Flashback: a decade of Sony Xperia displays

03 July 2022
From the first ever 4K smartphone display to the pocket friendly Compacts, we have a look at the Sony Xperia story through some of the most interesting displays.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • YQU
  • 04 Jul 2022

Sony Xperia z series is unbeatable till now. Technology and features was introduced by sony mobile only. Miss that phone

    • d
    • disappointed
    • Lhr
    • 04 Jul 2022

    The Flip, 04 Jul 2022One of the reasons why I was hesitant in getting an Xperia ... moreThe screen to body ratio of later Omnibalance phones was on par with the contemporary Galaxy phones (Z3=S5, Z5=S6).

    The XZ/XZ1 series design (Loop Surface) was indeed dangerously similar to the Mi 3, but I believe that's due to both Sony and Xiaomi taking inspiration from the Lumia line (or even directly from the iPod Nano). I agree it was a major step back for Sony though.

    As someone who's had 5 Xperia phones, I don't think you've missed out by not using them, unless you're a compact phone connoisseur like me. There weren't any compelling reasons to buy a non-compact Xperia, and now that the Compact line has been dead for 4 years already, I don't see a reason to care about them anymore.

      One of the reasons why I was hesitant in getting an Xperia about a decade ago is they used TFT displays. I remember the first time I saw the ad for the Xperia Z in early 2013, I was amazed. First time I saw water-resistant on a flagship. But Sony had a reputation for using poor TFT displays, weak external speakers, and weak reception where the person on the other line sounded like they were talking from a tin can.

      The designs weren't really that great either. It used OmniBalance from 2012-2015 which had plenty of top and bottom bezels. Again, I thought the Xperia XZ series was a copy of the Xiaomi Mi 3. The more recent Xperias actually looks much better but they made them tall and narrow phones with added weight to them. Would be nice if they returned to the Compact series or release an Xperia Play 2.

      Looking back, I really don't think I missed out from never owning an Xperia. I owned better designed phones like the HTC One M7 and M8. I've owned all the best-looking iPhones ever released from the 2G, 4/4S, slate 5, space gray SE1, and black 12 mini. Owned the S7 edge. My Pixel 3 still works flawlessly and still takes amazing photos. My Essential Phone is still rock solid. My Nexus 5 and LG G5 are still with me. I own the two best-looking foldable flip phones.

      What did I miss out on never getting an Xperia? Nothing. Mostly hype from their fanatics.

        overpriced phone... IPS lcd (until XZ2), no OIS, small battery that's Sony flagship.

          • d
          • disappointed
          • Lhr
          • 04 Jul 2022

          The article is wrong in so many ways.

          First of all, you can't really apply the premium/flagship/mini logic to pre-Z devices. But not only do they attempt that, they mess it up with extra mistakes. They call the Xperia P a mini, conveniently omitting the fact that it was the mid-sized option in the NXT line, while the actual small model was the Xperia U.

          Then, it's not the first time I see people equating the Xperia 1 to the X/XZ "regular flagship" line and the Xperia 5 to the Compact line, but I didn't expect GSMArena to repeat this rookie mistake. The 1 is a successor to the Premium line both in size and features (4K anyone?), while the 5 succeeds the X/XZ in a similar fashion (except being slightly narrower), not sharing anything with the Compacts. Their reasoning for it makes zero sense: "if we called the 1 premium, there would be no regular flagship" (there is, and it's the Xperia 5), "the 5 is the smallest flagship, so it's a mini" (the XZ3 was the smallest - and the only - flagship in its generation, does it make it a mini?). As a result, the screen size and resolution charts go crazy in 2019.

          Third, they call the XZ3 the first 18:9 Xperia, as if it wasn't preceded by XZ2 and XZ2 Compact.

          Fourth, they use confusing Ultra and Mini interchangeably with the actual Premium and Compact. And they put the Z Ultra in the same category as the Premium models (judging by the fancy name, I suppose, as it shares nothing with them).

          Then, they arbitrarily ignore some models - not only the forgotten Z2, but the important and pivotal XZ2 as well.

          Oh, and they could have focused more on Triluminous displays, given that the article is about Xperia display evolution and Sony tried to hype this tech in the NXT days.

          Finally, a story about Xperia displays is incomplete without telling about the issues that plagued them in the Z/XZ era (yellow spots, ghost touch).

          Overall, I'm really disappointed with the article.

            Yoedi16, 04 Jul 2022Had G3 for 2 years it doesnt suffer from burn in and bootlo... moreSome G3 had it too, if you bought a device around the launch of G4 and after 6 month / a year you could have MB issues, sadly. The burn in was present in my G3, during 'Snapchat era' and that was the main cause of burning, with the white screen for the convo :)

            I really did enjoyed them a lot, departed from LG after the G4 and came back with the V30 but sadly, not good enough against S8 or Note9 at the times. Their DAC were very good, along with the picture taken and the RAW support 🥰

            I really hope they'll comeback someday 😋

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • q8Q
              • 04 Jul 2022

              Yoedi16, 04 Jul 2022Had G3 for 2 years it doesnt suffer from burn in and bootlo... moreIt happened during G3 too. You just might not have had it. Though aomys mother board issues were worse at the time. Just like ios app crashes were too

                GregLu, 04 Jul 2022The problem for the G3 (And in some extent, G4) was more th... moreHad G3 for 2 years it doesnt suffer from burn in and bootloop issue, it started in G4. The problem with G3 screen is dull colour and bad performance with its chipset

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • IJK
                  • 04 Jul 2022

                  Anonymous, 04 Jul 2022All tech community said Z3 was by far the phone with best e... moreBy far. That's a good one

                    Anonymous, 03 Jul 2022How is the phone supposed to run any app at 4K if whoever c... moreUnless you're coding like a caveman, apps don't need special support for different resolutions.

                      A multi reply feature would be greatly appreciated for engaging nice conversations @GSMArena 😎

                        Anonymous, 03 Jul 2022LG was bashed on internet for using QHD on G3. Bashed by sa... moreThe problem for the G3 (And in some extent, G4) was more the burn in and the MB issues that caused bootloop. Had G3 and G4 with a leather back, the curved feeling was amongst the best and the pictures that the G4 took was absolutely stunning, pixel size and f/1.6 if I remember correctly (When others were at 1.9 or 1.8 at best). Fun times 😚 Nothing like RN with all the models that are so similar and so ... Bland. 🙄🤗

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • IJK
                          • 04 Jul 2022

                          [deleted post]Cause they have the worst fanboy making iPhone commenters even from back in the day look mild.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • IJK
                            • 04 Jul 2022

                            Anonymous, 04 Jul 2022You never say anything xiaomi is gimmick. Like 108Mp w... moreYou clearly don't understand things any better

                              Almand, 03 Jul 2022I absolutely luv the sony 4k displays, but am i craxy to th... more4K might be too much but QHD+ is the sweet spot for my and the 'condensity' of pixels that I'm accustomed for 🥰 (And it's not that much of a drain to the battery, except if you play a lot of game but in that case FHD might be the sweet spot when gaming)

                                [deleted post]I do wish that some software side could come from Samsung, not really Apple though, since Apple inspired itself from Sony design 😋

                                  [deleted post]Xperia Blog is really missing 🤐😜

                                    MRSTEK, 03 Jul 2022I really miss compact.I do too, but I don't think 5" would be enough as of today's usage. 6" seems to be the sweet spot but mostly on 1080p, it's not enough :P

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • Lkg
                                      • 04 Jul 2022

                                      Anonymous, 03 Jul 2022Yes there was issues. Battery life on it was not that good ... moreAll tech community said Z3 was by far the phone with best endurance of 2014.

                                      I wonder how a phone sold in North America, Latin America, Europe, Mid East, Oceania and many locations in East Asia had availability issues.

                                      Phone is not supposed to be inside pants back pocket. Otherwise ,it shall break when you sit down.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • Lkg
                                        • 04 Jul 2022

                                        AnonD-731363, 03 Jul 2022Man on any phone regardles of brand 4K is useless. 720 ior ... moreYou never say anything xiaomi is gimmick.

                                        Like 108Mp with fake 8K upscaled from 6K (since Samsung semicon says HMX is not capable of 8K), 120W charging that damages battery and prevent larger capacity over 5000mAh, 16GB ram for BlackShark, computer storage (which uses more power and generates more heat than conventional UFS memory)

                                        You also think all phones use excatly same components, ignoring there are many suppliers out there that sell ocmponents of different quality and prices.

                                        And best of all, embarass yourself on insisting phones that do not even cost $300 to be made have exactly same stuff of phones with hardware is worth over $550. Think you can get anything from Japan for same price of stuff developed and made in China when it is beyond impossible.