Sony Xperia XZ1

Sony Xperia XZ1 comes with the same usual issues that Sony faces without introducing any solutions to it. Priced at Rs. 34990, this phone backs down on the promise delivered by XZ Premium and flaunts much of the Sony weakness without shame.

With the Xperia XZ1, Sony does not do anything different. It comes with a lightning-fast processor but lags when it comes to battery and display. The only feature happens to be the 3D scan, but that may turn out to be a gimmick. It is not a value-for-money phone, and there are better options out there unless you are a die-hard Sony fan and want it in your collection.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 has a sleek premium look. However, it still has a dated design. While Sony has refined a bit of its appearance, it again screams a Sony handset. The only difference is rounded edges so that the phone sits well in hand. One of the advantages of this phone is that it comes with water and dust resistance, making it come at par with its competitors.

The XZ1 is a little slimmer than its predecessor XZ since it is 7.4mm, cut down from 8.1mm. The metal unibody carved from aluminium is quite light and durable too. It has an easy to reach side fingerprint scanner, and it also comes with the 3.5mm headphone jack as well as the new USB Type-C port. There is a dual front-facing speaker which provides 50% more sound force than XZ due to its location. Another small tweak is the primary camera sensor is located at the top left corner as usual, but the laser and flash are relocated at the centre of the phone.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 comes with a 5.2-inch screen with 1080p resolution. It colours are punchy, and it sharp enough for you to read the texts on the phone. However, the lack of QHD is noticeable since many rival phones come at a lower price with QHD. Plus, Sony itself has released 4K video with the previous Xperia XZ Premium.

On the whole, the videos look quite right on this phone since the colours pop out. However, due to the presence of thick bezels, there is a lot of obstruction to an immersive experience. The brightness is excellent but not enough to be legible in harsh sunlight. The viewing angles are lovely without any distortion of colours.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 is fitted with the powerful octa-core Snapdragon 835 chip, which is the same chipset in Xperia XZ Premium and Galaxy Note 8. It is also paired with a 4GB RAM making it a well-equipped phone. The game can handle multi-tasking easily, and the app-loading speed is quite minimal. The gameplay is also amazing on this handset.

You won’t feel any lag when you are playing high-demanding games as well. In Geekbench 4, it scores a great 6338 multi-core score, which is quite similar to other Snapdragon 835 activated handsets, like Nokia 8, OnePlus 5, and Samsung S8.

The XZ1 comes with a  rear 19MP Exmor RS camera which is the same as found on Sony Xperia XZ Premium. It provides a five-axis image stabilisation, an f/2.0 aperture and an excellent 960 fps super-slow-motion video recording. Plus, there are some new features like capturing a burst of shots while staying focused on a moving subject, due to the predictive phase detection autofocus. Plus, the predictive capture now has smile detection mode taking three shots before you click the shutter key for a perfect capture.

In daylight, the camera clicks high-quality pictures, preserving proper exposure. However, the HDR mode can be a bit messy even during the day, failing to brighten up shadowed areas.

In low light situations, the camera struggles a lot. It takes dull photos and even if sudden bright lights appear in low light, the autofocus is slow and inaccurate, resulting in visual noise.

In the front, the Sony Xperia XZ1 boasts of a 13MP camera which is excellent for clicking social-media worthy photos in both ideal light and low-light situations. To tackle low-light situations, the phone uses the screen as a flash.

Sony Xperia XZ1 can shoot 4K video, and also record super-slow-motion video at a whopping 960 frames per second. The videos come out impressive.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 comes with a low 2,700mAh, cutting back from the XZ’s 2900 mAh battery. It might have been because Snapdragon 835 is more power efficient and the 1080p display will not drain the battery as much as its QHD rivals. As per the claims of Sony, it can run for an entire day, but banking on it to last for more than a day would not be wise.

It would require a night charge to run in the next day properly. Moderate use tends to drain the battery quite fast, and so, you would need the Smart Stamina Mode to keep the phone chugging. Thankfully, it comes with fast charging, sporting QuickCharge 3.0, which makes it fill up half of its tank within 30 minutes.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 has a great design but struggles yet again with its below-average battery. However, it does get some elements right. The phone arrives with a killer processor, excellent camera set and a good display that will provide you with a pleasant viewing experience.

The 3D Creator app is a great addition but is mostly a gimmick at this point. For gaming and viewing videos, the phone can be an excellent acquisition. However, if you are searching for an all-round performer, then there are other phones in the market at cheaper rates doing a better job.