For example, the most competition is seen in the range of Rs 15,000 and Rs 30,000 in the Indian market. Sony has not launched any product in this price range recently. In the higher price range, companies like Xiaomi and OnePlus are making a strong claim. 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 not 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 make its mark in the premium segment. The phone was launched in India only last month for Rs 49,990. Does the first phone of Sony’s new X series have anything to justify its price? Let’s find out through the review.
Sony Xperia XZ design and display
At first glance, there is nothing unique about the Sony Xperia XZ. The design is quite similar to today’s smartphones. The front panel has Gorilla Glass 4 protection. There is nothing much on this panel except the 5.2-inch full-HD display. There is a Sony logo above the display. An earpiece that also works as a speaker when playing videos and music. And a speaker below the display that combines with the upper speaker to give a stereo experience.
There are various sensors next to the Sony logo and a front camera on the left. The back is made of Alkaloid, a custom alloy designed by Sony. The Xperia branding is present in the middle of the rear. The primary mic is present at the bottom along with the USB Type-C port. The 3.5mm headphone jack is placed on the top.
On the right side is the power button which has a fingerprint scanner. Along with it, there is a volume rocker and a camera button. This is the setup seen in Sony phones in recent times. On the left side is the SIM tray at the top. This is a hybrid SIM slot 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 using a small technique. And it also stays in its place during use.
The metal back makes the Xperia XZ feel smooth. It does not slip from the hands. It can be said that this is the best hand feeling phone in recent times. Let us tell you that when we got the Xperia XZ unit for review, the Space Black iPhone 7 also arrived around the same time. When it comes to hand feel, we have always found Sony phones to be better.
Contrary to Sony’s claims, the edges are more straight than curved. And they sometimes feel awkward, especially when holding the phone in certain positions.
Weighing 161 grams and measuring 8.1 mm thick, the Sony Xperia XZ is on the heavier side and thicker. But it doesn’t feel too bulky. It is available in Blue, Platinum and Mineral Black colour variants.
The Xperia XZ sports a 5.2-inch full-HD display that is the same size and resolution as the Xperia Z5. We believe that 1080p resolution is more than enough for a screen of this size. We have no complaints with the Xperia XZ in this department.
We had no problem viewing in outdoor light. You can control the display by going into the default settings. The Xperia XZ has a glove mode which you can switch on to work on the touchscreen even with gloves on.
Sony Xperia XZ specifications, software and performance
Xperia XZ is the first flagship phone of Sony’s new X series. Its specifications are similar to the older generation Xperia Z5. Both have the same display size and resolution. It has 3 GB RAM. You will be able to use a microSD card up to 200 GB. The rear camera sensor is 23 megapixels.
There are some differences too. The storage has been increased to 64 GB. The front camera sensor is 13 megapixels. Remember that the Xperia Z5 has a 5 megapixel front camera. The 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. The call quality was good on most networks.
In our daily use, we have no complaints with the Sony Xperia XZ. The phone runs smoothly and switching between apps is very easy. The fingerprint scanner is also very fast. We liked the position of the fingerprint sensor as it was very easy to unlock the phone by holding it in the right hand, if you have stored thumb as the identification.
We found out about the phone’s shortcomings during recording. We were only able to record up to 3 minutes of video in 4K resolution, as the camera app closed automatically due to the phone getting heated up. Performance was slightly better in full-HD resolution, but the app closed automatically after 15 minutes of recording. On the other hand, the Xperia XZ handled games with more powerful graphics with ease. We also did not complain of the phone getting too hot.
This phone gave a solid performance in benchmark tests. The same can be said about graphics tests. But in browser-based tests, its performance was a bit weaker than other flagship phones.
Another annoying thing about the Sony Xperia XZ is that the phone automatically restarts when you remove the SIM/microSD tray. Most Android smartphone manufacturers have fixed this issue. But this issue is disappointing in a 2016 flagship phone. However, the average user rarely changes SIM cards frequently. So they shouldn’t face any problem.
Sony Xperia XZ runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with the company’s own UI on top. Apart from the new features of Android 6.0, there is not much new in Xperia Z5. Like before, you can swipe down to bring up the search box. After this, switching between different applications becomes easy. Xperia XZ also shows you suggested apps which is a mix of your recently used and frequently used apps. There is also a close all option in the app switcher.
The Xperia XZ comes pre-installed with several apps like Facebook, AVG Protection, SwiftKey, Modern Combat 5, Asphalt Nitro, etc.
Like the Sony Xperia Z5, the Xperia XZ also supports multiple profiles. However, we wish we could use different fingerprints for a particular 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, this one 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 touted the camera as the main highlight of the Xperia XZ. To back up this claim, Sony has provided a number of features. The rear camera has three different sensors – The CMOS sensor frame can track and predict the movement of any object, which reduces the chances of blurred shots. The laser autofocus sensor helps focus better on any object, especially in low light. The RGBC-IR sensor aims to provide accurate color reproduction.
It features a six-element Sony G lens with f/2.0 aperture and five-axis stabilization for video.
The camera app is the same as what we’ve seen with other Sony phones before. You also get manual control of focus and shutter speed. This means that the issues we’ve encountered with Sony phones are still there. The HDR mode can be tricky to find. The 4K and panorama options are hidden in a corner of the camera app. And it takes a long time for photos to be saved to storage.
The Sony Xperia XZ has a 23-megapixel sensor. In the default mode, it can take 8-megapixel photos. This can be easily changed in the camera app. The video recording resolution goes up to 4K. As far as the actual image quality is concerned, the photos taken outdoors in natural light were excellent. In terms of detail, these photos were able to challenge the photos taken with the best camera phones.
Photos taken at night were decent. But they lacked details. We managed to take good shots even in low light. Overall the performance can be termed as ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’.
The 13-megapixel front camera has a wide-angle lens. You will love taking selfies with it. The video stabilization feature works well to eliminate the problem of hand shake while recording videos.
Talking about battery life, Sony Xperia XZ lasted for 10 hours and 21 minutes in the video loop test. This is slightly less than the battery performance of Xperia Z5. In normal use, it lasts for a day. With the help of Sony’s Stamina and Ultra Stamina mode, you will be able to extend the life of the 2900 mAh battery.
Sony Xperia XZ comes with adaptive charging. It is claimed to double the battery life. However, its performance will be revealed only after using the phone for a long time.
The 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 have a quick charger.
Our verdict
By now, you must have guessed that there are very few shortcomings in this phone after reading the review. It is a good looking phone, made of premium materials. The display is good. And it performs all tasks with ease. The pictures do not disappoint and there is no need to compromise on battery life. But with the kind of 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 be a strong contender at this price point, the Sony Xperia XZ needed some features that would take it way ahead of its rivals. Unfortunately, this Sony phone doesn’t have any of those features. This is the concept Sony wants to create among customers regarding the camera. But after the review, we would definitely say that the camera of the Xperia XZ is competent but not the best.
There is more to a smartphone than just specifications. So, it will not be easy to convince someone to buy Sony Xperia XZ when there are options like OnePlus 3 and Xiaomi Mi 5 which are available at half the price of this phone. We also believe that Sony products are more reliable than the products of these Chinese companies. But the price cannot be justified.
You will be a little disappointed if you buy the Sony Xperia XZ unless you shoot a lot of video. For most people, flagships from OnePlus and Xiaomi will be a better choice. These phones aren’t perfect, but they are a huge improvement over the previous generation devices. If you have Rs 50,000 to spend, consider the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge. And you’ll save some money too.
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