Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact Review

We were trawling through the WhistleOut archives the other week and came across a review from 2012. It was actually another Sony phone, and much of the review was focused on the device's imposing 5-inch screen. It's hard to believe, but 5-inches was considered massive back in the day.

As alien as a 5-inch screen might have seemed in 2012, smartphones displays have just kept on growing. Six of the seven phones on my desk right now have displays approaching or exceeding 6-inches. This makes Sony's Xperia XZ2 Compact a bit of a unicorn. It's a small flagship phone that's kind of like a taller iPhone 3Gs. It might have a newfangled extra-tall 18:9 displays and a modern processor, but the Xperia XZ2 Compact feels like a blast from the past.

It's not a perfect smartphone - we don't think one exists - but there's a lot to love about Sony's diminutive device. In a world where screen sizes have kept creeping up, the XZ2 Compact is a rarity; a handset you can actually use one-handed.

Pocket rocket

Despite its small stature, the Xperia XZ2 Compact is a high-end phone in every sense of the word. It doesn't compromise on performance, battery life, or photo quality. Well, the camera doesn't it alongside the upper echelons of smartphone  photography titans, but it's acceptable for a sub-$1,000 phone.

In fact, the Xperia XZ2 Compact is almost identical to its larger sibling, the Xperia XZ2, complete with a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. There's some small omissions: you miss out on is a glass back, wireless charging, and the gimmicky "dynamic vibration system" that's kind of like a rumble pack. We wouldn't call any of these a huge deal. Especially because the Xperia XZ2 Compact is more ergonomically sound than its larger brother, with the fingerprint reader and power button sitting in better positions. 

While we quite like the Xperia XZ2 Compact's tiny screen, there might be a bit of a learning curve if you're coming from a larger device. In particular, we found it took a day or so to get used to the smaller keyboard, and get back up to speed when bashing out texts. 

You don't have to deal with controversial "flagship features" like a slippery glass back or a notch, but the Xperia XZ2 Compact doesn't quite escape questionable modern smartphone trends: there's no headphone jack. Sony isn't the first to kill the humble 3.5mm port and it won't be the last, but we're still not happy about it. If you don't want to go down the wireless path, you'll find 3.5mm buds inside the box and a USB Type-C adapter.

While we're complaining, you'll find a couple too many superfluous apps installed on the Xperia XZ2 Compact out of the box, with Sony adding in a whole suite of extra video, photo, and music apps on top of the core Android offering. There's also a bunch of apps from Amazon, as well as the "Xperia Lounge" which mostly serves as an advertisement for other Sony content. Most of these can be disabled or deleted though, thankfully.

Who's the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact for?

Do you miss small phones? Do you yearn for a handset you can comfortably use one-handed without sacrificing power? If so, the Xperia XZ2 Compact is tailor made for you. It's a cute-but-capable oasis in a desert full of increasingly large devices; it's a reminder of a simpler times. Maybe the fact that there's almost no other phones like the Xperia XZ2 Compact is a sign that most have happily moved to big screen behemoths, but I, for one, love that it exists.

Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact camera samples

I don't want a Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact, what else can I buy?

iPhone SE

The iPhone SE is really the only other smartphone with high-end components in a super small form factor, and even then, it's a couple of years old now. While the iPhone 6s grade internals are no slouch, they won't feel quite as fast as the Xperia XZ2 Compact, and the iPhone SE camera is starting to show its age. 

Samsung Galaxy S9

Samsung's Galaxy S9 isn't a small phone in the same way the Xperia XZ2 Compact is, but it's still one of the smaller high-end Android devices on the market. It's a bit pricier than the Compact, but it still has a 3.5mm jack, and hey, it's a pretty good phone.

Google Pixel 2

Once again, the Pixel 2 isn't quite as small as the Xperia XZ2 Compact, but it's not imposingly large either. And thanks to pure Android and an amazing camera, it's a solid all-round device.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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