On the market for an affordable flagship device? Well, the OnePlus 5 or “flagship killer” would be the obvious choice here, but Sony recently unveiled a pretty interesting handset too. The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact bring some pretty worthy specs to the table, but cuts some corners in order to remain affordable.
Below we compare the two handsets to give you an idea which one might be best suited to your needs. Keep reading to find out more.
On the outside
The two phones have one big thing in common – they come featuring a classical design and not a modern bezel-less one. So if you’re looking for a phone with a more interesting look, you should probably consider other alternatives.
Anyway, OnePlus’ latest flagship sports an anodized metal back just like its predecessors, the OnePlus 3T and 3, but its slimmer than them boasting a sleek 7.25mm frame.
The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact, on the other hand, takes advantage of a glass fiber-reinforced plastic body. Unlike the OnePlus 5 – which is unofficially water-resistant – the Xperia XZ1 Compact features IP65/68 waterproofing.
To keep prices low, OnePlus has opted to include a 5.5-inch FullHD display and not a QHD one in its latest flagship. Sony took the same route with the Xperia XZ1 Compact and equipped it with a smaller 4.6-inch Triluminos display with rather low 720p resolution.
On the inside
Both handsets take advantage of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor – an octa-core Kyro 280 CPU with Adreno 540 GPU.
But while the OnePlus 5 offers a choice between 6GB of RAM + 64GB storage and 8GB of RAM + 128GB storage, the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact only comes with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. However, the microSD card should supplement users’ need for more storage.
The OnePlus 5 relies on a 3,300 mAh battery with Dash Charge technology for fast charging, while the small Xperia XZ1 Compact relies on a tiny 2,700 mAh battery with QuickCharge 3.0 support.
Photography
The XZ1 Compact borrows the 19-megapixel, IMX400 ExmorRS or Motion Eye camera from the Xperia XZ Premium, which means you’ll be able to take great shots with this affordable flagship.
The main snapper includes f/2.0, predictive hybrid laser/phase detection/contrast autofocus, burst AF, IR sensor for white balance and LED flash. The camera can shoot 4K video at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps and 720p at 960fps. As for selfies, the phone offers the services of an 8-megapixel snapper with 1/4” front-facing ultra-wide-angle camera.
Like in the case of the Xperia XZ1, the Compact also offers the services of 3D Creator – a tool that can create detailed 3D models of objects and people than can then be easily 3D printed.
The OnePlus 5 is the company’s first phone to include a dual-camera assembly. So users will find a 16-megapixel main sensor with f/1.7 alongside a 20-megapixel telephoto lens with f/2.6 on the back. Up in front lives a 16-megapixel selfie shooter with f/2.0
The OnePlus 5 camera has been rated with 87 points by DxOMark which praised things as white balance, detail preservation in bright light and fast autofocus.
Other
The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact and its larger brother, the Xperia XZ1 are the first phones to launch with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. So if you buy the device, you won’t have to worry about updates for a while.
The OnePlus 5 ships out with Android 7.1.1 Nougat, but it will certainly get updated to Android 8.0 Oreo at some point in the near future.
Another feature worth mentioning here is the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact features stereo speakers and supports active noise cancellation with dedicated mic, as well as 24-bit/192kHz Hi-Res audio.
The OnePlus 5, on the other hand, offers a Reading Mode which turns the phone’s display to grayscale which makes staring at the screen much easier on the eyes. The handset also includes the Alert Slider button that lets you easily flip between three predefined sound modes: normal, priority and silent.
Pricing
The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact just went up for pre-order on Amazon with a $599.99 price tag attached. Orders will start shipping out on October 4. For comparison sake, its larger brother, the Xperia XZ1 is currently available for $669.99 a pop.
The OnePlus 5 on the other hand, starts $479 for the 6GB of RAM + 64GB of storage variant. So if you want a phone with a larger display, better resolution, a dual camera and cheaper price you’ll probably go for the OnePlus 5. On the other hand, the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact’s main camera is pretty excellent and also includes the unique 3D Creator feature, not to mention that the phone comes with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.
