Sony dropped two new phones at IFA 2016, a new compact model, the Xperia X Compact, and its second half-of-the-year flagship, the oddly-named Xperia XZ. To give you a little perspective, the Xperia XZ is arguably the phone many of us wanted the X Performance to be at the start of the year, with several key additions lacking in the 6-month old X Performance (like 4K video) along with an interesting new take on Sony's design language. This Xperia XZ hands on covers our first impressions while outlining the major changes in Sony's latest flagship.
Both new Xperia phones follow Sony's new "Loop Surface" design, with flat ends on the top and bottom, and curved edges along the sides which lend it a kind of exoskeleton-and-panel feel. While the Xperia XZ will still look fairly familiar to long-time Sony fans, it's nice to see at least a little change on this front.
The way the frame creates "caps" at the top and bottom of the device, combined with 2.5D glass should be sufficiently different to satisfy even the most jaded Sony design hater. On the back, a re-shaped camera sensor array, large camera lens and frame around the edges further emphasis how adventurous Sony has been with this new design, even if there's still some fat bezel action going on.
Overall, the Xperia XZ feels really nice in the hand, with no sharp edges, and is a very comfortable size at 5.2 inches.
Sony's Xperia UI is now even more minimalistic than ever before with sections like the Quick Settings area looking exactly like Android Lollipop. There are still custom icons and a theme engine to give it some Sony flavor, but other parts of the UI are stock and straightforward, a feature we're enjoying seeing on more and more devices.
Google Now lives on the left of the home screen, there's a one-finger swipe gesture to launch an app search and you can knock-knock to put the Xperia XZ to sleep. It's scheduled to get Nougat in the Spring next year, which should add even more stock Android elements to an already refined UI. Take a look at Sony's Marshmallow Concept to see the kinds of things Sony has been up to.
The Xperia XZ specs are pretty familiar too, with a 5.2-inch Full HS Triluminos IPS LCD display, Snapdragon 820 SoC, 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB ROM (on the single-SIM version and 64 GB of storage on the dual-SIM version), microSD expansion, IP65/68 certification, fingerprint scanner (but not in the U.S.), NFC, 3.5mm headphone jack, Cat 9 LTE, Bluetooth 4.2 and a 2,900 mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 3.0, Qnovo Adaptive Charging and comes with USB Type-C.
On the camera front, the Xperia XZ packs a 23 MP primary camera with a 13 MP front-facing camera. But while practically all of these specs are the same as the Xperia X performance from the first quarter of Q1, there is quite a lot of new stuff going on. For instance, the camera adds 5-axis stabilization, triple image sensing technology and the ability to capture 4K video.
All told, the Xperia XZ adds enough new features, including a new design, additional camera features and an even more refined UI that make it feel like a breath of fresh air from Sony. With Sony Mobile's recent financial trouble and deadline for the end of the year to turn things around, the Xperia XZ might get the company moving in the right direction. Just as long as the price tag isn't horribly over-priced Xperia X Performance.
Sony Xperia XZ specs
| Sony Xperia XZ | |
|---|---|
| Display | 5.2" Full HD Triluminos IPS LCD |
| Processor | Octa-core, 64-bit Snapdragon 820 |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Storage | 32 GB (single SIM), 64 GB (dual-SIM) + microSD |
| Dimensions | 146 x 72 x 8.1 mm |
| Weight | 161g |
| IP rating | IP65/IP68 |
| Main camera | 23 MP with triple image sensing, predictive hybrid autofocus, 5-axis stabilization |
| Front camera | 13 MP |
| Battery | 2,900 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0, Qnovo Adaptive Charging, USB Type-C |
| Fingerprint sensor | Yes |
| Networks | GSM GPRS/EDGE (2G), UMTS HSPA+ (3G), Cat. 9 LTE |
| Connectivity | A-GNSS (GPS + GLONASS), Wi-Fi Miracast, Bluetooth 4.2 |
The Sony Xperia XZ release date is scheduled for October 23, but will vary according to local markets. We still don't have an official Sony Xperia XZ price but one should be arriving in the next couple of weeks. Think the Xperia XZ is a better offering than the X Performance? What's the best new feature?
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