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Sony Xperia XZ – specs review

By Luis D.

Updated: Sep 01, 2016, 6:40 AM

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Sony has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone. Named the Xperia XZ, it builds on the heritage of both the Xperia Z and the Xperia X series, bringing along a refreshed design and up-to-date specs. Let's dig into this beast's spec sheet and see what it's made of!

Design

Sony introduces a new design language... that feels very familiar

Measuring 146 x 72 x 8.1mm, the Xperia XZ weights 161g and boasts a new "Unified Design" language with a gentle form and matching body and user interface colors. It also features tapered loop surfaces, while the body is made of a special aluminium alloy called Alkaleido. Its properties include better purity and a brighter, shinier look. The smartphone is IP68-certified and features a USB Type C port with USB 2.0 speeds. The signature color is Forest Blue, but the smartphone also comes in Mineral Black and Platinum.

Display

1080p resolution is still enough, even in late 2016

Sony equipped its new flagship smartphone with a 5.2-inch, 1080p resolution LCD display covered in Gorilla Glass 4. It's a traditional configuration for Sony's high-end smartphones that typically eschew Quad-HD resolutions in favor of the universally accepted 1080p resolution. The display is boosted by software technologies such as Triluminos and X-Reality to maximize its color and brightness and make it deliver punchier colors.

Hardware

Another Snapdragon 820-powered smartphone is ready to hit prime time.

The Sony Xperia XZ is powered by the ubiquitous Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset that features a quad-core processor (up to 2.15GHz) and the powerful Adreno 530 GPU (clocked to 624MHz). This is one of the fastest chips around, although Qualcomm has already started marketing its successor, the Snapdragon 821. It looks like the latest-generation Snapdragon couldn't be supplied in time for the Xperia XZ's launch. Not that users will be missing out on any thrilling innovation or tangible speed increases, as the Snapdragon 820, fully designed by Qualcomm, still holds its own with the best of them.

A 2900mAh battery runs the system with support for Quick Charge and a bespoke battery preservation tech that sees the smartphone stop charging at 90% and finish the rest of the battery slower as to prevent the cells from damage.

Camera

Sony has emerged with a heavy-duty camera setup

Sony has decided to showcase its camera department's best work with the Xperia XZ, for the smartphone comes with a 23MP main camera powered by a custom Sony IMX300 imaging sensor. The camera has an f/2.0 aperture and features laser autofocus, PDAF, and an RGBC-IR color sensor. It also boasts 5-axis software stabilization. On the front, there's a 13MP camera with a 1/3-inch sensor, which is larger than those traditionally used in front cameras.

Expectations

The smartphone will be sold for a price north of $600 starting October. It will debut globally, although the United States will get it at a later point. A seemingly solid offering, the Xperia XZ's success will depend on how well Sony markets it. The smartphone market is already saturated with great handsets that run fast, look fantastic, and take excellent photos. Despite its 23MP camera, the Xperia XZ might have a hard time standing out.