Sony quietly launched the Xperia Z4 with minimal fuss or fanfare only a few days ago and one device that was conspicuous by its absence was the Xperia Z4 Compact, this being the smaller version of the similar hardware. Whereas many manufacturers have created and sold a “mini” version of an existing flagship, offering a smaller chassis design with correspondingly smaller hardware specification (in other words, a smaller, lower resolution display paired up with a lesser processor, perhaps less RAM and internal storage and a less high-end camera suite), Sony took the opposite approach and have given their Z-series Compact devices very similar specifications to the full size model. In the case of the Z3 and Z3 Compact, the Z3 had more RAM and a higher resolution, but larger screen, compared with the Z3 Compact. However, the Z3 Compact’s smaller screen does not need so much RAM to power that screen and because it has a smaller display, having fewer pixels has less of an impact on perceived sharpness.
In other respects, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact was similar to the Z3. It had the same camera assembly, comparable battery life, the same processor and very, very similar software. And today’s rumor, which is from a Russian website showing information about Japanese mobile carrier, DoCoMo’s summer handset lineup, also revealed new Fujitsu and Sharp devices. Although, it is the Sony rumor that’s more interesting, as the site appears to show a new Compact model, the Sony Xperia Z4 Compact. The website leak gives the handset the model designation SO-04G, which compares with the full size Z4’s model designation of SO-03G/SOV31. Unfortunately, there is no additional information regarding the Z4 Compact’s likely internal specification. What the website does suggest though, is the introduction date, May 13th, which is just a week from now.
One area that could be interesting is if the Z4 has the same System-on-Chip, SoC, as the full size Z4: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810. The Snapdragon 810 has a reputation for running relatively warm in use and these issues may be more obvious in the smaller chassis design of the Z4 Compact. As such, it’s possible, that, even though the Z4 Compact and Z4 share the same processor, in use the Z4 may be a more responsive device thanks to the processor running warmer in the Z4 Compact. Of course, the opposite could be true: hopefully, by this time next week we’ll know what the Z4 Compact has under the skin and a few days later, we’ll have an idea of how the new smaller device performs.
