Sony Xperia XZ Premium review: The showstopper

12 May 2017
The Sony Xperia XZ Premium has a gorgeous 4K display. Better yet, a 4K HDR display! The latest Snapdragon 835 chipset is pulling the strings and delivering lightning-fast LTE while the Adreno 540 is firing up millions of pixels in a heartbeat. With or without the mirror finish, this is one of the classiest designs around and waterproof, too.

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  • AnonD-542706
  • pGV
  • 13 May 2017

Shadow Snypa786, 13 May 2017No s8 have a crappy amoled pentile Still rated the best di... moreNo!! S8 have a display crappy amoled pentile.

2k amoled = full hd mid ranger.
S8 oversatured and irreals colors.

The sound s8 is mono the sound xzp is stereo hight quality.
The xzp have best camera in thr market, the best vídeo and stabilitation and best slowmotion.
S8 is a loser

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    • AnonD-186803
    • 9A7
    • 13 May 2017

    AnonD-77443, 13 May 2017Actually I'd say that the majority of photos are taken in l... moreThe complaints over low light don't extend to indoor shots in dim or artificial lighting - numerous reviews (of the P and the S) have so far praised these as just as good as daylight.

    The complaints seem to extend only to night time landscapes which we can all agree are handled better on the S8. But hop the XZP into manual to dial in ISO and take a picture at night with any kind of decent artificial light and the Sony does a fine job, as GSMA, Recombu and AA have all noted.

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      • AnonD-635604
      • KZ8
      • 13 May 2017

      AnonD-72356, 13 May 2017But it looks like every phone released by Sony in past year... moreAnd I think you are blind.Can you go to hospital and check for your eyes.You know what,I miss you when you are bashing on sony in the future.

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        • AnonD-664474
        • UD%
        • 13 May 2017

        Shadow Snypa786, 13 May 2017Let the OP5 come out 1st and get real proper scores out. A... moreI do believe to what you have said that speed isn't everything.

        But you must take other aspects into considerations as well.
        XZs has weaker battery life because of less efficient processor and inferior screen technology.
        Its camera is not as strong in low light, but ONLY in low light. Daylight, no doubt goes to the XZs, be it video or photo. Stabilization must not be asked anymore - no one rivals Sony's professional SteadyShot.
        I never saw Samsung excel in audio quality. XZs got stereo speakers, which if was only a little louder, can smash the ones of the S8/S8+. To mention as well the Hi-Res audio support with LDAC, ClearAudio+, DSEE HX, and aptx HD, which mostly Samsung lacks.

        It's still a shame for a more powerful device to get outpaced in speed so easily, but I'm not blaming Samsung for the unnecessary stuff they used to put into their phones. Feature richness, I can give it to Samsung, but not like every feature of it will be used all the time - XZs still does its job as a smartphone, and at least we can just agree that Android is a more capable OS than iOS

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          • AnonD-186803
          • 9A7
          • 13 May 2017

          Shadow Snypa786, 13 May 2017Superb stabilisation then why did GSMarena even say they di... moreWatch the footage yourself: it doesn't matter that GSMA gripes over a spec when the results are superior on the XZP, which they clearly are.

          OIS is good for stabilisation of photos but digital stabilisation is far superior for video. I can attest this on my own usage of the S8 I'm typing this on now - it's quite juddery on footfall and there's quite a bit of ghosting when you pan. OIS does nothing to correct this.

          And last time I checked neither the S8 or XZP have gone through DXO.

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            • AnonD-77443
            • Hqc
            • 13 May 2017

            AnonD-186803, 13 May 2017And in good light - where 80-90% of photos and video are ta... moreActually I'd say that the majority of photos are taken in less than good light... Indoors, restaurants, shady areas, photos where the XZP dynamic range struggles with light and dark areas.

            Either way the low light performance isn't up to scratch (see the following link) and Sony fans really shouldn't be defending it.

            http://imgur.com/a/knpR3

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              • AnonD-307716
              • vaP
              • 13 May 2017

              Shadow Snypa786, 13 May 2017Yeah not the Xperia XZ premium though which is what we refe... moreThat's XZ bro, not premium. No review yet for XZs and XZ premium.

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                • AnonD-635604
                • KZ8
                • 13 May 2017

                AnonD-72356, 13 May 2017But it looks like every phone released by Sony in past year... moreThat is your opinion buddy.Not all people love those curvy.What is the benefits of those curvy screen?Can you tell me my dear.

                  Surficial, 13 May 2017https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b6oxPeJas8 XZs with 820 i... moreLet the OP5 come out 1st and get real proper scores out.
                  And as for real life speed and performance?? Sure its faster but speed doesnt necessarily make the phone its everything.

                  Samsung S8 can defeat it easily in battery life even tho its pushing out more pixels.
                  Has a better display and better audio quality. Even better camera and video recorder.

                  But you open apps 1 second faster lol

                    AnonD-307716, 13 May 2017The last time I've checked in DXOmark, x performance also g... moreYeah not the Xperia XZ premium though which is what we referring to since this is the XZ review not the Xperia X performance.

                    And yes the Xperia X performance camera has been rated the same as Samsung S7 duo :D just not the XZ Premium LOL

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                      • AnonD-72356
                      • rKw
                      • 13 May 2017

                      What about the 72 hours battery rating of Xperia XZ premium in front of 88 hours of Galaxy S8, despite it got all the so called gimmick features which are actually next gen tech not gimmicks

                        • S
                        • Surficial
                        • mpr
                        • 13 May 2017

                        Shadow Snypa786, 13 May 2017The S8 with a 1440p display and is 5.8 display. The S8 pl... morehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b6oxPeJas8
                        XZs with 820 is faster real world.
                        And oneplus 5 beats s8 in benchmarks.

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                          • AnonD-307716
                          • vaP
                          • 13 May 2017

                          Shadow Snypa786, 13 May 2017Superb stabilisation then why did GSMarena even say they di... moreThe last time I've checked in DXOmark, x performance also got 88 score.

                            Shadow Snypa786, 13 May 2017Superb stabilisation then why did GSMarena even say they di... moreYou could check s8 vs XZs stabilization comparisons on youtube.The XZs was delivering better results especially in the front facing camera.Rear camera aswell in daytime.When it comes to lowlight I agree that the S8 is offering better quality.

                              • S
                              • Surficial
                              • mpr
                              • 13 May 2017

                              Shadow Snypa786, 13 May 2017Superb stabilisation then why did GSMarena even say they di... moreThe XZ got 87 and X perf. got 88 with the old sensor.
                              XZs and premium have a better sensor with improved low light capture (the weak point of XZ) which means there score will be higher when tested.

                                The S8 with a 1440p display and is 5.8 display.
                                The S8 plus with a 1440p display and a 6.3 inch display.
                                Both of those phones in benchmarks beat the Xperia XZ with its 5.5 inch 1080p display??

                                So having less pixels to push out didnt even help Sony beat the S8 duo in benchmarks LOL :D

                                WREEKKKTT!!!!

                                  AnonD-186803, 13 May 2017And in good light - where 80-90% of photos and video are ta... moreSuperb stabilisation then why did GSMarena even say they disappointed it doesnt have OIS. They should be happy cos its so great right?? Samsung manage to use S7's camera and still match the new Sony camera :D

                                  And on Dxomark it has a 87 rating where even Samsungs S7 is an 88 :D so yeah you stick with the Xperia.

                                    AnonD-186803, 13 May 2017And in good light - where 80-90% of photos and video are ta... moreBut the XZP doesn't beat the S8 at all. The exposure is completely off on the XZP! There is no balance in dynamic range! What the heck! Overblown photos from the XZP, which you can't fix with editing. Oversharpened photos with the S8, which you can fix with editing. I despise the S8, but its still in a completely different league in comparison with XZP. And I am talking day light here.

                                    Night time, Sony has never woken up from sleep.

                                      AnonD-542706, 13 May 2017No s8 have a crappy amoled pentile. S8 have a parkinson mo... moreNo s8 have a crappy amoled pentile
                                      Still rated the best display on any smartphone so if the S8 is the King of displays what does that make the Xperia XZ premium which won what award for its screen?????

                                      S8 have a parkinson mode video stabilitation
                                      At least it has OIS and Samsungs have had it for years now. If have OIS is parkinsons wth is Sonys stupid AXIS gimmick :D OIS is by far the best.

                                      S8 no have stereo speakers, mono quality sound
                                      Go look at the S8 review buddy it received a great performance in loudspeaker and in gsmarenas own words "the Galaxy S8 is among the loudest handsets out there, rounding up a great performance" yet its the S8's non stereo speakers with mono sounds beat the Xperia XZ premiums speakers :D

                                      ANd yeah i seen your video if you forward it to 8mins and 39 seconds the white light is actually white on Samsung S8 whereas its blue-ish on the Xperia :D

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                                        • AnonD-186803
                                        • 9A7
                                        • 13 May 2017

                                        Shadow Snypa786, 13 May 2017Ok cool and in lowlight the S8 will demolish the Xperia XZ ... moreAnd in good light - where 80-90% of photos and video are taken - the XZP simply beats the S8. I'd rather have a better camera most of the time than a few percentage points of extra clarity when shooting night time landscapes, which, if we're all honest, we don't actually do that often.

                                        Day and decent light results are better on the Sony, as are all video results - with superb stabilisation that leads the pack. To pick out a small case scenario and declare the S8 an automatic winner would be to completely ignore everything else.

                                        In most uses, the Sony is the better camera. Objectively true. If that's your UPS (it is mine) then you should go for the XZP.

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