Sony Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact are new design, good specifications and waterproof. In addition, the Sony Xperia XZ2 has wireless charging, while the younger version Compact Sony fit a 5-inch screen into a compact body.

The new smartphones from Sony, called the Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact, look cool and made a very good impression on us in our first hands-on test. In terms of processor performance, this model of a Sony smartphone competes with the Galaxy S9, but it remains to be seen whether the camera will be convincing enough in twilight conditions. The XZ2 Compact is currently unrivaled in its class and should delight fans of compact mobile phones. Advantages

Disadvantages great design

excellent performance

waterproof

good camera no headphone jack

XZ2 Compact without fast charging power bank and without wireless charging Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact from Sony with a new design

Sony, with its Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact, is finally saying goodbye to the beloved wide bezels on the top and bottom sides. With ever-increasing screens trying to fit into ever more compact cases, the Japanese electronics manufacturer resisted to the last, remaining almost the only one in recent years who did not follow. given language design.

But now Sony Mobile wants to upgrade in this regard, saying goodbye to the usual charm and instead wants to use a new design: the concept of Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 is called "Ambient Flow" with streamlined shapes. It looks a bit like the design of the HTC U11 Plus. By the way, Samsung, for example, used a “natural” comparison for its Galaxy S3 a long time ago. But everything new is a well-forgotten old. In any case, we liked the result, as the Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact both look cool and feel very good in the hand. The XZ2 Compact deserves special praise - it's just brilliant how small and convenient a mobile phone with a 5-inch display can be. The larger model, with its 5.7-inch LC screen, offers enough space to please media lovers as well. The Galaxy S9 has similar dimensions. For improved “one-handed” control, you only need to swipe on the bottom software bar, after which the system reduces the image size and shifts the content to the lower left or right corner - everything can be done intuitively. With the Xperia XZ2, Sony puts Gorilla Glas 5 on the front and back, which looks quite elegant but makes fingerprints visible. No less elegant is the matte Xperia XZ2 Compact, for which Sony used plastic. But this does not upset us, since the compact model looks very good. More annoying, we find the gap that forms at the transition from the display to the frame. But there is a possibility that production models will be collected better. At the same time, both mobile phone are waterproof in accordance with IP-68 standards.

Xperia XZ2 fingerprint scanner on the back

According to Sony, the XZ2 smartphone offers 13 percent more image area than the Xperia XZ1 despite being 1mm thinner. Both new models boast a state-of-the-art 18:9 aspect ratio and display content in a suitably enhanced Full-HD resolution of 2160x1080 pixels, also referred to as FHD+. Most users would not perceive even higher image clarity with the naked eye anyway. Only when using VR glasses, the resolution can never be too high. In this area, the Galaxy S9 stays ahead of the competition. Some regret of users who are adherents of the classics can be caused by the fact that the fingerprint scanner is now, like many competitors, located on the back of the case, and not on the side of the on/off button of the device. Regret because there he functioned the best way and remained virtually invisible. In addition, the Xperia XZ2's central positioning of the scanner, during our first test, seemed strange to us and required some adjustment, but not problematic. According to Sony, it sits exactly where users place their finger most of the time they pick up the phone.

Snapdragon 845: powerful force in Xperia XZ2 (Compact)

The Xperia XZ2 & XZ2 Compact are among the first smartphones to hit the market with Qualcomm's latest and most powerful mobile processor, dubbed the Snapdragon 845. Compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 835, it has 30 percent more power than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 835, according to Sony. power with efficiency raised by 20 percent. The size random access memory equals 4 GB - this is not extremely much, but according to our estimates, it is enough for top models. Thus, you get a very fast system with a large performance reserve, which should be enough for the coming years. The Xperia XZ2 Compact appears to be not only the smallest of the 5-inch smartphones, but also the most powerful. Despite the convenient size, you will not have to make any compromises in terms of equipment. The battery with its capacity of 2870 mAh seems decent to us too. The regular XZ2, which has a larger 3180 mAh capacity due to its larger screen, has a little more to offer in this regard.

Improved camera - and in twilight lighting too?

Sony has not only provided new functionality camera, but also wants to improve the quality of photos. In daylight conditions, users can enjoy the high resolution of 19-megapixels, which allows you to get high detail in the scenes you shoot. Whether the matrix can compete with competitors even in twilight lighting should show the results of our full-fledged testing. Since Sony continues to use rather small 1.22µm pixels, as well as a not too large f / 2.2 aperture, which reduces the amount of light entering the sensor, and also, as before, refuses to integrate an optical image stabilizer, we are cautious skeptical. The fact is that the predecessors during tests in twilight lighting often showed shortcomings. However, we were told that Sony has been working on sensor processing with Qualcomm, which should be better than previous models. But in terms of video, the camera, on the contrary, should perform well, which she already did on the XZ1.

Full-HD super slow motion video Optimized by the manufacturer and maximum resolution available in its super slow motion video mode. Now you can shoot even in Full-HD resolution at 960 frames per second for extremely slow motion videos. The previous model, as well as the Galaxy S9, only do this in HD, i.e. 720p. However, the duration of the clip is now even shorter. If before it was a short 0.184 seconds, which stretched to 6 seconds during playback, now only half of these values ​​remain. In addition, the camera has the ability to shoot video in 4K and HDR, and according to Sony supports 10-bit color depth and an extremely wide BT.2020 color space. That's great, but it's worth recognizing that there are hardly any devices in the "consumer" segment that allow you to fully display the BT.2020. Even in the realm of UHD TVs, the somewhat smaller (though still large in itself) DCI-P3 color space is common. However, enjoy the video with rich colors nevertheless it is possible.

No headphone audio jack

Unfortunately, now Sony has joined the ranks of manufacturers who have abandoned the use of a 3.5 mm audio jack for connecting cable headphones. A suitable adapter is included in the package, but it does not allow you to listen to music and recharge your smartphone at the same time. Those who need exactly this can purchase a special adapter, which is in the Sony range. Also from the innovations, support for wireless charging can be noted, but only for the large Xperia XZ2, not for the compact model. For the corresponding 9 W WCH20 charging station, the manufacturer asks for about 4,500 rubles - that is, it turns out to be even more expensive than the Qi-Pad in Apple stores. And even more so, such a price looks brutal against the background of analogues from Chinese stores.

Xperia XZ2 is chic, fast, but expensive

Xperia XZ2 can download data from mobile internet, if LTE networks ever allow it, with an extremely high speed- 1.2 Gb, and XZ2 Compact - 800 Mb. Both devices can boast of having an up-to-date Bluetooth standard 5 as well as fast WLAN-ac. Not without a Micro-SD / Dual-SIM slot, as well as USB port 3.1 Type-C. Unlike the Galaxy S9, the new Sony phones and on the second SIM support Voice-over-LTE for improved voice transmission.

The Xperia XZ2 package also includes a UCH12 fast charging power supply, and the compact model is sold, unfortunately, with a weaker UCH20 power supply that does not support fast operation, despite the fact that the smartphone itself supports this technology. It's a pity, in fact, it would not be worth saving on this. Both devices work with Android control 8. The 64GB Xperia XZ2 in Liquid Black, Liquid Silver, Deep Green and Ash Pink should go on sale early in the second quarter. The 64GB Xperia XZ2 Compact will be available this spring in Black, White Silver, Moss Green and Coral Pink. Which one would you choose? Sony Xperia XZ2 Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact Anyone as long as it's cheap Prefer to shop on Aliexpress I'm a cultist from Apple See results active noise cancellation: compare models from Sony, Bose, Sennheiser and Beats

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Camera review Xperia XZ Premium - the most advanced camera among the current premium smartphones in 2017.

Before full review Xperia XZ Premium does not interfere with talking about the Sony flagship camera in a separate article.

The fact is that the Xperia XZ Premium camera is significantly different from the previous generation of Sony Xperia cameras. This is a real breakthrough for the Japanese company, a triumph of technological superiority.

• Image sensor: Sony IMX400,
• Resolution and physical dimensions: 19 MP, 1/2.3″, pixel size 1.22 microns
• Lens: 25mm G Lens, F2.0 aperture
• Features: Motion Eye technology, three-layer image sensor with built-in DRAM memory, 960 fps slow-mo video recording, predictive shooting, HDR, hybrid autofocus (phase + laser), RGB sensor, tracking autofocus.

Design and usability of the interface

The review of the Xperia XZ Premium camera will have to start with harsh but justified criticism.

Why the hell is the camera app from 2014 still being used in 2017?! Is it really so difficult and expensive to write a new application or at least clean up an old application with the release of the new IMX400 camera?!

The camera app is objectively outdated. Aside from the swipe up/down swiping through the shooting modes and the virtual shutter button, I can't name more convenient moments.

The settings are poorly implemented, a lot of items that are incomprehensible to an unprepared user, only “Tap to configure” is worth something. But behind this nonsense is the “Tap Exposure” function, which is turned off by default on the Xperia XZ Premium camera. Therefore, many reviewers who are poorly versed in the issue think that there is no tap exposure, there is only tracking autofocus.

And there are enough such “pleasant” little things in the Xperia XZ Premium camera application. For example, a relic of the past is shooting 4K video in a separate mini-application with its own interface. Only one question - WHY?! Really bombs from such absurdities.

Why am I hurting so much because of the camera app interface? It's simple - I've been using it for a long time Huawei Mate 9 () with its dual camera and Leica software. There, the camera application is just a reference, and as you know, you get used to good things quickly.

However, if we ignore the quality UI and honestly ask ourselves the question - “can I use the Xperia camera application?”, The answer is yes. The Xperia XZ Premium camera can be understood and, having got the hang of it, used without any serious inconvenience.

In many situations, the mechanical two-position shutter button on the phone's body saves. In field conditions and when shooting on the go, this The best decision which can only be imagined.

Functionality

Thankfully, the Xperia XZ Premium's camera capabilities almost completely override its lagging interface. We analyze all the functions in order.

A photo

Super Auto Mode. In this photo mode, there is a minimum of features in the Xperia XZ Premium camera app. Everything is very ascetic, almost like in the iPhone camera.

You can turn on / off the flash, switch to the front camera and open the settings.

Manual ( manual mode) . At first glance, everything is the same, but an icon with sliders appears under the shutter button. This is the manual mode control that the Xperia XZ Premium and other premium Sony smartphones, unfortunately very short. You can only change exposure compensation from -2.0 to +2.0, choose from 4 color temperature presets, focus distance and shutter speed.

Moreover, the maximum shutter speed of the Xperia XZ Premium is only 1 second, when, like the same Huawei flagships, you can set up to 30 seconds. It seems like a trifle, but when shooting at night on a tripod, the same Mate 9 will show a better result than the XZ Premium.

Video

In addition to the usual mode of shooting video in different resolutions and different frame rates, Sony Mobile developers have added a new button above the shutter release. By clicking on it, we get into the slow motion mode.

super slow motion. This mode was created specifically for shooting slow motion videos at 960 fps.

When the mode is activated, the image is seriously cropped, and the resolution is reduced to HD (1280 × 720), there is much more noise, so such shooting is possible only with sufficient lighting.

The process can be configured as follows:

• Super slow motion. Shooting starts in HD resolution and 30 fps, and we choose slow-mo video fragments by ourselves by pressing the shutter button. Pressed - the phone filmed an excerpt, transferred it from the camera's memory to the phone's memory and is ready to take the next excerpt. Clips are only 0.18 seconds long, but at 30 fps they turn into 6-second clips.
• super slow(one passage). Pressing the shutter button does only one super slow motion clip.
• Slow motion. Video recording at 120 fps.

Camera Applications

Built-in camera apps include:

• AR effect
• Art
• sound photo
• Panorama
• Video 4K

All these applications are well known premium smartphones Sony Xperia for the past 3-4 years. Nothing much has changed in the Xperia XZ Premium, except that the latest AR effects have been added and the h.265 codec has appeared in 4K mode.

Settings

The settings in the Xperia XZ Premium camera app are confusing and not always clear. Sony uses strange names for known parameters, why is unclear.

For example, in the photo settings there is an item “Tap to adjust”, behind which a banal tap exposure is hidden. By the way, it is turned off by default, instead of it there is “Object tracking” (tracking autofocus).

Because of this, untrained users think that there is no tap exposure in the cameras of the latest Xperia. It is, but for some reason, Sony Mobile engineers believe that it is more important for the user to use tracking autofocus than exposure.

How the Sony Xperia XZ Premium camera shoots

Interface design and settings are of course important, but much more important is how the Xperia XZ Premium camera shoots. At this point, I have collected all sorts of tests with the Sony flagship camera.

Photography

The most important parameter when choosing a camera phone, because most users take photos.

Xperia XZ Premium test shots.

Autofocus speed test when taking photos:

It was Sasha Zhuravlev's video that forced me to test autofocus, where he scolded the Xperia XZ Premium camera for not being able to focus normally when shooting indoors. On that video, everything is really very bad with focus, so I just could not help but conduct a couple of similar tests.

It turned out that Sasha did something wrong in the settings. in my tests, the Xperia XZ Premium's camera focuses quickly and flawlessly. The focus of the Xperia XZ Premium camera is tenacious and smart, it is easy to follow even objects in motion, not like when shooting static.

Video filming

A less important parameter for most users, but very important for those who like to shoot video on a smartphone. Such people are ready to sacrifice the quality of the photo, if only the video shooting was at the maximum level. Therefore, here I have collected all possible tests:

FHD 30 fps still video recording test:

FHD 30 fps video recording test in motion (stabilization test):

FHD 60 fps still recording test:

FHD 60 fps recording test in motion (stabilization test):

4K 30 fps still video recording test:

The best stabilization quality can only be achieved when recording at FHD 30 fps. In this mode, active smart SteadyShot works, like in Sony action cameras. At 60 fps, the quality of stabilization drops significantly.

Slow-mo video

960 fps slow-motion video recording is the main feature of the Xperia XZ Premium camera. And it's really cool stuff.

I would even say that this is fantastic for modern phones. Who would have thought that phones would learn to shoot the same slow-mo like expensive professional cameras so soon. And Sony was the first here.

It’s worth mentioning right away that you can use this shooting mode only in clear weather with a normal amount of light, otherwise there will be an indecent amount of noise. In the sun, they are also enough, but it does not matter, considering what cool things you can do at a speed of 960 fps.

Here is an example of what I was able to capture while talking with the Xperia XZ Premium. Not a masterpiece, but interesting:

Comparison of Xperia XZ Premium and Xperia X cameras

I think many Xperia fans will be interested to know how much the quality of the new Xperia XZ Premium camera based on the IMX400 sensor has improved compared to the previous flagship Sony Xperia based on the IMX300 (Xperia XZ, Xperia X, Xperia Z5 and others).

Especially for the curious, I took a series of comparative photos on Xperia XZ Premium and Xperia X. All pictures were taken in Super Auto mode with a resolution of 19 MP and 23 MP, respectively.

The comparison goes in series (1,2,3, etc.), in each series first the picture belongs to Xperia X, and second Xperia XZ Premium.

In my opinion, the Xperia XZ Premium renders colors better and doesn't make mistakes with the white balance. Let me know in the comments which photo you like best.

Conclusion

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium camera is not ideal, but a real breakthrough in the stagnant smartphone market. The Japanese company showed not just an advanced image sensor, but a real innovation. Built-in memory right in the camera and 960 fps super slow motion video are much cooler than banal dual cameras.

But there is something to scold the Xperia XZ Premium camera for. Sony Mobile was in a hurry and crammed the functionality of the new camera into an outdated interface.

Basically, the Xperia camera app hasn't really changed in over 3 years. Something needs to be done about this, and the sooner the better. Let's hope that with the release android updates 8.0 developers Sony will not forget about the new camera application.

Otherwise, the Xperia XZ Premium's camera definitely deserves respect. This is a top photo creation tool, with good opportunities in terms of video. Excellent electronic stabilization, slow-mo 960 fps - what else do you need?

The display that moved from the Xperia Z3 +, that is, remained unchanged

The main characteristics of the display of Sony's flagship smartphone remain the same: we are still waiting for 1920 × 1080 pixels, placed on a 5.2-inch matrix. The pixel density is high - 423.6 dpi, the effect of "pixelization" on the Z5 display is completely absent.

The device uses an IPS-matrix with decent viewing angles: yes, if you look at a very sharp angle, the black color slightly loses its saturation, but these are trifles. The screen is responsive, it quickly and accurately responds to touch. 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 work with the device in loose gloves - it will detect touches correctly.

Sony Xperia Z5 - AnTuTu MultiTouch Test results

As expected, Sony has provided the Z5 screen with a number of software "enhancers" of the image so that the user can adjust the color reproduction to suit his tastes. The smartphone display can work in three modes:

• standard: No software interference with color rendering. It was in this mode that we conducted all screen tests, without the intervention of cunning “improvers”;
• X-Reality for mobile: Software enhancement for photos and videos (Standard filter for mobile displays from Sony Mobile, which corrects colors depending on the type of content being displayed);
• extreme brightness mode: Maximum color quality for vivid and vibrant images (artificially oversaturates colors, making the picture look "cartoonish" like on many AMOLED screens).

Sony Xperia Z5 - screen options

The smartphone got a bright screen: the maximum luminosity of the white field is 656 cd/m 2 . That's a lot, even by today's standards. Since the display has a very 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 sunshine, about 400 cd / m 2 is enough. On the other hand, such a margin of brightness cannot but please, at least on a psychological level - the display of the Z5 is brighter than that of the vast majority of competitors. It is also good that it is comfortable to work with a smartphone in complete darkness: the minimum luminosity of the white field is 18 cd/m 2 .

The Z5 is equipped with an ambient light sensor that adjusts the brightness quite adequately to the ambient light level. The brightness of the display is adjusted smoothly, without jerking. It is noteworthy that the user can adjust the operation of the auto-corrector so that the screen backlight is a little brighter or a little dimmer, depending on personal preferences.

It is somewhat disappointing that due to high brightness the luminosity of the black field also rises: at 100% backlight, it reaches 0.63 cd / m 2 - 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 lower the backlight level - and the black will be perfectly saturated. In general, the contrast ratio of the Z5 display is all right - 1041:1 even at maximum brightness.

The color temperature of the Z5 screen, like many other mobile Sony displays, overestimated - an average of 8800 K at reference value 6500 K. Because of this, the picture on the display is noticeably drawn to cold 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 display of the device "correctly" displays all the halftones and shades. If he had the white balance set correctly out of the box, it would be generally excellent.

Based on our testing, the Xperia Z5's display is a direct carryover from the predecessor Xperia Z3+, with no significant changes. The screen is good, but Sony engineers do not want to bring the color temperature of their screens to a decent value.

⇡ "Iron", moved from Xperia Z3 +, earned faster

In theory, in this paragraph, you can refer to the "iron" Xperia Z3 + and go 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's still the same LPDDR3; the built-in storage capacity 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 in the mobile division of Sony they do not refuse "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 thanks for this, most likely, you need to optimize the Sony software. An increase of about 10-20% compared to the previous flagship in various tests is a very good result.

As a graphics controller, the device uses a Qualcomm Adreno 430 module, the power of which is more or less enough for 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.

⇡ Communication and wireless interfaces: everything is standard

By default, Sony Xperia Z5 can only work with one Nano-SIM SIM card. In nature, there is a dual-sim version of the new “zetka” - it is called the Xperia Z5 Dual, but we will talk about it some other time. Our today's test subject is able to work in LTE Cat networks. 6 with a maximum theoretical data download rate of 300 Mbps, upload - 50 Mbps. All frequencies important for Russia are supported. Reception problems cellular signal during the testing of the device, we did not reveal. Using the Xperia Z5 as the only means of communication is quite convenient - the interlocutor is heard well, the earpiece is loud, at the other end of the wire they did not complain about poor audibility either.

Kit 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. Infrared port for management household appliances Sony's flagship smartphone is still not. The gadget navigates the terrain using a radio module that can communicate with GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou satellites. He does it quickly enough, it is convenient to use a smartphone as a car or pedestrian navigator. A few seconds after the launch of 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.

⇡ Camera: finally something new, we have been waiting for changes here for a long time

For several generations in a row, Sony's flagship smartphones have been using the same 20.7-megapixel Exmor RS module. He shot, to put it mildly, not as good as he would like. And it's very strange! Because all other Sony matrices work much better. However, the Japanese officially recognized the flaw and promised to fix everything - starting with this generation of smartphones.

The Xperia Z5 features 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 new system auto focus. It is hybrid here: both contrast and phase focusing methods are used, just like in advanced digital cameras. It is stated that the Xperia Z5 camera is able to visit the subject in 0.03 seconds. It also says that the five-fold digital zoom on the Xperia Z5 camera does not affect the quality of photos. The Z5 has fast optics with a maximum aperture of ƒ / 2.0, a 24mm lens in terms of a 35mm equivalent.

The interface of the camera application has not changed - it is still quite simple and convenient. The viewfinder provides a variety of software effects and options, all standard settings for smartphone camera, including manual mode. Photos can be taken at 23 MP (4:3)/20 MP (16:9) or automatically compressed to eight megapixels to save space and improve quality. Xperia Z5 can record video in the newfangled 4K format.

Xperia Z5 Camera Test

Removes, however, the flagship smartphone Sony is still imperfect. No, of course, there is progress: it has become much better than it was, but shooting in the dark for the older “zetka” is still a problem. Photos taken in low light are either too noisy or somewhat blurry. In addition, the vaunted autofocus in the dark is no, no, and even thoughtful. True, with indoor or outdoor lighting, the situation changes for the better: the photos are sharp throughout the field, the colors are bright and saturated, the contrast of the pictures is high. In bright light hybrid system autofocus is aimed at the subject really very quickly. The minimum focusing distance is about seven to eight centimeters, but macro photographs are somewhat lacking in sharpness. But the Xperia Z5's camera is very good at separating the foreground from the background, making the photos look more artistic.

In principle, Sony's flagship smartphone finally takes pictures in the same way as the flagships of other companies. And this is both good news and not very good news: yes, before that it was noticeably worse, but Sony is able to do mobile camera even better, it stands out from the competition. And this, unfortunately, has not yet happened.

⇡ Autonomous work: enough for a day

The smartphone has a battery of 11.02 Wh (2900 mAh, 3.8 V), which users do not have access to - the case is not separable. For a modern five-inch gadget, this is sufficient capacity. During testing, it was used as the main and only means of communication, while not once during the week it was not discharged until the end of the working day. The battery of the device is quite enough for a day or even a little more, depending on the load. A full charge cycle from a regular power supply takes three hours.

In the continuous video playback mode at maximum brightness with an active Wi-Fi connection and data updates in the background, the device lasted just over six and a half hours - the result is very good, 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 in the Z5: here is the 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 power saving settings turned off, complain about the short time battery life we didn’t want to at all during the testing period.

⇡ Instead of a conclusion: do you need to take something?

Good question. In the case of the Xperia Z5, it is important to understand that we are talking about a device that was valued at fifty thousand rubles at the start of sales. This is a fairly large amount, for this money you can buy almost any smartphone from almost any brand, with rare exceptions. That is, the price is clearly not forte 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 are also. In other words, there is nothing cardinally outstanding in the Xperia Z5.

Why you can fall in love with the new flagship Sony? First of all, for the design. The Xperia Z5 is definitely a pleasure to look at and make you want to hold it in your hands - Z3+ and all previous ones Sony models recent ones don't look that interesting. Otherwise, this is the same flagship as, say, the LG G4 or samsung galaxy S6 edge. Whose design is closer to you - that and choose. You will not regret in any of the cases.

Smartphone Sony Xperia XZ1 is not a new device. This is the flagship of the company from 2017. But it has a lot of interesting features that are worth paying attention to, and which are not ashamed to use even in 2018. Our review of the Sony Xperia XZ1 is just about them.

Design

In terms of design, the Sony Xperia XZ1 ignores all trends and develops alternative features. The design of the smartphone in the company is called Loop Surface - a looped surface. And perhaps it can be called masculine. And in gray, the smartphone is ideal for any leader and businessman. The screen is protected by tempered glass, the back is metal, there is protection against water and dust IP67, a hybrid slot for two SIM-cards and a memory card. All this makes the XZ1 a very serious and business smartphone. But if you compare it with others modern smartphones, then the front of the Sony looks a bit archaic.

After all, don’t say anything, but the design of the XZ1 is very different from everything that is on the market and it lacks only a little bit of current trends. But they say that very soon this will be fixed. But for now, we have what we have, and in general, Sony should even be praised. They don't try to make their products look like the iPhone or the Galaxy, they make their own and give us a choice. Well, let the old screen format be here, maybe someone likes it.

Even the controls on this smartphone are different. For example, the fingerprint scanner is located in the Power button on the side. The thumb of the right hand itself falls into this recess, and when the smartphone is in the left hand, it is convenient to unlock it with the index fingers. True, the scanner is not always accurate, but the idea is excellent and nothing had to be sacrificed. On the same right side under the scanner there is a physical button to control the camera. This is a feature of almost all Sony smartphones. You can take pictures by pressing a button, like in a camera. And the button is two-way. There are people who are used to physical shutter releases and touch keys do not suit them. For example, the Japanese.

Screen

The Xperia XZ1 has a 5.2-inch Full HD display. IPS screen, with HDR10 support. The display is really good. It has a decent margin of brightness and excellent color reproduction. In the settings, you can choose a different color scheme - for example, Extreme Brightness Mode and you get almost OLED with very bright colors. After digging into the screen settings, you can find the Backlight Control function, which understands that the smartphone is in the hands and does not turn off the screen. After all, it is terribly annoying when, when watching a video on Instagram, the screen goes blank after a while. Backlight control solves this problem. The second feature is "Glove Mode". It increases the sensitivity of the screen and allows you to control your smartphone normally while wearing gloves. You can also manually select the white balance and watch videos with Triluminos, Dynamic Contrast Enhancement and X-Realty enhancements.

In other words, the display of the smartphone is good. I would only like a smaller minimum brightness, so that in the evening it would be more comfortable to read tweets in bed. In general, the dimensions of the device are quite comfortable, but Sony had more screen space. However, the Japanese decided that it was more important to install speakers in the frames above and below.

Sound

The Sony Xperia XZ1 has stereo speakers. They sound pretty mediocre. Much quieter than the single speaker in the iPhone X or OnePlus 5T. But it is difficult to block them with your hand and it is more convenient to watch a video with them, even if it is not always audible. Well, music is best listened to with headphones, and here Sony is in full order. The smartphone has a mini-jack, which automatically turns it into a music player. And there is also support for the proprietary LDAC codec. This means that Xperia XZ1 is not just a player, but a Hi-Fi player. Like any solid player, there are a lot of settings here: its own equalizer with proprietary Clear Bass technology, surround sound settings, ClearAudio + and DSCEE HX technology, and even the ability to equalize songs by volume level. But best of all, of course, LDAC. It allows you to stream uncompressed music via Bluetooth. True, to unlock the potential of this codec, you will need Sony headphones - for example, 1000XM2. We are sure that real Sonyboys already have them. But seriously, paired with these headphones, you get quite a solid musical setup. You can find out about the headphones in our review. Well, about the codec, you can read in a separate article.

Camera

Another trend that Sony decided to ignore is the dual camera. In fairness, it should be noted that Google has already proven to everyone that you can work wonders with one camera. By the way, Google Pixel 2 is equipped with just a module from Sony. This Japanese company is generally the largest supplier of cameras for smartphones, and it is all the more surprising that they will not do anything the best camera for yourself. So Sony saved something special for the XZ1 - a 19MP Motion Eye camera with a 25mm lens and f/2.0 aperture.

There is a hybrid autofocus, proprietary SteadyShot image stabilization, tracking focus and predictive shooting, when the camera takes a picture even before you press the shutter. During the day and good lighting The XZ1 shoots great. However, this is not surprising. In low light, the pictures are not so wonderful. And this is the case when a 19 MP sensor does not guarantee best quality. Google Pixel, HTC U11 or iPhone X in the same conditions show better results than XZ1, while they have a lower resolution - only 12 megapixels. A large number of pixels on such a small sensor results in increased noise and loss of detail. But during the day it is almost imperceptible and in general the camera works well.

Video 960 fps

Video can be recorded in 4K at 30fps or Full HD at 60fps. In the settings, you can choose the video saving format - in H264 or in H265. The latter compresses video twice as efficiently, which means that videos take up less space in memory. But the Xperia XZ1 camera also has unique features. Thanks to the dedicated memory in the XZ1 camera, you can shoot super slow motion video at a frame rate of 960 fps. This is 30 times slower than regular video. True, the resolution of such videos is only 1280 by 720 pixels, and for shooting them you need very good light, and you can record only a fragment of 0.2 seconds. After processing, these 0.2 seconds turn into 6 seconds of slow motion video. The main difficulty here is to accurately capture the time during shooting.

You can also use the camera to take 3D portraits or 3D food photography. Not the most useful feature and it does not have a mass application, but it will be interesting to play with it for a while. The resulting 3D models can be printed on a 3D printer. Front-camera here is 13 MP with a 22mm lens and f/2.0 aperture. It shoots quite sane, especially if you turn off the soft skin effect in the settings. The only complaint about the front camera is that it mirrors the image.

Performance

Sony Xperia XZ1 in September at IFA 2017. It's not so long ago, so the smartphone's hardware is still more than modern: Snapdragon 835 processor, Adreno 540 graphics, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory. The smartphone also has a USB 3.1 port in Type-C format for charging and synchronization and a 2700 mAh battery. This smartphone does not dare to be called a gaming smartphone just because it has a small screen, no 120Hz, and it doesn’t look so pretentious. At the same time, you can play any games on the Xperia XZ1, and leave synthetic tests for the paranoid. The main thing is to find these most notorious heavy games, which in Google Play not so much. In general, it is quite difficult to make this smartphone think.

The interface also works smartly, which you can’t particularly complain about. By the way, Xperia XZ1 works on Android Oreo. The launcher does not differ much from pure Android, while there is a minimum number of its own add-ons. Of the interesting branded applications you can mark the program remote connection to the PlayStation. You can play your favorite PS4 games right on your phone, and you can even connect a DualShock via Bluetooth.

In monitor high-impedance (60 ohm) headphones, low frequencies are worked out perfectly, but they always work in moderation and legibly - it doesn’t reach, sorry, “farting”, even at maximum volume. The volume is excellent, the “middle” is densely spread over it, and the high frequencies are drumming with accents. That is, they do not whistle into the ears on an ongoing basis, but are divorced from the rest of the range. But they work much more clearly than in the usual flagships based on Snapdragon (Xiaomi Mi 6, OnePlus 3), and this is 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 tricky algorithm that completes the audio stream of lossy (mp3, ogg vorbis) audio files, if not to lossless formats, then to a little more high level than "hardwired" in the file itself. In MP3 files with an initially high-quality spectrum, it “squeezes” low frequencies, slightly adds 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 for “boyish” mastering (when music was recorded with an eye to “pump the bottoms”), a very good option.

Surround sound (VPT)- function "for an amateur". It distorts the sound in different ways and introduces an artificial "concert" echo.

There is also a 6-band equalizer that can be turned on. instead of DSEE HX or ClearAudio+. Nothing remarkable, except for a separate adjustment low frequencies clear bass- "bubnelka" is very smart and thinks "bottoms" differently than if you just lift up the frequency response graph in Poweramp, for example.

It's in monitors. And in the “plugs” of the Xiaomi Hybrid Pro HD (32 Ohm) level, low frequencies are most often a little lacking, and 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 on its own, using the AHO system. But de facto, with ClearAudio +, the sound becomes caustic, it is impossible to listen, and DSEE HX makes the scene “dense”, but ringing high frequencies still annoy, and there is no longer access to the equalizer with the option activated. The output is a slight "boost" in Clear Bass and a reduction in detail in the "twist" range of 16 kHz. The beauty!

As an option “I want a cool 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 upset with a “dirty” sound for a flagship and “corruption” of 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 the UHQ Upscaler, and with the use of “improvers”, Sony takes the lead. Surprisingly, this seems to be the victory of the standard WCD9341 DAC in the Snapdragon 835 over the more prestigious Cirrus Logis in the Exynos 8895.

Iron

Last year, the description of smartphones based on the top Snapdragon was given easier. Like, look - another mobile phone running the fastest chipset, and no more explanation is needed. In 2017, the stars are slightly different, so you have to start from afar.

Qualcomm is a proud bird, until you motivate you kick it, it won't fly. After the hot guys in California disgraced themselves with the hot Chinese Snapdragon 810 in 2015, and Samsung with its more advanced factories and the Galaxy S6 turned all competitors on benchmarks, the American chipmaker did his best to make the next generation processor a masterpiece.