Sony Xperia XZ2 review

14 March 2018
You don't really have to look any further than the new Xperia XZ2 and its little Compact sibling for proof that Sony is evolving even if slowly. The 2018 flagship is different in a number of ways, some of which more controversial than others.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • vjw
  • 15 Mar 2018

-. -, 15 Mar 2018I think it won't come true, just look samsung attempt on mi... moreSamsung was releasing very capable mirrorless cameras. Don't know why they decided to give up halfway. The thing about Japanese companies is that they tend to offer customers crippled products. One or more important features will be missing. Sony is doing it with XZ2 and XZ2 Compact. They did it with their mirrorless cameras, by withholding full touch screen functionality, whereas Canon has it on their cheapest model. Canon has also been accused of introducing only incremental upgrades to their cameras. On the other hand, Samsung went full steam with their NX1 and NX500. They continue to offer SD card slot and 3.5mm headphone jack, unlike Apple. They do not hold back features, and that there is one thing that I appreciate.

    • Y
    • Yann
    • stv
    • 15 Mar 2018

    Ellio74, 15 Mar 2018The Mate 10 Pro is quite larger and it's design is flatter.... moreStop writing lies. Mate 10 Pro is only 1.2mm taller and 2.5mm wider. And is 7.9mm thick, despite SONY 11.1mm thickness.
    In such body they fit 4000mAh battery vs 3200mAh.
    Lowlight photography on Mate 10 Pro is much better than my XZP. A little improvements will not catch even Mate 10 Pro phone.
    Obvious you're misleading.

      • -
      • -. -
      • IV%
      • 15 Mar 2018

      XtremE16, 15 Mar 2018Breaking News :- Samsung wants to become Sony’s worst ni... moreI think it won't come true, just look samsung attempt on mirrorless market, since they're not fighting sony mobile here, they're fighting sony camera business
      But still, competition is always better

        Nick, 15 Mar 2018Ok let's be real here, I have Huawei Mate 10 Pro and it pac... moreThe Mate 10 Pro is quite larger and it's design is flatter... As I said batteries design isn't as versatile as phone designs. It is flat, and the curvature of the back of the Sony is quite important: it starts from 6 mm and goes up to 11,1 mm. So, compared to the Huawei, it has the disadvantages of being smaller and having a design that is "less friendly" for the battery.
        And people saying that this phone has a small battery for its thickness aren't precise, what they are saying is misleading...

        Then as I saw some pictures sample, I can keep up with the S9, which is supposed to have a great camera. After that if you mean by "better looking photo", images that can look a bit different from the true scene, that's a matter of taste.

        Upgrade the camera module? It's still a great sensor and lens, and having a wide aperture isn't the best in every scenario. OIS would have been a good thing, but they've chosen another way as they've shown us at MWC. And having 2 sensors for the moment is quite useless, just look at the Pixel 2!

        There's only one bigger vibration motor on the XZ2, on the Compact it's a traditional one.

        You don't understand what I'm saying. Of course I know EIS is used only when recording videos, and yes it's better than some OIS. I never talked about combined OIS and EIS...

        No! The only benefit of OIS on a Sony phone would be for low light photography, and as you may know (or not) Sony has introduced a new dual sensor solution at MWC for low light photos and videos, I'll let you check that!

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • I8m
          • 15 Mar 2018

          Ellio74, 15 Mar 2018Design is a combination of past Sony designs (check out the... moreFalse, lies, still 11mm, and 17%... And you say that like it's a surprise or good thing... clearly it should have been way bigger than 17% bigger

            • N
            • Nick
            • vmF
            • 15 Mar 2018

            Ellio74, 15 Mar 2018Design is a combination of past Sony designs (check out the... moreOk let's be real here, I have Huawei Mate 10 Pro and it packs 4000mAh battery in only marginally wider and taller, but significantly(by 3.2mm)thinner body than XZ2, whose battery capacity is mere 3180mAh which is simply disappointing considering how large it is. Mate 10 Pro also generally shoots better-looking photos, comes with louder speakers, has smaller bezels hence larger screen-to-body ratio and doesn't have a fingerprint scanner in an awkward position compared to XZ2.
            With the thickness of 11.1mm, Sony could've easily upgraded its camera module and crammed in OIS and brighter F1.6 aperture lens along with its large sensor. They could've fit 2 camera modules instead of 1 and packed 4000mAh battery inside. But they didn't do that. Instead they put 2 vibration motors which resemble Apple's Taptic Engine and decided to take away the headphone jack which everybody strongly believed would not be removed from Sony smartphones. It's well over 1cm thick, so they can't use an excuse that "there was no space to put one" unlike Apple did with their iPhone 7 Plus 2 years ago. And yet you're still here to defend how Sony's EIS(that works in recording video ONLY btw) can outperform OIS, which makes no sense considering the obvious fact that having both is better than only having EIS, which, you can tell if you look at Pixel 2's photo and video performance.
            I'm pretty sure if Sony's XZ2 Premium(or whatever they call it) will come with OIS and dual camera modules, you will burst out how OIS can greatly improve picture quality and how Galaxy S9/iPhone will have no chance against it.

              Breaking News :-

              Samsung wants to become Sony’s worst nightmare

              https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-wants-to-become-sonys-worst-nightmare/

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • y}%
                • 15 Mar 2018

                Yann, 15 Mar 2018You definitely working for SONY or you're just blind fan. ... moreproblem with sony is probably most of its technical engineers dont use theirown products. so they cannot feel the weaknesses.

                most of apple technical engineers use iphone as daily driver
                most of samsung technical engineers use galaxy as daily driver
                most of sony technical engineers use iphone as daily driver (because most Japaneses love iphone)

                  [deleted post]Most certainly true, even to this date. ;-)

                    • Y
                    • Yann
                    • stv
                    • 15 Mar 2018

                    Ellio74, 15 Mar 2018I might deceive you but I don't work for Sony! ;) I have t... moreI can ask you the same - did you try it to say that is comfortable? Look the video review how it wobbles on the desk! Fact!
                    Incredible EIS doesn't work in lowlight conditions. You make 90% daylight? What light is a restaurant? A bar? An apartment? Office? Are they daylight? You're joking me.
                    Nope. You can't say the same. Most of the comments are negative about the design and the phone as a whole.
                    Average thickness? Dude, this is new level of measurement! Congratulations!
                    You're too biased. No point to write anymore.
                    Cheers!

                      Yann, 15 Mar 2018You definitely working for SONY or you're just blind fan. ... moreI might deceive you but I don't work for Sony! ;)
                      I have too an XZP, nice phone! Lol
                      Not really, I'm just a smartphone enthusiast, and I'm very interested in phones, nothing more. BTW that's part of the problem, people forget and say this brand copy that brand but that's not the case really. Did you try this phone before saying it's uncomfortable?
                      OIS on Sony phones can greatly improve only low light shots? you have an XZP and you don't know/notice the incredible EIS that it has when recording? I don't knowwhere you're living but my pictures are for at least 90% taken in daylight...
                      Not again, these are just the facts as I know the S9 is 8.5 mm thick, some specs of the past SOC etc. I could say the same, some like, some don't...
                      Not really, the XZ1 is 7.4 mm thick, so the XZ2 is at some points thinner and thicker at others. It'll be better to have the average thickness, that would be helpful, and after we'll be able to talk about numbers...
                      This discussion seems to go anywhere, so have a good day!

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                        • Mark
                        • tRr
                        • 15 Mar 2018

                        Yann, 15 Mar 2018Yes, too many. Design is blind copy of HTC U11 - looking... moreRe design copy of htc u11, exactly my comment when it first came out. The difference tho is sony will be better built. My u11 feels cheap when u scrutinized it, but 99.9% of the time its covered by spigen case so not much if a big deal.

                          Ellio74, 15 Mar 2018Design is a combination of past Sony designs (check out the... moreLeave em be, only thing they can is write lame vague unsubstantiated comments based on fake pretensions...

                          This phone is superb to excellent in all areas, except the lack of headphone jack, yes... the only Sonys flaw here.

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                            • AnonD-246723
                            • KSE
                            • 15 Mar 2018

                            Anonymous, 15 Mar 2018Everyone know xperia flagships have weak speakers. I own XZ... moreBut 10 times? I have s9 and I call him bullshiting .

                              • Y
                              • Yann
                              • stv
                              • 15 Mar 2018

                              Ellio74, 15 Mar 2018Design is a combination of past Sony designs (check out the... moreYou definitely working for SONY or you're just blind fan.
                              I own XZP, but i'm not blind.
                              This design combination is seeing only by SONY workers No one else. And even so - is ugly and uncomfortable.
                              OIS can definitely improve lowlight photos and video, cause now they are completely out of competition. Most of pictures are taken by lowlight conditions.
                              Thickness between 6 AND 11mm? Definitely SONY worker! Only one biased person will mention that. It is fat and blind looking phone. This is not just my opinion - look other comments and not just here. The whole network is telling the same.
                              Bigger battery you say. And how bigger is the phone? IT IS 50% thicker than XZ1. Why then the battery is not 50% bigger???

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • DSB
                                • 15 Mar 2018

                                Anonymous, 15 Mar 2018Why SONY always has much comments?Because we comment about the ugliness of XZ2

                                  Yann, 15 Mar 2018Yes, too many. Design is blind copy of HTC U11 - looking... moreDesign is a combination of past Sony designs (check out the Xperia Neo, the Z3 or the Vivaz for the back).
                                  The missing jack is bad I agree.
                                  And most Chinese OEM with their OIS can't keep up with Sony EIS. Low light shots are certainly improved by quite a sensible margin!
                                  Nope, thickness is between 6 AND 11 mm...
                                  And the battery is bigger by 20% than the one on the XZ1 for comparison.

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                                    • Patt
                                    • maS
                                    • 15 Mar 2018

                                    Ellio74, 15 Mar 2018Too many flaws? Design is subjective. Which features/... moreThat details that you try to minimize are important when we are talking of spend 800 euros.

                                    At that price, more expensive that the previous version, is not acceptable the downgrade of the selfie camera with one with lower resolution and without autofocus.
                                    The lack of quick charger and an a adapter not supporting quick charging should not be market/retailer dependant.
                                    The slippery is not only due to the glass instead of the shape, watch this gift: https://gifs.com/gif/YvxnPO
                                    making it difficult to use and tap on the table and sure that more than one is going to push it accidentally to the floor.
                                    The main camera is the same only with improvements in software but still lacking of OIS, not justifying the price increase.
                                    The display resolution is a downgrade.
                                    The fingerprint is in an awkward position, too low and less comfortable than before on the side.
                                    The remove of the audio jack is lose a feature and a deal break for a lot of potential customers.

                                    In resume, you are paying more for less and the latest SoC is what you expect in a new flagship phone. And i doubt that the new vibration is enough to justify it. Less value for customers and more profit for Sony. Smells like they are manufacturing a cheaper phone but more expensive to maximize the profit if the sales aren't as good as expected like with the previous models as we saw in the results of the Sony Mobile division. Something that reminds a lot of Apple in the latest economic results.

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                                      • Silviu
                                      • 2Qg
                                      • 15 Mar 2018

                                      Vic, 15 Mar 2018Looking at the comments right after the article and 1 day a... moreI'm writing from a Sony Xperia z ( I have it since 5 years) a friend of mine has Samsung s5 wich came around 1 year after my z. There is littery no words to describe how my Xperia z looks and works after 5 years compare to his s5. Sony means quality, outstanding performance and quality. Sony xz2 is in my opinion a true flagship ( u have to get ur hands on it first to understand) it looks great and it's sick fast and I'm sure it has the same if not better build quality then my z. Sony unlike other companies do not slow down their phones just so u know. The xz2 compact looks a bit to fat but I need to get my hands on one first before judging.

                                        • Y
                                        • Yann
                                        • stv
                                        • 15 Mar 2018

                                        Vic, 15 Mar 2018Looking at the comments right after the article and 1 day a... more100% agree!