Sony could bring back the Xperia Compact to compete with the iPhone 12 mini

Sony is expected to bring back its “Compact” phone line in 2021 with a new Xperia Compact model. It will offer a 5.5-inch screen and dimensions more in line with Apple’s (relatively) small iPhone 12 mini than the increasingly larger phones Sony has been offering in recent years.

The new device, according to OnLeaks, which also posted renders of the upcoming phone on Voice, would have dimensions of 140 x 68.9 x 8.9 mm (5.5 x 2.71 x 0.35 inches), which makes it just a bit bigger than the iPhone 12 mini (which measures 131, 5 x 64.2 x 7.4mm or 5.18 x 2.53 x 0.29 inch).

The new Xperia Compact would also offer an 8-megapixel selfie camera in a drop-shaped notch, a dual-camera setup with a 13-megapixel main camera on the back, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a dvd player. Side fingerprint integrated into the power button. However, there are no details on the specifications.

Image: OnLeaks / Voice

The (as yet unnamed) Xperia Compact 2021 would be Sony’s first phone to carry the ‘Compact’ name since the 2018 Xperia XZ2 Compact, which had dimensions similar to the leaked specs of the new 2021 device (although the display on the 2018 model was a bit smaller at 5 inches, thanks to its larger bezels). But this is still a lot smaller hardware than other recent attempts like the Xperia 5.

The bigger question, however, is whether the new Xperia Compact will offer flagship-level specs or if it will fall into the same trap as other scaled-down Android devices and offer downgraded specs to match its smaller size. Sony has avoided this problem before – the aforementioned XZ2 Compact offered almost comparable specs to its big brother – but the question remains whether Sony will actually ship a 2021 Android phone with flagship class specs that also don’t require a massive screen. .

It is also unclear whether there really is a market for small flagship products. Apple’s iPhone 12 mini, while offering virtually identical specs to the larger iPhone 12, reportedly saw poor sales compared to the larger models on offer (despite being priced lower). There are additional reports that Apple is shifting production from the smaller model to focus more on full-size phones.