In high-impedance (60 Ohm) monitor headphones, the low frequencies are worked out perfectly, but they always work in moderation and legibly - sorry, it doesn’t reach the point of “farting” even at maximum volume. The volume is excellent, the “middle” flows tightly through it, and the high frequencies rattle with accents. That is, they do not whistle into your ears on an ongoing basis, but are separated from the rest of the range. But they work much more clearly than in conventional flagships based on Snapdragon (Xiaomi Mi 6, OnePlus 3), and this turns out to be enough.
Although for those who like to reconfigure everything in their own way, there are also plenty of options:
DSEE HX- an analogue of Samsung’s UHQ Upscaler, a cunning algorithm that completes the audio stream of lossy (mp3, ogg vorbis) audio files, if not to lossless formats, then to a slightly higher level than what is “hardwired” in the file itself. In MP3 files with an initially high-quality spectrum, it “presses up” the low frequencies, adding a little volume and clarity.
ClearAudio+- brings high frequencies to the fore and makes them clearer. Moreover, it does it quite competently - it does not introduce any metallic shades or other nonsense pornography into the sound. Without it, it’s also not bad, but as a recipe from “boyish” mastering (when music was recorded with the aim of “pumping the bottom”), it’s a very successful option.
Surround Sound (VPT)- “not for everyone” function. It distorts the sound in different ways and introduces an artificial “concert” echo.
There is also a 6-band equalizer that you can turn on instead of DSEE HX or ClearAudio+. Nothing remarkable, except for separate bass adjustment Clear Bass- “Bubnelka” is very smart and thinks up the “low” in a different way than if you simply raise the frequency response graph in Poweramp, for example.
It's in the monitors. And in the “plugs” of the Xiaomi Hybrid Pro HD (32 Ohm) level, the low frequencies are most often slightly lacking, and the clarity seems excessive - after 15 minutes you will either get used to it or get ringing in your ears. And this is strange, because Sony claims that the smartphone determines the type of headphones independently, using the AHO system. But de facto, with ClearAudio+ the sound becomes caustic and impossible to listen to, and DSEE HX makes the scene “dense,” but ringing high frequencies are still annoying, and there is no longer access to the equalizer with the option activated. The output is a slight “boost” in Clear Bass and a decrease in detail in the “twist” of the 16 kHz range. Beauty!
As an option “I want great sound at the touch of a button,” the LG G6 with Quad DAC looks brighter (the Koreans finally taught their flagship to properly adjust the sound to the type of headphones without additional questions), but Samsung in the Galaxy S8 was disappointed with the “dirty” sound for a flagship and “ damage" to the sound at the slightest intervention in the equalizer. Now the Galaxy S8 sounds on par with the Xperia XZ Premium only with the additional activation of UHQ Upscaler, and if you use the “enhancers”, Sony takes the lead. Surprisingly, this is what appears to be the victory of the standard WCD9341 DAC in the Snapdragon 835 over the more prestigious Cirrus Logis in the Exynos 8895.
Last year, the description of smartphones based on the top-end Snapdragon was given more simply. Like, look - another mobile phone running the fastest chipset, and no more explanation is needed. In 2017, the stars were positioned a little differently, so we’ll have to start from afar.
Qualcomm is a proud bird, until you kick it and motivate it, it won’t fly. After hot Californian guys disgraced themselves with the hot Chinese Snapdragon 810 in 2015, and Samsung with its more advanced factories and Galaxy S6 beat all competitors in benchmarks, the American chipmaker made every effort to make the new generation processor a masterpiece.
At MWC 2018, Sony boasted of its new gadgets. The Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact are a breath of fresh air in the Japanese smartphone family.
While competitors were constantly reducing the bezels around the display in their smartphones, Sony still, with manic persistence, offered solutions that have been used in gadgets of this brand for many years. And finally a miracle happened - of course, the Sony Xperia XZ2 cannot be called Bezel-Less, but it is probably the most advanced model in the history of the Japanese, judging by the size of the frames around the screen.
The bezels around the Xperia XZ2's screen are significantly thinner compared to previous Sony phones. This is a big step forward and fans of this brand will be pleased. The new design is called Ambient Flow and it seems that Sony is moving away from angular shapes in favor of a more rounded body. The Xperia XZ2 fits well and confidently in the hand, even despite the shell made of Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The smartphones will be available in the following colors: black, silver, green and pink. Of course, there would be an IP65/IP68 certificate.
The new Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact smartphone has a 5.7-inch screen, HDR Full HD+ in 18:9 aspect ratio. The display is sharp, the colors feel natural, and the viewing angles are really good. Interestingly, the device not only reproduces existing materials in the HDR format, but thanks to special algorithms, it improves the quality of the created materials by converting them to the HDR format. Also worth mentioning is Sony's new technology - Dynamic Vibration System. It is useful mainly during games, when the smartphone itself is the controller. The Dynamic Vibration system works in the same way as the vibrations in the DualShock 4 gamepad. Algorithms analyze data and audio provide special feedback vibrations directly to your fingers.
But probably the most important thing about the Xperia XZ2 is its photo features. Thanks to the camera with Motion Eye, you can now record 4K HDR video - a world first! Thanks to the HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) format, the smartphone records reality with all the details, in real colors and shades. The device also received improved video recording quality in Super Slow Motion mode at 960 frames per second in Full HD format (as in the Samsung Galaxy and Galaxy S9 Plus). In fact, the model received one of the most powerful cameras in smartphones available on the market today.
In addition to the Sony Xperia XZ2, you could also admire a model at the MWC 2018 exhibition. XZ2 Compact - a smaller version with a 5-inch screen. The Compact body is not glass, although it also fits comfortably in the hand. The model also has high-quality optics.
New items will go on sale starting in mid-March. How much the manufacturer valued the Sony Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact is not yet known.
The display, which moved from the Xperia Z3+, that is, remained unchanged
The main characteristics of the display of Sony's flagship smartphone remain the same: we still have 1920 × 1080 pixels placed on a 5.2-inch matrix. The pixel density is high - 423.6 ppi, the effect of "pixelation" on the Z5 display is completely absent.
The device uses an IPS matrix with decent viewing angles: yes, if you look at it from a very sharp angle, the black color loses its saturation slightly, but these are minor things. The screen is responsive and responds quickly and accurately to touches. The device supports up to ten simultaneous clicks and correctly detects gestures. If necessary, the user can activate the corresponding item in the screen settings menu and operate the device with loose gloves - it will detect touches correctly.
Sony Xperia Z5 - AnTuTu MultiTouch Test results
As expected, Sony equipped the Z5 screen with a number of software image “enhancers” so that the user can adjust the color rendition to suit his tastes. The smartphone display can operate in three modes:
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Sony Xperia Z5 - screen options |
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The smartphone has a bright screen: the maximum luminosity of the white field is 656 cd/m2. This is a lot even by modern standards. Since the display has a quite effective polarizing filter, and, on the contrary, there is no air gap between the protective glass and the matrix, the maximum brightness is almost never useful - even in bright sunlight, about 400 cd/m2 is enough. On the other hand, one cannot help but like such a reserve of brightness, at least on a psychological level - the Z5’s display is brighter than that of the vast majority of its competitors. It’s also good that it’s comfortable to work with a smartphone in complete darkness: the minimum luminosity of the white field is 18 cd/m2.
The Z5 is equipped with a light sensor that quite adequately adjusts the brightness to the level of ambient light. The display brightness is adjusted smoothly, without jerking. It is noteworthy that the user can configure the auto-corrector to make the screen backlight a little brighter or a little dimmer, depending on personal preferences.
It is somewhat disappointing that due to the high brightness, the luminosity of the black field also rises: with 100% backlight it reaches 0.63 cd/m2 - and this is a bit too much. In practice, this means that blacks at maximum brightness do not look very deep. True, it is enough to slightly reduce the backlight level - and the black will be perfectly saturated. In general, the contrast of the Z5 display is all right - 1041:1 even at maximum brightness.
The color temperature of the Z5 screen, like many other Sony mobile displays, is too high - on average 8800 K with a reference value of 6500 K. Because of this, the picture on the display noticeably pulls towards cool shades. For perfectionists, there is an option to programmatically adjust the color temperature.
Otherwise, the screen is set up well: all gamma curves - both color components and gray - almost completely coincide with the reference curve; you can safely close your eyes to minimal deviations from it. This means that the device’s display “correctly” displays all halftones and shades. If only its white balance was set correctly out of the box, it would be absolutely great.
Judging by our tests, the display in the Xperia Z5 has been carried over directly from the previous Xperia Z3+, without any significant changes. The screen is good, but Sony engineers do not want to bring the color temperature of their screens to a decent value.
In theory, in this paragraph you can refer to the hardware of the Xperia Z3+ and move on to the next point - the Z5 has exactly the same. The smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994 platform.
The RAM in the device is still 3 gigabytes, it is still the same LPDDR3; The volume of the built-in storage is 32 GB, of which about twenty gigabytes are available to the user, and if this is not enough, microSD memory cards are at your service. It’s great that Sony’s mobile division is not abandoning flash drives, as other manufacturers do.
Interestingly, the Xperia Z5 scored higher in all benchmarks than the Z3+. The increase in performance is observed in all test tasks, and Sony software optimization is most likely to be thanked for this. An increase of about 10-20% compared to the previous flagship in various tests is a very good result.
The device uses a Qualcomm Adreno 430 module as a graphics controller, the power of which is enough for more or less anything.
In terms of performance, the Z5 is the right flagship: there is almost an abundance of power here, users are unlikely to start complaining about its lack even after a couple of years.
By default, the Sony Xperia Z5 can only work with one Nano-SIM format SIM card. In nature, there is a dual-SIM version of the new “Z” - it’s called Xperia Z5 Dual, but we’ll talk about it some other time. Our test subject today knows how to work in LTE Cat networks. 6 with a maximum theoretical data reception speed of 300 Mbit/s, upload speed - 50 Mbit/s. All frequencies important for Russia are supported. We did not identify any problems with cellular signal reception while testing the device. Using the Xperia Z5 as the only means of communication is quite convenient - the interlocutor can be heard well, the earpiece is loud, and there were no complaints about poor audibility at the other end of the line either.
The set of wireless networks in the device is completely standard. Xperia Z5 supports dual-frequency Wi-Fi of all more or less common protocols, Bluetooth version 4.1 and NFC. There is still no infrared port for controlling household appliances in Sony's flagship smartphone. The gadget navigates the area using a radio module that can communicate with GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou satellites. It does this quite quickly, making it convenient to use a smartphone as a car or pedestrian navigator. A few seconds after launching the profile test, the gadget detected a total of 22 satellites of three navigation systems and was guided by 16-18 of them, while the navigation error radius was minimal - less than six meters.
For several generations in a row, Sony's flagship smartphones have been equipped with the same 20.7-megapixel Exmor RS module. To put it mildly, he didn’t shoot as well as he would have liked. And this is very strange! Because for everyone else, Sony matrices work much better. However, the Japanese officially admitted the flaw and promised to fix everything - starting with this generation of smartphones
The Xperia Z5 has a new 23-megapixel Sony IMX300 1/2.3” back-illuminated sensor. The increase in the number of pixels is symbolic, but the Z5 has a new autofocus system. It is hybrid here: contrast and phase focusing methods are used simultaneously, just like in advanced digital point-and-shoot cameras. It is stated that the Xperia Z5 camera is able to locate the subject in 0.03 seconds. It is also said that the five-fold digital zoom of the Xperia Z5 camera does not affect the quality of photographs. The Z5 has high-aperture optics with a maximum relative aperture of ƒ/2.0, a 24 mm lens in terms of a 35 mm equivalent.
The camera application interface has not changed - it is still quite simple and convenient. The viewfinder has many software effects and options, all the standard settings for a smartphone camera, including manual mode. Photos can be captured at 23MP (4:3)/20MP (16:9) or auto-squeezed to eight megapixels to save space and improve quality. The Xperia Z5 can record video in the newfangled 4K format.
Xperia Z5 Camera Test
However, Sony's flagship smartphone still takes pictures imperfectly. No, of course, there is progress: it has become much better than it was, but shooting in the dark is still a problem for the older “Z”. Photos taken in poor lighting turn out either too noisy or somewhat blurry. In addition, the vaunted autofocus in the dark, no, no, and even thinks about it. True, with indoor or outdoor lighting the situation changes for the better: photographs are sharp across the entire field, the colors are bright and saturated, and the contrast of the photographs is high. In bright light, the hybrid autofocus system focuses on the subject very quickly indeed. The minimum focusing distance is about seven to eight centimeters, but macro photographs are somewhat lacking in sharpness. But the Xperia Z5's camera does a very good job of separating the foreground from the background, making photos look more artistic.
In principle, Sony's flagship smartphone finally takes photographs in the same way as the flagships of other companies. And this is both good news and not so good: yes, before this it was noticeably worse, but Sony has the power to make the mobile camera even better so that it stands out significantly among its competitors. And this, unfortunately, has not happened yet.
The smartphone has an 11.02 Wh battery (2900 mAh, 3.8 V), which users do not have access to - the case is non-separable. For a modern five-inch gadget, this is sufficient capacity. During testing, it was used as the main and only means of communication, and not once during the week was it discharged until the end of the working day. The device’s battery lasts for a day or even a little more, depending on the load. A full charging cycle from a standard power supply takes three hours.
In continuous video playback mode at maximum brightness with an active Wi-Fi connection and data updating in the background, the device lasted just over six and a half hours - a very good result, especially considering that watching a movie with such a high backlight level is not very good comfortable. That is, in reality there will be more.
All the power saving software options that we saw in previous Sony Xperia smartphones are also present in the Z5: there is STAMINA mode, which disables data transfer in the background, and Ultra STAMINA, which turns the smartphone into a “dialer”. On the other hand, even with the energy saving settings disabled, we did not want to complain about the short battery life during the testing period at all.
Good question. In the case of the Xperia Z5, it is important to understand that we are talking about a device that at the start of sales was priced at fifty thousand rubles. This is quite a large amount; for this money you can buy almost any smartphone from almost any brand, with rare exceptions. That is, price is clearly not the strong point of Sony's new flagship. In terms of performance, it has competitors, in terms of screen quality - too, in terms of camera, in terms of a set of wireless interfaces, in terms of battery life - there will also be competitors. In other words, there is nothing radically outstanding about the Xperia Z5.
Why can you love Sony's new flagship? First of all, for the design. The Xperia Z5 is definitely nice to look at and makes you want to hold it in your hands - the Z3+ and all the previous Sony models from recent years don't look so interesting. Otherwise, it's the same flagship as, say, the LG G4 or Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Whose design is closer to you - choose the one. You won't regret it in any case.
The current update to the Sony smartphone line could be called boring and frankly unattractive: almost nothing has changed in the appearance of the devices, but the inside is exactly the same as what we saw a little earlier, in . But instead of another listing of technical characteristics and focusing on gigabytes, megapixels and gigahertz, the company decided to focus on the capabilities of the built-in camera. It is unlikely that armchair analysts and network experts-on-all-issues approve of this approach, but the market always perceives it positively. No one knows exactly at what frequency the processor operates, but everyone knows that this smartphone can be unlocked with your face, and you can also send an animated chicken to your friend. So Sony wants the Xperia XZ1 to be perceived as a phone that allows you to create 3D copies of objects using the built-in camera. Time will tell how interesting and important this is, but we’ll just figure out how it all works.
Along with the release of the Xperia XZ1, the company also updated the compact version of the flagship. It's called the Xperia XZ1 Compact and remains a unique device thanks to its combination of flagship hardware and compact size. So, the possibilities for alternative use of the built-in camera in both new products are similar, but we will tell you about them separately.
Specifications
| Sony Xperia XZ1 | Huawei P10 Plus | ||||
| Screen | 5.2 inches, IPS, 1080 × 1920, 424 ppi, capacitive multi-touch | 5.2 inches, IPS, 1080 × 1920 pixels, 424 ppi, capacitive multi-touch |
5.8 inches, Super AMOLED, 1440 × 2960 pixels, 570 ppi, capacitive multi-touch | 5.5 inches, IPS, 1440 × 2560 pixels, 540 ppi, capacitive multi-touch |
5.5 inches, IPS, 1440 × 2560 pixels, 534 ppi, capacitive multi-touch |
| Protective glass | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820: quad core (2 × 2.15 GHz + 2 × 1.6 GHz) | Samsung Exynos 8895: eight cores (4 × 2.5 GHz + 4 × 1.69 GHz) | Hisilicon Kirin 960: eight cores (4 × 2.4 GHz + 4 × 1.8 GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835: eight cores (4 × 2.4 GHz + 4 × 1.9 GHz) | |
| Graphics controller | Adreno 540 | Adreno 530 | Mali-G71 MP20 | Mali-G71 MP8 | Adreno 540 |
| RAM | 4 GB | 3 GB | 4 GB | 4/6 GB | 4/6 GB |
| Flash memory | 64 GB | 32/64 GB | 64 GB | 64/128 GB | 64/128 GB |
| Connectors | 1 × USB Type-C | 1 × USB Type-C | 1 × USB Type-C | 1 × USB Type-C | 1 × USB Type-C |
| 1 × 3.5mm headset jack; | 1 × 3.5mm headset jack | 1 × nano-SIM | |||
| 1 × nano-SIM | 1 × nano-SIM | 1 × nano-SIM | 1 × nano-SIM | 1 × microSD | |
| 1 × microSD | 1 × microSD | 1 × microSD/nano-SIM | 1 × microSD/nano-SIM | ||
| Cellular connection 2G | GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz | GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz | GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz | GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz | |
| Cellular 3G | HSDPA 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100 | UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100 | DC-HSPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz | ||
| Cellular 4G | LTE Cat.16 (1024 Mbps, 150 Mbps), bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32 , 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 | LTE Cat. 4 (150 Mbit/s, 50 Mbit/s), bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 26, 28, 29, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41 | LTE Cat.16 (1024 Mbps, 150 Mbps), bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17, 20, 28 | LTE Cat.16 (1024 Mbps, 150 Mbps), bands 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41 | |
| WiFi | 802.11/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz | 802.11/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| NFC | Eat | Eat | Eat | Eat | Eat |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | |
| Sensors | Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass) | Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), Hall sensor | Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass) | ||
| Fingerprint's scanner | Yes, on the side | Yes, on the side | Yes, in the back | Yes, in front | Yes, in front |
| Main camera | 19 MP, ƒ/2.0 optical stabilization, laser autofocus, LED flash, 4K video recording | 23 MP, ƒ/2.0, laser autofocus, LED flash, 4K video recording | 12 MP, ƒ/1.7, phase detection autofocus, optical stabilization, LED flash | 12 MP, ƒ/1.8, + 20 MP, ƒ/1.8, Leica optics, phase detection autofocus, optical stabilization, LED flash | 12 MP, ƒ/1.7, optical stabilization, LED flash, 4K video recording |
| Front-camera | 13 MP, ƒ/2.0, contrast autofocus, no flash | 13 MP, ƒ/2.0, contrast autofocus, Full HD video recording | 8 MP, ƒ/1.7, autofocus, without separate flash | 8 MP, no autofocus, no separate flash | 16 MP, contrast autofocus, no flash |
| Nutrition | Non-removable battery: 10.26 Wh (2700 mAh, 3.8 V) | Non-removable battery: 11 Wh (2900 mAh, 3.8 V) | Non-removable battery: 11.4 Wh (3000 mAh, 3.8 V) | Non-removable battery: 14.6 Wh (3700 mAh, 3.8 V) | Non-removable battery: 12.6 Wh (3000 mAh, 3.8 V) |
| Size | 148 × 73 × 7.4 mm | 146 × 72 × 8.1 mm | 148.9 × 68.1 × 8 mm | 154 × 74.2 × 7 mm | 153.9 × 75.9 × 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 156 g | 161 g | 155 g | 165 g | 169 g |
| Water and dust protection | IP65/IP68 | IP68 | IP68 | IP67 | IP67 |
| operating system | Android 8.0 Oreo | Android 6.0 Marshmallow (upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat) | Android 7.0 Nougat, Grace UX shell | Android 7.0 Nougat, EMUI | Android 7.1 Nougat |
| Current price | 49,990 rubles | 38,990 rubles | 54,990 rubles | 36,990 rubles | 44,990 rubles |
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Appearance, ergonomics and software
In the case of the Xperia XZ1, I would like to note some significant disregard for global trends. Seriously, Sony remains perhaps the only manufacturer that does not use elongated screens with an aspect ratio of 18:9, dual cameras, or facial recognition. This may not be great in the long run, but for now the XZ1 doesn't suffer from it at all and looks very neat and nice. The smartphone is offered in four colors: pink, black, silver and blue. In my opinion, the last two are especially good, but the black one looks a bit boring.
The screen diagonal is small by the standards of 2017 flagships - only 5.2 inches, so there are no problems with one-handed operation. The body profile has an elongated elliptical shape, the side edges are perfectly rounded, and all this, of course, is made of glass and metal. Plastic is used only for some buttons and the plug on the SIM card compartment. By the way, the plug fits very tightly, there is a special rubber gasket around the perimeter - the smartphone is protected from dust and moisture according to IP65/IP68 standards. It can be immersed in fresh water, but the warranty does not cover smartphones that have been wet - keep this in mind. However, the main thing to remember is: under no circumstances connect the headphones and charger until the ports are dry.
The layout of buttons and controls is standard for Sony smartphones. At the bottom center is USB-C, on the left side there is a tray for a SIM card and microSD. In our case, the smartphone has only one slot for an operator card, but there is also a Dual SIM version, which has a combined second slot. On the right side there is a double volume button, as well as a power key with a built-in fingerprint scanner and a dedicated button for launching the camera and releasing the shutter.
On top there is a standard 3.5 mm audio jack - thanks for that, it's still relevant. I will add that on the side faces there are visible inserts to ensure the operation of wireless modules through the metal case; they do not stand out much, but perform their function in the best possible way. I wasn’t too lazy and compared: the Xperia XZ1 “holds” the network and Wi-Fi signal much better than the iPhone 7 Plus.
Returning to the topic of great similarity between the Xperia XZ1 and, it is worth noting that the LED flash and laser that helps autofocus are now installed behind a horizontal insert; in the previous model, this block was located vertically. The built-in camera lens has slightly increased in size and began to protrude further beyond the rear panel. But for now nothing can be done about this - optics with stabilization require a fairly thick body.
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The Sony Xperia XZ1 was originally announced with Android 8.0 Oreo and eventually ships with it. Formally, by the way, this is the first smartphone based on the eighth version of the operating system, along with the Xperia XZ1 Compact. Visually, the new OS is not much different from version 7.0 Nougat, but updating to the current OS is a problem for many Android devices, and Sony immediately took care of a fresh system for its flagship in this regard. All the features from other devices are in place: energy saving modes, optimization modes, and so on.
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The list of pre-installed applications looks the same: Movie Creator, PlayStation, Xperia Lounge plus a file manager and all the standard Google applications. There is exactly one new application - 3D Creator, which I will talk about in more detail below.
Display and sound
Previously, in the case of Sony smartphones, we often had to complain about insufficiently precise screen settings, excessively (even if compared with the “average temperature in the hospital”, and not with reference values) high color temperature and insufficiently high contrast. But the Xperia XZ1 shows clear progress in this area.
Firstly, Sony simply stopped imposing a non-disabled enhanced display mode, leaving the choice to the user. Now in the display settings menu we have three modes available: professional, standard and extreme brightness mode.
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If we focus on subjective feelings, then it is the latter that is most impressive, but the color accuracy “flies” into the abyss. By default, the standard mode is enabled, and for the most accurate display there is a professional mode, so we carried out all measurements in these two modes.
The maximum brightness and contrast values do not change when switching modes, and they turn out to be very good in comparison with competitors. The XZ1 display “shines” brighter than the iPhone 8, which means this smartphone will be more comfortable to use in sunny weather - you can even read the screen painlessly on the beach.
Standard Sony Xperia XZ1 screen operating mode, color temperature. Blue line - Sony Xperia XZ1 coverage in standard mode, dotted line - reference temperature (6500 K)
As you can see, in professional mode the color gamut practically coincides with the sRGB color space, and in standard mode it becomes much wider. But this is not the case when more is better. The color temperature curve varies slightly in different modes, but the average value remains the same - about 7400 K. This is higher than the reference temperature, but the difference of 900 K is practically not noticeable.
The gamma differs slightly: we have 2.11 in professional mode and 2.05 in standard mode. Both are within normal limits. The average DeltaE deviation for the ColorChecker extended palette is 3.36, and for primary colors it is 1.78. And this is a truly amazing indicator. But this applies only to the professional mode; in the standard mode, this figure deteriorates somewhat and reaches 4.81 for the extended ColorChecker palette and 4.11 for primary colors.
The sound is in perfect order. Firstly, the smartphone is equipped with two speakers and reproduces sound in stereo mode, and quite loudly. And secondly, it has not lost the standard mini-jack, so you can use absolutely any headphones without restrictions. The sound is loud and of high quality; even high-impedance monitor models work normally.
Dear readers don’t know about this, but the first glance is the simplest thing that can happen in a journalist’s work. You don’t really need to think about any deep conclusions, you don’t have to worry about it at all - you looked, remembered, took a few photographs and told. Having been doing this kind of activity for many years, I got a little tired. And so I had the idea to write about the Sony Xperia XZ2 not at first glance, but something like “questions and answers”, the format is cheerful and, perhaps, there will not be any complex graphs, but after reading you will definitely be able to write about gadgets impression. Let's fly.
Okay, what's the difference between the XZ2 and the XZ1?
I believe that the main thing is not new camera capabilities, not the 845 chipset or new accessories - the main thing in the case of the XZ2 is the new design. What has changed? The convenient fingerprint sensor was moved to the back, and the move went without any problems - the camera and sensor are specially spaced as far as possible and therefore the finger rests where it is needed. The glass on the XZ2 is also reminiscent of other glass smartphones; in reality, Sony has its own pleasant differences, they relate to the assembly, the arrangement of elements, there is the SPIRIT of the company familiar to all Sony boys. True, we had to give up some things, for example, the 3.5 mm jack, and users will be offered an adapter from USB-C to headphones - as practice shows, it won’t be superfluous to carry such a thing with you; I was literally forced to do so on a plane a couple of hours ago connect the cable to the Bose QC35. It’s good that I took care of it in advance and took everything I needed. In short, the XZ2 doesn't have a 3.5mm jack, but the memory card, dual SIM capability, all that stuff remains.
They made four colors for the smartphone, glossy black looks great, I saw green only in pictures, pink is good, silver is like silver. As always, they will buy mostly black (fifty percent), the rest, count, ten percent. If you just take and list all the differences between the XZ2 and the XZ, you get the following picture: a different design, a different chipset, the camera has new capabilities, wireless charging is supported, a new set of accessories, a new XZ2 Compact in addition to a large device.
What's with the camera?
The camera here is the same as the XZ1, but with a number of improvements, for example, it supports 4K HDR video recording, and here what is called True HDR (HEVC 10 BIT HLG BT.2020), this means that the video will be very, very good in terms of depth, color, dynamic range. ISP (Image Signal Processor) was also developed together with Qualcomm, if you try to explain it on your fingers, then the XZ2 camera has its own dedicated processor, it is used during photo or video shooting - the capabilities of the 845 chipset are more than enough for this. As they say, the end result is better quality photos. Slow motion is now in FullHD, 3D scanning has been improved, 3D selfies have appeared, it is gratifying that the company does not forget the technologies that they advanced six months ago. We will try to show you examples of pictures and other joys as soon as possible.
The frames, I see, are still there?
The device is quite in line with modern trends, I personally am glad that they didn’t experiment - Galaxy lovers will still not approve of Sony, iPhone lovers are unlikely to return, and you shouldn’t even ask me whether you should try switching or not - those who year after year buy Sony, they will rejoice at the transition to the modern appearance of the most important gadget in life. You understand that the smartphone accompanies us everywhere and is the main gadget, no matter how you look at it. Green Sony Xperia XZ2, glass, with small frames, with minimal cheats in the OS - this is good and even if you are not a Sony guy, it’s worth a try in the store. I, of course, am not the most authority on the issue of choosing a smartphone - eplo.b and sony.b, so I’m waiting for the XZ2 as soon as possible for experiments.
Well, what kind of display?
So, 5.7 inches, fHD, there is support for HDR, SDR upscaling almost to HDR, this will help when viewing content downloaded from the network that is not of particularly good quality. It seems like a far-fetched scenario, but even old Soviet films will look better. Aspect ratio 18:9, quiet, quiet, quiet, I know everything you're going to tell me, but don't rush. The screen is normal, especially considering that there is an 845 chipset inside. I think that later this year they will show a device with some kind of mega-display, but for now it’s quite possible to live with the Sony Xperia XZ2.
What is inside?
Everything is as it should be, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. I don’t know yet how it heats up or doesn’t heat up. I know that the 854 is the only correct chipset for 2018 and no one will say anything bad here, even without asking questions. Well, and another 4 GB of RAM, 64 Gyu of memory for data, as far as I understand, all versions of the smartphone will support two SIM cards, or you can insert one SIM card and a memory card.
So, Xperia still reboots if you insert a SIM card?
Yes, there is such a thing - but if you put two cards, then the reboot will happen twice.
What about wireless charging?
A very interesting accessory with active cooling will be sold separately; the XZ2 battery can be fully charged in one and a half to two hours, and the battery inside is quite ok, 3180 mAh. Moreover, you can place the charger vertically or horizontally; the removable pad has its own contact and indicator light.
By the way, what is the name of the Xperia corporate design now?
Since the time of Sony Xperia Z (this was in 2013), at least one generation of design has changed, there was “omni balance”, now the XZ2 design is called Ambient Flow, I don’t know how to translate this into Russian. With the XZ2, I enjoyed holding the smartphone in my palm, it's smooth as a pebble in the sea. There is also metal in the case, the frame is made of aluminum, and the glass is Gorilla Glass 5.
What other features are there?
Both SIM cards are capable of VoLTE (voice over LTE), the download speed is the highest possible (LTE cat18 up to 1.2 GB/s), the maximum memory card can be installed, the main features are the Dynamic Vibration System, there is a powerful engine at the bottom left when listen to music or play (or do something else), it will seem to turn on the heat, intensifying the sensations. Like “taptic engine”, but also for content. Like other Xperia flagships, there is water protection according to IP65/IP68/
Perhaps the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact was deliberately made worse?
It has the same aluminum frame, plastic is used on the back instead of glass, the colors are very good, especially black, I won’t talk about the similarity with the iPhone 7 Jet Black. The compact version does not have the Dynamic Vibration System, there is no wireless charging, and the LTE capabilities are not as cool (LTE cat15 up to 950 Gb/sec, works on both SIM cards), because the antenna is designed differently due to the size of the case. Otherwise, the smartphone deserves the high title of “small flagship”; The chipset is the same, the camera is the same, the design is similar.
Here are some more photos of pink.
When will the smartphone go on sale?
I assume that the XZ2 and the compact version will go on sale this spring, I once again assume that the price of the Sony Xperia XZ2 will be about 55,500 rubles, for the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact they will ask about 42,600 rubles. The scope of delivery is not yet known.
Surely there will be a bunch of new accessories coming with the Xperia XZ2?
It’s not a sin to buy fast wireless charging with active cooling for an iPhone or other Android; there will also be wired and wireless open-back headphones with an interesting idea, an inexpensive Bluetooth headset, and, of course, original cases for the XZ2. We will tell you about all the things separately, they deserve it.
Would you buy a Sony Xperia XZ2 for yourself?
I carry an iPhone and use Android things as a second phone for various tasks - of course, I’m waiting for the Sony Xperia XZ2 to go on sale and I really want to switch from the Sony Xperia XZ Premium - it’s already very difficult to bear the frame.
We will try to prepare a video about the smartphone, get it, test it, understand what and how, and tell you in even more detail. Ciao!
