According to a new report from Gizchina, Sony might release a mid-range phone under its beloved Xperia Compact brand. Rumours suggest it could be a mid-range device though rather than the premium small phones we are used to from the line.
Smartphones are big these days. If you want a flagship phone with top specs, chances are the display will be at least six inches. Manufacturers have decided that bigger is better.
That is partly down to pure screen size, but with bigger, powerful OLED screens comes battery drain – and for a bigger battery, you need a physically bigger phone.
One company who used to buck the trend was Sony with its excellent Xperia Compact range. For several years, Sony would turn out a flagship Xperia phone and an accompanying Compact version that would tout the same internal specs but with a smaller display.
They were great, and we loved them. But the last one we saw was 2018’s Xperia XZ2 Compact, with no smaller version of the XZ3 or Xperia 1. Granted, the Xperia 5 is a little smaller than the Xperia 1 but it wasn’t the same small footprint that we got used to and loved thanks to Sony’s decision to move its smartphones to have 21:9 aspect ratios that make them super tall.
Gizchina’s report is a little sketchy as it doesn’t name a source, and the above photo it uses to demonstrate the rumoured Compact looks demonstrative rather than of the product itself. The rumour states the new Xperia Compact will have a Snapdragon 665 processor and a 5.5in display, which with its taller aspect ratio would make it only slightly taller than the Xperia XZ1 Compact and XZ2 Compact.
If the rumours prove true, the phone will make an appearance at MWC 2020 in February. Sony usually releases high-end phones every six months so it would make sense – but this doesn’t look lie it’ll be flagship level when it comes to specs.
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Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.