Sony Xperia Z3 Compact – After The Buzz, Episode 48 | Pocketnow

The Z3 Compact is coming up on its year anniversary, and it can be found unlocked for under $400. What you get for that is still excellent: a water resistant smartphone with solid software, loud speakers, a look and feel you can’t find anywhere else, and good battery life. No it’s not excellent battery life, the loud speakers are muffled, and you’ll want to make sure you’re careful with its glass finish and its earphone port. (Plus, we’d happily trade some of the software bloat for a better overall camera) … But unless and until Sony releases the Z4 Compact, nothing else out there is gonna give you the same power in such a tiny package. Find out if the Z3 Compact is the phone for you in the latest installment of After The Buzz!

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Pocketnow has been a key source of mobile technology news and reviews since its establishment in 2000. With offices on three continents, Pocketnow offers round-the-clock coverage of the mobile technology landscape, from smartphones to tablets to wearables. We aim to be your number-one source for mobile tech news, reviews, comparisons, and commentary. If you love mobile as much as we do, be sure to subscribe!

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact – After The Buzz, Episode 48 | Pocketnow

PocketNow

[Beige]

The Z3C is one of the best Sony products of all time.

[TheBigclay]

I wish that Google and Sony make a Nexus phone

[ShellymanStudios]

Sony Xperia devices are always attractive looking.

[inund]

I love this series! I try to own my phones outright, and longterm reviews like this, save me from wasting time and money. Love it :)

[yas]

I have had the regular Z3 since day 1 and as of today its still going strong.The battery life is great and audio quality through the jack is excellent.

[zeljkoveljkovic]

Pocketnow Michael, thanks for finding the time to get another review unit and doing an After the buzz review. It really helped me a lot!

[KentSpain]

I have a question about this series "After the Buzz." When you review the device again, have you been using it since launch, or did you just re-get it and review it months later? From the intro I understand they just sent it to you, and you re-reviewed it... So... In theory you're seeing how an older device works brand new? Not after using it for a while... Hmm....

[Thisath]

Finally! It's been a long time coming! Bad battery life? Compared with nearly all the phones out there this has amazing battery life. But yes, Lollipop did mess with it. Though newer updates should fix it. Still, everything isn't all that bad. It still is one the best last-year-tech you can buy and live with. Not to mention the beautiful looks.

[jndbla]

My sister using this phone now..its really good for playing games, good for taking a picture and selfie, can download many apps and the battery is good too!

[FLUFFYBEAST]

After the buzz has to be my favorite series so far :)

[johnX]

Bought mine 9 mos ago and I'm still happy with its performance. I have a 5.5 inch phone and at times I still come back to my Z3C for its single-handed usability. Only concern is its too slippery. Glass is glass.

[TheBlooRayChannel]

Absolutely love these videos. Hopefully the recently released 5.1.1 update solves these battery issues and ram problems. Even with the bogged down battery life by Android 5.0.2, it's still better than most out there. The best phone I've purchased and I've most recently had the Note 2, iPhone 5s which was BORING, HTC One M8 which was superb bar the average camera. The z3 compact does it all, and does very very well. The processor is aging quite brilliantly. And the best part.. One handed use. I use this alongside the Nexus 7 2013 and they both work brilliantly for my needs.

[GeorgeNavarro]

BEST PHONE EVER CREATED. Never upgrading again. I will just replace this phone every time it breaks

[Centrinario]

As a Z3C owner, I agree that lollipop hasn't been an improvement, but battery life, for me, is still great. I only wear the battery down if I do a lot of gaming. Other than that, standby time and endurance under casual uses of the phone are excellent. 

I take your point on the camera, but if you know how to deal with the manual settings, you can produce some really excellent shots and smooth video. The software stabilization actually does a fair amount of.. well... stabilizing.

Too bad the HDR in this camera isn't nearly as aggressive as it should be.

[caleblopez]

Imagine if James Bond would used this for the next movie

[ThanArlix]

Great after the buzz Michael, ypu have clearly used the device a lot and are spot on with all your points. 

I love my z3c - it still performs really well, it cannot be underestimated how great 1 handed use  is, the screen size is just big enough and the pocketability is wonderful. The flaws though are real.

Mine is being fixed currently for the second time due to headphone jack issues.

I used to find it near impossible to kill the battery in a day - since lollipop it will generally make it through the day but just and i do nurse it a bit in the evenings. 

Finally the camera is a real frustration, my superior auto mode produces very cold images and the 21mp manual photos are often good but that requires work and often the moment has gone.

For me this is still in the top 5 phones you can buy at ANY price and current prices are great but do keep the flaws in mind.

[ambkor]

My contract ends in about 2 months. If sony doesn't realize or says a word about the new compact then I might just get this one. Thanks for the review!

[cyrus]

for less than 400 USD on Amazon right now, this is an absolute steal

[wheillebherttjanmontalbeu]

Mine still alive! Only back and flip covers are coming out. It's July 2020

[jared]

These are the best god damn videos ever!