3. In a World where smartphones are getting bigger and bigger in size with each generation, the Xperia Z3 Compact stayed small and nimble. Offering top-end specifications in a compact body much like its predecessor, the Z1 Compact did (don't even ask about what happened to the Z2 Compact).

Despite being a little long in the tooth, the Xperia Z3 Compact is still one of the best option out there for people looking for more compact devices without compromise on specifications. Granted, part of the reason it is still one of the best option out there, is because there are so little options to begin with. That's not to say the Xperia Z3 Compact doesn't hold its own though compared to its giant-sized rivals though.

The Xperia Z3 Compact has a typical Sony design language, with front and back glass panels on a rounded rectangular slab. It looks understated, and maybe even boring (unless you get the green or orange variant), but it does look classy, and the design has shown to be able to withstand the test of time.

Unlike the Xperia Z3 with a metal frame, the Z3 Compact had to settle for a plastic frame. The frame while not as premium feeling, still feels solid enough to take a bit of a beating if need be. It actually helps reinforce the idea of a durable device that comes with IP68 (water, dust resistant) certification.

The camera is actually flushed with the back, which actually ended up being a "con" rather than a "pro". I found out the hard way that the camera lens actually scratches pretty easily. The first Z3 Compact I had, ended up with a scratched camera lens from just daily wear and tear. For example using the phone without a case on a table. Eventually it got to a point where it actually affected the image quality, and I had to go to a service centre to get the back replaced, a process which took a week. (Same thing for an Xperia Z2 I had actually)

The front houses a 4.6-inches 1280 x 720 pixels IPS LCD display, along with twin front-firing speakers on the top and bottom. The display while not the densest around, still has a respectable 319 ppi. It has decent viewing angles, and decent daylight visibility as well. Unless you like viewing your phone inches off your face, it is more than sufficient for a great viewing experience. However, while the front-firing speakers are decent, they are not the loudest around. Clearly one of the areas that were subjected to some compromise when down-sizing the phone.

One area that wasn't down-sized? The processor. It has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, and Adreno 330 GPU found on the Xperia Z3 as well. However, it only has 2GB of RAM compared to the Xperia Z3's 3GB. In my time with it, I haven't found myself limited by 2GB of RAM. I have used devices with 4GB of RAM as well, and frankly I don't think I'll be able to tell the difference for my usage. The processor is also still a very capable performer considering how underwhelming the newer Snapdragon 810 chipset has been.

In my Xperia Z3+ review, I noted the device's tendency to warm up easily, and it is the same case with the Xperia Z3 Compact as well. Although the devices doesn't feel nearly as warm as the Xperia Z3+ did under similar loads.

Sony's UI, and UX is actually closer to stock Android than one would think, especially with Android Lollipop. It has some icon and UI changes, some additional features, and a few Sony apps. Like I mentioned in my Xperia Z3+ review as well, the design of Sony apps has been updated to feature Material Design as well, and are mostly quite nicely done. There are still room for improvements of course with some inconsistency here and there.

The great thing is that in terms of the UI performance, I have little to no complains at all about the Xperia Z3 Compact. The UI is snappy and responsive, and I see very little stutter or slowdowns in my time with it.

With a smaller phone size, the battery inevitably also takes a hit. The Xperia Z3 Compact has a 2,600 mAh battery which while smaller than the Xperia Z3's 3,100 mAh battery, is still bigger than a lot of compact phones this size. For example, the 1st generation Moto X has a 2,200 mAh battery, and the Galaxy Alpha has a 1,860 mAh battery.

Battery life is definitely one of my favourite aspect of the device. With Sony's own software optimisation, and their power saving Stamina mode, getting the device to last a day of heavy use is an easy task. While the battery life took a small hit with the upgrade to Lollipop, the battery life is still better than most flagship devices these day.

Which brings us to another less than stellar aspect of the Xperia Z3 Compact. While this is the exact same camera unit used on the Xperia Z3, it is not exactly be the best performing camera out there. The image quality shows signs of over-aggressive noise reduction, and loss of details when zoomed in. When viewing at a smaller size, like on a smartphone for example, they still look decent though.

The Camera UI in typical Sony fashion is plagued with unnecessary modes (AR effects), and weird restrictions. Superior Auto mode tries to detect the correct mode to use, but isn't as accurate as other modern devices. You are also limited to shooting in 8 MP in this mode. To use the full 20.7 MP resolution, you need to switch to manual mode, which doesn't allow you to change the ISO, or use HDR mode.

In lowlight/night, the lack of OIS takes a toll on image quality as well, producing muddy and grainy looking shots. The ability to shoot in ISO 12800 is a nice touch, but you can only use that in superior auto mode. The resulting image isn't great too, and it's more of a "nice to have" feature rather than an actually useful one.

That said, unless you are very particular about the image quality, the Xperia Z3 Compact will likely still serve your needs well. It's not that the camera quality is bad per se, but it is just that its competitors are just in a different league in my opinion (S6, G4).

Full resolution images for comparison here: Xperia Z3 Compact, Xperia Z3+, Galaxy S6, LG G4

-----

Overall, if you are looking for a highly capable compact smartphone, the Xperia Z3 Compact is probably your best bet. It is a flagship smartphone in a compact form factor, and more. There are some great features that the Xperia Z3 Compact gives that other "normal" sized smartphones can't. For one, that battery life is still one of the best I have gotten thus far from a smartphone.

It has its flaws of course. The need to fiddle with those flaps (if you are not keen to use the magnetic charging port) is a little annoying, and the magnetic charger cable isn't the most secure, and falls off too easily for my liking. The camera quality isn't the best out there, though is definitely still decent. The camera lens requires some tender loving care to ensure you don't mess it up.

And if the above complaints sounds a little trivial, it is because they kind of are. In my time with the Xperia Z3 Compact, it has become one of my favourite device in the market. Not just because of what it represents (compact flagships), but also because of what it is actually capable of.

That said, I would really love to see more such compact flagship devices that doesn't compromise too much. I understand that compromises are inevitable, especially when dealing with a smaller internal component space. But the Xperia Z3 Compact is prove that it is possible to strike a perfect balance.

With the conclusion of this BLTN review, all I can say is that I am eagerly awaiting for the next generation of "Compact" smartphones from Sony.

Why BlackBerry with Android makes sense to me.

(Photoshopped image)

Let's talk BlackBerry. Rumours and leaks recently have pointed towards BlackBerry devices running Android. While some may be wondering why they even bother, I am sitting here thinking of reasons why BlackBerry should do it.


Afterall, John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry has already stated that he is not against building an Android device provided he can make it secure, and at this point, I think it's a matter of eventuality rather than a theory.

Technicalities like how to secure Android aside, there are plenty of good reasons of why Android will work in BlackBerry's favour, and very little reasons not to at least give it a try.

1. Costs

Building your own OS and ecosystem is expensive. Not just maintaining it, but also the developer tools, attracting developers, etc. Going all in on Android would allow BlackBerry save a bit of money, and piggyback on the already mature Android ecosystem. If we are talking about Android with Google services, and not forked Android, then BlackBerry won't even have to do a lot of heavy lifting, and that solves the one big issue BlackBerry 10 is facing too, apps.

2. Ecosystem

I love BlackBerry 10. The gestures, and the Hub. But those can probably be replicated on Android if they want to. But the main thing that it is lacking, is in apps. While in its current form, it runs Android apps, the experience isn't exactly great compared to native apps. Not to mention not all Android apps work properly. Going Android, and having Play Store solves that issue.

3. People still love BlackBerry hardware

In a recent post by Michael Fisher from Pocketnow, titled "5 reasons the world needs an Android BlackBerry" (great read by the way), his first point was "BlackBerry still does incredibly good hardware". If you have picked up a Passport or Classic recently, you'll know how solid those devices feel in hand. The BlackBerry Q10 even after 2 years in the market, still feels great when compared to modern flagship devices.

4. Physical Keyboard

While this could be categorise under the above point, I think it is significant enough to demand its own segment. If you have used any of the old BlackBerry physical keyboard devices, you would know how good the keyboard are to type on. Along with useful keyboard shortcuts that helps really save tons of time. It's not just typing though, it's text editing too. Like selecting, and editing text. BlackBerry knows how to make a great keyboard, and I think a lot people would love a physical keyboard device that isn't restricted by BlackBerry 10's ecosystem problem.

5. BlackBerry 10 isn't a moneymaker

BlackBerry doesn't exactly make a ton of money selling hardware these days. With the BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service) going the way of the Dodo bird since they migrated over to BlackBerry 10, they aren't making a ton on service revenue as they were used to as well. What still makes them money (I think), are their enterprise solutions. Since BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Services) is able to manage iOS and Android devices as well, BlackBerry doesn't really have anything to lose here. BlackBerry 10 has been out there for years now, and hasn't really made a dent. However if they go Android along with their own software enhancements, like their superb BlackBerry Hub, File Manager, and other unique selling points like a physical keyboard, it could see BlackBerry selling more devices. And not just to enterprise, but to consumers as well.

6. Nothing to lose

As mentioned above, BlackBerry doesn't really have much to lose other than some resources. To me BlackBerry 10 isn't going to make it in the long run, no matter how good I think the OS is. By bundling Amazon app store out of the box, they did manage to lower the hurdle to BlackBerry 10 a little, but that pretty much stifled native development. Why build for BlackBerry 10 only when you can build for Android? The Android runtime BlackBerry used, has always been a little janky too, and sort of a patch work. Not to mention there are no Google services available. BES already works with Android, there are already some BlackBerry apps like BBM for Android. So now all they have to do is try to make Android secure enough, and add their own software enhancements.

-----

I am a fan of BlackBerry products, and have owned, and loved my fair share of BlackBerry devices. But eventually I moved away from it, simply because it doesn't fulfil my needs from a mobile device anymore, and mainly it's down to the limited ecosystem.

So I for one would really love to see BlackBerry make a comeback. They have tried BlackBerry 10. They have given it time to try and make it work. Perhaps it is now time to give Android a try.

(Photoshopped images just for fun)

Quick Thoughts on the Sony Xperia Z3+

The Sony Xperia Z3+ is probably one of the devices that I am least excited about this year, seeing that it is a pretty minor bump over the Xperia Z3. Nonetheless, I got my hands on one on launch day, and would like to share some of my quick thoughts on the device.

As the name implies, the Xperia Z3+ is supposed to be a spiffed up version of the Xperia Z3. At first glance, nobody will fault you for thinking that it looks exactly like the Xperia Z3. Mind you, not that looking like the Xperia Z3 is a bad thing. The Xperia Z3 while understated, is still superbly build, and clad with premium materials. Though this year with the Xperia Z3+, Sony had went on to improve its looks further.

The front speaker grills has been moved to the top and bottom edges. A more discreet location reminiscent of the Xperia Z2. The magnetic charger port which I had always found a little annoying to use has been removed in favour of a cap-less Micro USB port, located at a more conventional location at the bottom. The phone also underwent a diet, and lost 0.4 mm off its thickness, though at the cost of a smaller battery over its predecessor.

While I was hoping for a more radical design change to the Xperia Z line of devices, there are very little to complain about the Xperia Z3+ when it comes to build quality, and design. Sony's Omni-balance design language has held up well over the years, and has been refined with each iteration. All cumulating into what would become the Xperia Z3+, the best looking Xperia device yet.

The front of the device houses a 5.2-inches Full HD 1080 x 1920 pixels IPS LCD display, at ~424 ppi. While it is not as high resolution as other devices with QHD like the LG G4 or Galaxy S6, the display still looks great. In my time with it, I have never found myself wishing it had more pixels. Viewing angles are decent too, colour reproduction (quick tip: turn off X-reality display mode) are nice, and it has good visibility outdoors.

The phone is packing the somewhat controversial Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Octo-core CPU. Which is accompanied by an Adreno 430 GPU, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. This is supposed to be a slightly revised version of the original 810 processor, though honestly I am unable to tell by using the device normally.

I am not a fan of running benchmarks, and comparing numbers. To me what is important is how the phone performs as a whole in day to day, real-world usage. In this aspect, much like the HTC One M9 I have tested earlier, the processor was able to handle most of what I need the device to do.

I did notice the phone's tendency to warm up easily around the top-rear portion of the device. Using basic features like hangouts, social media apps, and web browsing outdoors warms up the rear quickly. So does playing games, or watching YouTube videos. However the temperature never got to the point of being "hot" in my opinion, and is still bearable to the touch. The device does get a little warmer than I would have liked when using the device while charging, but to be fair, that is something I noticed on the Galaxy S6 as well.

When I was doing my camera test under the sun, the phone got really warm, but I did not see prompts telling me the device is getting too hot though. The only times the heat has ever affected the usage of the device was when recording 4K video. I was only able to record about 3 minutes of footage before the camera app had to shut down. Other than that, while the device does get warm more easily than other devices, I have not found that to affect the performance of the device in day to day use.

Overall it is not something that I am overly concern with, unless you are going to be doing prolonged durations of photo/video-taking under broad daylight often. It is probably important to note as well that the Xperia Z3+ I had came out of the box with the new update (28.0.A.7.24) that were supposed to help with thermal management.

Talking about performance, Sony’s UI performs remarkably well. The phone responds to button presses, touches on the screen with little to no lag. The UI is snappy, and animations were smooth. The only hesitation that stood out to me was when pressing the recent apps button, which had a split second pause. I also spotted inexplicable random pauses once in a while as well, but I suspect those are more down to Android Lollipop 5.0.2 than anything else. Overall in terms of performance, Sony has done a good job here.

The design of the UI is pleasing to the eye too. Sony stuck with mostly stock-Android look and feel, and added some minor upgrades to them. Take the notification shade for example, which looks like stock-Android, but allows for users to customise the settings to their liking. A lot of Sony’s own app icons and UI has been updated to include more Material Design elements, which is definitely much welcomed. While there are still some areas that could be improved, overall I think Sony did a decent job.

Though it is not all rainbows and butterflies. One thing I noticed immediately was that there seems to be more bloatware compared to the Xperia Z3 Compact I had. I am not just talking about Sony apps (which are just as annoying for those who does not use them), but third-party apps as well. I guess that is how Sony is trying to make more money out of their devices, by bundling more pre-installed apps. On the bright side, almost all of them can be uninstalled o disabled if you wish, including some of Sony’s own bloat.

The bloat does not stop at just apps though. I can understand including a few photos, a single movie, a single music track. Basically to showcase the camera, display, and the speaker quality. But does Sony really need to advertise their own products so aggressively? The image above is just one of a bunch of other photos on the phone, and it feels more like an advertisement for their “alpha” camera range than anything else. Of course you can simply delete them all if you wish, and at most this is a minor annoyance.

The Xperia Z3+ packs a 2,930 mAh battery capacity, which is a tad smaller than the Xperia Z3’s 3,100 mAh battery. This does make the phone 0.4 mm slimmer than the Xperia Z3, but really I would rather they kept the same thickness, and battery size. That is not to say battery life is bad though. I am seeing slightly better battery life compared to other flagship devices this year like the Galaxy S6, One M9, and LG G4. I was able to get through a day (14 - 16 hours) of moderate to heavy use with about 4 hours and 40 minutes of screen-on Time. On lighter usage, I have seen upwards of 5 hours of screen-on time.

(Keep in mind as well that the Xperia Z3+ only has a FHD display compared to the Galaxy S6’s QHD display, and that the Galaxy S6 has a smaller battery capacity.)

However compared to the Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact, the battery life feels like a step backwards. Snapdragon 810 has not been known to be frugal on battery, compound that with the fact that it has a smaller battery pack means that battery life is bound to suffer.

For the forth flagship device in a row, Sony is using a similar 20.7 MP Sony Exmor RS camera. It has a relatively fast f/2.0 aperture, along with one of the larger sensor compared to the rest of the pack at 1/2.3”. While on paper the camera specification might look similar, but in practice I am definitely seeing improved camera performance over past generation flagship devices.

On the Xperia Z2 and Z3 Compact, my biggest complain with the image quality was with Sony’s image processing. Sony tend to apply over-aggressive noise-reduction, causing loss of details and sharpness, something that becomes apparent when you view the image at a larger size. With the Xperia Z3+, I am happy to say that the image processing has been much improved.

(Z3+)

(Z3 Compact)

(Z3+ 100% Crop)

(Z3 Compact 100% Crop)

Images taken by the Xperia Z3+ preserves details, and sharpness better than the Xperia Z3 compact, and the images generally look pretty good. But there are still signs of slightly over-aggressive noise-reduction at times. Colours generally look pretty accurate and vibrant, though sometimes they turn out too muted when under direct lighting.

(Images are taken on Superior Auto mode)

In low-light conditions or at night, the camera still produces decent results. Though due to the slightly heavy-handed image processing, sometimes it is hard to tell whether the lack of details is due to minor camera shake, or just the image processing at work. This is where the LG G4 and Galaxy S6 really pulls ahead in terms of camera performance. While digital stabilisation is decent, having optical image stabilisation would definitely have helped.

Though with most modern smartphones, unless you are pixel-peeping, most of the shots taken are going to look pretty decent. Especially when most of the time people view the photos only on the phone itself, or share it on social media.

The ability to go all the way up to ISO 128000 is a nice trick, but something that I rarely found use for. While it is cool to still be able to capture an image in really dim conditions, the image quality is not that great by any stretch of the imagination.

Normally I would have talked about the camera UI first, but for the Xperia Z3+, I decided to leave it for the last because of how much it affected my opinion of an otherwise decent camera hardware. The camera app is bad.

In Superior Auto Mode, you are restricted to an 8 MP shot. To use 20.7 MP, you need to use Manual Mode, which does not actually gives you much control. At 20.7 MP, you are unable to use HDR mode, or adjust the ISO. To do that you need to select 8 MP setting in Manual Mode. Then there are all those modes. “Style Portrait, AR Mask, Face in Picture, Sound photo, AR fun, Multi camera, 4K video (why is this even a separate mode from video?), timeshift video, AR Effect, sweep panorama, and more.” Most of which are more gimmick than of real use, and would be better off being its own stand alone app.

The camera has a weird quirk as well. Tapping on the viewfinder to change the area of focus does not change the focus immediately. Only when you tap the capture button, it searches for focus in that area before capturing. Which makes the camera take longer than it should have to capture an image. Continuously tapping the capture button, the camera keeps refocusing before capturing each shot, even though the focus area is the same. This results in slow shot to shot time. In comparison on most other smartphones, tapping on an area changes the focus immediately, so that when you tap the shutter button, the capture is instant.

I also noticed a slight delay when capturing photos, which I suspect is the phone trying to save and process the image. Comparing it to other devices like the Galaxy S6, LG G4, or iPhone 6, the capture speed is noticeably slower. (When I was doing the camera test, I had with me the BlackBerry Q10, and even that had faster capture speed.)

DXOmark rated the Xperia Z3+ quite favourably, and I can definitely see why. The image quality is definitely decent, and a nice improvement over the Xperia Z3/Z3C. Though it is definitely not quite at the standard that Samsung, LG, or Apple is at. If you are willing to live with its quirks, it is a decent camera. Though I hope with future updates Sony will try to improve the camera further. As the leading camera sensor manufacturer in the market, it is a little baffling why Sony smartphones has not been up to par compared with other smartphone manufacturers using Sony's camera sensors as well.

Full resolution images for comparison: Xperia Z3+, Xperia Z3 Compact, Galaxy S6, One M9, LG G4, Nexus 6, Note 4, iPhone 6

-----

As an incremental update to the Xperia Z3, I was not terribly excited the Xperia Z3+ to begin with. Which is why it kind of surprised me how much I grew to like the device. The build quality is solid, and feels great in hand. The performance, and look and feel of the UI is great. It has top end specs, a nice display, and front-firing stereo speakers. Battery life is also one of the better one amongst flagship devices this year. I really enjoyed the fact as well that the Micro USB port is no longer covered under a flap, something that I found troublesome while using the Z3 Compact. It also manages to look premium while maintaining its IP68 (Ingress Protection) rating.

It has it quirks, mainly the camera, the bloat-wares, and its tendency to warm up a little too easily for my liking (both of which I hope Sony will improve upon with future software updates). Other than those, I really have very little complain about the device as a whole.

But, the biggest problem the Xperia Z3+ faces is the fact that the Xperia Z3 exists too, and is now selling at a discount. Most of what I said above the Xperia Z3+ above, can largely be applied to the Xperia Z3, with the exception of the cap-less USB port. The Xperia Z3+ does have other minor advantages like better camera quality, and a more refined design. But the Xperia Z3 has it advantages over the Xperia Z3+ too, like better thermal management, and better battery life.

With the Xperia Z3 still in the market, the Xperia Z3+ is a difficult device to recommend even to the most avid of Sony fans. While it is a decent device that I actually quite enjoy using, by and large, I do not personally think that it justifies the additional asking price of the Xperia Z3+ over the Xperia Z3.

If you ask me to choose one main reason for liking the Xperia Z3+, it would be the fact that it drove the price of the Xperia Z3 down. That says everything.