Software
Sony is one of those companies who have invested heavily on developing a suite of proprietary software for its devices. As such, it’s understandable that the company is shy about pre-installing a lot of apps on their products.
A good example of that is the Xperia Z5 Compact which has a total of 19 pre-loaded software right on the onset, not including the usual set of Google apps. These apps obviously takes some toll on the handset’s 32GB internal storage, but luckily some of these software can be uninstalled in case users need to free up some space on the inbuilt storage.
Sony apps:
AR Effect
Lifelog
Movie Creator
News Suite
PlayStation
PSN
PS Video
Sketch
Smart Connect
TrackID
Xperia Lounge
Weather
Third-party apps:
AVG Protection
Amazon Shopping
Dropbox
File Commander
OfficeSuite
Privilege Plus
Spotify
The Z5 Compact runs on Android 5.1.1 aka Lollipop with just a slight hint of software tweaks from Sony. The overall look of the user interface remains, for the most part, unaltered and it almost feels like the handset is running on stock Android.
Users who are a fan of handsets that offers near-vanilla Android experience will definitely appreciate the subtlety of software customizations that Sony has done on the Z5 Compact.
Camera
The Xperia Z5 Compact is equipped with a 23-megapixel Sony IMX300 image sensor paired to an f/2.0 wide-angle lens. It’s situated near the upper-left corner of the handset’s back panel neighbored by a tiny LED flash on the right.
At its peak, the rear camera is capable shooting pictures with 5,520 x 4,140 resolution on a 4:3 aspect ratio. Alternatively, users can switch to a 16:9 aspect ratio which will yield stills with a 5,984 x 3,366 resolution.
As for its video recording capabilities, the Z5 Compact can shoot Full-HD videos with either 30fps or 60fps frame rates using the native camera app. There is, however, a shooting mode buried inside camera settings that will allow users to shoot 4K videos (3840 x 2160) at 30fps.
In addition, there are three other lower resolutions (HD, VGA, and MMS) available at the user’s disposal should they wish to lower down the video resolution to fit their need.
Having been equipped with the same camera setup as its more high-end siblings (Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Premium), we expected nothing less from the Z5 Compact’s rear camera but the best image quality and snappy performance.
We’re glad to report that the handset didn’t disappoint even for one bit. The camera’s metering system is almost always spot on in getting the white balance and exposure that best suits the current shooting condition. Moreover, the autofocus system was quick and accurate when locking on a subject.
It is, however, in the image quality department where the Z5 Compact’s 23MP rear camera shines the most. Few can match the rear camera in terms of color reproduction and overall sharpness. And while it will not replace our trusty digital camera any day soon, we don’t mind having this phone as back up camera if the situation calls for it.