For example, in the Indian market the most competition is seen in the range of Rs 15,000 and Rs 30,000. Sony has not recently launched any product in this price range. In the expensive price range, companies like Xiaomi and OnePlus are presenting their claim strongly. These companies have been claiming that they are selling excellent products with powerful specifications at half the price of expensive brands. Companies like HTC and Sony have also suffered losses due to the performance of phones like OnePlus 3 and Xiaomi Mi 5 matching the claims. Sony has already made it clear that it is not going to launch any product in the budget segment. In such a situation, it is clear that Xperia XZ has a big responsibility to leave its mark in the premium segment. The phone was launched in India only last month for Rs 49,990. Does the first phone in Sony’s new Let’s find out through the review.
Sony Xperia XZ design and display
At first glance there doesn’t seem to be anything unique about the Sony Xperia XZ. The design matches today’s smartphones quite well. Gorilla Glass 4 protection is available on the front panel. There is nothing much on this panel except a 5.2-inch full-HD display. There is a Sony logo above the display. An earpiece that also acts as a speaker while videos and music are playing. And a speaker below the display which together with the speakers above gives a stereo-like experience.
Next to the Sony logo are a variety of sensors and on the left side is a front camera. The rear is made of a custom alloy Alkaliado designed by Sony. Xperia branding is present in the middle of the rear part. There is a primary mic along with a USB Type-C port at the bottom. The 3.5 mm headphone jack has got a place at the top.
There is a power button on the right side which has a fingerprint scanner. Along with this, a volume rocker and a camera button are present. In recent times, this setup has been seen in Sony phones. There is a SIM tray at the top left. These are hybrid SIM slots in which it is possible to use Nano SIM cards. The good thing is that Sony has removed the tray ejecting mechanism. Now you will be able to remove it through a small technique. And it also remains in place during use.
Due to the metal back, Xperia XZ feels smooth. It does not slip from the hands. It can be said that this has proved to be one of the best hand-feeling phones in recent times. Let us tell you that when we received the unit of Xperia XZ for review, the Space Black iPhone 7 also arrived around the same time. When it comes to hand feel, we’ve always found Sony’s phones to be better.
Contrary to Sony’s claims, the edges are more straight than curved. And these sometimes look awkward, especially when holding the phone in a particular position.
With a weight of 161 grams and a thickness of 8.1 mm, the Sony Xperia But it doesn’t feel too big. It is available in Blue, Platinum and Mineral Black color variants.
The Xperia XZ features a 5.2-inch full-HD display, the same size and resolution as the Xperia Z5. We believe that 1080 pixel resolution is sufficient for a screen of this size. We have no complaints with the Xperia XZ in this department.
We had no problem seeing in outside light. You will be able to control the display by going to default settings. The Xperia
Sony Xperia XZ specifications, software and performance
The Xperia XZ is the first flagship phone in Sony’s new X series. Its specifications are similar to the old generation Xperia Z5. Both have the same display size and resolution. It has 3 GB RAM. You will be able to use microSD card up to 200 GB. The sensor of the rear camera is 23 megapixels.
There are some differences also. The storage has been increased to 64 GB. The sensor of the front camera is 13 megapixels. Remember that Xperia Z5 has a 5 megapixel front camera. Snapdragon 820 processor has been made a part of the handset. Both SIM slots support 4G and VoLTE. We used Reliance Jio SIM with Xperia XZ. We did not face any problem. Call quality was good on most networks.
In daily use, we have no complaints with the Sony Xperia XZ. The phone works without any interruption. Switching between apps is very easy. The fingerprint scanner also works very fast. We liked the position of the fingerprint sensor in it. Because it was very easy to unlock the phone by holding it in your right hand, if you stored the thumb as identification.
During the recording we became aware of the lack of phones. We could only record 3 minutes of video in 4K resolution as the camera app closed automatically due to the phone overheating. Performance was slightly better at full-HD resolution, but the app shut down automatically after 15 minutes of recording. The Xperia XZ, on the other hand, handled games with more powerful graphics with ease. We did not even complain about the phone getting too hot.
This phone gave solid performance in benchmark tests. The same can be said about the graphics test. But in browser-based tests, its performance was a bit weak compared to other flagship phones.
One annoying thing about the Sony Xperia XZ is that the phone restarts automatically when the SIM/MicroSD tray is taken out. Most Android smartphone manufacturing companies have removed this shortcoming. But this flaw in 2016’s flagship phones is disappointing. However, common users rarely change SIM cards. Therefore they should not face any problems.
Sony Xperia XZ runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with the company’s own user interface on top. Apart from the new features of Android 6.0, there is not much new in Xperia Z5. Like before, you can bring up the search box by swiping down. After this it becomes easy to switch between different applications. The Xperia XZ also shows you suggested apps, which is a mix of your recently used and frequently used apps. There is also an option to close all in the app switcher.
Many apps like Facebook, AVG Protection, SwiftKey, Modern Combat 5, Asphalt Nitro are pre-installed in Xperia XZ.
Like the Sony Xperia Z5, the Xperia XZ also supports multiple profiles. However, we wish we could use different fingerprints for a specific profile.
Stereo speakers are present but they do not produce as much sound as the Xperia Z5. Overall the speakers turned out to be weaker than expected. Like other Sony phones, it also comes with IP68 certification, which means it is less likely to be damaged by dust and water.
Sony Xperia XZ camera and battery life
Sony has highlighted the camera of the Xperia XZ as its main feature. To give strength to this claim, Sony has also given many features. The rear camera has three different sensors – the CMOS sensor frame can track and predict the movement of any object, reducing the chances of the shot getting blurred. With the help of laser autofocus sensor, it focuses better on any object, especially in low light. The goal of the RGBC-IR sensor is to provide accurate color reproduction.
It has a 6 element Sony G lens which is equipped with F/2.0 aperture and five-axis stabilization for video.
The camera app is the same as before. We have already come across this with other Sony phones. You will also get manual control of focus and shutter speed. This means that the problems we encountered with Sony phones still exist. HDR mode can be very difficult to find. The 4K and panorama options are hidden in a corner of the camera apps. And it takes a lot of time to save the photos in storage.
Sony Xperia XZ has a 23 megapixel sensor. In default mode it can take 8 megapixel photos. Which can be easily changed by going to the camera app. Video recording resolution goes up to 4K. As far as actual image quality is concerned, pictures taken outside in natural light turned out to be excellent. Talking about details, these photos were capable of challenging the photos taken with the best camera phones.
The pictures taken at night came out fine. But they lacked details. We managed to take good shots even in low light. Overall the performance will be called ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’.
The 13-megapixel front camera has a wide-angle lens. You will love taking selfies with this. The video stabilization feature works well to eliminate the problem of hand shake while recording video.
Talking about battery life, Sony Xperia XZ lasted for 10 hours 21 minutes in video loop test. This is slightly less than the battery performance of the Xperia Z5. In normal use it lasts for a day. With the help of Sony’s Stamina and Ultra Stamina modes, you will be able to increase the life of the 2900 mAh battery.
Sony Xperia XZ comes with adaptive charging. It has been claimed to double the battery life. However, its performance will be revealed only after using the phone for a long time.
Xperia XZ supports fast charging. Sony claims that you can get up to 5.5 hours of talk time with just 10 minutes of charging. Sadly, we couldn’t test this feature as our review unit didn’t come with a quick charger.
our decision
After reading the review, you must have guessed by now that there are very few shortcomings in it. This is a good looking phone which is made from premium material. The display is good. And performs all tasks easily. The pictures don’t disappoint and you won’t have to compromise on battery life either. But given the changes that have taken place in the world of smartphone technology in the last two years, it will not be easy for us to suggest you spend Rs 49,990 on this phone.
To make a strong case at this price, the Sony Xperia XZ needed to have a feature that would take it far ahead of its rivals. Sadly, there is nothing like this in this Sony phone. Sony wants to create this perception among the customers regarding the camera. But after the review, we would definitely say that the camera of Xperia XZ is capable but not the best.
There is much more to a smartphone than just its specifications. In such a situation, it will not be easy to convince someone to buy Sony Xperia We also believe that Sony products are more reliable than the products of these Chinese companies. But the price cannot be justified.
If you buy the Sony Xperia XZ, you may be a little disappointed if you don’t shoot a lot of video. For most people, the flagships of OnePlus and Xiaomi will prove to be a better option. This phone is not perfect, but it is a lot of improvement compared to the previous generation device. If you have Rs 50,000 to spend, consider the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge. And some money will also be saved.