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Sony Xperia XZs Review

Sony Xperia XZs

Posted: , by Damian M.

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Sony Xperia XZs Review

Introduction


Sony is dishing out flagships like there's no tomorrow. Last year, the Japanese company was probably the most prolific top-of-the-line manufacturer of them all. And this year, at MWC, Sony decided to update its flagship line once more. The result were two new phones – the adequately refreshed Sony Xperia XZ Premium and the less-novelty Xperia XZs.

Leaving the XZ Premium aside, let's dive into the XZs and see what's what with the device.

In terms of hardware, little has changed from the XZ. The new phone uses almost exactly the same body design, and almost the same internals with some small, but significant differences.

Design

We've held this phone in our hands before.

Sony Xperia XZs Review
Sony Xperia XZs Review
Sony Xperia XZs Review
Sony Xperia XZs Review

The design is anything but a major leap from its predecessor. The Xperia XZs looks exactly like the XZ, save for the slightly more prominent camera bump on the back.

However, this is not inherently a bad thing, as the look and feel of the phone screams “Xperia”, and that means that it's stylish, elegant and clean. It still features the “loop” design Sony introduced last year, making the somewhat bulky phone quite ergonomic and pleasant to hold by curving the sides a bit.

The materials used to manufacture the phone have also stuck since the last model, with glass on the front plate, metal on the back and plastic everywhere else, including a strip of it on the lower portion of the rear panel. However, the plastic components still feel pretty solid and nice to the touch, so we have no complaints there whatsoever.

Our problems with the design start when we look at the right side of the device. It houses the power button, with the fingerprint scanner for the international model, and the awkwardly placed volume rockers on its lower portion. Our thumbs would much appreciate it if the hardware buttons were moved around a little bit, and the volume rockers actually ended up above the power button.

The bottom of the phone houses the USB Type-C port, while the top hold a 3.5mm jack for your classic audio needs.

The Xperia XZs comes in Ice Blue, Black and Warm Silver, and all three of those colors look gorgeous in person, unlike their rather bland looks in most photos, official ones included.


Front view | Side view
Sony Xperia XZs
5.75 x 2.83 x 0.32 inches
146 x 72 x 8.1 mm
5.68 oz (161 g)

Sony Xperia XZs

Sony Xperia XZ
5.75 x 2.83 x 0.32 inches
146 x 72 x 8.1 mm
5.68 oz (161 g)

Sony Xperia XZ

OnePlus 3T
6.01 x 2.94 x 0.29 inches
152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35 mm
5.57 oz (158 g)

OnePlus 3T

Huawei P10
5.72 x 2.73 x 0.27 inches
145.3 x 69.3 x 6.98 mm
5.11 oz (145 g)

Huawei P10


To see the phones in real size or compare them with other models, visit our Visual Phone Size Comparison page.


Display

5.2” LCD display that does its job extremely well.

Sony Xperia XZs Review
The display on the Xperia XZs is anything but bad. The LCD panel comes with colors that are a bit inaccurate but still pleasing, and delivers great performance in extreme sunlight. Its viewing angles are not as good as the rest of the screen's features, but they're still good enough to do the job.

Its resolution stands at 1080 x 1920 pixels, which is more than enough pixels to deliver a very clean, easy to read image.

Display measurements and quality

Maximum brightness (nits)Higher is better Minimum brightness (nits)Lower is better Contrast Higher is better Color temperature (Kelvins) Gamma Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better Delta E grayscale Lower is better
Sony Xperia XZs 511
(Excellent)		 5
(Excellent)		 1:1263
(Excellent)		 8534
(Poor)		 2.18
 5.77
(Average)		 7.53
(Average)
Sony Xperia XZ 633
(Excellent)		 5
(Excellent)		 1:1330
(Excellent)		 8184
(Poor)		 2.15
 5.67
(Average)		 6.3
(Average)
OnePlus 3T 407
(Good)		 3
(Excellent)		 unmeasurable
(Excellent)		 6851
(Excellent)		 2.2
 1.86
(Excellent)		 3.6
(Good)
Huawei P10 545
(Excellent)		 2
(Excellent)		 1:1558
(Excellent)		 8258
(Poor)		 2.29
 4.57
(Average)		 8.37
(Poor)
View all


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Interface and Functionality

32 Comments
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posted on 04 May 2017, 09:44
Reply

1. zeeBomb (Posts: 2304; Member since: 14 Aug 2014)


Another Sony flagship, the same story of the camera...

posted on 04 May 2017, 11:50 3
Reply

11. sgodsell (Posts: 4887; Member since: 16 Mar 2013)


This is not Sony's flagship for this year. If it came out last year it would be close. However Sony's flagship device this year is their Xperia XZ premium which is using the SD 835. Not to belittle the SD 820, which is a great chip as well. Especially since we that same chip in last years flagships, like the Galaxy S7, LG G5, or others.

posted on 10 May 2017, 11:58
Reply

31. shamrock_sean (Posts: 25; Member since: 27 Apr 2017)


And what is exactly wrong with the camera?? Images look great

posted on 04 May 2017, 09:51 4
Reply

2. Djz89 (Posts: 365; Member since: 25 Aug 2014)


Been using it for a couple of days, loving it. Went from z5 and it's a substantial upgrade. Wish the battery was bigger. But other than that it's a great phone, and in Norway it was cheaper than the p10 when released so i went for it.

posted on 04 May 2017, 09:57 1
Reply

3. Ray.S (Posts: 388; Member since: 19 Jul 2011)


Seems like a great choice to me!

posted on 04 May 2017, 10:30 6
Reply

4. Xperia14 (Posts: 914; Member since: 01 Sep 2015)


And yet it only got a 7.5 while it has a better camera and probably better performance than the G6.

posted on 04 May 2017, 11:13 2
Reply

7. Settings (Posts: 2337; Member since: 02 Jul 2014)


Scores are negligible when in PA. Its not that accurate. Plus, the bias in non Apple and non Samsung reviews are always cringy though it was lessen in recent reviews.

posted on 04 May 2017, 11:38 3
Reply

10. Lumberjack (Posts: 201; Member since: 04 May 2017)


Youtube videos.... So far XZs is the fastest phone now.. It has defeated S8+, OP3T, G6, i7+, U Ultra and Pixel.

I have never seen a phone that fast while browsing

posted on 04 May 2017, 12:03 1
Reply

14. josephnero (Posts: 593; Member since: 16 Nov 2011)


exactky

posted on yesterday, 03:18
Reply

32. SvenHKCN (Posts: 1; Member since: yesterday)


What is the use of flagship, premium, fancy specs and performance if recent Xperia phones seem to have some (once affected) serious issues with their metal frames. minimum deviations in frame fitting literally caused my XZs falling into parts. forget about IP68. Once you take a closer look at those phones with bended frames they look like a piece of rubbish in comparison to their peers. this seems to be an issue for various generations of Xperia phones and I have no explanation why Sony is playing so hard on this issue with its warranty policy explicitly excluding frame issues. So my Xperia XZs purchase turned into a big disappointment.

posted on 04 May 2017, 13:36 1
Reply

17. Djz89 (Posts: 365; Member since: 25 Aug 2014)


Yeah, i am actually enjoying it quite a bit. If they had putt a 3500mah battery combined with the low launch price(in Norway at least) it would have been near perfect imo :)

posted on 04 May 2017, 19:07
Reply

22. Remmy (Posts: 148; Member since: 31 Jul 2012)


Wow! Here in PH, the XZs is priced at $800+, Huawei meanwhile launched the P10 at $580. My Z5 will be turning 2 years this December, I want to consider the XZs since I'm only after the new camera and I rarely play graphic intensive games.

posted on 04 May 2017, 10:54 2
Reply

5. GreenMan (Posts: 1823; Member since: 09 Nov 2015)


Is that Sony's flagship...?

Wait a moment, gents...

(Cleans the glasses)

Wha...?

So as I was saying: IS THAT A BLOODY FLAGSHIP...???

Trust me when I tell you that when I saw this phone on Twitter, I thought its just another lower mid-range phone that's supposed to compete with the likes of Galaxy J Series and Huawei's X series... I swear...

But...

What year it is again...?

(Glances at the calendar)...

Nope, its 2017... Not 2008, as I was expecting...

Bloody hell, this phone make me feel like I'm loosing my marbles...

What in the world was Sony thinking when they designed this so called 'flagship' phone...?

Just to make it slip under the radar of thieves and pocket-pickers...? I mean, anyone would mistake it for a $200 phone...!

Ah! Look at those acres of bezels... So feisty, eh?

Sony has MORE COURAGE than Apple... WAY MORE... Or so it seems... They've got guts to push such a 'thing' in the market as 'flagship'... REAL GUTS...

Oh well, eh?

G'Day!

posted on 04 May 2017, 11:11 6
Reply

6. Rocastle (Posts: 9; Member since: 02 Mar 2017)


What are yo smoking!?

posted on 04 May 2017, 12:04
Reply

15. josephnero (Posts: 593; Member since: 16 Nov 2011)


cheap weed he found when peeing in slums

posted on 04 May 2017, 11:35 5
Reply

8. Settings (Posts: 2337; Member since: 02 Jul 2014)


It's not the flagship, that would be the XZ Premium.

Again, bezel haters attack again and again. Function over form.
Those bezels houses stereo speakers, REAL stereo speakers not just faux holes that gives the illusion of having stereo speakers. It can also serve as a thumb rest when playing at landscape mode.

Those bezels houses 3.5mm jack which have the most superior DACs in the mobile phone market which other OEMs havein their phones too especially Google wants LDAC on their Android O iteration. I'm sure you won't find those features on a 2008 phone.

posted on 04 May 2017, 11:58 1
Reply

13. cocoy (Posts: 56; Member since: 30 Oct 2015)


Yeah but at least it has dual stereo speakers and headphone jack unlike Iphone 7/7 plus

posted on 04 May 2017, 12:48
Reply

16. Xperia14 (Posts: 914; Member since: 01 Sep 2015)


It's not even their flagship. Oh, it's actually way cheaper than the S8 and the G6. And for that price you'll get an AWESOME camera (Only Xperia's use Sony's best IMX400), top-notch performance and fast Android updates. Did I mention Hi-res audio, IP68 and front facing stereo speakers?

Go troll somewhere else.

posted on 04 May 2017, 16:06 1
Reply

21. letosaw (Posts: 127; Member since: 05 Aug 2014)


As I've always said PA's "reviews" are just plain rubbish and shouldn't be taken seriously. I just read tech news here, that's all.

posted on 04 May 2017, 19:11
Reply

23. Remmy (Posts: 148; Member since: 31 Jul 2012)


Unfortunately, it's not the same case for all markets. IMO, the XZs will be hard sell here in our country, at 800 USD, it's priced along the S8, and priced even higher than the G6 and P10.

posted on 04 May 2017, 21:20 1
Reply

24. buccob (Posts: 2739; Member since: 19 Jun 2012)


Yes, that is completely true... In the US the XZs has dropped to $650 which is not bad at all.. but I do feel it should cost $600 even...

But pricing will vary strongly from country to country and Sony will be expensive in some places (and I wouldn't recommended there) but it is a lot more affordable than iPhones and Samsungs in other places...

In fact one of the pro/cons of them is that the value goes down very quickly and many people take that as a negative... but I tend to buy more devices than what I sell... so for me, buying cheap 6 month old Sony is better than getting a 2 years old iPhone for the same price....

For example:

An iPhone 6s 64GB is selling in Amazon (us) for 450$ REFURBISHED
The Xperia XZ 64GB is selling for 475$ brand new.

posted on 05 May 2017, 05:08
Reply

25. Remmy (Posts: 148; Member since: 31 Jul 2012)


In a country where majority of buyers are price sensitive, almost every article from local tech blogs are flooded with "overpriced" comments.

Actually, I got the Sony a6000 mirrorless camera here in the PH for roughly $600 with some sellers going even less than that including 3 year-Sony warranty. A few bucks cheaper than overseas markets I think, only their mobile phones are ridiculously priced.

As much as I want to get the XZs, I don't like the fact that I'll be paying $800 for a phone with last year's hardware (it's still fast and more than capable, I know) and another XZ successor will be launched a few months later (September). Not to mention limited availability on the two major carriers which a lot of people would miss.

posted on 05 May 2017, 11:16
Reply

26. buccob (Posts: 2739; Member since: 19 Jun 2012)


You are correct, and that is why I agreed with you... I wouldn't pay more than 600$ for that particular model.... But it doesn't take away the fact that it is a good choice for people who find it at that price...

Now 800$ is way overpriced... I was hesitant about paying 470 for the original XZ... but hey, I truly don't like other offerings out there, bezel-less, dual-camera, whatever... The XZ still suits me better at the moment

posted on 04 May 2017, 13:37
Reply

18. Djz89 (Posts: 365; Member since: 25 Aug 2014)


WTF, hehe.

posted on 04 May 2017, 14:03 1
Reply

19. buccob (Posts: 2739; Member since: 19 Jun 2012)


Designs are very subjective... I just happened to buy the original XZ which has dropped to sub $500 bucks... and I think it is a good deal, since it still remains a great performer with one of the best displays, camera and overall package...

I personally dislike the curve display of recent Samsung flagships, its extremely gimmicky and it distorts the light at the edges, so it really distracts when using them...

I like having bezels for usability, and the stereo speakers while not loud, the positioning is way better than any other configuration.

The camera is extremely good in daylight... and for low light, you just need to learn its manual mode (which PhoneArena dont even bother to try)...

And the software is IMO a better experience than what others currently offer.

posted on 04 May 2017, 11:35 1
Reply

9. Lumberjack (Posts: 201; Member since: 04 May 2017)


Even Android Authority that is always making critics on Sony has given 8.6 to XZs. Also said low light shots are impressive.
I have watched many youtube videos, everytime antutu is run XZs scores morethan 153.000 ...

Same cam of XZ Premium. I have seen shots of XZP and it is way better than iphone 7 plus...

When colors are lighter than the real ones, it means exposion issues.. Exactly what S7 shows..

posted on 04 May 2017, 11:54 1
Reply

12. cocoy (Posts: 56; Member since: 30 Oct 2015)


I have never seen a review of sony phone in this site that got at least 8.9 or 9. I don't know why but it seems to me that this site is not that objective when it comes to other brands. I'm not a sony fan but there are things that I've seen from sony phones which other OEM's don't offer on their flagship. Sony's music and video player is second to none, web browsing is faster compared to any Android so far for now. But I don't like the huge bezel of their phones, although it has a dual stereo speakers and headphone jack which Iphone 7/7 plus don't have.

posted on 04 May 2017, 14:16
Reply

20. Lumberjack (Posts: 201; Member since: 04 May 2017)


I bet XZ Premium can achieve 89 or 90 dxomark.
PA will say iphone 7s+ is better, even if its is 87 or 88 ...

You bet.....

posted on 08 May 2017, 15:19
Reply

27. Lita9 (Posts: 7; Member since: 07 May 2017)


PA can sukk sammy a s s

posted on 08 May 2017, 22:16
Reply

28. sunnyfpy (Posts: 132; Member since: 12 May 2013)


Over priced for dated phone spec's that under perform,,,poor battery life!

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Sony Xperia XZs

Sony Xperia XZs

OS: Android 7.1
view full specs
PhoneArena rating:
7.5Good
Display5.2 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels (424 ppi) IPS LCD
Camera19 megapixels
Hardware
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, Quad-core, 2200 MHz, Kryo processor
4 GB RAM
Size5.75 x 2.83 x 0.32 inches
(146 x 72 x 8.1 mm)
5.68 oz  (161 g)

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