Introduction
When we talk about Sony, people don’t often think about its Xperia smartphone line. Well, the company hasn’t been doing great when it comes to smartphone business. Despite having a great camera sensor, which most flagships nowadays are also using, it seems that there is always something lacking behind. This is the Sony Xperia XZ2 review, a smartphone that seems to prove that Sony has finally caught up.
Ambient Flow Design with Fluid 3D Glass Surface
Looking at the front of the Xperia XZ2, the phone seems to look quite similar to its predecessor. You still get the dual-front stereo speakers on top and below the display, and it doesn’t have a bezel-less display like most flagships in 2018.
The back of the phone is a different story. For the first time, Sony has finally changed the design of the flagship device. Gone is the flat back metal surface, which is now being replaced with a rather curvy fluid 3D glass surface. It looks really nice and unique, doesn’t have the common look like most flagships in 2018. Glass is still glass, though, after using the phone for a few weeks, there are plenty of scratches and scars on its back glass.
Additionally, the fingerprint sensor has now been moved to the back, below the camera lens. Sony claims that the fingerprint sensor is being positioned in a natural way so you can unlock your phone without moving your hand. The truth is, I often accidentally touch the camera lens when I just want to unlock the phone using the fingerprint sensor.
The SIM/MicroSD tray can be pulled out easily without even needing the ejector tool. However, do note that once you pull out the tray, the phone will restart automatically.
As usual, all the buttons such as the volume rocker, power button, and camera shutter key, are located at the right side of the phone. Sony is the only manufacturer who still has the camera shutter key on its smartphones.
The bottom of the phone houses the USB-C port and microphone. Yup, like most 2018 flagships, the phone doesn’t come with a 3.5mm audio jack. Not sure why? Perhaps a way to promote its Xperia Ear Duo?
5.7″ 18:9 HDR Display
The Xperia XZ2 sports a 5.7-inch Full HD+ 18:9 HDR display, not often you will see in a smartphone. It has the same Sony’s BRAVIA TV tech that up-convert everything to near High Dynamic Range (HDR). With this tech, Sony states that even when you’re streaming videos you’ll get movie-quality contrast, clarity, and color. Overall, the phone has a pretty impressive screen, which is bright and clear. Watching videos with this phone is a fantastic experience, though that the color is still not as eye-pleasing as an AMOLED display.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC
The Xperia XZ2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor with 4GB RAM and 64GB expandable storage. As expected, everything runs really smoothly including playing games like PUBG Mobile in the highest settings.
Dynamic Vibration System
The Xperia XZ2 also comes with a new feature — Dynamic Vibration System. It analyzes audio data and provides an enhanced haptic feedback experience when watching videos, playing games or listening to music. I’m fine playing games with this feature on as it actually felt like the haptic feedback on a PS4 controller. Watching videos and listening to music with this feature on somehow felt so weird.
Near Stock Experience
The phone runs on Android 8.0 Oreo with Xperia UI on top, which is actually close to the stock Android experience with some additional features. Google Now page is at the left side of the home screen and you can replace the icon pack of the phone.
3D Creator is actually an app introduced in the Xperia XZ1. This time around, Sony has improved the app in the Xperia XZ2, which now allows you to do a selfie scan too. It is a very unique feature and the scanning somehow is actually quite accurate.
960fps Video at Full HD
The Xperia XZ2 packs the same 19MP Motion Eye camera as its predecessor. This camera tech is nothing new as it was introduced in the Xperia XZ Premium. However, Sony has once again made some improvements over the same tech. The phone can now record the 960fps super slow motion video at 1080p Full HD resolution. The only other phone that can record such frame rate video at Full HD resolution is the Xperia XZ2 Premium.
Generally, image quality seems to be the same as its predecessor, decent but still not the best. The camera is still lacking behind despite having good hardware. Furthermore, I found that the camera user experience isn’t that good as well. It is still the same camera UI and there’s a noticeable lag between taking a photo and being saved to the camera roll.
Nevertheless, the phone performs better in terms of video recording, which you can actually record 4K HDR and 1080p@960fps super slow motion videos.
3,180mAh Battery
The Xperia XZ2 has a 3,180mAh battery, which seems to be quite okay for a flagship smartphone. The company claims that it is able to provide an all-day battery life. Before talking about its battery life, the phone actually comes with quite a few battery features. It finally supports Quick Charge 3.0 for a rapid charging speed. Besides QC 3.0, the phone also features Qnovo Adaptive Charging and Battery Care. Both features will actually prolong the battery lifespan. If you often charge your phone overnight, the phone will actually learn your charging habit and then charge your phone to 90%, wait, then charge to 100% just before your wake-up time.
In terms of battery life, the phone can really last through a day with 4 hours plus of screen-on-time. Duly note that my usage was quite moderate such as browsing the web and using all those social media apps.
Final Words
Retailing at RM3,012.26 (thanks to 0% GST), the Xperia XZ2 is available in four colors: Liquid Black, Deep Green, Ash Pink, and Liquid Silver. It’s good to see that Sony is finally making improvements inside out. Unfortunately, it could still be one of the underrated flagship devices in 2018 due to the lack of marketing compared to other brands. The phone actually has some advantages such as the dual-front stereo speakers, 960fps super slow-mo video recording at 1080p, and good battery life. Sadly, not many people will actually choose this phone since it is not a phone for everyone.
Yay
- Beautiful design
- Impressive dual-front stereo speakers with Dynamic Vibration System
- HDR display
Nay
- No 3.5mm audio jack
- Fingerprint scanner not at an ideal position
- Not so good camera software