Some people still prefer a small phone without sacrificing tons of functionalities. Handling new age flagships can be difficult as they are close to 7 inches nowadays (the same size of my original Nexus 7 tab in 2012). OEMs are experimenting with ultra-long (21:9) screens, but those are not a suitable alternative.
Sony, on the other hand, is one of those OEMs who are (?) making 5 inch variants of their flagships. In 2018, they released Xperia XZ2 Compact with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB internal storage and a single 19 MP rear camera sensor with Laser autofocus support. What a package!
Well, that’s the (possible) end of the ‘Compact’ series. Xperia XZ3 Compact was dropped and there is no small form factor phone from the Japanese OEM in this year for the global markets. However, they did come up with something for their homeground.
Xperia Ace, i.e. the spiritual re-branding of Xperia XZ4 Compact, is sold in Japan via NTT Docomo. Sony opted for a mid-range config: Android Pie on top of Snapdragon 630 SoC (rather dated though), on board 64 GB storage coupled with 4 GB RAM and a 12 MP shooter.
The fingerprint reader is mounted at the side, which made the phone more – you know – ‘compact’. Sony also went for protection against water and dust, while you can still find NFC and the trusty 3.5 mm headphone jack on the phone.
Although the phone is sold via NTT Docomo, Sony is responsible for rolling out the software updates (similar to OnePlus 7 Pro 5G). Xperia Ace got June 2019 patch via build 53.0.B.2.50 during early July. And now Sony is pushing a new update for the phone.
Carrying the tag 53.0.B.2.85, this OTA brings August security patch on Xperia Ace. Given that the phone is officially available in only one regions, majority of the Xperia Ace owners should have already got the update prompt on their phones.
Any desperate Xperia Compact fan who imported the phone for personal use? Let us know by commenting below.
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Kingshuk De
896 Posts
I came from a mixed background of Statistics and Computer Science. My research domains included embedded computer systems, mobile computing and delay tolerant networks in post-disaster scenarios. Apart from tinkering with gadgets or building hackintosh, I like to hop on various subreddits and forums like MyDigitalLife and XDA.
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