This week, Sony unveiled two new smartphones: The Xperia XZ2 and the Xperia XZ2 Compact. Word on the street was that at least one of these devices would have a new design, something that would attract a potential customer's eye. Of course, that led many folks to expect that it would be adopting a design similar to what we've seen from the majority of other manufacturers: Big display and minimal bezels.
The XZ2 itself seems to achieve part of that goal, at least. Unless we're not counting a 5.7-inch display as being big anymore. The Xperia XZ2 does have a "new design" for Sony, but I'll be honest here: There's not much really grabbing my attention with either one of these new phones. I've fallen in love with smartphones that reduce the bezels, and Sony's efforts aren't good enough in this area as far as I'm concerned. The XZ2 technically has reduced bezels when compared to past Sony-branded smartphones, which is great. But they still look pretty big when you compare them to the Galaxy S9 or the LG V30.
That being said, it is pretty awesome that Sony continues to get "small" devices so right.
Meanwhile, the Xperia XZ2 Compact has a 5-inch display, but that's the only change! Even the five-inch screen has the same resolution (2160x1080) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) support, and both smartphones have the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor under the hood.
Both smartphones also have the same 19-megapixel camera on the back, which can record "4K HDR Movies", which is definitely a nice bullet point to have on the features list. The battery sizes are different, obviously, with the larger phone offering a 3180mAh battery, and the smaller option rocking a 2870mAh option.
Other companies try to offer smaller options, like Google with the Pixel 2 (five-inch display) and the Pixel 2 XL (six-inch display), but the resolutions are different. Even the aspect ratio on those phones are different. But of course, Google at least gets the other things right, matching features and specs in the other key areas.
Samsung has been getting it right for a while now, but then it decided to go "full Apple" with the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, offering a different camera setup between the two devices, even as they offer parallel specs and features in the other areas.
Sony, meanwhile, is over there just shrinking down the package but not trimming any of the features, which is just awesome. I guess they are offering different color options, so if you like the Deep Green color option for the Xperia XZ2, you'll have to go with "Moss Green" color option for the Xperia XZ2 Compact as a consolation prize.
Sony should get an award for still offering the best possible "small phone" option, even in today's market. Will the Xperia XZ2 Compact sell well? Sony is certainly hoping so. Are you considering picking up either one of Sony's newest smartphones? Let me know!
