BATTLE OF MINI'S

Sony Xperia Z1 mini vs HTC One mini vs Samsung Galaxy S4 mini: Battle of the Minis

Building high-end smartphones with top of the line specs, and then creating their cheaper mini versions has become sort of a trend. It all started when Samsung gave us the younger sibling to its S3, which was priced relatively cheaper with trimmed down specs. It was soon followed by the S3 mini and the HTC One mini. Now, Sony has officially taken the wraps off its mini variant of the Xperia Z1 called the Xperia Z1 mini, (called Z1 f in Japan) which features almost similar specs as the Xperia Z1. We've thrown it in the ring with the S4 mini and the One mini, let's see who emerges as the winner. 

Sony Xperia Z1 f/mini

Xperia Z1 mini with 20.7MP  rear snapper

The Z1 mini has been heavily rumoured as the “Honami mini” ever since the original Xperia Z1 popped up. Interestingly, the mini variant has most of the high-end features seen in the Xperia Z1 such as the 20.7 megapixel rear camera, Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor with 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, and the Triluminos X-Reality display engine. Just like most of the recent Xperia phones, the Z1 mini is waterproof and makes use of glass and aluminium for the body. Talking about some of the differentiators, the display size has been dropped to 4.3-inches with lower 720p resolution. The expandable microSD slot limits its support up to a 32GB memory card. The device is 9.4mm thick and weighs in at 140 grams. This means it is going to be lighter yet slightly thicker than the Z1. The highlight is definitely the 20.7-megapixel EXMOR sensor along with the 2.2-megapixel front shooter.

HTC One mini

Looks just like big brother

The HTC One mini maintains the same design as its older sibling and trims down some of the features. Starting with the display, the One mini features a 4.3-inch Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 720 x 1280. It gets a layer of the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection with 1GB RAM. The HTC One mini also gets Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS out of the box, but the company adds its HTC Sense 5 UI that adds features like Blinkfeed, HTC Zoe and more. Though the One mini gets 16GB on-board storage, there is no microSD card slot, which is something many users won’t be pleased about. It measures 132 x 63.2 x 9.3 mm and weighs in at 122 g. On the camera front, the One mini comes with a 4 megapixel primary camera with Ultrapixel technology along with LED flash and autofocus, and a 1.9 megapixel front shooter.

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini

Heavily trimmed down variant of the Galaxy S4

On the other hand, the Samsung S4 mini is a highly trimmed version of the powerful Galaxy S4. Offering a dual SIM option, the S4 mini comes with a considerable list of specs. Just like the Xperia Z1 mini, its display size is 4.3-inches, but it comes with even lower qHD resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. The display gets a layer of the Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Under the hood, one will find a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 400 dual-core processor with 1.5GB RAM, and runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS out of the box. Obviously, one will find a layer of the TouchWiz interface on it. In terms of storage, the smartphone provides 8GB of internal memory, which can be expanded up to 64GB via a microSD card. It's pretty light with 124.6 x 61.3 x 8.9 mm dimensions and weighs 107 grams. On the camera front, it has an 8 megapixel primary camera along with LED flash and a 1.9 megapixel front shooter.

	Sony Xperia Z1 f/mini	HTC One mini	Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
Display Size	4.3-inch	4.3-inch	4.3-inch
Resolution	1280 x 720	1280 x 720	960 x 540
Pixel Density (PPI)	342 ppi	342 ppi	256 ppi
Display Type	TFT Triluminos	SLCD 2	Super AMOLED
Scratch Resistant	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dimensions	127 x 64.9 x 9.4 mm	132 x 63.2 x 9.3 mm	124.6 x 61.3 x 8.9 mm
Weight	140g	122g	107g
Sensors	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, quad-core at 2.2GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, dual-core at 1.4GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, dual-core at 1.7GHz
RAM	2GB	1GB	1.5GB
OS version out of the box	Android 4.2	Android 4.2	Android 4.2
On-Board Memory	16GB	16GB	8GB
Memory card Support	Yes	No	Yes
Battery	2,300mAh	1,800mAh	1,900mAh
GPS	A-GPS + GLONASS	A-GPS + GLONASS	A-GPS + GLONASS
Wi-Fi	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth	v4.0	v4.0	v4.0
IR Blaster	Yes	No	Yes
NFC	No	No	No
AV Out Option	Unconfirmed	No	No
Primary Camera	20.7MP BSI sensor	4MP Ultrapixel sensor	8MP BSI sensor
Secondary Camera	2.2MP BSI sensor	1.6MP BSI sensor	1.9MP sensor
Flash	LED	LED	LED
Audio Enhancements	Walkman enhancements	BoomSound	NA
FM Radio	Yes	Yes	Yes
Special features	IP58/55 certification, BIONZ image processor	Beats Audio, HTC Zoe	Group Play
Pricing (In Rupees)	Rs 35,000 (Tech2 estimate)	Rs 35,000	Rs 23,000

Verdict
While all three mini variants feature the same display size, the Xperia f/mini and One mini beat the S4 mini when it comes to the display quality. However, the S4 is much lighter than the other two, owing to its plasticky body. Performance-wise the Z1 f is likely to be a winner with its better processor, 2GB of RAM and higher battery. On the connectivity front, the Xperia f has also included support for the new “ac” draft. The Z1 mini is also a camera-centric phone as it maintains the 20.7MP BSI sensor, which again is way better than the optics found in the S4 mini and One mini. In a nutshell, the Xperia z f/mini comes with a better spec sheet, at least on paper. It definitely doesn’t come across as a trimmed down version, and probably for those who aren’t really fond of “phablet” size displays. Now, it depends on how Sony prices the device.