Sony Xperia ZL Review

Introduction:

Making a radical impact on today's smartphone market is no easy task, but Sony is hoping to succeed by taking a slightly different approach than its rivals. While most manufacturers have their time and resources focused on a single high-end device, the Japanese tech giant is delivering its one-two punch in the form of the slim and shiny Sony Xperia Z and its less fabulous and non-water-resistant, but (presumably) less expensive Sony Xperia ZL.

On paper, the Sony Xperia ZL is very similar to its fashionable cousin. It is equipped witha 5-inch, 1080pscreen, powerful quad-core processor, 13MP camera, and LTE connectivity – factors that land it right into the high-end category. The Sony Xperia ZL, however, is being advertised as more compact than its competitors while its battery has a slightly bigger capacity than the one inside the Xperia Z.

But the competition on the smartphone battlefield is nothing short of fierce. It usually takes far more than just specs to turn a flagship into a bestseller – outstanding features, well-executed software, and attractive design are pretty much mandatory traits. Does the Sony Xperia ZL have any of that? Well, it is time to take it for a spin and find out!

In the box:

• Wall charger
• microUSB cable
• MH-EX300AP wired headset with extra ear gels
• User guide and other papers

Design:

If we had to describe the Sony Xperia ZL using one single word, that would be “boring”. Sure, the smartphone has adopted some visual cues from its sleeker cousin – the Xperia Z, but it is thicker and far less appealing with all that matte plastic used in its construction. As a result, the Xperia ZL simply lacks that “wow” factor we've come to expect from top-of-the-line smartphones nowadays.

Something that the Sony Xperia ZL is supposed to stand out with is its small footprint. Looking at numbers alone, it should be one of the most compact 5-inch smartphones in existence, with over three quarters of its front side occupied by its large screen – an impressive technical achievement that must be noted. But in reality, the difference between holding the ZL and one of its 5-inch rivals is not as striking as Sony wants you to think. Actually, using the Sony Xperia ZL would have been much more enjoyable if its corners weren't so pointy. And yes, it is still uncomfortable to operate using one hand only, but that's a common trait for all phones of that size.




Interface and functionality:

Android 4.1.2 comes running out of the box on the Sony Xperia ZL. This may not be the most up-to-date version of the operating system, but it's fairly recent so we'll take the handset as it is. Eventually, the ZL will get updated to Android version 4.2, but a specific date has yet to be announced.

As the case is with Sony's other Android handsets, the platform's UI has been heavily modified both in terms of appearance and functionality. And to tell you the truth, we're happy with what Sony has done to it. Unlike most Android devices from other makers, the Xperia ZL comes with several themes pre-loaded, differing by accent color and set of wallpapers used for the lock and home screens. Speaking of wallpapers, it is nice to see that there's over a dozen of them thrown in to match your mood and taste.


Overall, the user interface is very pretty, but it's also quite practical. For example, the selection of so-called “small apps” is a handy addition – think of them as simple applications that run in a small window of their own, hovering above the UI. These include a timer, calculator, notes, voice recorder, and an app that lets you use the phone's built-in infrared blaster – not a whole lot, but more of them can be downloaded for free from the Play Store. 

Camera:

The Xperia ZL is outfitted with the best smartphone camera module Sony has to offer – the 13-megapixel Exmor RS with short start-up times and rapid burst mode. In fact, the camera needs less than 2 seconds to take a shot even from the lock screen – just hold down the dedicated shutter key and aim. Alternatively, this button can be set to only launch the camera interface instead of immediately taking a picture.

Speaking of the camera interface, we like it for the numerous shooting modes, image filters and settings it allows us to set. What we don't quite like, on the other hand, is that the so-called “Superior Auto Intelligent” mode can be unpredictable and downright twitchy at times, although it usually produces very good results. Novice users will most likely be better off sticking to it, while experienced photographers might want to switch to the Normal mode.



We took a bunch of daytime shots with our Sony Xperia ZL and they all looked great – not perfect, but well worthy of being printed out and hung on a wall. We do have a few complaints, one of them being the camera's tendency to smear fine details and the other being those weird purple shadows produced around edges, but unless photos are being viewed at 100% zoom, these imperfections aren't bothersome at all. Indoor photos look a bit less impressive as their colors are somewhat inaccurate, but at least the LED flash is capable of providing a decent amount of illumination.



Videos are captured in great detail – all the way up to 1080p resolution. They are very smooth, generally free of digital noise, and with clear stereo sound. To make videos look better in tricky lighting situations, the camera offers HDR video mode for capturing a broader fraction of the dynamics range.

Sony Xperia ZL Sample Video:



Sony Xperia ZL Indoor Sample Video:





Call quality:

Regular phone calls made using the Sony Xperia ZL are of average quality. Voices are sufficiently loud both through the earpiece and on the other side of the line, but for some reason, the sound is also a tad muffled on both ends. At least the secondary microphone does a good job at obliterating background noises.