Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact review – in pictures

What’s the deal?

Tired of phones so big they make you feel like a baby trying to use a TV remote? Fancy saving some pocket space? Then Sony’s Xperia XZ2 Compact was made for you. It’s a tiddly little phone with as much power as the Samsung Galaxy S9, but does that small screen spoil the fun? And is £570 too much to pay for something that’s mostly plastic? Click through to find out.

Design: High-end undercover

The Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact has metal sides that lead into a curvy plastic booty on the reverse. At 12.1mm it’s not exactly slim either, but it’s kind of cute in the flesh, with an almost silk-like feel to the back. It’s waterproof too (although not in chlorinated or salt water), although there are a couple of things that’ll likely get up your nose. It’s so small there’s no room for a headphone port and the fingerprint scanner is positioned too low to sit naturally under your finger.

Screen: A rich patch of soil

The Compact has a 5in 18:9 display, meaning that by normal 16:9 standards it’s closer to a 4.5in screen stretched a little top-to-bottom. This ratio does wonders for a small phone like this, with far less empty space above and below the screen compared to old Xperia Compacts. It’s bright and has strong contrast for an LCD, plus you can choose how vivid you want the colour. It can even cope with HDR video, although that won’t mean much on a screen this size. More demanding games beg for a bigger display too.

Performance: Full fat

The Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact has a super-powered Snapdragon 845 processor and, as you’d hope, it runs like a dream. It’s quick, there’s no more lag or longer app load waits than other top-end mobiles. It also has 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. We wouldn’t expect any less at the price, but that’s the same amount as the Galaxy S9. The iPhone 8 is a good bit more powerful, but few Androids are.

Software: Pure Sony

Android 8 sits at the XZ2 Compact’s core, but there’s Sony’s usual custom interface on top. That means a page-based apps menu rather than a vertical scroll, which isn’t ideal if you’re an app fiend and don’t want to arrange them into folders. You can use themes if you’d like a different look, and while the XZ2 Compact comes with a bunch of extra preinstalled apps from Amazon, Kobo and AVG, you can easily ditch them if you want.

Camera: Better, but not the best

The XZ2 Compact’s 19MP rear camera isn’t quite as good as the best of the top-end phones but it still performs well in almost all conditions. Detail in daylight is great, although it occasionally over-eggs the exposure and some colours can look oversaturated. Despite a lack of optical image stabilisation, it even works pretty well at night, and you can also shoot 4K video with HDR, plus there’s 960fps slo-mo too. Even with its ultra-wide lens, though, the 5MP front camera is far from the best.

Battery Life: Everyday charger

The XZ2 Compact has a 2870mAh battery, which seems a pretty good size for a phone of this scale, although don’t expect to get more than a day out of it. It also doesn’t come with a fast charger, which is a bit stingy considering how much you pay, and unlike the Xperia XZ2, there’s no wireless charging. That’s not a big deal for most people but you can expect the tech to come back into the spotlight when Apple’s AirPower charger plate finally (finally) arrives.

Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact: Verdict

The Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact is a great choice for those after a small phone with no-compromise hardware. There’s serious power under the hood. It’s just a shame cheaper phones end up feeling more expensive. Even plastic with a fancy finish is a bit of a tough sell at this price. All that power seems a bit wasted on such a small display too. But you’re not going to buy the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact without being game for the small-screen way of living. Right?