CES 2014: Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is a Z1 with a 4.3-inch IPS display

Roydon Cerejo • January 7, 2014, 08:08:41 IST

The phone is expected to launch early next month for a lesser price than the Z1

All the rumours doing the rounds about the Sony’s Z1s, can be put to rest (hey, that rhymed!) as the company has just announced the Xperia Z1 Compact. That’s not to say the rumours were completely wrong however as the Z1s is indeed very real, just that’s it’s basically a regular Xperia Z1 launched exclusively for T-Mobile subscribers in the US.

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

The phone does features a major change when compared to its bigger brother, that we feel, could boost Sony’s flagship smartphone sales. The Z1 compact sports a smaller (and more manageable) 4.3-inch display with 720p resolution but most importantly, we finally get an IPS display. This is one area where Sony has always been lacking and the Z1 Compact is hopefully the first of many other Xperia devices to get a display from the 21st century. Apart from the slightly smaller battery in the Z1 Compact, the rest of the specifications are virtually identical to the Z1. This means, you get all of the IP58 certification, 20MP camera, NFC and all that jazz in a smaller and more compact form factor.

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Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

Available in two new colours

According to the Verge, the phone is still running on Android 4.3 and an update to 4.4 is to be expected within a “few weeks”. The phone is expected to launch early next month and according to them, it will cost less than the Z1. Going by the current price of the Xperia Z1, which is just under Rs 40,000, we can expect the Z1 Compact to launch around the Rs 35,000 mark, if not lesser.