Reliving summer youth: Small-sized flagship phone takes me back to five years ago

Stephen Jobs once said, "3.5 inches is the golden size of a mobile phone. A larger screen is extremely stupid."

What's interesting is that one year after Jobs's death, the new iPhone 5 series is very popular. Quickly shattered his point with a 4-inch screen.

As people’s demand for audio-visual entertainment continues to increase, small-screen mobile phones are indeed becoming less and less popular nowadays.

Looking back on the first half of this year, the only Android mobile phones that can be called small-screen phones are Samsung Galaxy S23 and Xiaomi 13. Among them, Xiaomi 13 is also due to a larger direct screen and various aspects. They all have a bucket-like experience and have become a new generation of nail households among netizens.

(Photo source: Xiaomi)

However, this is obviously wrong.

With its 6.36-inch screen, can Xiaomi Mi 13 really be considered a small-screen phone? How has it become the representative of contemporary small-screen phones?

It’s already 2023. Apart from ASUS Zenfone 10, is it possible that no manufacturer can make a serious 5.X-inch “real” small-screen flagship?

With such doubts, I bought two classic small-screen flagships that are very popular in the second-hand market.

(Source: Lei Technology Self-made)

One of them , is the Xperia Z2C from Sony, the last 5-inch flagship phone launched by Sony Mobile.

The other one is the AQUOS R2 Compact from Sharp, the last product of Sharp’s Compact series.

After these two products, although there will still be several small-screen mobile phones on the market, these products generally no longer use flagship processors, and their screen sizes are also larger. Boldly come to six inches, even to the point of 6.3 inches.

Why are small-screen flagship phones in the traditional sense extinct here? And can these classic small-screen mobile phones still be used as main phones today? In order to figure out this problem, I put down the Xiaomi Mi 12s and made these two products my main phones.

Old rule, look at the appearance first.

Since they are both called Compact series, “small screen and compactness” must be the core selling points of these two products.

## Among them, Sharp AQUOS R2 Compact uses a 5.2” IGZOIPS screen, supports HDR 10, supports up to 120Hz refresh rate, and has a PPI as high as 485.

(Source: Lei Technology Self-made)

Even today, this screen is still very Excellent.

#Under the compact screen is an equally compact body. The weight of the whole machine is only 135g. It can be carried in your pocket without falling into your pocket and can be held in your hand. The Kirin Arms will not be exercised in it, but the thickness is a bit unbearable, reaching 9.3mm.

The back panel of this phone is very simple, without the fancy matte, gradient, plain leather, etc. of current new phones. , it is a thin piece of acrylic with one side of tea green, fresh and indifferent.

I just don’t know whether this color should be called "Qingyang" or "Yan Ruyu" now?

(Photo source: Ray Technology Self-made)

Different from the back, Sharp AQUOS R2C can be said to be Sharp's unique and perfect display in those years is like a mudslide in a river, with a water drop on top and bangs on the bottom. This double-sided perforated design is still something no manufacturer dares to imitate.

Considering Now that Sharp's new phones are becoming increasingly conservative in design, Sharp AQUOS R2 does have good commemorative value.

Just whether it looks good or not, that must be decided by everyone.

Let's look at Sony again, although It's not as "advanced" as Sharp, but Sony's 5.0" IPS screen quality is still quite good, with a resolution of 2160*1080, support for HDR BT.2020, and a PPI of up to 483.

(Photo source: Ray Technology Self-made)

Different from Sony In the past, the product design concept was square and square. Sony XZ2C abandoned the previous square and tough style and added more "curved" elements. The chamfering of the middle frame became a rounded aluminum frame, and the back of the fuselage became a curved surface. Although the thickness of the glass exceeds 12mm and the weight reaches 168g, it feels surprisingly smooth.

Especially this piece of silver frosted glass, even today there are still not many manufacturers that can produce such a carefully crafted texture.

(Source: Lei Technology Self-made)

This kind of small The exquisiteness of the flagship screen is really hard to put down.

After talking about design, it’s time to talk about experience.

After all, they were all small-screen flagship products of the year. Sony XZ2C/Sharp AQUOS R2 naturally used the flagship processor of the year-Snapdragon 845, paired with 4GB LPDDR4x memory and 64GB UFS 2.1 flash memory. The configuration depends on the It looks quite presentable.

Putting it on AnTuTu, Sony XZ2C ran 48w points, Sharp AQUOS R2 ran 46w points, and the theoretical running score of the current mainstream mid-range processor Snapdragon 778G is 51w points.

(Source: Lei Technology Self-made)

I have to say , the flagship nearly 5 years ago, it was also a flagship.

Of course, the running scores are just like the one shown in Figure 1. With the traditional cross-span heat dissipation of Japanese mobile phones, these two machines cannot even play "League of Legends Mobile" and "Honor of Kings" smoothly. Basically, Every time in the middle of a fight, there will be flow interruptions or team fight freezes due to overheating.

If I really want to say that the games that are suitable for these two are "Azur Lane" and "Princess Link".

As for "Genshin Impact"?

(O God, start! Source: Lei Technology Self-made)

It is recommended to download Meituan, which contains "Yun Yuanshen", that one is still acceptable.

# Of course, the heat dissipation and the stretching are quite smooth in daily life. The native-like system is not only light and simple, but also smooth and comfortable to use. Sony's unique Xperia Loop animation further improves the look and feel of the phone in daily use.

(Photo source: Self-made by Lei Technology)

is native to Google A series of applications that domestic users may not be used to.

As for the audio and video aspect...

Although the screen quality of both mobile phones is very good, I personally think that no one would choose to watch high-definition blockbusters on a 5.0" screen, right?

That should be the case, right?

(Photo source: Self-made by Lei Technology)

I can’t watch movies, but there is still no problem listening to music.

Thanks to the positioning of flagship phones, both products have dual speakers. Among them, Sharp’s dual speakers have too small sound on the earpiece side and can basically only play music - but it has a 3.5mm headphone jack; and Sony The XZ2C’s dual speakers are not very effective, and are indistinguishable from the speaker capabilities of today’s standard flagship phones, which is an unexpected surprise.

## (Picture source: Self-made by Lei Technology)

I was talking about it some time ago.

Recently In recent years, more and more manufacturers have forced mobile phones to be equipped with a bunch of cameras and some kind of "multi-camera module", and they are not stopping.

I really hope Let these manufacturers take a look at the two "Ultimate" single-camera tools Sony XZ2C/Sharp AQUOS R2 and wash their eyes.

(Photo source: Self-made by Lei Technology)

You may not believe it, but Sharp AQUOS R2 supports OIS optical image stabilization, while Sony XZ2C supports Laser AF Technology can be regarded as standard flagship technology.

## It’s just the hardware disadvantage that makes the images of the two products... just so-so:

## (Source: Lei Technology Self-made)

Of course, you may say: “What’s the problem with this? Just scan the code. ”

Hey, in fact, you really can’t scan the QR code.

After my own actual testing, I found that at three distances To identify five QR codes at different angles, Sharp AQUOS R2 takes an average of 5-6 seconds to complete the focusing, recognition and jump of one QR code. Sony XZ2C is relatively faster because of its slightly better focus, but it also takes It takes about 4 seconds to complete.

In the "those three years", at this speed, you would have to queue up to scan the QR code, and there would be a long queue behind you.

In addition to scanning the QR code, another dissuasion point for these two mobile phones is the signal problem.

The use of Snapdragon 845 processor means These two products only support 4G networks.

In a country where 5G networks are constantly popularizing, this means a constantly attenuating network foundation. Coupled with the usual collapsed antenna design of Japanese mobile phones, the signal performance of the entire machine can be said to be unsightly.

In the past few days that I have been using them, the daily routine of these two mobile phones is - cut off.

In the lobby of the park, the traffic is cut off.

At Guangzhou East Railway Station, the traffic is cut off.

In the subway or elevator, there is no signal at all.

I can only say that fortunately Xiao Lei still carries a smart watch with him and can use NFC Get out of the station, otherwise it would be really embarrassing to get stuck at the subway entrance.

As for battery life...

Sharp Aquos R2C is equipped with a 2500 mAh battery and supports 18W QC 3.0 fast charging; Sony XZ2C is equipped with a 2870 mAh battery. Supports 18W QC 3.0 fast charging.

Due to the 120-frame refresh rate, the battery life of Sharp Aquos R2C is far worse than that of Sony XZ2C. The difference in regular battery life between the two is more than an hour - but the combined battery life of these two machines is even that of Xiaomi. Even 12S/Xiaomi 13 can’t keep up.

When I walked outside for more than three hours and looked at two mobile phones with black screens and looked at each other.

(Photo source: Lei Technology Self-made)

That kind of embarrassment The feeling is absolutely indescribable.

We often say that the selling point of a small-screen flagship lies in its appearance and feel.

On these two points, Sharp Aquos R2C and Sony XZ2C both do very well.

The light green acrylic back cover and the lightweight body of 135g make the Sharp Aquos R2C almost invisible in the hand; the frosted sterling silver glass body and the textured body of 168g make the Sony XZ2C feel... It has a refreshing look and feel, which is a visual and auditory enjoyment for us who have long been accustomed to seeing the same mobile phones today.

(Source: Lei Technology Self-made)

Based on small screen With flagship positioning, the core configurations of the two products are still available today. Coupled with the inexpensive second-hand prices, they are perfect for use as backup machines.

The problem is that both manufacturers have sacrificed a lot for this "Compact" concept. Screen, audio, video, charging, almost all configurations were different from the mainstream flagship mobile phones at the time. Even because of the "Compact" positioning, the price was even more expensive.

Thinking about it this way, it seems very reasonable for the "real" small-screen flagship to disappear.

Some people may ask, with today's rapid technological advancement, can the embarrassing situation of "real" small-screen flagships be solved?

(Source: Lei Technology Self-made)

The answer is true No, take ASUS Zenfone 10 as an example. In order to pack the leading flagship configuration of Snapdragon 8 Gen2 into a 5.9-inch body, this product can only use the traditional thick-framed small screen, simple dual-camera module, The battery/charging configuration is lagging behind at the same level, but the starting price of the 8 128GB version is 799 euros (discounted 6320 yuan).

In fact, the prices of other small-screen flagships overseas are similar. The price of Xiaomi 13 starts at 999 euros (discounted 7878 yuan), and the price of Samsung S23 starts at 929 euros (discounted 7331 yuan). The price of iPhone 14 starts at 1,099 euros (discounted 8,673 yuan).

Only the price leadership thing has been inherited intact.

(Source: ASUS)

The most important thing Unfortunately, for the small screen enthusiasts, these products are still considered “off track”.

The "real" small-screen flagship they want is preferably one with the screen of Meizu 18s, the external amplifier of LG G7, the rounded feel of Sony XZ2C, and Apple's self-developed The ultimate performance of the processor and the battery life of at least one charge a day, the final price cannot exceed 1,999 yuan.

As for whether such a thing is possible.

(Source: Blade Ya)

I can only say, "Small screen party" never cares!

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