Sony have just taken the wraps off of its latest entrant into, what’s now considered, the diminutive 4 inch smartphone segment by shrinking its popular Xperia Z1 smartphone. Unlike the efforts of both Samsung’s S4 Mini and HTC’s One Mini though the reduction in size has not meant a reduction in specifications for the Xperia Z1 Compact. The Xperia Z1 Compact will ship with the same high end Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage that the Xperia Z1 proper comes with. Thankfully the Xperia Z1 Compact will also retain the fantastic 20.7 megapixel camera sensor that we loved when reviewing the Z1 last year. Best of all the Xperia Z1 Compact is still IP58 certified which means dust proof and water resistant to 1 meter of depth for up to 30 minutes. SOftware wise the Xperia Z1 Compact will be running Android 4.3 out of the box but it already has a planned upgrade to the latest version of deliciousness Android 4.4.

Not every feature could be retained however as sacrifices to ensure that the Xperia Z1 Compact lives up to its name. The display has been reduced to 720p to accommodate the shrink down to 4.3 inches but with an impressive 342 pixels per inch (ppi) it does however best even the iPhone’s famed Retina display at only 326ppi if not managing to match the 441ppi of its predecessor. The battery has also been reduced from 3000mAh to 2300mAh but considering that the display it powers is smaller as well it may not be too much of a loss.

Sony South Africa has confirmed that the Xperia Z1 will be making its way to South African shores in February although they haven’t been able to provide us with any pricing as of yet.