How powerful is Sony Xperia XZ Premium? First look

What’s in a name? You must have heard this saying. But there is a lot in the name of Sony’s latest smartphone Xperia XZ Premium. Especially the ‘premium’. That’s why the features are flagship level. First 4K HDR display in a smartphone. Ability to record slow motion videos at 960 frames per second. First Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor handset for the Indian market. And reflective ‘loop surface’ design equipped with 2.5D curved glass. All these features justify the name of the handset and to some extent the price. Sony Xperia XZ Premium, launched in India on Thursday, will be available to general consumers from June 12 for Rs 59,990. The handset has also been made available for pre-order on Amazon.in. After the launch event, Gadgets 360 got a chance to spend time with Sony’s latest flagship smartphone. How did we like this handset at first glance? Let us tell you.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium design

Let’s start with the design of Sony Xperia XZ Premium. The front panel will remind you of the old phones of Sony’s Xperia series. There is a ‘glass loop surface’ above the screen. The company has used 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass 5. But what gives it a different identity is the back part which is very reflective. In any kind of light, the rear panel gives the feeling of being a mirror. Overall, the smartphone will now also be useful for dressing yourself. By the way, seriously, at first glance, we found the Luminous chrome color variant of this Sony phone to be more reflective than necessary. However, some people may find the look completely premium. One thing is certain that if this phone is in your hands, then everyone’s eyes will definitely go to the handset once.

The phone was slipping very easily in the hands. Apart from this, fingerprints also leave a mark, which means you have no choice but to be cautious and clean it frequently. A back cover may help. But it will hide the look of the phone.

The phone has a fingerprint sensor which is placed in the middle on the right edge where we usually have the power or volume rocker. And this is also the power button. There is nothing new in the setup. We have already seen this setup in handsets like Sony Xperia Z5 and Sony Xperia XZ. In the limited time we spent with the smartphone, we found that the fingerprint sensor worked fast. It was also easy to reach due to its position. Right above it are the volume buttons. There is a 3.5mm jack on the top and a USB Type-C port at the bottom. There is a dedicated button for capturing photos on the right edge. There is a SIM and microSD card slot on the left edge.

With a thickness of 7.9 mm, this phone fits in the hand, but feels a little heavy (191 grams). Due to its weight, it will not be easy for you to keep it in your hands all the time. However, we would like to talk about the convenience and problems only after using it for a long time. For this, you will have to wait for the review of the handset.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium display

At the launch event, the company talked a lot about the display of the handset. Like the Xperia Z5 Premium, the Xperia XZ Premium also has a 5.5-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels. This kind of resolution is not usually seen in handsets. The company says that it has incorporated the 4K HDR technology of Sony Bravia television into a small screen. You will not be surprised when you look at the screen at first glance. Because usually the content is of full-HD resolution. But as you browse the photo gallery or the pictures taken from the camera, the effect of 4K HDR technology will start showing. How powerful the 4K content looks on the screen, we will be able to know only through the review. But the screen is very diverse in terms of colors. The brightness is appropriate, there will be no problem in reading in daylight. It will prove to be your reliable companion for media entertainment.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium camera

After the display, it is the turn of Sony Xperia XZ Premium’s Motion Eye camera in the list of important features. The 19-megapixel sensor provided by Sony is capable of recording slow motion videos at 960 frames per second. Yes, four times slower than the 240 fps capable smartphone cameras available in the market. For this, the company has used a three-layer CMOS sensor. In the limited time we spent with the smartphone, we recorded some slow motion videos. The output impressed us. However, we will leave the final decision for the review. There is a toggle to activate the slow motion mode inside the camera app. You will have two options. If you want, you can record the entire video in slow motion. Or you can activate slow-motion capture as per your wish in between any normal video. The camera app is very simple and easy to use. It has modes like manual, superior auto, panorama and 4K video. The sensor of the front camera is 13 megapixels which will be enough for selfies and video chatting.

This is the first phone to be launched in India with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. Due to the latest processor, there was no problem in any activity on it. The app responded quickly. There was also no problem in switching between them. The processor is paired with 4 GB RAM. We do not think there should be any problem in normal use. However, the real performance can be estimated only after the benchmark results. The inbuilt storage is 64 GB which is enough for the average user. But if there is a need for more, there is also support for microSD card up to 256 GB.

The dual SIM (Nano SIM) Xperia Xperia XZ Premium will run on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. It is equipped with 4G VoLTE. It also has high-res audio support. The battery is 3230 mAh which supports quick charging. There is also a stamina mode to monitor battery consumption. But there is still some doubt about the battery capacity considering the screen size and its resolution. Which may be cleared during the battery life test in the review. The company is also providing a quick charger with the phone. It is claimed to charge the battery 60 percent in 45 minutes. Common Sony features like Smart Actions, dust and water resistance are also a part of this handset.

Our thoughts

This Sony phone has premium in its name itself, so the challenge is also from handsets like iPhone 7 Plus, LG G6, Google Pixel XL and Samsung Galaxy S8+ available in the market. At least in terms of price, Sony Xperia XZ Premium has presented its claim. In the coming time, it will also face challenge from handsets like OnePlus 5 and Xiaomi Mi 6 in the Indian market, which will be available at a much cheaper price than this. And these are also equipped with Snapdragon 835 processor. Now the question is whether this is really a powerful handset. Will spending so much money be a profitable deal? At first glance, we will say that it looks different and is also stylish. The camera and display strengthen its claim. Giving any decision on the performance will be right only after the review. In such a situation, we will ask you to wait for a few days. But if you want, you can take advantage of some attractive offers being given by the company by pre-order booking.

Please note that Sony India has borne the expenses of our correspondent for the launch event.