The Sony Xperia 4 could be a disappointing successor to the Xperia Compact flagships

Last week, initial details of the Sony Xperia 4 were revealed. While we were skeptical, it’s looking increasingly likelier that such a device is actually in the works and set to launch soon. The Xperia 4 is said to be the company’s new compact phone, and a set of images comparing it to the older compact Xperia flagships have surfaced.

Going by the images, the Xperia 4 will actually have the same width as older compact Sony flagships like the Z5 Compact and XZ2 Compact—65mm. That is, of course, made possible by the company’s new 21:9 aspect ratio. The move from 16:9 to 18:9 in 2018 allowed OEMs to have bigger displays while keeping the width possible, and Sony’s CinemaWide 21:9 display takes that up a notch. 

The XZ1 Compact had a 4.6-inch 16:9 display, the XZ2 Compact had a 5.0-inch 18:9 display, and the Xperia 4 is said to have a 5.7-inch 21:9 display. The aspect ratio and reduced side bezels are expected to allow the device to keep the same 65mm width as its predecessors. 

Of course, there’s the disadvantage of having a longer display, which makes us reconsider the whole “compact” thing. The Xperia 4 is expected to have a length of 149mm. For some perspective, that’s just a tad shorter than the Xperia XZ2 (153mm), and even marginally taller than the Xperia XZ1 (148mm). If the information on measurements are correct, there's nothing compact about the Xperia 4.

There’s also the fact that the Xperia 4 is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 710 instead of a true flagship SoC like the Snapdragon 855. This may be positioned as a replacement for the Xperia Compact line, but it’s undoubtedly a poor one.