Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Sony Xperia X Compact - Unlocked Smartphone - 32GB

Best Compact Android you can buy in Nov 2016

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2016

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Update 02/04/2019: Its been more than two years and this phone is still my daily driver. The lack of new comparably sized Android phones and the fact that this phone hasn't skipped a beat since I've bought it has kept me a happy camper.

I recently purchased the White US version of the X Compact for $350 after a great two years with this phone’s grandfather the Z3C. After debating whether to purchase the X Compact, Galaxy S7, Google Pixel and Honor 8, I’m quite happy with my decision to choose the X Compact. There have been some extremely critical reviews of the device - discrediting it as no longer being the compact flagship, but for the niche market that enjoys small-form factor android phones, the device is top of class. This review will highlight some of the unique features that I’ve encountered as well as addressing some of the harsh criticisms I’ve seen in other reviews.

Design:
I’ve always been a fan of Sony’s clean and minimalist design language for its Xperia line and this phone is no exception. In a market where every phone seems to have a utilitarian brushed metal or flashy, shiny design, the white model of this phone is a refreshing change. The looped edges (which are very akin to the Lumia Windows Phones) and small size of the device offer the perfect dimensions for one handed operation without performing a balancing act with your fingers. The 2.5D curved glass that seamlessly loops into to back of the unit offers a unique feeling I’ve never experienced. The phone also does a great job of catching the light in interesting ways and it's been the first phone I’ve used that has literally turned heads when walking down the street.

Build:
Many people have been really harsh on this phone for having a plastic rear. While it is true that it can be easily scratched, I think Sony has gracefully addressed one of the biggest complaints of their previous lines while keeping true to their design aesthetic. Let me explain: the two predecessors to this phone, the Z3C and Z5C both had glass panels on the rear of the phone. While elegant and more scratch resistant than plastic, the phones were prone to spontaneous cracking, even while in a case. Sony could have gone the route of using a metal back, but at the cost of poor reception or having a plastic chin (like the Xperia XZ). Ultimately, it would go against their clean slab design language they’ve retained for the previous lines. As someone who has always used his phone with a case or a skin, having the plastic back is not a problem.

Another pain-point with this phone has been the lack of waterproofing - a feature that the Xperia phones have become iconic for. After seeing videos online of people testing the waterproofing and conducting my own tests, I can confirm that this phone is in fact waterproof. I can’t make any claims for the actual ingress rating, but I’ve been able to use my phone in the shower everyday since purchase without problems. My theory is the Sony omitted waterproofing as an official feature because they knew that labor costs of warranty claims would not be cost effective for the volume sold to the US and UK markets, where larger devices reign supreme. If that isn’t evidence enough, the X Compact in Asian markets have the waterproof rating where Sony has more resources to make warranty claims and where smaller devices are more popular.

Update 01/05/2017: I took the phone with me to the Caribbean decided to take the risk by using it while diving. The phone performed wonderfully and took stunning videos. The only downside was that it didn't seem to have the same touch rejection that the official waterproof phones have so the screen had random touch events while it was under water due to the salt water triggering the capacitive touch sensor.

The final pain-point I’ve seen with this phone is the fact that the US version does not have a fingerprint scanner. It does indeed have a fingerprint scanner, but because of a patent conflict with Hewlett-Packard, Sony had to disable it for the US markets. If you’re willing to get your hands dirty with android development, you can actually download and install the signed, UK firmware of the phone to enable the fingerprint scanner. As a plus, since the firmware is official and signed by Sony, you will not lose your warranty if you conduct the procedure. And boy, what a fingerprint scanner it is. The scanner is extremely accurate, placed in the perfect position and unlocks my phone before I can even pull it out of my pocket.

As for the rest of the phone, the device has the signature dual front facing speakers that are a huge improvement from the Z3C speakers. They won’t wow anyone with their loudness, but they’re perfect having crisp clean audio for sharing media with friends. The camera button is always welcomed and has a tactile dual click to allow focus lock before capture when taking pictures. The volume controls, on the other hand are in an awkward place. Sony has a tendency to place the volume buttons close to the camera shutter for use as a zoom keys, but I’ve noticed that I more often than not pinch the screen to zoom in so I would love to see those keys moved to the upper-left side of the device.

Display:
This is hands down one of the most gorgeous displays I have ever used. I’ve held this phone up to a Google Pixel (which has an AMOLED screen) and this device can go toe-to-toe with the Pixel’s Brightness and Saturation despite having a LCD panel screen. It's absolutely incredible how beautiful the display is. The colors are juicy and watching movies on the device is an absolute pleasure. That being said, unfortunately because it is an LCD panel it cannot achieve the absolute blackness that an AMOLED screen can. It’s not noticeable enough to bother me, but I can see how that could be an issue for people coming from AMOLED devices.

Many people have been hyper-critical of the fact that this phone uses a 720p display in 2016. A 720p display is perfect for a display this size. iPhones have had similar resolutions for years without any complaint. Here is a comparison with the current generation iPhone handsets:

iPhone SE: 4.0inch Screen at 1136 x 640 (320 pixels per inch)
X Compact: 4.6inch Screen at 1280 x 720 (319 pixels per inch)
iPhone 7: 4.7inch Screen at 1334 x 750 (326 pixels per inch)

Yes, you can get Android phones with 400+ pixels per inch, but why have a screen that is more demanding on performance and battery life if you can’t even discern the individual pixels with the naked eye? Sony has realized this and chose the optimum screen for the form factor.

Performance:
Many people have criticized the fact that this device uses a Snapdragon 650 Processor instead of an 820 like its big brother. I think Sony chose this processor for a couple reasons. The smaller resolution of the X Compact means that similar rendering performance can be achieved with a scaled back processor. The 650 is also more power efficient than its big brother, which allows it to achieve the ludicrous battery life that the Compact line is known for. Yes this phone might not have the same raw performance numbers as some of the other top of the line phones on the market, but I have yet to experience any hiccups in any applications I’ve tried. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what really matters?

Photo Quality:
This is still one of the primary reasons why I buy Sony phones. Sony devices have one of the most powerful imaging devices for android - if you know how to dial in the settings. The 23 MP Camera allows for fidelity I’ve never been able to achieve in any phone I’ve tried. The camera app has all of the controls you’d expect from a DSLR, but in a compact size. One of the biggest improvements from the previous camera app is the ability to control shutter speed now. Also, compared to the Z3C, the automatic mode is much better at finding the right settings for the current scene. Handheld and low-light pictures are also much clearer thanks to the new laser auto-focus and improved capture speed. I can speak for the camera all day long, but I’ll just attach some pictures so you can see for yourself.

Battery:
This is the most battery efficient smart phone I’ve ever used. My usage habits typically involve using GPS and streaming music on my way to work, checking social media, news and dating apps throughout the day, photo taking in the afternoon and casting media in the evening. I would consider myself someone with heavy use with the exception of playing 3D games. I’ve been able to go from 8am to 10pm with over 40% battery left without any active battery saving features.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Sony’s built in battery saving features. I’ve tested the device with Stamina Enabled for the full duration of the battery and a more normal usage pattern, and it is a breeze to get up to 3 full days of use. If you want to stretch it even further, you can turn on Ultra Stamina Mode which turns off all your apps sans the basic. With that mode enabled, my phone has predicted that it can go up to 2 weeks.

The phone also supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and comes included with a QC 3.0 charger out of the box.

Software:
Sony’s build of android is almost entirely stock save a couple of power saving features and minimal bloatware. The included Sony’s apps have varying degrees of use. Sony makes one of the best Album apps I’ve used but apps like LifeLog, Xperia Lounge and What’s New I could do without. As for the third party software, Sony actually includes some useful ones including Amazon Shopping and Swiftkey. Luckily if there is anything you don’t like, you can easily disable any apps you don’t like.

Accessories:
One of the biggest downfalls for the device is the accessory support. Two things I usually buy when I get a new phone are a tempered glass screen protector and a Ringke Fusion Case. Because of the negative reception to the phone and low volume, many of the common accessory manufacturers have elected to pass up this device in their production line up. In my attempts to find a tempered glass screen protector, I’ve been unable to find any that have a complete adhesive hold to the entire screen; the screen protectors either omit the curved edges or they only attach from adhesive on the edges, leaving a noticeable air gap between the screen and protector. Thus, I’ve had to resort to using Skinomi’s TPU screen protector in the interim which doesn't offer the same drop protection, but offers adequate scratch protection. Ringke does not have any plans to make their Fusion case for this device, but fortunately I was able to find the MicroP TPU case which achieves some similar design aesthetics as the Ringke cases.

TLDR:
Pros:
- Beautiful design
- Small form factor phone
- Gorgeous display
- Fast fingerprint sensor
- Unofficial but present waterproofing
- Insane battery life
- Great camera

Cons:
- Very little accessory support (Cases / screen protectors)
- Activating fingerprint sensor requires some tinkering
- Volume buttons in an awkward location for use with volume

Verdict:
The Xperia X Compact is one of the best options if you’re looking for a small form factor phone with an excellent camera and battery life. This phone does have its fair share of nuances that make it less approachable than offerings by Samsung, Xiaomi and Google, but with a little work you can turn the device into an absolute pleasure to use.

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Lucas Holt

Decent phone with some quirks

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2016

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

I purchased this phone about two weeks ago. This is my first android phone after switching from an iPhone 6. I've been pleasantly surprised by the phone so far. The andorid version on it seems decent and it works pretty well. The battery life is similar to my iPhone 6, with slightly better life when making phone calls and worse when doing a lot of data heavy tasks in facebook, twitter, google plus, email programs and browsing. It makes it easily through a day for me.

Most of my issues so far have not been with the phone itself, but rather other services I want to use.

For example, I haven't had any luck getting the AT&T visual voicemail app working with this phone. This was one of the few killer iOS features i miss and I feel like it should be built into android rather than apps for each phone company that suck and have a whitelist. This isn't sony's fault aside from their lack of a deal with any major carier in the US.

The second issue is a lack of decent cases for the phone. Most of the ones on amazon so far have been cheap, soft cases that don't really hold up well. The screen protectors work as I had a drop the other day and it did take a chunk out of the protector but the phone is fine. I think I'm spoiled from owning an iphone for so many years, but a decent leather case would be much appreciated. Sony should offer some kind of case for it at least or make a deal for them.

Finally, the text messaging app that is default with the phone isn't very good. This is easy to fix on android, but then I wasn't sure what to use. Many apps support it and I didn't see a feature matrix to know what to use. In this case, I think sony should consider a better default messaging app.

The camera on the phone is decent, but I had hoped for a bit more. It's not as good in darker rooms as my iPhone was. It's also very bad when there is a lot of motion. For the price difference, this isn't a deal breaker for me but if you're really into photos this might not be the phone for you.

A lot of people have asked me about the phone and commented on the appearance. Many people are impressed by the screen quality. I was as well. It's quite vivid.

I do wish sony would fix their policy about not offering fingerprint scanning in the US. I miss that from my iphone.

Another small headache was that contact imports were a problem. AT&T offered a tool to migrate and it was great for photos but only could grab 75 contacts. I had around 300. I ended up doing an export from icloud and then importing using google's contacts website. Most instructions online assume that you have a GMAIL account associated with google. In my case, I have a non google email account and it required finding this contacts site to actually work. The google site also cleaned up some duplicates from the AT&T import which was nice. Sony also has an app which I didn't try for contacts. It may have worked better. I'd recommend people just go right for the google site approach, especially if they don't need pictures imported.

The location services are a bit buggy. I have it set to unlock my phone if it is at my house and it doesn't work sometimes. I don't know if that is an android issue or the phone GPS. The iphone was smart enough to realize if i was near my wifi i was home. I wish this phone understood that.

Lastly, I had some issues with email. The stock app can connect to regular IMAP accounts fine. It works good for that. I also had a work GMAIL account with a custom domain and an exchange email account for grad school email. I didn't even try to use gmail from that app so I can't comment on that. I setup google gmail app. However, on my old iphone i had all but work mail setup in apple mail. With this phone, if i try to use exchange it tries to lock down the phone and won't allow any other email accounts to be setup. If I use microsoft outlook app, it works fine. I think this is a combination of a domain setup fail and the app. It shouldn't require those strict limitations on the email app if outlook works! This means I have 3 different mail programs to check 4 accounts. Kind of annoying.

6 people found this helpful

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xavi

I LOVE this phone, been using iphone since 3gs and SOO glad I went back to Sony!

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2016

Color: WhiteVerified Purchase

Been using this guy for over a week now. It is really nice, even considering I bought it myself and stuck the sim card from the company-provided iphone 6s I had been using.

I haven't had a sony phone in years, my last one was 'walkman' branded combo flip-phone and mp3 player but would only work with special headphones. They have come a long way since then.

Advantages:
- camera actually starts without having to force-quit and restart the camera app a few times. Pictures are very good. Has manual control of shutter, fstop, etc. Maybe not as good at pictures as iphone but points for actually being able to use the thing without pulling your hair out! autofocus does NOT occasionally s*** itself for 20 seconds at a time.

- waterproof. Unlike the iphone, however, the touchscreen actually works in the rain and with wet fingers and/or gloves on. I was looking at buying a panasonic toughpad for this reason but couldn't get over the cost and bulk. I'm sure it has it's limits but been in out pouring and/or freezing rain a few times now with it and no trouble so far.

- Pairs with bluetooth devices. And actually pairs the first time and stays connected. Has become really annoying with iphone in the last few updates, and especially since they don't have headphone jack anymore, tho I've been using BT headphones forever. Play/pause buttons work both on phone and device (e.g. in car).
(I would have issues with trying to pause with iphone while it's already paused instead of starting to play again, etc. Happened with mazda, uconnect, ford, mercedes, pioneer radios. And bose AE2 and soundsport headphones. Only common factor is iphone. Not a rare occurrence either but maybe one in 4 or 5 times.)

- software much more stable and polished than iphone. Spotify crashes only bring down spotify and not the whole thing. Did not come with podcast app, but bought one for $4 that is million times better than what comes with iphone. (I listen to a lot of podcasts :oops: )
Entire UI and user experience is just much more pleasant. It looks good, and is fun and playful. I can't help but think at apple office there is a big 'NO FUN ALLOWED' sign. Sony (I guess google, really) embraces this and it works really well. Example, the cute little frog in the built in weather app.

- I know this is a simple, stupid thing. But I haven't been able to do this since my old flip phone. Can take a song from your music collection and set it as a ringtone.

- battery lasts all day without needing a heavy/ugly $100 humpback case.

- battery lasts more than 20 minutes in below freezing temps (important since I run hours+ in the morning and it is now cold outside)

- got SD card that can actually hold all of my music and other stuff unlike the 64gb-model iphones I was provided. No more fretting about what music to load up for long airplane trips.

- NO ITUNES! Especially like this since I have a windows PC at work. I know they make itunes for windows, but since it is such a rat turd on mac I can't fathom such a thing even booting up properly hence never tried it.

- Nike+ (now NRC) works much better than on iphones to the point where I can finally retire my sportband(s). Doesn't crash or hang like on iphone. Pace updates more often than once every couple of minutes. Doesn't work with footpods, but iphones don't anymore (not since the 4s), either.

- much better to handle. Nice size (only slightly bigger than iphone 5, about the same thickness too) and made out of plastic instead of metal. Fits in pockets.

- the google cloudy-stuff works much better than apple's. email, photo syncing, etc. Not a single complaint. Apple was at least one annoyance per day.

Disadvantages:
- doesn't work with apple watch. Anybody want one? 42mm black aluminum, white rubber band...

- similar vein, I have what seems like dozens of iphone and ipad chargers lying around and it doesn't work with any of them. It doesn't charge with my laptop charger either, despite plugging in. Everybody else at work has iphone and correspondingly, an iphone charger. Wife has samsung which is slightly-different-shape of USB. :( I just need to order a couple more and scatter them about the home and office...

- had to flash UK/EU software to get fingerprint sensor working. Idiotproof procedure, and only took a few minutes for this total noob, but still annoying. Blame the state of USA patents for this. The fingerprint sensor actually works with wet or dry skin. I don't think it's ever mis-read.

- will occasionally not do stuff because it's not on wifi. WTF, you are a phone with always-available cellular connection!

- no imessage/facetime

3 people found this helpful

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Zain

The most comprehensive review on here. With occasional particularly dry humor best suited for intellectuals and the British

Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2017

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

Want to make a long story short here. I can't... Here we go then. I bought an older xperia a little while back, also of the compact line. I really enjoy the small size and other things myself nostalgic for how the first couple generations of smartphones were. If fact I'm also nostalgic for when phones didn't run or live but... Hey... I may not fall into the social media trap like most millennial but the online banking and instant account access is just so darn convenient...
But I digress. The first xperia I bought was a 2014 model on a certain site that shan't be named but you all know which one. You know... The auctions and such. I can't say for sure but I think the international location that sold it to me for so cheap cannibalized the better parts because for some reason the serial registered as a Nokia lumina. Go figure. Won't buy a phone on that site again. However, cannibalized or not I was impressed by Sony's phone. I disregarded the pitfalls of it being an older model, and it was great for a year until I dropped it, but that was the glass panel model without the re-enforced gorilla like this model has. We'll get to that in a moment.
The phone is fantastic, actually the favorite of any phone I've ever used but a long shot. I've had models from about every brand mind you; iPhone, Samsung, Motorola, LG, Nokia, and blackberry are just a few that come to mind. I get bored easily and like to switch things up, until of course I met the Sony Xperia line. I never buy another phone brand now.
For this generation, love the compact size, think I covered that. Body of the phone is plastic. I hear from a lot of people "doesn't that make it look and feel cheap?". No not really, what a silly analysis. Actually the glossy polished finish looks good, and the plastic makes the thing loads lighter. It's not low quality plastic like they made it out of recycled milk cartons or something man. Furthermore, most people have a case on their phone anyway, even though this plastic is likely to take a hit much better than these new ultra-thin glass panel phones nowadays.
I'm not saying don't get a case in fact I advocate the exact opposite, remember how I dropped my last phone? The glass is great because it's some type of gorilla glass at least in accordance with what I have read. So far not a scratch, just the everyday super tiny mini scuffs that no one who isn't anal retentive notices, and is course nothing shows at all when the screen is on. You can still get a tempered glass front panel if concerned, but at least in my experience those things are bullocks. Either their only good for a couple hits, or in my case man, one blow against the concrete at the right angle or on a cold day in the Midwest will still wreck your screen like the Austrian school of economics keeps wrecking or economy. Sorry, had to pop that in, kudos to anyone that enjoyed it. If anyone is worried about it, better off just buying the plan with whatever joint Amazon had set up, that's what I did. Better yet I didn't have to register it or anything.
What next, how about performance? Exceeded expectations. I knew going on the processor wasn't going to be like in those tablet phones Samsung sells, then again I also don't need an industrial crane to carry this around. Honestly the processors in smartphones are getting too be a bit excessive anyway, beyond the scale of nessesity for any normal or even power - user under most circumstance. Not to say this thing isn't fast, because it is. Feels like going from a 4 cylinder to a supercharged v6 as I was using a 2014 model before. It handles games and streaming like a champ, as well as multitasking. 3gb of RAM is heavenly mate.
Android is up to date of course as it's a newer model. Pretty basic OS release for Android, with a half dozen new futures I'll never have the time to bother with. The new app privacy settings I do enjoy though. There is bit of promotional stuff and blistered, I disabled a bit of it but honestly even leaving all of it wouldn't show down performance much at all. Some of the promo ware is even kinda fun like the xperia sketch with my new adonit snap stylus. The swipe keyboard thing (SwiftKey software included) and the adonit snap (not included but the only decent stylus I have found) make texting only a few seconds chore by the way. Some may whine about the graphics at the lower res, but again I'm of the opinion that things like super processors and full HD screens are excessive for phones by merit of practical use. The partial HD looks awesome and complements the screen size perfectly. Things like the plastic and the lower red screen really helps our prices for affordable but top quality phones people.
The camera is great, so is the advanced sound engine that can play high - res audio files if indeed one is an "audiophile" like myself. It also has a great up scaling program built in the non - high res audio, which of course needs the conjunctive hardware Sony uses to work. I'm sure it's patented it sounds amazing. Zeppelin never sounded so good. Wait, what an I saying I'd listen to Zeppelin on an 8-track while running from an angry bear! All the same though. Oh camera, yeah it has about of megapixels and an automatic... and manual mode for annoying people that think they're photographers. Ie) any millennial chick with a camera. I hate to break it to these types but technique is obsolete now. Automatic mode snaps a shot and photoshop can do nearly everything else. In almost I wasted my time including this segment, but shite, someone had to say it out loud. You heard me hipsters get a real job!
Finally, remember this is GSM, so check your network. As in AT&T yes Verizon no, etc etc etc look it up. Which is fine with me because as fast as Verizon is or whatever their thing nowadays international travel is an expensive pain with CDMA carriers. That's why CDMA sucks, no one else uses it outside North America. With this unlocked GSM Experia I can travel to EU, but a prepaid Sim, pop it in, and have service there. Have domestic carrier calls and texts forwarded over a VOIP app, use wifi and EU service data for it and bam! Hefty fees avoided.
My only two complaints are 1) no dual sim card, but I can buy an adapter for that. 2) the Fingerprint scanner on the American version is deactivated on the US firmware. Probably something legal like Sony doesn't want to mess around with patent challenges from a more jerk-ish, egotistical company... Probably named after a common fruit that always believes because it did something first it alone can use it forever even if both the hardware and software are entirely different. Maybe they're sue-happy dudes and and afraid of becoming has-beens. Or maybe Sony doesn't want to bother with licensing fees for it, or walk through the endless maze of US federal fed tape that always ends with bending over for a full cavity search. Cough cough, Sony give us your customers Fingerprint or we'll crash Japan's economy -signed the US intelligence agencies cough cough.
Anyway, that's it. I've covered everything. I defy the world to name one thing relevant that I left out. The phone is not just great, it's my favorite and I've really shopped around over the years. Looks like I'm home. I wanted to make a "no one does radioactivity better than Japan from power plants to cell phones" but I thought it better if I didn't. Wait... I just did. Well my foreign exchange when we were in high school laughed, I can use it as long as I don't point out the more obvious example. That was fun, anyone else think I should get paid for this? Right?! 😂. Goodnight Amazon

2 people found this helpful

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doc

2 years, I think, no longer a phone

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2017

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

best phone Ive had in a while. works great even with the lower grade hardware. the camera takes some learning but once you get it the photos are great. be sure to check the settings, its default is 8MP 16:9 and 23MP is only 4:3, but the 20MP at 16:9 is still excellent.

Update: now have had the phone well over a year and it still works flawlessly. Haven't had a case on it for over six months, most of the cases are complete garbage, but a good tempered glass screen has been plenty. The phone is light weight enough that a fall from a high top, several times, hasn't damaged it. Battery still lasts two days if I allow it. Only complaint is that I'm getting to see why most phones now have six inch screen.

All that being said, even after a year of use and abuse, this phone has yet to fail me and leaves me with no reason to seek out another.

Update 2:
Auto upgraded to Android 8.0 and no longer have service. Sees the SIM card but will not connect to the provider. This is a very common issue with what seems to be all Xperia X. Based on what I've seen I can either downgrade it or bring it into a service center that doesn't exist where I live. Downgrading will also cause issues with apps as they are being upgraded for the new firmware. It looks like I may be needing a new phone.

That being said, don't buy this device.

Service provider: Ting

3 people found this helpful

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Rikiesa owens

Ok well I looooove this phone but can't use it ...

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2017

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

Ok well I looooove this phone but can't use it. I have straight talk and thought I'd done enough research to believe that this "unlocked" phone would be as simple as putting my SIM card in... And maybe having to call straight talk or change the apns. Well jokes on me. Changing the Apn doesn't really help. The Sim is detected but gets no signal and straight talk was telling me it should be working. I spent hours trying to figure out what to do to fix it but nothing. There's bairly any how to guides on this phone and the Sony help for it is a joke. I'm going to try and call the company tomorrow and pray it fixes it. Size and screen and phone itself is epic.. no signal ANYWHERE in northern Illinois is not.

2 people found this helpful

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Adam C.

Great but not all the way.

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2019

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

I have this phone now for exactly 2 years. Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:
- perfect size (small but not so much that keyboard is hard to use). Fits inside pocket just fine.
- photos are really great quality. My wife has an iphone7 and when we take important photos, she always asks that I take them with my phone. This is especially true in lower light conditions.
- screen is very nice, with good color representation, good blacks, and OK in the bright light. I wish it could go a bit dimmer, but then I shouldn't be watching Netflix from bed at night.
- I put in a 256MB SD card, this is a great feature, I only with that WhatsApp could save things directly onto it, but that is not the case (I know there is a way to root the phone etc. but I wish this was possible as a default, and agree it could be an app limitation, that has nothing to do with phone.)
- Waterproofing: I didn't even know it was water proof when I bought it. I dropped the phone into the ocean from my boat and retrieved it from about 3m deep after about 15 minutes (was really retrieveing my wallet as I was using a phone wallet). To my surprise, the phone worked like it did before. Since, I have used it in the pool, rain, etc. Only issues some times was small condensation on camera when the phone was hot and I put it in colder pool water. Goes away in day or two (suggesting Sony put an anti fog coating on the inside in front of camera).

Cons:
- Charging port: main reason for writing this review is from that after about 1.5 yeas of owning this phone, the charging port (USB-C type connector, for which I had high hopes) has become a bit loose and worn out. It is getting progressively worse, and I know this from back when phones I had, had the micro USB connector. As I have had similar issues in previous phones, I generally take great care to not press hard or bend the charging cable when plugged in, and because of that I did expect that, combined with USB-C connector, which seems sturdier, I would not have this issue. I was wrong, and disappointed that the issue is getting worse. Now, at two years, I need to look for at least a minute to find the right spot for charging. This could have been somewhat aleviated by wireless charging, but thsi phone does not come with it. As an opinion, I think this could be how the companies get you to buy new phones these days. However, given my frustration with this, I don't think I will be going for another Xperia phone next time. I have ordered a replacement socket for now, and will try to change it out myself when it arrives (15$). I hope the waterproof seal will not be compromised during this procedure.
- Not a great multi-tasker. On many occasions I have had issues with usingmultiple apps. Fro example, when I am booking flights with the Expedia App, and switch to another app to view my document details that I need to put into Expedia, upon return to Expedia I would be forced to re-start my search. This issues has happened with many apps, when switching between them. Even Gmail, I had to re-start writing e-mails at times, as the app just re-set itself back to main inbox screen, rather than remaining in the e-mail writing.

overall the phone was great, and I hope I can fix the charging issue and continue using this phone for at least another year or two.

Taking off 1 star for the charging and 1 for the multitasking issues.

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Tony

Speedy, good looking phone (if a bit pricey)

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2016

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

[November 11, 2017 update:]
Still using the X Compact, and still like it. Sony continues to provide official security updates and has mentioned an update to Android Oreo, so I'm waiting on that. It's held up rather well so far and has survived quite a few drops (with a case on, of course), and it still occasionally gets compliments on its looks! Battery life is still excellent and I can easily get a days work of use in and still have 40 to 50 percent left. My needs haven't changed much either, so I'll probably use it for another year or two.

One thing to note is that the official Sony touch flip case isn't robust and the touch cover detached from the case after 8 months for me. It looked cool as heck when it worked, though, and I still use the case sans cover since it's probably one of the better cases in terms of fit.

[Original review]
Starting off, I'm coming from a Nexus 5 (2013) and I primarily got this phone because the Nexus was getting a bit long in the tooth, so this is a big jump for me in terms of phones and I think it's great overall. I chose the X Compact (over, let's say, the new Moto phones or the Pixel phones about to come out) primarily due to its smaller size as well as its design (though the X Compact was definitely in the upper limit of what I was willing to pay for a new phone); I rather enjoy the simple, clean design of it with the curves along the long edges. Looking at just the specs, it does seem overpriced (I got this at a pretty nice deal, though), but I ultimately enjoy the purchase.

My pros and cons are coming from a user that doesn't play games, nor watch too many videos or listen to music too much. I just use it for chatting with friends and communicating with co workers (e.g. text, e-mail, etc), and browsing everyone's favorite news aggregator. Sprinkle in some photo taking, reading the news, and that's pretty much all I use my smartphone for, so my expectations are set accordingly.

Pros:
+ Clean, simple design with a nice color
+ Nice pocketable size
+ 720p screen looks great
+ Speedy performance for what I need/want
+ Dual front facing speakers
+ Camera seems nice (I haven't tested it too rigorously yet, however)
+ Good battery life (easily lasts me a day with 40% left, but again, I'm not a heavy user)
+ Fast charging, and USB C is nice (though I guess I have to get an adapter for all my micro USB chargers)
+ Great, lightly skinned Android with 7.0 Nougat updates confirmed (albeit sometime in November, I think?)

I can't think of too many cons since I'm not exactly the pickiest, and I'm still in the honeymoon stage with this phone.

Cons:
- Bit expensive for the hardware you get compared to other phones
- Some bloatware that can't be uninstalled, but you can hide them from your apps drawer
- Speakers aren't the loudest
- Not too many accessories out yet (e.g. cases, screen protectors)

Again, I really like this phone, but if you're looking for a phone with top of the line specs or something of comparable specs to this one at a lower price point, you may want to look elsewhere (e.g. OnePlus 3, Moto G4 family, Nexus 5X/6P, etc). I'll try to update this in a month or two, however, when I can probably be a bit more discerning. Hope this helps!

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Shady

Best small phone for those that don't want an iPhone.

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2016

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

This is by no means a perfect phone but this is really the best you can get for a small android phone. Almost all the phone manufacturers have dismissed making a small phone in favor of their 5+ inch slabs. I started using androids with a Moto X 2013, which to me was the perfect 4.7 inch phone if you disregard the crappy camera that it had. Unfortunately, Motorola decided bigger is better with their later models, and now the their Chinese overlords that currently own them have pretty much stated that they have no plans of making a small phone again. In fact, they have gone full retard with them making their current phones even bigger and wider.

After the Moto X started slowing down after a few drops and age, I "upgraded" to the new Moto G 2015, which was not too bad in terms of screen height at 5 inches, but the width of this tubby made it hard to handle with one hand. Not to mention that is was a downgrade from the beautiful AMOLED screen from the Moto X. My camera and LED light crapped out after I dropped my Moto G so I got the Xperia X Compact after some research.

Now the nice things about this phone:
- Screen: I'm not much of a high res snob but 720p works for this size and it looks much better than my Moto G which had that resolution for 5 inches. Just wish this was an AMOLED for those nice dark blacks.
- Memory: I've felt no slowdowns as far as RAM when multitasking. For regular storage you have 32GB which is enough for most people but you can also expand it 256 GB more with a micro SD.
- Camera: Best camera that I've had which is not saying much given what my previous phones are. Other people would probably be more credible than me since I never but too much importance on this function but these pictures do look sweet.
- Speed: Feels a hell of a lot snappier than my previous phone which is really no surprise with the superior processor. Apparently, the lower resolution gives it a faster speed than say a 1080p would.
- Button placement: Yes, I actually like where the sound buttons are placed. I use my phones left handed (even though I'm right handed) and the button placement for volume is actually not awkward as it would be for a right handed user. This doubles as a convenient zoom in and out button for the camera.
- Double front facing speakers: A rarity these days, especially for this phone size. Very high quality audio too.
-Battery life: About 40-60% at the end of a day which is pretty good for me but this will depend on the person and what apps they are using.

Not so great things:
- Exterior design: Could have used a more matte, less slippery design. Shows fingerprints. All this can be fixed with a skin but this should not have been necessary. Ergonomics are inferior to the curved Motorola and Samsung designs for handling, while this did improve from the previous blocky Sony phones by curving the sides, they could have done better.
Price: This isn't too bad now that Sony has put down the crack pipe and lowered the price from their initial 500 dollar tag.

Neutral things:
- Lack of fingerprint scanner: This can actually be enabled by reflashing to the UK version which is what I did. Does appear to show less bars on reception as mentioned by a previous reviewer but the connection seems to work just fine. Would not recommend doing this for everyone but do it at your own risk or just buy the international version.

- No waterproofing: More accurately, this is not warrantied as being waterproof. YouTube videos have shown that this is actually pretty water resistant and that Sony most likely just doesn't want to cover claims.

Say what you will about Sony, while they are deserving of much criticism for their reported crappy customer service and overpricing of their phones, they are the only ones in the android market that are meeting a neglected segment by making a decent phone that is easy to handle one handed, that has a near stock android feel, and actually has the back and recent keys on the correct sides (looking at you Samsung).

Note: Still in early ownership and will update if there are any snags.

**** 4/22/17 update: Whelp... my phone fell three feet from my bed and had huge spider line cracks along the glass with little shards coming out of it occasionally. Looked to get it fixed and no one had the parts since this phone is so damn niche. The part to fix it is about 100 bucks on Ebay last I looked. Not sure that I want to spend half of what the phone costs just to repair the screen. I might just go with a mainstream phone next time in case this happens again.

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tup

Very pleased so far

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2017

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

This is not a complete, unmitigated, five stars; but it almost is.
I happen to like phones that still fit in one hand and can still be operated with one hand, just like Steve Jobs envisioned. So, I would own a 5 or a 6 iPhone... but I can't stand the oppressiveness of the "Walled Garden". Thus I am stuck with trying to find what used to be a "normal" sized phone... in Android, the frat-house where only one form factor gets to have up-to-date performance. Which would drive me to stick with my five-year old mid-level Samsung 4" (because it still outperforms every phone near that size that is being made Today). But websites now dispense fifty bits of advertising for every bit of content, and the old Samsung just doesn't have enough processor or ram to not lock up with that size of a dump. So, if the Android market of clones-with-different-names-and-faces is any indication, I now have to make a choice: give up having the internet in my pocket, or spend $700 on something that requires that I always have both hands free but that is nevertheless still an irritatingly Small tablet and a Huge phone.

Which is where Sony comes in. When Sony built Windows laptops, they always seemed to have touches of nuance, and elegance, that compared well with Apple laptops. And now that Phones hold center-stage, Sony seems to build phones with an elegance and appreciation of nuance that compares well with iPhone (but of course with the added functionality that Android still mostly gives).
And if not for their reputation for reluctance for delivering on warranties and customer service (also not unlike Apple), I would have jumped to Sony long ago. Instead, I vowed I would only chance a Sony purchase if it was the only non-Apple phone left....
And now that day has arrived.
So, I finally said a silent prayer and bought a Sony (the X Compact).
And now I'm hoping all those people who ever griped about Sony reliability and customer service, were mostly crackpots ( ie: "I sat on my phone and Sony won't replace my broken screen, those bastards" or "I threw my phone at my dog because he was chasing a car, and now Sony won't replace my scratched up phone, those SOBs" ). Now my only warranty may be my faith in god.

Anyway, to the almost-totally five stars:
No, the X Compact is Not perfect: it still shows a software bug here and there, just like iPhones, and iPhixels (and everything else hi-tech). And it may quit on me someday in the next three to five, or ten years, even though I don't use my back pocket for my phone, or even own a dog. But after only a few weeks of using it, I'm now convinced... for every day that it keeps working, I will notice all over again, its understated elegance of look and feel, and the pleasure of turning on the screen and watching it perform feats of speed and power that shows that there still is a phone that fits in one hand, yet can keep up with the over-priced, over-stuffed flavor-of-the-moment from the likes of Samsung, iPhixel, and iPhone. Thank you Sony, for not being another clone. Here's hoping your reliability is as good as your design.

That said, it is kind of early to say all that much about anything as complicated as a phone that is as new as this one. But I've already bought a second one. And I've noticed that Sony has been kind of showing off with the speed of their updates. And no, they haven't yet noticed or fixed All of the few buggy things I noticed out of the box. But for now I'm encouraged by what I've seen of the phone and Sony's actions. And now that I've been using this, it is easily worth the suggested $500 retail. To me, its worth more, given that it is the right-size-and-yet-it-is-fast-and-capable-too.
So far, I am Very pleased, and I didn't even have to buy one of the new phatlets to get a working internet.

7 people found this helpful

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