Nowadays, there is fierce competition among flagship smartphones, and you won’t surprise anyone with just the top-end hardware. Cameras and battery life are becoming increasingly important, and Sony has a lot to offer its fans. First of all, the design has finally been updated, but at the same time it doesn't have the ugly unibrow, it looks quite interesting and has almost nothing in common with its competitors. Sony is one of the few companies that stays away from trends and follows its own line.
The Sony XZ2 smartphone is pleased with the emergence of new functions, including the ability to shoot HDR video in 4K format. It uses a proprietary screen made using IPS technology. It features a wider dynamic range. These are just some of the features that the new flagship received from the Japanese manufacturer. We will analyze the Sony X3 2 in detail as part of a full review.
Specifications:
- Screen: 5.7", IPS, 2160x1080, capacitive, multi-touch
- Processor: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, 2.7 GHz
- Graphics accelerator: Adreno 630
- Operating system: Android 8.0
- RAM: 4 GB
- Built-in memory: 64 GB
- Memory card support: microSDHC up to 400 GB
- Communication: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz || UMTS 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz || LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 26, 28, 29, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41
- SIM: nano-SIM + nano-SIM (combined slot)
- Wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, NFC
- Navigation: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidu
- Cameras: main - 19 MP (autofocus, flash), front - 5 MP (fix focus)
- Sensors: light, motion, microgyroscope, accelerometer, color correction, fingerprint sensor
- Battery: 3180 mAh, non-removable
- Dimensions: 153x72x11.1 mm
- Weight: 198 grams
Equipment
The device comes in a thick cardboard package, with nothing special inside:
- AC adapter supporting Quick Charge 3.0;
- USB-C cable;
- Adapter from USB-C to 3.5 mm jack.
Sony XZ2 design
Sony has revised its approach to design, offering a new concept called Ambient Flow. The manufacturer gets rid of corners and wide frames, which benefits ergonomics. The front side of the device is covered with 5th generation Gorilla Glass, which has rounded edges (2.5D technology). If we compare it with the first Sony XZ, the frames around the perimeter of the display have become an order of magnitude smaller. In the past, Sony's wide bezels have been the most hated thing, so it's clearly going the right way by providing a larger display area. There are also a pair of speakers in front that play in stereo. This guarantees complete immersion in games and when watching your favorite films.
The back is also made of glass and covered with Gorilla Glass 5. The back is strongly curved and boat-shaped. The main camera, flash and just below the fingerprint scanner are located at the top center. By the way, there is only one sensor; the manufacturer is in no hurry to follow trends. The side frame is made of metal, which is necessary to give rigidity to the glass body. Sony Xperia XZ2 ds review shows that, like most other models of the brand, it received protection from dust and water according to the IP68 standard.
At the top end there is a tray into which you can install nano-SIM and nano-SIM or a microSD card instead. It's convenient that it opens without a paperclip.
On the right we see the volume rocker, power button and the proprietary shutter key. They are metal and have a nice ride. A sufficiently large distance was left between them to avoid accidental clicks.
At the bottom there was only room for a USB Type-C port, installed exactly in the center.
The Sony Xperia XZ2 review makes it clear that the body is impeccably assembled. It feels solid, no matter how hard you try, but there are no backlashes or creaks. Ergonomics benefit from the 18:9 ratio, which has made it possible to reduce the thickness of the device. As a result, a 5.7-inch screen was placed in a compact body. The phone fits well in the hand and practically does not slip, even despite the use of glass as the main material for manufacturing. This is the merit of the new form. At first it seems that the fingerprint scanner is located very low, which causes some discomfort, but over time you get used to it. During all the testing of the Sony Xperia XZ2, I only hit my finger on the camera lens a couple of times.
Sony XZ2 display
Most manufacturers have already switched to using OLED and AMOLED panels, but Sony continues to use IPS technology. But this is not a standard IPS display with FullHD+ resolution; it has a number of interesting features. These include support for HDR technology, increased color gamut and various software functions for image enhancement and fine-tuning. With a diagonal of 5.7 inches, we get a pixel density of 424 ppi - the pixel grid will be impossible to see even if you try.
Sony Xperia XZ2 2018 review showed that the screen is ideal for playing HDR content, which is now starting to gain popularity. Along with this, a proprietary dynamic image processing technology works, which even brings standard videos up to the HDR level. It was impossible to do without such a display in a smartphone that itself can shoot video in HDR format. The black color is very deep, which is unusual for IPS technology. The advantages of the matrix also include maximum viewing angles, natural color reproduction and high contrast. An oleophobic coating is applied to the glass. Thanks to it, it will be easy to get rid of fingerprints.
The matrix backlight does not flicker, which is ensured by the use of high-quality components in the design. So even if you work with the phone for a long time, your eyes will not get tired. The brightness reserve is enough so that the eyes do not experience any discomfort in pitch darkness and the information remains readable when exposed to direct sunlight.
A review of Sony XZ 2 introduces you to the fact that in the settings you can find a blue filter that minimizes eye strain. You can also customize the color rendering, changing it depending on your personal preferences. The settings have several presets, from natural to oversaturated colors. Everyone will find the best option for themselves. Features include proprietary video enhancement technology. Initially, the display image was biased towards cool tones, which was corrected using the slider in the calibration menu. Those who live in cold regions will appreciate the ability to operate with gloves.
Performance
Sony Xperia XZ2 specifications are based on the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, which will be the top solution at least until the end of 2018. It delivers the most power available today, delivering a fast interface and maximum gaming performance. They didn’t skimp on RAM - as much as 6 GB, and user memory - 64 GB. Adreno 540 is used as a graphics accelerator.
Sony Xperia XZ2 test in Antutu
There are no tasks yet in which the smartphone’s performance would be insufficient. Sony Xperia XZ2 easily plays HDR video at 60 fps on YouTube, everything is fine in games - the body practically does not heat up, fps is close to maximum values. The fingerprint scanner works quickly and recognizes the owner without errors.
Sound
The Sony Xperia XZ 2 review makes it clear that the sound is doing great. There is no talk of any dedicated DAC, but despite this, in a wired headset connected using the included adapter, the sound is of ideal quality and purity. If you use proprietary sound improvement software, you can also customize it to your taste. The variety of available sound effects will pleasantly surprise even avid music lovers. The Sony XZ2 has a convenient graphic equalizer, a system for simulating sound in different spaces and other algorithms designed to improve the quality of playback of musical compositions.
The external speaker plays in stereo format, but leaves behind ambiguous impressions. No, it sounds high-quality and clean, but there is no volume reserve at all. Sony Xperia XZ2 2018 review showed that it has a peculiar feature - a vibration response that is synchronized with sound. As a result, when playing music, the case shakes as if you were placing your hand on the subwoofer. This effect gives maximum pleasure when listening to music, but its scope is not limited to this. For example, a smartphone will vibrate when firing a firearm in games. This is somewhat reminiscent of the response of a gamepad when playing .
Interface
The Sony Xperia XZ2 smartphone runs on the current version of Android - 8.0 with Sony's proprietary shell. There are few differences and they are primarily custom. Some standard Android applications have been replaced by proprietary ones, but this is rather a plus, because they are even more convenient to use. What is the world-famous Walkman music player worth, a gallery, many additional settings and improvements. It's a fast and stable shell that's a pleasure to use.
Wireless communications
Sony XZ2 is a real flagship, which has an NFC chip, Wi-Fi 2.4 and 5 GHz with support for MIMO technology, Bluetooth 5th generation and domestic LTE frequencies. Pages in the browser load instantly; modern communication frequencies have never been superfluous. But as the Sony XZ2 Pro review showed, not everything is so good with terrain navigation. When you are in a closed area, it finds few satellites, otherwise everything is fine. A cold start takes about 10 seconds, and reconnection takes no more than 5 seconds.
Sony XZ2 battery life
Autonomy is a strong point of the smartphone, because on average it runs out with 7-8 hours of screen activity. And this despite the fact that proprietary energy saving modes - Stamina and Ultra Stamina - were not used. Throughout the day, you don’t have to limit yourself to anything and don’t worry that your phone will die at the most inopportune moment. And this is an excellent result, because the battery capacity is small - 3180 mAh, which is a merit of good system optimization and the use of an energy-efficient processor.
Sony XZ 2 is capable of playing FullHD video at maximum brightness for 18 hours. This is a more than worthy result, which only the flagship has come close to. But in games everything is not so smooth - in an hour of playing Tanks, 19% of the charge was consumed, which allows us to count on 5 hours of active play.
A full charge from zero to one hundred percent takes 2 hours and 19 minutes. There is fast charging, but as you can see from the test results, it works much worse than its competitors. There is a smart feature that turns off fast charging when it reaches 90% charge. This is necessary so that the Sony XZ2 battery lasts longer.
Sony XZ2 camera review
The flagship uses a 19-megapixel Sony IMX400 main camera, but do not forget that the manufacturer produces cameras itself, so it differs from a similar module supplied to competitors. Its capabilities are complemented by the presence of buffer memory, which opens up the possibility of shooting spectacular slow-mo with 960 frames per second. This makes it possible to examine what is happening in the smallest detail and not lose sight of anything.
Another, no less interesting feature is the ability to shoot 4K video in HDR mode. Often, when shooting videos, the image turns out to be overexposed or, on the contrary, details are hidden in the shadows, but HDR corrects this annoying misunderstanding, capturing more objects in the frame and evening out the color rendition.
For shooting, it is suggested to use manual or intelligent automatic mode. In the first case, you have the opportunity to set the shutter speed at your discretion, change white balance, exposure, ISO settings and manually control focus.
By the way, the main camera may be represented by a single module, but this does not prevent it from creating beautiful bokeh using software algorithms.
The picture quality is pleasantly surprising if you shoot in good lighting. Photos are obtained with excellent detail and natural color reproduction. By the way, there are no problems with color rendering at all, which is due to the presence of a color correction sensor. Thanks to it, you can forget about the need to manually move the slider, trying to select the optimal parameters.
Sony Xperia XZ2 2018 review makes it clear that the situation with the camera is no worse when shooting at night. Yes, as lighting conditions worsen, detail deteriorates, but nevertheless it remains at a decent level. We are pleased with the variety of additional shooting modes. One of them adds AR effects, allowing you to get an original shot against the backdrop of a dinosaur, beautiful fish, and natural landscapes. There are a lot of options, and if you want, you can download new ones from the app store.
The 5 megapixel front camera takes decent photographs, but the result greatly depends on the lighting conditions.
The smartphone can shoot video in 4K, and in HDR mode. The video turns out really great, it stands out with good color rendition and detail. Sony XZ2 is one of the best options for video shooting. It can also record videos in FullHD at 60 fps. There are several options for electronic stabilization, SteadyShot and other proprietary functions that help you get the best results.
Last but not least is the slow motion mode with 960 fps. If in last year’s flagship the function only worked in HD quality, now slow-mo is filmed in FullHD quality, which gives a positive result.
Conclusion
Sony XZ2 turned out to be a very controversial device, offering a wide range of advantages. At the same time, when choosing it, you have to put up with some shortcomings, many of which are related to the fact that the manufacturer is not in a hurry to follow the trends that competitors have long armed themselves with. The flagship is good, but it is still very far from being ideal. The glass case quickly loses its presentable appearance and becomes covered with fingerprints. Not everyone will appreciate the change in design either; you can't argue with just one thing - they finally got rid of the sharp corners, the body has become more comfortable.
The smartphone is distinguished by high build quality, powerful hardware that can handle even the most demanding games, clear and surround sound, as well as advanced capabilities for shooting photos and videos. As is the case with
Sony / Sony is a leading Japanese smartphone manufacturer. At the same time, the company’s successes are far from the successes of Korean brands. For example, in Japan, Sony accounted for 13.7% of the smartphone market share in 2017, second place by a huge margin (47.5%). For comparison, the South Korean market is dominated by the Korean brand (57%), and the share of another Korean brand LG is almost the same as Sony's in Japan - 12.9%. On the global market, the situation is even more unfavorable for Sony. For example, in the first quarter of 2018, Samsung sold 73 million smartphones, LG - 13.5 million, and Sony only 2.2 million. At the same time, no one denies the high quality of Sony products: the company is one of the largest suppliers of photomodules for smartphones in the world market, their products are used even by Samsung.
In Russia, the Sony brand is traditionally popular. According to w3bsit3-dns.com, Sony is in 7th place in Russia in terms of the number of smartphone users, ahead of LG.
For those who want to choose a suitable smartphone from the Sony model catalog, this rating is intended, which presents the best smartphones from the Japanese manufacturer in terms of technical characteristics, price-quality ratio and reviews in Yandex Market as of June 2018.
Sony Xperia L2
The average price in Russia is 13,110 rubles. The Sony model, which went on sale on January 26, 2018, received 67% of five reviews in Yandex Market and 86% of recommendations for purchase. Technical characteristics: 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, Android 7.1 operating system, 32 GB of storage and 3 GB of RAM, support for an external memory card up to 256 GB. Two SIM cards. Battery capacity - 3300 mAh. MediaTek MT6737T quad-core processor. There is a fingerprint scanner.
Main camera 13 MP, front camera 8 MP.
7th place.
Sony Xperia XA2 Dual
The average price in Russia is 23,000 rubles. The smartphone, which went on sale on February 11, 2018, received 48% of five reviews in Yandex Market and 63% of recommendations for purchase. Technical characteristics: 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, Android 8.0 operating system, 32 GB of storage and 3 GB of RAM, support for an external memory card up to 256 GB. Two SIM cards. Battery capacity - 3300 mAh. 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor. There is a fingerprint scanner.
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus Dual 32GB - Sony's most popular smartphone
The average price in Russia is 18,500 rubles. The smartphone, which went on sale in the fall of 2017, received 60% of five reviews in Yandex Market and 75% of recommendations for purchase. According to Yandex Market, this is the most popular Sony model today.Technical characteristics: 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, Android 8.0 operating system, 32 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, support for an external memory card up to 256 GB. Two SIM cards. Battery capacity - 3430 mAh. MediaTek Helio P20 8-core processor. There is a fingerprint scanner.
Main camera 23 MP, front camera 8 MP.
Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
The average price in Russia is 23,500 rubles. The smartphone, which went on sale on February 11, 2018, received 71% of five reviews in Yandex Market and 92% of recommendations for purchase. Technical characteristics: 6-inch screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, Android 8.0 operating system, 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, support for an external memory card up to 256 GB. Two SIM cards. Battery capacity - 3580 mAh. 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor. There is a fingerprint scanner.
The main camera is 23 megapixels, the front camera is dual 16+8 megapixels.
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
The average price in Russia is 35,100 rubles. A smaller version of last year's autumn flagship from Sony scored 77% of fives in reviews in Yandex Market and 83% of recommendations for purchase. This model is one of the three most popular Sony smartphones today.
Technical characteristics: 4.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, Android 8.0 operating system, 32 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, support for an external memory card up to 256 GB. One SIM card. Battery capacity - 2700 mAh. 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. There is a fingerprint scanner.
Main camera 19 MP, front camera 8 MP.
Sony Xperia XZ2
The average price in Russia is 40,000 rubles. Sony's new flagship, which went on sale on April 12, 2018, received 50% of five reviews in Yandex Market and 73% of recommendations for purchase. Technical characteristics: 5.7-inch narrow-frame screen with a resolution of 2160x1080 pixels, Android 8.0 operating system, 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, support for an external memory card up to 400 GB. Two SIM cards. Battery capacity - 3180 mAh. 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. There is a fingerprint scanner.
The smartphone is equipped with a main camera with a 19 megapixel Sony IMX400 sensor and a 5 megapixel front camera. The Motion Eye camera is capable of recording video in 4K HDR format, as well as shooting in Super slow motion mode at 960 frames per second in Full HD resolution.
2nd place.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
The average price is 35,000 rubles. Sony's flagship, which appeared in February 2017, scored 62% of fives in reviews in Yandex Market and 79% of recommendations for purchase. Technical characteristics: 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels, Android 7.0 operating system, 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, support for an external memory card up to 256 GB. 4G LTE support. Two SIM cards. Battery capacity - 3230 mAh. 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. There is a fingerprint scanner. Waterproof housing.
The Xperia XZ Premium is the first smartphone to feature a 4K HDR display, based on the same technology as Sony's Bravia TVs. On this smartphone, 4K HDR content will be incredibly bright, clear and contrasty.
Xperia XZs features the latest 19MP Motion Eye camera, which captures movements in super slow motion (up to 960 fps) that are normally invisible to the human eye. The Motion Eye camera uses revolutionary intelligent capture technology. It detects movement in the frame and begins buffering the image while you get ready to take a photo. If you release the shutter too late, you just need to rewind time a little and select one of the four frames that were taken before pressing the button. Xperia XZs has larger pixel sizes than previous models, allowing it to capture more light and capture more detailed photos. Intelligent exposure adjustment adapts exposure to ambient light levels, so even photos taken at night look sharp and high quality. SteadyShot technology with 5-axis image stabilization allows you to shoot video without shaking.
The 13 MP front camera has a 22 mm wide-angle lens.
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
The average price in Russia is 38,900 rubles. The smaller version of Sony's flagship, which went on sale on April 12, 2018, received 59% of five reviews in Yandex Market and 78% of recommendations for purchase. Technical characteristics: 5-inch screen with a resolution of 2160x1080 pixels, Android 8.0 operating system, 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, support for an external memory card up to 400 GB. Two SIM cards. Battery capacity - 2870 mAh. 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. There is a fingerprint scanner.
The cameras are the same as in the Xperia XZ2: the main camera is 19 megapixels, the front one is 5 megapixels.
As we can see, the Compact version differs from the Xperia XZ2 only in the screen size and battery capacity, but given that the smaller screen consumes less energy, both smartphones will work approximately the same time, so the battery capacity can be ignored. At the same time, the price of the compact version is less, so in terms of price-quality ratio it surpasses the flagship version.
The proud flagship status went to the Sony Xperia XZ1, a new product presented at IFA 2017 in Berlin. Now in Sony’s arsenal there are three flagships with the most top-end characteristics in different weight categories: the large and already familiar Xperia XZ Premium, the standard Xperia XZ1 by current dimensional standards, and the powerful but compact . It’s very interesting to see how the new smartphone differs from its predecessors in the XZ and XZs models, so let’s get started.
Appearance and display
Yes, yes, when we first look at the Sony Xperia XZ1 smartphone, we don’t see anything new, because the general concept of Loop Surface has not gone away. But those cosmetic changes that are still present are quite enough for you to immediately understand when holding a smartphone in your hands that this is something new, although it has a family resemblance to the old one.
The side edges and the back cover are now one whole element made of aluminum, which makes the design even more monolithic. The front part is covered with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 5th generation. There are four body colors available: Black, Moonlight Blue, Warm Silver and Dawn Pink. The dimensions of the smartphone are 148 x 73.4 x 7.4 mm.
The bottom and top edges are no longer flat, but slightly rounded and contain a 3.5-inch headphone jack, microphones and a USB 3.1 Type-C connector. The right side contains a power button with built-in sound controls and fortunately it is in its place - above the power button, which has a built-in embroidery hoop scanner, and at the bottom there is a dedicated shooting key. On the left there is a tray and slots for a nanoSIM card and a microSD flash drive, or you can use two SIM cards. Also on the sides there are barely noticeable rectangular inserts for signal transmission, since the case is metal. One cannot but rejoice at the presence of housing protection according to the IP68 standard, although now the company does not put a strong emphasis on this.
The 5.2-inch screen with Full HD resolution has a wide color gamut thanks to TRILUMINOS technology. The X-Reality image enhancement technology has also been preserved. An innovation is the introduction of HDR technology, which expands the dynamic range of the image, but this requires appropriate video content.
Smartphone camera
As the main camera, the Xperia XZ1 uses the already familiar and well-proven 19 Megapixel module with a Motion Eye module with its own buffer memory module for shooting video at 960 frames per second. Predictive shooting has not gone away, tracking a moving object and starting shooting even before the shutter is released. Next to the lens there is a sensor unit with a laser focusing sensor, an infrared sensor, a flash and an NFC module. Optical stabilization has not appeared - we have a good SteadyShot software stabilizer.
This function can hardly be called chronically necessary, for which you will want to take the Xperia XZ1 for yourself - it’s fun, and that’s all.
The 13 Megapixel front camera with F2.0 aperture is quite an excellent solution for selfies.
Technical specifications
At the head of the hardware is the still most powerful Snapdragon 835 chipset with eight computing cores and Adreno 540 video. Along with this, 4 GB of RAM and a 64 GB UFS memory module are used for data storage. The battery capacity of 2700 mAh is disappointing, because even with super optimization of hardware and software, it is unlikely that it will be possible to obtain a tremendous operating time. Battery technologies include Qnovo and Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging. For music lovers there is a whole range of improvements and two directional stereo speakers.
The good news was the announcement that the new Android 8.0 Oreo was pre-installed out of the box, making the Xperia XZ1 one of the first devices on the market to run the latest version of the operating system.
Specifications of Sony Xperia XZ1:
- Dimensions: 148 x 73 x 7.4 mm, 156 g
- Display: 5.2 inches, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 424 ppi, IPS TRILUMINOS, Dynamic Contrast Enhancer, sRGB 138%, 600 nits, 2.5D glass, Gorilla Glass 5
- Main camera: 19 MP, 1/2.3” sensor, Motion Eye, f/2.0, LED flash, predictive hybrid autofocus, infrared sensor, laser focus, 5-axis Steady Shot stabilization, 960fps recording
- Front camera: 13 MP, Exmor RS sensor 1/3.06″, f/2.0
- Processor: Snapdragon 835, 8 cores, 64 bit, up to 2.45 GHz
- Graphics: Adreno 540
- RAM: 4 GB
- Internal memory: 64 GB UFS
- Memory card: microSD up to 256 GB
- Wireless and wired technologies: GPS and GLONASS, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), dual band, 2×2 MIMO, USB Type-C 3.1, 3.5 mm audio jack, NFC
- Audio: Stereo speakers, LDAC, DSEE HX, High-Resolution Audio, Clear Audio+, S-Force Front Surround
- Waterproof housing IP65/68
- Battery: 2700 mAh, fast charging Quick Charge 3.0, Smart Stamina 3.0, Qnovo
- System version (release): Android 8.0 Oreo
- Network: GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA (band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8), FDD-LTE (band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13 , 17, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30), TDD-LTE, CDMA
conclusions
According to the company's promises, sales of the Sony Xperia XZ1 will begin on September 19, which is quite fast. It is still difficult to say when the model will arrive on domestic markets, as well as to name the cost, which, according to preliminary data, will be about $700.
As we can see, Sony is being conservative and the Xperia XZ1 has not become some kind of breakthrough device. Nevertheless, this is a good smartphone with a set of modern technologies. The Japanese giant successfully pushes its line in terms of design, which frankly infuriates some users, and at the same time delights others - there are definitely no indifferent people when discussing design. 🙂
The Japanese company Sony has enormous influence on the digital electronics market. Smartphones from this manufacturer are distinguished by their signature design and excellent cameras. Today we have compiled a rating that includes the best Sony flagships of 2018-2019.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
- Screen: IPS, 5.46” UltraHD 4K;
- Processor: Snapdragon 835 (2.4 GHz);
- Memory: 4/64 GB;
- Battery: 3230 mAh.
The new look of modern flagships is a widescreen display on the entire front panel, no frames and the elimination of outdated connectors. However, the current situation in the smartphone market is of little concern to Sony; the company stubbornly continues to go its own way. The Japanese design features look rather “barbaric” compared to the iPhone X. For comparison: the Xperia XZ Premium has a 5.46-inch display, while the device body is larger than the Samsung Galaxy S8, LG G6 and even the HTC U11.
In the top model, Sony has implemented several interesting things that other manufacturers are in no hurry to implement. Firstly, the smartphone has a separate key for releasing the camera shutter - an old tradition for all the company's camera phones. Secondly, the fingerprint scanner is built right into the power key on the right side of the device. The Xperia XZ Premium itself has a chrome effect on the rear panel, which turns it into a completely mirror-like surface.
In addition to the glare of the sun, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium also attracts with its 5.46-inch display with 4K resolution. While in the Galaxy S8 we saw only QuadHD+, here we have reached a completely different level. The color rendering quality, viewing angles, picture richness – everything is excellent. There is support for playing HDR10 content. The new flagship is generally very good for watching movies in 4K, especially with stereo speakers. Actually, for the sake of these same stereo speakers, the Japanese had to significantly increase the areas above and below the device’s screen.
In the AnTuTu benchmark, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium is quite a bit behind the Galaxy S8, but the gap of 15 thousand points will not be noticeable at all in practice. The smartphone's performance is sufficient even for the most demanding games from the Play Store. True, the flagship will not work for long when playing at 4K resolution - in just 4 hours of very active use, the Xperia XZ Premium battery is completely discharged. This problem is solved by automatically switching to FullHD resolution, which is available in the device settings.
The gadget received only one flagship 19-megapixel camera with a proprietary IMX400 photosensor. A key feature of the camera is the ability to shoot slow motion in HD quality at 960 frames per second. True, a segment of Slow-mo video cannot be selected after shooting; it must be “caught” right during the process. Considering it's only two tenths of a second, it's quite difficult to get the slow motion videos you need. The maximum resolution for video shooting is 4K.
Conclusion:SonyXperiaXZPremium – bulky, angular, bright and memorable. If you like the form factor of modern smartphones, this model is definitely not for you.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Sony Xperia XZ1
- Screen: IPS, 5.2” FullHD;
- Memory: 4/64 GB;
- Camera: main – 19 MP, front – 13 MP;
- Battery: 2700 mAh.
After the summer release of the Xperia XZ Premium, the ranks of top-end phones from Sony were replenished with another model - the Xperia XZ1. The device received a display with a smaller diagonal, an all-metal body and the same productive platform. When sales started in the fall, the Xperia XZ1 also cost about $200 less than the main flagship. In general, the company is positioning this device as a cross between flagships and mid-priced devices.
Unlike the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, the smartphone is not as bulky and bright, and there is no chrome coating on the back panel. There are three body color options available for sale – black, silver and blue. There is an IP68 waterproof standard; the gadget can be safely submerged under water to a depth of one meter. From the flagship Xperia XZ1 also inherited stereo speakers located above and below the display.
The screen itself has a FullHD resolution with a diagonal of 5.2 inches, and a pixel density of 424 units per inch. Against the background of the rectangular shape of the device, this format looks best, since the display in the XZ Premium was still too large. The only drawback of the screen is a slight color distortion towards warm colors at maximum viewing angles.
By the way, the Xperia XZ1 out of the box runs the Android 8.0 operating system with minor cosmetic additions from Sony. The core of the device is the current top-end processor Snapdragon 835 and the Adreno 540 graphics accelerator. According to the results of synthetic tests, the Xperia XZ1 lags quite a bit (8 thousand points in AnTuTu) behind the flagship Xperia XZ Premium. But the lag in autonomy is already more noticeable; towards the evening there is practically nothing left of the charge of the thin 2700 mAh battery.
Conclusion: Sony Xperia XZ1 is a slightly improved version of the company's flagship. Yes, the smartphone has a lower display resolution, but it itself is almost $250 cheaper than a top-end phoneSony.
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
- Screen: IPS, 4.6” HD;
- Processor: Snapdragon 835 (2.35 GHz);
- Memory: 4/32 GB;
- Camera: main – 19 MP, front – 8 MP;
- Battery: 2700 mAh.
The body size and display diagonal of phones have been increasing for several years now; what was once considered a phablet can now be called a compact smartphone. But what if you don't like big screens and bulky cases? The answer to this question was found in Sony; the Japanese tried to make one of the most compact flagships with the maximum possible functionality.
The Xperia XZ1 Compact is practically no different from the Xperia XZ1 in appearance; the manufacturer's proprietary proportions (sharp corners, large frames) are fully respected here. The only difference between the two devices is a significant reduction in the size of the case. If the Xperia XZ1 sometimes needed to be grabbed with a second hand, then the Xperia XZ1 Compact is quite comfortable to operate with one palm on the go.
Of course, for the sake of compactness, we had to sacrifice a very important parameter - the diagonal of the display. The Xperia XZ1 Compact screen has a diagonal of 4.6 inches with HD resolution. Don’t be upset about the last point, 1280×720 pixels look very attractive in such a small area; in terms of pixel density, Sony’s flagship is only slightly behind the iPhone 7. However, for the standard Android 8.0 interface such a diagonal is still not enough; the icons on the screen look very small.
In terms of performance, the Xperia XZ1 Compact is not much inferior to the flagship Xperia XZ Premium. The device is equipped with the same processor and graphics accelerator, and has the same amount of RAM. True, its internal storage is already half the size, but it can be easily expanded using microSD cards.
The main 19-megapixel camera has a Motion Eye sensor, which opens up a whole range of new smartphone capabilities. Firstly, it can shoot Slow-mo HD video at 960 frames per second. Secondly, the sensor automatically captures moving objects in the frame and automatically captures them before you even press the camera's shutter button. Thirdly, Motion Eye can make 3D models of faces and objects; to scan an object, you just need to circle your smartphone around it several times. The created model can be edited and printed on a 3D printer.
Conclusion:XperiaXZ1Compact is a real gift for lovers of compact gadgets. The device is very convenient and is almost in no way inferior to the company’s other flagships.
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
What will Sony Xperia look like in 2018-2019?
The Xperia line has always been distinguished by its angular shapes and commitment to tradition. It looks like a completely updated Sony flagship with a widescreen frameless display awaits us in the new year. The first renderings of the proposed model have already appeared on the Internet.
Presumably, the new product will be presented at the Mobile World Congress 2018.
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At first it seemed that someone was joking, but no: on July 30, Sony is actually launching a smartphone on the market for 999 euros. In Russia, this amount was converted into 80 thousand rubles - that’s how much the 64 GB iPhone X cost at the start. But those days are long gone, and now even the top-end (256 GB) version of the tenth iPhone is easy to find for 73–75 thousand. You don’t even have to remember about Galaxy - they sell for 40–50 thousand. The flagship Huawei with three cameras is in the same segment. OnePlus, Xiaomi, Meizu - all their flagships sell for 35–40 thousand.
And Sony went and demanded an insane thousand euros for the Xperia XZ2 Premium. True, in the kit the first buyers will be given a wireless headset for 20 thousand, a certificate for mobile photography courses and an extended warranty (glass replacement is free), but few people care about these nuances.
More importantly, the Xperia XZ2 Premium officially costs a lot of money. Considering the disposition in which Sony is in today's smartphone market (everything is bad), this release looks like a whim and stupidity.
But is it really that bad?
Premium - thick and dreary
The main complaint of journalists about the new flagship is its size and mediocrity. For example, the authors of PhoneArena released a mocking material, comparing the weight of the Xperia XZ2 Premium with other devices. It turned out that the 236-gram Japanese device is heavier than all other smartphones - both the iPhone 8 Plus and the Galaxy S8 Active, specially hidden in a bulky, ultra-protected case, were left behind.
Photo: © Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
This is, of course, strange. In an era when manufacturers are striving for record-thin gadgets, Sony presented a natural cobblestone that weighs as much as a small tablet. Carrying such a monster in your pocket is problematic, but the worst thing is that there is no point in it - there are simply no incentives for such self-sacrifice.
The Xperia XZ2 Premium has the usual 5.8-inch screen, fairly wide frames, a Snapdragon 845 processor, a 3500 mAh battery and a dual camera - in a word, the classic set of Android flagships.
There are no features at all like a triple front camera, an endless battery (5000 mAh - just for such a case) or even a stylus (as in the Galaxy Note). So, unfortunately, Sony really showed a very boring, albeit powerful gadget.
Who will buy it?
The whole point of the Xperia XZ2 Premium is that it is not designed for the mass buyer. There are so few copies that they are numbered. Therefore, it would be much simpler and more logical if Sony positioned the device as a Limited Edition. Then all the questions would immediately disappear - in LE you can encrust a couple of diamonds and sell them for at least 100 thousand dollars, no one will complain.
Photo: © Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
And with the current name, the Xperia XZ2 Premium is perceived as an overly expensive flagship from the regular lineup - in short, the Japanese really screwed up in naming. For them, this is generally a typical disease: at a time when other brands write the shortest and most memorable names, Asians create terrible designs like XZ2 or XA2 Ultra.
So: the 80,000th gadget is formally intended for bloggers, journalists and photographers - thanks to the camera, which seems to take high-quality photos and videos even in poor lighting conditions. But in fact, only orthodox Sony fans will buy an expensive smartphone. There are now no more of them than XZ2 Premium copies, so the Japanese are great - they competently satisfied their fan base.
What features will definitely appeal to future owners of this model?
1. Luxurious 4K display. The practical meaning of this resolution is zero point, zero tenths, but the picture is really juicy and clear. In addition, this is a Sony exclusive, because other large companies have long stopped increasing pixel density.
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