Over the past year or two, Android phone makers seem to have been in an arms race to see who could release a smartphone with the biggest display. In fact, it’s hard to find a phone with the latest high-end specs that doesn’t have a 4.7 inch or larger screen (unless you buy an iPhone).

Now Sony is taking most of the hardware of its 5 inch Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone and squeezing it into a smaller model called the Xperia Z1f. It’s a 4.3 inch phone that iwll be available soon in Japan from NTT DoCoMo.

sony xperia z1f

Like its larger sibling, the Sony Xperia Z1f has a 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. It has a 20.7MP camera, and a water-resistant case.

Both phones run Google Andorid 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Sony did cut a few corners: The phone has a 1280 x 720 pixel display instead of a higher-resolution 1920 x 1080 pixel screen. But since the phone has a smaller display, it still packs 341 pixels per inch, which is pretty good — but The Verge reports both phones have relatively poor viewing angles.

The smaller phone also has a 2300mAh battery instead of the 3000mAh battery you’d get with the Xperia Z1.

Overall it’s nice to see an Android phone maker offering a smaller phone with top tier specs — although it’s a little odd that we’re living in an age when a 4.3 inch phone is considered small. It wasn’t that long ago that phones with 4.3 inch screens were enormous alternatives to more conventional models with 3.7 inch and smaller displays.

There’s no word on if or when the Sony Xperia X1f will be available outside Japan… or if it will prompt any competitors to release better versions of their “mini” phones.

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