Weekly Poll : would you buy a compact Android flagship?
The of the Sony Xperia X Compact led to jubilations in the comment sections - it's the return of the beloved Xperia Z Compact series!
It sounds like a properly awesome phone - 4.6" screen as before, beastly Snapdragon 820 chipset, 4K video with main and selfie camera, 2,700mAh battery and USB Type-C. Proper flagship specs in a tiny body.
But after the excitement calms down, you have to wonder - is there still a place for such a phone? These days communication is largely non-verbal - you type on the on-screen QWERTY, send a photo (with filters and stickers), record a short video, etc. And for all of those activities, a bigger screen is better.
Sure, Apple felt it necessary to launch an even smaller phone - the 4" iPhone SE - which has flagship specs, at least in Apple-land. And people bought it, proving there's a market even if it's limited.
Not every attempt is a success, though. The small OnePlus X didn't catch on, so the company announced it will focus on the bigger 5.5" OnePlus phones. And the X had a 5" screen, not really small. But OnePlus isn't alone in this, some companies label 5.2" phones "mini."
Xiaomi, Meizu and others were alleged to be working on super minis, but we mostly hear about how such projects were canceled. Like OnePlus 3 mini rumor that was shot down by company co-founder.
At least those were meant to be proper super minis. Usually, if you search for a sub-5" screen, you get an entry level phone with a 4.5" screen or so and bezels that balloon its size to a 5" level.
And when it comes to bezels, Sony aced it with the Xperia XA, which is narrower than the bezel-less Sharp Aquos Crystal. Sure, it's not nearly as powerful as this rumored X Compact, but it gets by.
Plus, Sony itself upsized its compact phones. 4" Xperia M to 4.8" M2 and 5" M4. The 3.5" Xperia E, became the 4" E1, then 4.5" E3 and 5" E4. There are plenty of examples showing Sony isn't comfortable with small phones, only the popular Xperia Z Compact went against the current.
So, is there a room for a flagship compact phone in Sony's line-up? Would you want a super mini, regardless of maker?
Yes, the Galaxy Note7 is the
first Note to get waterproofed - it holds an IP68 certification.
Would you buy a flagship mini?
