I downgraded from an Xperia Z1 Compact to an Xperia X Compact

[aime_arg]

Yes, downgraded.

Even though the XXC cost me 70 dollars more than the Z1C and is 2 years newer, it's a downgrade. I was under the impression that the XXC was the successor to the compact premium phones of the flagship Z line. Boy was I wrong.

I'm hoping to prevent other from making the same mistake. You're probably better off with a Z5C or even older. 

I'm not sure which of these are Sony's fault and which are Google's fault, but the complaints still stand.

This is my comparison/list of complaints. I'm comparing the X Compact vs the Z1 Compact.

1. Construction is all plastic. It feels cheaper, it has less grip, and it scratches more easily.
2. The camera is slower now. When holding down the shutter and moving the phone, the image lags noticeably. Pictures take longer to save (even at lower res) on internal storage or a new, fast SD card - it makes no difference.
3. Video has its own menu now, for some reason, and can't be accessed from Manual or Auto camera modes. So if I want to quickly go from Manual photo to Manual video, which used to be very easy in the old GUI, I have to slide through the Auto menu and every slide takes time. It was MUCH easier when I had both photo AND video in the manual interface. I only ever used manual mode for both video and photo. I really don't understand why Sony would make this unnecessary change that only slows things down for the user.
4. The mini apps are entirely gone. I used them every single day. Particularly calculator and screenshot. When my Z1C's power button started failing (failing very, very badly, by the way) the only way for me to make a screen capture was through the mini app because the power button menu was inaccessible. Right after making the capture, I could crop and save/send the image. Super quick and easy. Now I have to go to Album, open the picture, open in editor, select crop tool, save it, open it again, and then share it. So many extra steps, so unnecessary. The calculator also was useful because it could float on top of another app so you could make calculations without having to switch between a standalone calc app and the app with your information, like I have to do now with my XXC.
5. While we're talking about screen capture, native video capture from the power button menu is also gone. Super useful function, incomprehensibly removed from my new "better" phone.
6. Volume buttons are very close to the dedicated camera button, have similar size and identical structure, so if you're not looking, it's sometimes hard to quickly find the button you're looking for. Because they are positioned so low now, it's also very hard to press the volume buttons when holding the phone with one hand. It requires my thumb to bend more than 90º which is impossible. That low position also means that many times I hit the volume up button when I was aiming for volume down. I guess I have to start always aiming lower than I think I should aim at first.
7. This is a tiny detail, but the surface at the bottom of the phone, around the USB-C input, has a strange property that when scratched with the USB-C connector (as one might do when trying to plug in the phone in the dark) makes a sound that gives me goosebumps like nails on a chalkboard do, albeit a lot less annoying.
8. I was forgetting a big one. PHONE IS NOT WATERPROOF. I would say that's quite a step down.
9. Screen is bigger (which I actually didn't want) but resolution is still a mediocre 720p (I expected 1080p by now) so the pixel density is lower.
10. Adding to the unnecessary deletion of the mini-apps, there's no native Notes or Calendar app, so I can't port my notes from the old phone, I literally have nowhere to jot something down unless I open a gmail draft, and I have to add my events to Google Calendar if I want to write them somewhere, or download a third party app. Sure, there are apps to do that in the store, but not having a native Notes app is insane. I've had one in every phone since like 2010.
11. The new phone has a lot less phone signal than the old one. It's always 0-2 bars now.
12. In the pull-down menu where you used to be able to turn wi-fi and cell data on and off with one tap it now takes two taps. Wi-fi has a one-tap button when you pull down once, but not cell data. In the second pull-down menu they require 2 taps. Additionally, the date is not visible in the first pull-down so you have to pull twice to see it.
13. My headphones no longer work with my new phone. Thanks for the backwards incompatibility. There's a thread for this specifically.
14. The data menu requires an extra tap to see the data usage graph, and a per-app graph is no longer available, you can only see the total data usage graph.
15. The home screens are no longer simetrically listed from with a center screen and two screens to each side. Instead, additional screens are placed to the right of the home screen. That means I can no longer have two screens that can be accessed with one single swipe (left or right). The third screen, instead of being one swipe to the left, is two swipes to the right. Another unnecessary complication. Nevermind, I just realized you can add a screen to the left. I hope other users notice this as well.
16. There's no dedicated Stamina button in the pull-down menu/notification tray to quickly toggle it on and off. There's no ultra-low battery mode as a distinct option other than Stamina, only the latter is left.

Well, that's all I can think of right now.

tl;dr: No, I would not "recommend this to a friend."

[Uliwooly]

@aime_arg

There are myriad threads on multiple points on your posts, and you knew before buying it that the phone was NOT WATERPROOF nor a flagship device. 

[aime_arg]

"you knew before buying it that the phone was NOT [...] a flagship device."

I explicitly state in my post that I DID think it was the compact version of a flagship device.

Since
-the X line was supposed to replace the Z line (by the way, I have absolutely no idea why they change the name just when it's starting to get recognition instead of following one single path like Samsung and Apple have very successfully done),
-and the Z line was the flagship line,
-and the Zn Compact phone was a compact version of the flagship phone,
-and the X Compact is the only Compact in the whole X line,

yes, I did think I would be getting a better phone than I did.

Other than that, I believe my concerns are valid and, most importantly, that I can help people who are trying to decide what phone to buy. I want them to know what to expect if they buy the X Compact.

[Uliwooly]

@aime_arg

I understand your expectations but the X series were NOT advertised as flagship devices, if they did please do share the link. 

[rothnroller]

thanks for your honest review of the phone. Professional reviews by the magazines etc are useful but the reviewers only use the phone for a few days or a week and so rarely uncover the sorts of issues that you have highlighted as a true user.

My Xperia Z3 compact has multiple faults and so I really need a new phone soon. I was going to try this X Compact but I'm really concerned by your review.

I was going to buy the XZ Premium but i found it was too big in hand (and pocket!).

Can anyone recommend a decent compact smartphone of the quality of a working Z3 Compact?

[denis-gz]

Yes, I totally agree with points 1,6 and 7. However, the X series is mid-range, so lack of metal body is expectable. Grip is okay, but scratches seem to appear from simple slide on hard surface, when you're taking it (mine did).

Asfor point 8, I saw reports on this forum that the phone IS actually waterproof, but it's not advertised like that in order to reduce warranty expenses (it's intended to protect against occasional drop in water, not for regular underwater use, e.g. video recordings).

Point 9 - to me, 720p screen resolution is OK, don't feel like it'd been better.

Point 10 - what about Google Notes app, did you check it? Quite a good app, as for me. You may type, draw or capture a shot, tag and colorise, and it syncs with PC app (just like Calendar).

Point 11 - that's weird. Mine usually has 4-5 bars in GSM-only, but in WCDMA-only it really can be bad (but that's specific to conditions in my country - 3G works in 2100 band here).

Point 13 - yes, unfortunatelly. I too own a SonyEricsson headset which won't work. However I recently bought a Scullcandy Hesh 2 headset and it works both wired and bluetooth.

As for other comments, they're unrelevant to me and I can't agree nor disagree.

[Andre9]

My first experience with Android was a Samsung S3 mini. Some reviews loved so I thought it seemed like a good option. I disliked that phone so much that I went and bought a lowly Nokia feature phone running their S40 O/S, even though the S3 was on a contract. I had a long list of gripes re the S3 which I thought were perfectly valid, yet others loved them. The Nokia did almost everything I needed, one of which is seamless connection, disconnection to bluetooth headsets complete with auto answer, ALL notification tones in your etc etc. Few of these worked properly on the S3, yet the lowly Nokia was faultless in this regard.

I upgraded to the Xperia X Compact because I like small phones and the are usually of lesser stature than the top ens large ones, and compared to my first experience of an Android phone it is pure bliss. Still falls down on the bluetooth side, but after much research I believe a lot of it is an Android issue.

So its horses for courses, some like them, some don't and it all depends on how the individual uses his or her product.

[alex_ncfc]

I also took the same 'journey' as you, going from the Z1 Compact to the X Compact. And I do share some of your concerns, mainly things like removal of software features, changes introducing far too many steps like you mention with the camera app, and the cheap build quality (the Z1 Compact felt lovely to hold - solid, heavy, with the metal outer casing compared to this phone - it felt like a premium device)

However, the one change I absolutely love is the fingerprint sensor - that alone makes it a worthwhile upgrade from the Z1C to the XXC in my eyes, purely because it is an instantaneous unlock and saves so much time messing around with pin codes. Also, I think the screen looks far better on the XXC, and the stereo speakers are nice too. But mainly I couldn't imagine not having the fingerprint sensor now! 

[rothnroller]

I have bought the X Compact and had it for a fortnight. So far I'm very happy with it, apart from the Bluetooth connection issue (which I think I have fixed).

[Delph84]

Hello, I thought you were comparing Z1C with XC but you are mostly comparing Androïd Xperia UI before and now... 

Most of the points are about the interface and not the smartphone itself... 

I know how hard it may be to update from an old Androïd version to a new one but it happens and you just have to keep your old unupdated smartphone or trying to get used to the new... 

For information, my brother have the Xperia Z3 Compact and have the same interface as my X Compact... the screen is also a 4,6" 720P (same for the Z5C)... well mine have more ram and more space than his, for example...