Sony Xperia XZ

Sony inserts a few differences in Xperia XZ that makes it stand out in the flagship market. Priced at Rs. 40,990, this phone has the potential to be a great hit among Sony fans.

One of the best features of the Sony Xperia XZ is the PS4 Remote Play. It will offer a great gaming experience for PS4 owners. Plus, it carries enough spunk in its processor. However, Sony’s shortcoming stays the same with its weak battery and average display. It can be an excellent phone for the gamer inside you, but it is not meant for long-lasting use.

The Sony Xperia XZ comes with a new type of metal which Sony calls ALKELEIDO, though it does not feel any different than a regular phone. However, the phone does feel a bit premium – certainly better than the glass used in the Xperia Z lineup. However, the new metal is a fingerprint magnet.

The boxy design, Sony’s signature style, remains. It retains the slightly rounded edges so that it doesn’t dig in the palm. Plus, it keeps the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is quite a positive addition for headphone nostalgics. It also comes with the new USB Type-C charger. The fingerprint scanner is on the side and is in quite a secure location.

The phone is IP68 rated dust and water resistant. Otherwise, the phone does not bring anything new except its minimalistic design.

Display
The Sony Xperia XZ comes with a 5.2-inch screen and is a bit larger for small hands. Hence, it can be a bit difficult to manage. The screen is quite bright, offering about 424 pixels per inch, which is satisfactory but not good enough for VR experiences. It has a FullHD resolution which isn’t 2K.

The screen at 5 inches is quite small and hence does not offer an immersive experience. However, on the plus side, the XZ comes with PS4 Remote Play, so get your gamer genes tingling! Outside, the phone has moderate legibility and is not recommended in harsh sunlight.

The Sony Xperia XZ comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset. It is one of the best processors present in the market and paired with 3GB RAM, it works wonders. Gaming performance is quite brilliant, and the phone can handle most games thrown at it from Pokemon Go to Real Racing 3.

Plus, there is the benefit of PS4 Remote Play. It is one of the few phones that has this feature. App switching is quite smooth and does not make the phone enter slowdown mode.

The Sony Xperia XZ has a whopping 23MP rear camera with LED flash and an f/2.0 aperture, along with predictive hybrid autofocus and laser autofocus. These features allow you to take beautiful shots with minimal blur. The autofocus is quite snappy and does not pose a problem. In ideal light situations, the photos come out sharp, though the colors may appear a bit washed out.

In low-light, this blurring of color heightens resulting in a lot of visual noise getting captured.

In the front, the phone sports an excellent 13MP camera. The sensor is fantastic and allows one to click quality selfies which can challenge the quality of Chinese phones. Plus, it comes with a ‘wave to capture’ mode which will enable you to capture images by keeping it on the wall and stepping the frame without clicking a button.

Xperia XZ comes with 2900 mAh battery which is not a remarkable one. With light use, it may last you for the better part of the day, but it does not have a runtime of the entire day. However, if you want the phone to chug on for a few extra hours, you can use the Stamina power-saving mode. It disables GPS and image enhancement as well as vibrations.

Playing a 90-minute clip on the phone with the brightness maxed out and WiFi syncing on resulted in just 74% of the charge left which is quite a lot. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge with its 2K display lost only 14%, which makes the XZ’s battery especially miserable.

However, you can restrict the draining by using Ultra Stamina Mode which allows basic functions of the phone. However, it does come with fast charging and will enable you to get a decent amount of juice within 30 minutes.

The Xperia XZ is not a revolutionary phone from Sony, but it does have its highlights. It has fantastic performance and a great set of cameras for clicking images. The waterproof design shows that Sony is taking a step towards premium phones. One of the main highlights remains the PS4 Remote Play, making this phone an ideal one for gaming purposes.