Software: Slightly Tweaked Android four.iii

Out of the box the Xperia Z1 Compact is running Android iv.3 'Jelly Edible bean' with Sony'south custom skin, then it was already one Android iteration out of date from the moment I started using it. Sony says the device will receive an upgrade to Android four.4 'KitKat' one-time in the future, but when exactly remains unknown. Ideally a brand new telephone should come out of the box with the latest version of the operating arrangement, but we don't often come across this happening and it'due south an outcome with about Android OEMs at the moment.

I'm a big fan of the vanilla Android design, and then it's ever disappointing to run into a manufacturer ditch the stylish Google-made visuals in favor of their own concoction. Information technology's even more disappointing when the skin practical across the operating organization and its applications doesn't add whatsoever new features, a phenomenon I like to call 'skinning for the sake of skinning'.

While the Xperia Z1 Meaty's skin doesn't add many features, and is essentially skinning for the sake of skinning, I can forgive information technology somewhat for not being a 'heavy' skin. Unlike Samsung'southward TouchWiz, HTC's Sense and LG's custom UI, Sony has gone for relatively minor modifications with an overall style similar to stock Android's.

Most aspects of Sony'due south skin are unspectacular and add little to the Android experience. The lockscreen tin can take you directly to the camera app with a swipe, and at that place'due south an assortment of quick settings at the acme of the notification pane that tin can exist interchanged. The homescreens themselves are as standard equally they come, with first-party widgets that y'all've seen and used before in ane form or another.

A number of the standard applications on the Xperia Z1 Compact are stock Android derivatives that are visually pleasing, just add together few (if any) features. I similar beingness able to run into my calendar along with the monthly calendar in the Calendar app, the People and Messaging apps are elementary and functional, and the Album app is characteristic rich yet fluid.

I'll have the time one time over again to highlight Sony's Walkman app that'southward included equally the first-party music app on the handset. It integrates well with Sony's Music Unlimited service (if you subscribe to it), merely if you lot'd rather use local media, the interface is dainty and the app can pull a ton of metadata to ameliorate your library. Walkman is also one of several apps that can link upwardly with your media servers, not just to pull in content, but to share it with your local network.

Another corking app is Smart Connect, which performs actions automatically when certain conditions are met. For example, when the charger is connected during the evening, the Z1 Meaty can exist set to automatically switch to silent mode. Or when headphones are continued, music can automatically beginning playing. Unfortunately the app is quite limited in what criteria and actions it supports, but it works reliably nevertheless.

If you aren't a fan of Sony's applications on the device, you can always download the range of stock Android applications that are available in the Play Store courtesy of Google. While I have no problem with people downloading stock apps through the Store, I'1000 not a fan of the inclusion of some of them out of the box.

Having the Walkman app and Google Play Music, Album and Photos, Letters and Hangouts, and so forth, creates a bad user experience. Performing many deportment on the Z1 Compact results in an app selection dialog, which is jarring and potentially disruptive for some users. Should I cull Anthology or Photos to view this image? The Z1 Meaty gives you no clues which app to launch.

And it'southward a tricky trouble to solve, because Google bundles some of their apps with their almost-mandatory Mobile Services, creating clashes with Sony's replacements. Sony could ditch their apps entirely, like they take done in bundling just Chrome on the Compact, but that kills any chance of expanding the software's features.

Some added features take the grade of additional applications. TrackID and TrackID Television set use sound data to inform you of what song y'all're listening to or TV show yous're watching, Socialife aggregates news and social media sources, and Sketch is a basic drawing application. PlayStation Mobile gives yous admission to some exclusive Sony-made games, adding to what is available through the Play Store.

There are a number of other apps that have been slapped onto the device, including Box, McAfee Security, Autodesk'due south Pixlr Express, OfficeSuite, QR code reader NeoReader, and an app that wouldn't fifty-fifty load for me called Xperia Privilege. Most of these tin be uninstalled if you'd rather non have your device filled with bloat.

In terms of additional features yous can discover in the smartphone'due south settings, at that place's not that much to exist found. The Xperia Connectivity section allows you to control the media sharing features of the Xperia Z1 Compact, and gives options for screen mirroring and connecting DualShock 3 controllers for gaming. Under almost other headings yous won't discover anything exciting, equally Sony has largely stuck to what's included as standard with Android 4.3.