Sony Xperia XZ2 vs Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact

Bonjour, hola, hello - it’s time for another comparison piece between two phones that you’re wondering about. 

What are the differences between the Xperia XZ2 and the XZ2 Compact? Has Sony really made them that distinct, or is it just that the Compact is, well, smaller?

Let’s take a tour over the key elements of the two - spoiler alert, it’s not going to take very long. These phones are very similar, although there are a few key differences worth highlighting.

Design and screen

The XZ2 brings a glossier back

The XZ2 brings a glossier back

OK, we promised that there wouldn’t be that many differences, but obviously when it comes to design there are a few worth talking about.

The first is to the materials used to make these: the Sony Xperia XZ2 is clad in 3D Gorilla Glass front and back, where the XZ2 Compact is using polycarbonate to ‘diffuse’ the light.

In terms of dimensions, the XZ2 comes in at 153 x 72 x 11.1mm, where the XZ2 Compact offers up 135 x 65 x 12.1mm, so it’s a little thicker to bulge out further into the hand.

The XXZ 2 Compact offers a more matte finish

The XXZ 2 Compact offers a more matte finish

It’s got a distinctly ‘early iPod’ feel to it, where the XZ2 is much glossier and slicker.

The larger model is 198g, but you can shave off 30g and get the 168g version if you go for the smaller XZ2 Compact.

The screens are identical in terms of spec, with both bringing a Full HD display but the larger being a 5.7-inch display and a 5-inch screen on the Compact.

Key features

There’s only one key difference here: the Dynamic Vibration System, which allows the phone to buzz merrily in time with games, movies and music. That’s available on the Sony Xperia XZ2, but because the Compact is, well, more compact there’s less room for that feature.

Done, move on.

OS and power

Both phones bring 64GB of storage, with space for 400GB extra space on a microSD card

Both phones bring 64GB of storage, with space for 400GB extra space on a microSD card

OK - this is where we’re going to get a bit quicker with the comparisons: both of these phones are running Android 8 Oreo out of the box, and both of them offer the new Snapdragon 845 CPU with 4GB of RAM from Qualcomm. Done!

Ah crap, wait - there’s a slightly different modem inside each, so you’ve got up to 1.2Gbps download speeds on the XZ2 (Cat 18), and only 800MB (Cat 15) on the Xperia XZ2 Compact. We say only… that’s still pretty rapido.

Camera

The camera has been moved to the middle of the handset

The camera has been moved to the middle of the handset

Oh, right, the cameras are also pretty similar: both of them have a single 19MP MotionEye sensor on the rear, and a 5MP snapper on the front.

The XZ2 Compact has a slightly higher sensor.

The XZ2 Compact has a slightly higher sensor.

However, with the XZ2 you’re getting an f/2.0 aperture and a 25mm lens, where Sony hasn’t confirmed the spec on the smaller variant - which always signifies that there are secretly lower specs on the tinier model.

Battery

The XZ2 Compact has a smaller battery, unsurprisingly

The XZ2 Compact has a smaller battery, unsurprisingly

OK, this is where things are diverging once more: the Sony Xperia XZ2 battery is a 3180mAh unit, where the Xperia XZ2 Compact offers only 2780 of those teeny mAh to play with.

But the other key difference here is the way you can get power into these phones: the XZ2 offers Qi wireless charging compatibility, where the XZ2 Compact doesn’t, thanks to that polycarbonate shell we mentioned earlier.

Takeaway

While we’re still waiting on price details for the two phones, your choice is based on the size of the device and your preference on how much smartphone you want to fondle. The Xperia XZ2 is larger, smoother and glossier, but the smaller version is the closest in spec to the flagship model we’ve ever seen from Sony.

MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2018 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.