Sony Mobile is apparently developing a new smartphone in its Compact series, called the Sony Xperia ZG Compact. The device was spotted recently on Geekbench, with its listing revealing what are believed to be its partial specifications. Judging by its moniker and hardware, this seems to be a different device than the rumored Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact and should fit in a lower market tier.
According to Geekbench, the Sony Xperia ZG Compact is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 system-on-chip and features 2GB of RAM. The device runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat and presumably Sony’s custom user interface. As far as performance in synthetic benchmarks is concerned, the phone was able to score around 1,350 points in Geekbench’s single-core tests, as well as a little over 3,000 points in multi-core benchmarks. No other details on the device have been revealed but it’s worth remembering that previous rumors surrounding the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact have hinted at premium-grade hardware internals including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and 4GB of RAM. Having said that, the aforementioned model seems to fall in line with the company’s usual strategy regarding Compact smartphones and delivering top-tier internals in a smaller form factor. On the other hand, the newly exposed Sony Xperia ZG Compact appears to fit in the lower mid-range market, so assuming that the rumored specifications for both models are correct, then it would seem that Sony Mobile is planning on releasing a budget-friendly smartphone in the near future while maintaining its general product strategy and launching a compact flagship as well. Whatever the case may be, both Compact models are expected to be equipped with displays whose diagonals will be shorter than five inches.
There’s still no official word regarding the new model spotted in Geekbench’s database, though Sony should introduce a number of new smartphones in the run-up to this year’s IFA trade show on August 31, and previous rumors indicate that the Xperia XZ1 Compact might go on sale on September 10. Assuming that the Xperia ZG Compact will be considered a budget-friendly alternative to the aforementioned flagship, it could hit the market around the same time as its more high-end counterpart.