MWC just came to an end and this year Sony showcased their share of smartphones including their flagship i.e the Xperia XZ and Xperia XZ premium. Here, lets take a look at the premium variant. This device has some amazing specs and a few features which makes it stand out from other devices and if priced properly then who knows Sony can be back in the game of being again at the top along with the likes of Samsung and Apple.
Device overview:
Like always , Sony devices have very large bezels and same is the case is with XZ premium. Its 2017 where smartphone companies are in a race to reduce bezels, increase screen to body ratio and here, Sony still makes devices with larger bezels at the top and bottom!! However, design seems appealing , the metal finishing with glass back, thin bezels along the sides, strange positioning of fingerprint sensor on the power button at the right and the good colour options by Sony.
The back of the phone houses the camera module with Led flash, sensors and the Sony branding. The back seems plain and there is no protuding camera sensor.
Sony has not ditched the headphone jack which is present at the top. The bottom part has the type-C port for charging and the microphone.
Sony has overall done a great job with the build quality and at 7.9mm thick it gives a good feel to hold.
Camera:
Lets now talk about the main highlight about the device i.e the Camera. Sony has been in the camera department for years in making DSLR, providing camera sensors to many brands, etc. yet they have never been in the limelight to produce good results with their camera. Rather other brands making use of their sensors have been doing good in the camera sector.
In the XZ premium, Sony has decided to go with 19MP rear camera having f/2.0 aperture and Sony Exmor sensor. Theoretically more megapixels mean more capability to zoom in but however, the low light imagery will be affected leading to more noise in the picture. The day light scenario will not be much affected.
However, with the premium, Sony has made use of their more advanced sensor i.e motion eye sensor having on board memory. This means, the processing part of the image will be faster and better.
This MOTION EYE camera, can predict the shot a second before you press the shutter button. This provides upto 4 images to choose from.
They have also focussed on auto focussing which they claim will provide constant and uninterrupted focussing even in motion.
In terms of video recording, the sensor provides 5 axis stabilization to prevent jerks in the video. However, the device lacks OIS and rather has software stabilization i.e EIS. It can record upto 2160p in 30FPS.
The front facing camera is a 13MP shooter with 1/3.06 inch sensor with 22mm wide angle lens.
Another main highlighting factor in the rear camera is the 960FPS slow motion. This is one of the slowest rate at which the motion can be captured at any instant. You can record the slow motion only at 720p resolution. However, it can be enabled while capturing a normal video and clicking on the slow motion option at the perfect instant to be captured.
Screen:
The Sony Xperia XZ premium is the world's first full 4K capable device having 4K HDR display which means a ppi of approximately 807. It has a 5.5 inch screen with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. As said it has 4K screen, it assures that its VR ready and ultimately could be the only device in 2017 to have a 4k display atleast in the mobile segment. Like any Sony device it has all of its features like Triluminos display, X-Reality engine and so on.
Internals:
This XZ premium is the first device to be unveiled with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and has 4GB of RAM. It comes with 64GB of internal memory which can be expanded via sd card. The Snapdragon 835 has 8 cores with 4 clocked at 2.45 gHz and the rest at 1.9 gHz. It is coupled with Adreno 540 gpu.
The device has non removable 3230 mAh battery which seems quite less for a 4K device and having 5.5 inch screen. However, with Snapdragon 835 it does support quick charge 4.0
The device comes preloaded with Android 7.1 out of the box.
The device has IP68 dust and water resistant rating which Sony has been doing with their previous flagships too.
Overall this device is a true flagship from Sony with 4k display and is also VR ready because of its high resolution screen. This device will probably go on sale after the launch of Samsung S8 and S8 plus and to be precise in the Summers in the US.
As Sony has gone premium the pricing cannot be neglected as one can expect it to be priced above $800.
Image source
Device overview:
The back of the phone houses the camera module with Led flash, sensors and the Sony branding. The back seems plain and there is no protuding camera sensor.
Sony has not ditched the headphone jack which is present at the top. The bottom part has the type-C port for charging and the microphone.
Sony has overall done a great job with the build quality and at 7.9mm thick it gives a good feel to hold.
Camera:
Lets now talk about the main highlight about the device i.e the Camera. Sony has been in the camera department for years in making DSLR, providing camera sensors to many brands, etc. yet they have never been in the limelight to produce good results with their camera. Rather other brands making use of their sensors have been doing good in the camera sector.
In the XZ premium, Sony has decided to go with 19MP rear camera having f/2.0 aperture and Sony Exmor sensor. Theoretically more megapixels mean more capability to zoom in but however, the low light imagery will be affected leading to more noise in the picture. The day light scenario will not be much affected.
However, with the premium, Sony has made use of their more advanced sensor i.e motion eye sensor having on board memory. This means, the processing part of the image will be faster and better.
This MOTION EYE camera, can predict the shot a second before you press the shutter button. This provides upto 4 images to choose from.
They have also focussed on auto focussing which they claim will provide constant and uninterrupted focussing even in motion.
In terms of video recording, the sensor provides 5 axis stabilization to prevent jerks in the video. However, the device lacks OIS and rather has software stabilization i.e EIS. It can record upto 2160p in 30FPS.
The front facing camera is a 13MP shooter with 1/3.06 inch sensor with 22mm wide angle lens.
Another main highlighting factor in the rear camera is the 960FPS slow motion. This is one of the slowest rate at which the motion can be captured at any instant. You can record the slow motion only at 720p resolution. However, it can be enabled while capturing a normal video and clicking on the slow motion option at the perfect instant to be captured.
Screen:
The Sony Xperia XZ premium is the world's first full 4K capable device having 4K HDR display which means a ppi of approximately 807. It has a 5.5 inch screen with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. As said it has 4K screen, it assures that its VR ready and ultimately could be the only device in 2017 to have a 4k display atleast in the mobile segment. Like any Sony device it has all of its features like Triluminos display, X-Reality engine and so on.
Internals:
This XZ premium is the first device to be unveiled with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and has 4GB of RAM. It comes with 64GB of internal memory which can be expanded via sd card. The Snapdragon 835 has 8 cores with 4 clocked at 2.45 gHz and the rest at 1.9 gHz. It is coupled with Adreno 540 gpu.
The device has non removable 3230 mAh battery which seems quite less for a 4K device and having 5.5 inch screen. However, with Snapdragon 835 it does support quick charge 4.0
The device comes preloaded with Android 7.1 out of the box.
The device has IP68 dust and water resistant rating which Sony has been doing with their previous flagships too.
Overall this device is a true flagship from Sony with 4k display and is also VR ready because of its high resolution screen. This device will probably go on sale after the launch of Samsung S8 and S8 plus and to be precise in the Summers in the US.
As Sony has gone premium the pricing cannot be neglected as one can expect it to be priced above $800.
Image source