GSMArena team, 17 March 2018

Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact review

3. Lab tests: display, battery, loudspeaker, audio

Display

The most obvious upgrade on the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact is the screen. Sony has opted for the new tall aspect ratio and increased the diagonal to 5". But the larger size is not the only upgrade. The screen resolution is now 1080p - for the first time ever on a Compact phone. That's a flagship-grade 483ppi density.

The LCD screen features all of Sony's proprietary display tech - Triluminos display and the X-Reality Engine. There is also HDR support - the panel supports 10-bit colors and is certified for the BT.2020 standard.

The new screen has deeper blacks but lower maximum brightness if compared to the XZ1 Compact. Then again, the XZ2 Compact screen is very bright at 576 nits and thanks to the improved blacks it achieved an excellent contrast ratio of 1315:1.

Display test	100% brightness
Display test	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact	0.438	576	1315
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact	0.515	640	1243
Sony Xperia XZ2	0.431	618	1434
Sony Xperia XZ1	0.409	575	1406
Sony Xperia XZ Premium	0.463	573	1238
Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)	0.397	554	1395
Samsung Galaxy S9	0	370	∞
Samsung Galaxy S9 (Max Auto)	0	658	∞
Huawei P10	0.416	592	1423
Xiaomi Mi 6	0.462	603	1305
LG G6	0.228	468	2053
Nokia 8	0.382	703	1840

Sunlight legibility turned out great for an LCD and you won't find yourself struggling with outdoor light when using the Xperia XZ2 Compact.

Sunlight contrast ratio

Apple iPhone X
5.013
OnePlus 5T
4.789
Samsung Galaxy S8
4.768
Samsung Galaxy S8+
4.658
Samsung Galaxy S9
4.63
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615
Samsung Galaxy S9+
4.537
Motorola Moto Z2 Play
4.459
Oppo R11
4.454
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439
OnePlus 3
4.424
Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376
HTC One A9
4.274
Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247
Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241
Nokia 8
4.239
Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)
4.234
OnePlus 3T
4.232
Google Pixel XL
4.164
ZTE Axon 7
4.154
Samsung Galaxy Note8
4.148
Meizu Pro 7 Plus
4.147
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4.124
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124
Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
4.096
Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09
Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)
4.023
LG V30
4.022
Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3.998
OnePlus X
3.983
Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983
Oppo R7s
3.964
Apple iPhone 7
3.964
Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
3.957
Huawei P9 Plus
3.956
Meizu Pro 6 Plus
3.935
Lenovo Moto Z
3.931
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918
OnePlus 5
3.914
Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911
Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896
Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879
Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873
Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
3.842
Sony Xperia XZs
3.818
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817
Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
3.812
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
3.804
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802
LG V20 Max auto
3.798
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798
Sony Xperia XZ
3.795
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789
Apple iPhone 6s
3.783
Meizu Pro 5
3.781
Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772
Xiaomi Mi 6
3.767
Sony Xperia XZ1
3.765
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
3.729
Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
3.725
Oppo F1 Plus
3.709
Vivo X5Pro
3.706
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
3.688
Apple iPhone SE
3.681
Huawei Mate 9
3.68
Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
3.675
Meizu PRO 6
3.659
BlackBerry Priv
3.645
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3.597
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588
Sony Xperia XZ2
3.58
LG G6
3.556
Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53
Motorola Moto Z Play
3.526
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523
Acer Jade Primo
3.521
Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512
Oppo R7 Plus
3.499
nubia Z11
3.466
Huawei P10 Plus
3.456
HTC U Ultra
3.453
Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
3.445
Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422
Meizu MX5
3.416
LG V20
3.402
Huawei P10
3.379
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
3.378
Oppo R9s
3.352
Honor 8 Pro
3.341
Oppo R7
3.32
Lenovo P2
3.316
Archos Diamond Omega
3.305
Honor 9
3.289
Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276
Nokia 5
3.261
Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
3.244
Nokia 6 (Global version)
3.238
Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235
Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234
Xiaomi Mi Note 2
3.228
Motorola Moto X Play
3.222
Oppo F3 Plus
3.218
Huawei Mate 9 Pro
3.206
Huawei P9
3.195
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
3.19
ZTE Nubia Z17
3.159
Oppo R11s
3.153
Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113
HTC U11 Life
3.108
Motorola Moto X Force
3.105
LG Nexus 5X
3.092
HTC U11
3.089
Huawei Mate S
3.073
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023
Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL
3.019
Sony Xperia XA1
3.012
Motorola Moto X4
3.012
Sony Xperia L1
2.994
Sony Xperia X
2.989
LG Q6
2.987
Huawei P10 Lite
2.974
Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97
Xiaomi Redmi 5
2.951
Huawei Mate 8
2.949
Sony Xperia XA2
2.938
Xiaomi Redmi 4
2.92
Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
2.913
Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906
LG G5
2.905
HTC One S
2.901
Huawei Honor View 10
2.896
Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
2.893
Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2.884
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
2.877
Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
2.877
Sony Xperia Z5
2.876
Nokia 3
2.871
Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851
Lenovo Moto M
2.813
Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803
Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784
Nokia 2
2.752
Meizu MX6
2.751
LG V10
2.744
Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
2.742
Motorola Moto G5S Plus
2.737
Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735
Huawei Honor 7X
2.734
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
2.714
Meizu M5
2.71
Sony Xperia M5
2.69
Xiaomi Mi A1
2.689
Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679
Huawei P9 Lite
2.679
vivo V7+
2.671
Vivo V3Max
2.659
Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.654
Oppo F5
2.653
Doogee Mix
2.642
Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641
Xiaomi Redmi 4a
2.635
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
2.616
Sony Xperia XA
2.609
Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
2.582
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
2.582
Meizu M5s
2.58
Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574
LeEco Le Max 2
2.567
Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
2.563
Huawei P Smart
2.563
Xiaomi Mi Max 2
2.561
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
2.556
HTC U11+
2.556
Lenovo K6 Note
2.544
Lenovo Moto G4
2.544
Oppo F1
2.528
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525
Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503
BlackBerry Motion
2.494
Oppo F1s
2.481
Motorola Moto G
2.477
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473
Huawei G8
2.471
Huawei nova
2.467
Sony Xperia Z
2.462
Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459
Meizu m3 max
2.447
Xiaomi Mi 4
2.424
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
2.417
HTC 10 evo
2.407
Huawei Honor 7
2.406
Vivo V7
2.404
Sony Xperia E5
2.386
ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382
HTC 10
2.378
Oppo F3
2.376
vivo V5 Plus
2.371
Meizu m1 note
2.362
Huawei nova plus
2.329
Razer Phone
2.328
HTC One E9+
2.305
Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272
Sony Xperia L2
2.266
Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253
HTC U11+ (EU)
2.253
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235
Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234
Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233
LG Nexus 5
2.228
Huawei P8
2.196
Meizu M5 Note
2.189
Huawei Honor 6
2.169
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166
OnePlus Two
2.165
HTC One X
2.158
LG Aka
2.145
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
2.145
Archos 50 Diamond
2.134
Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119
Xiaomi Mi 4S
2.095
Acer Liquid X2
2.084
Huawei P8lite
2.078
vivo V5
2.059
Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026
Xiaomi Mi 3
2.001
Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996
Sony Xperia E4g
1.972
OnePlus One
1.961
Sony Xperia Z2
1.944
Meizu m3 note
1.923
BlackBerry Leap
1.892
Meizu m2 note
1.892
HTC Butterfly
1.873
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
1.772
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759
Sony Xperia U
1.758
Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675
ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659
Jolla Jolla
1.605
Motorola Moto E
1.545
Sony Xperia M
1.473
Sony Xperia L
1.351
HTC Desire C
1.3
Meizu MX
1.221
Sony Xperia E
1.215

The LCD panel on the XZ2 Compact is well-calibrated against the DCI-P3 color space, which we typically test against. The default Standard color mode gives an average deltaE of 4.4 and a maximum of 8.5. No matter how much we tried, whites and grays always retained a certain level of blue tint.

Finally, let's talk about the HDR video support. As we established, there is support for 10-bit colors, and there is a certification for the BT.2020 standard. Determining how that correlates to other industry standards, like HDR10 video is a bit difficult and needlessly technical. In practical terms, all that really matters is whether content vendors, like Netflix, enable their HDR content for the XZ2 Compact. For now, the best way for early adopters to take advantage of the HDR panel is by watching the compatible 4K HDR clips captured by the phone itself.

Sony also offers an automatic conversion system, as part of its "Advanced X-Reality for mobile" engine. It takes SDR video content and seamlessly tries to upconvert its colors to HDR levels during playback. If you've seen an HDR TV attempt to do the same, you probably already know that it looks great only on cherry-picked demo videos. Real-world usefulness depends strongly on your content. You can probably expect to salvage some detail in shadows and fix some light smear in low-light shots, but it can't do miracles. If the data isn't there, it isn't there.

Battery life

The Xperia XZ2 Compact comes with a larger battery capacity at 2,870 mAh than the Xperia XZ1 Compact. It goes from 0 to 32% in half an hour when using its 1.5A charger. The units bundled with a QC3.0-compatible charger will have up to 41% of their depleted battery fill in 30 mins.

Sony has proven quite proficient in optimizing the software for long-lasting battery autonomy, so we had high hopes for the XZ2 Compact. And indeed, the phone posted an excellent 88 h endurance given the provided battery capacity and the hardware at hand.

The Xperia XZ2 Compact did great on all battery routines. Combining those great scores with a frugal standby consumption, it achieved a great endurance and Sony's claim on battery efficiency lives on.

Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Loudspeakers

Despite the increased screen size, Sony has still managed to fit a good stereo setup inside the new XZ2 Compact body design, and we appreciate that. And it is one of the better ones we have seen.

Our tests can mostly confirm Sony's claim - the stereo speakers are about 20% louder than the XZ1 Compact and scored a Very Good loudness in our test. The speakers sound great with rich sound and there is no distortion at maximum volume. It's a significant improvement over the previous generation.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Sony Xperia XZ Premium	62.9	65.2	71.6	Below Average
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact	66.4	70.9	68.4	Average
Sony Xperia XZ2	66.1	71.8	78.1	Good
Xiaomi Mi 6	66.1	69.0	84.1	Very Good
Huawei P10	67.7	70.0	83.6	Very Good
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact	66.7	73.3	83.3	Very Good
Samsung Galaxy S9	68.5	74.3	81.1	Very Good
Apple iPhone 8	71.7	77.8	80.3	Excellent
Nokia 8	88.0	77.1	81.4	Excellent

Unlike the Xperia XZ2, the Compact model doesn't come with the new Dynamic Vibration System, which vibrates in tune with any sound the phone gives off.

Audio quality doesn't disappoint

The Xperia XZ2 Compact is a perfect match for its larger Xperia XZ2 sibling when it comes to audio output. When hooked to an active external amplifier the XZ2 Compact had above-average loudness and perfect clarity.

Plugging in a pair of headphones dropped the loudness to only average, but the accuracy of the output didn’t see much damage. The hike in stereo crosstalk was well contained and while some intermodulation distortion did creep in, it’s nothing you will notice without dedicated testing equipment.

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact	+0.01, -0.03	-93.4	93.2	0.0024	0.011	-92.7
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact (headphones)	+0.15, -0.29	-92.3	90.3	0.0058	0.220	-60.4
Sony Xperia XZ2	+0.02, -0.01	-90.6	91.2	0.0020	0.0096	-89.2
Sony Xperia XZ2 (headphones)	+0.04, -0.26	-89.4	91.9	0.0050	0.219	-60.7
Samsung Galaxy S9	+0.01, -0.03	-93.4	93.5	0.0057	0.0074	-93.9
Samsung Galaxy S9 (headphones)	+0.02, -0.03	-93.0	92.9	0.0038	0.048	-75.5
HTC U11	+0.05, -0.11	-94.1	94.1	0.0017	0.0067	-94.5
HTC U11 (headphones)	+0.05, -0.02	-93.7	93.8	0.0018	0.105	-53.7
LG V30	+0.02, -0.01	-93.2	93.1	0.0008	0.0069	-94.2
LG V30 (headphones)	+0.03, -0.02	-92.9	92.9	0.0057	0.051	-68.1

Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.

Next Page » 4. Software and performance

3. Lab tests: display, battery, loudspeaker, audio

Reviews Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact reviewPage 3