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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  • V
  • Vic
  • 3n5
  • 15 Mar 2018

Looking at the comments right after the article and 1 day after it definitely feels like that looking at so many negative feedbacks Sony decided to ask people to provide positive comments (the same way HTC did after U Ultra). Biased positive feedbacks can be easily differentiated from real opinions because they look more like advertising what's on specs rather than real overall opinion on product. But one thing is for sure: Sony really needs to cancel XZ2 and XZ2 Compact and start from scratch. This way they will save their reputation and won't lose fans who still believe that one day company will make a really good product rather the junk they introduced at MWC 2018.

    • Y
    • Yann
    • stv
    • 15 Mar 2018

    Ellio74, 15 Mar 2018Too many flaws? Design is subjective. Which features/... moreYes, too many.

    Design is blind copy of HTC U11 - looking from the back they are barely distinguishable.
    Wobble on any flat service. Try to use it on your desk.
    Lacking 3.5mm headphone jack.
    Lacking autofocus on ff camera.
    Lack of OIS, when in these days almost every Chinese OEM include it. Low light photos are improved just a bit. Not much. And low light photos are far from competition.
    And in 11.1mm thickness they include only 3200mAh battery.

      Wrong, 14 Mar 2018Sorry but you are missing the point here. Look at the ISO v... moreToo many flaws?

      Design is subjective.
      Which features/specifications are missing on this phone (apart from the jack)?
      The slippery design is the same for all glass phones, and the thickness is not the same everywhere, at the thickest it's 11,1 mm and at the thinnest it's 6 mm.
      The selfie camera is said to be good, it just lacks autofocus.
      The lower display resolution is clearly enough for all usage except VR.
      The fast charger is market/retailer dependent.
      The lack of OIS is only noticeable when shooting in low light (which seems to have been improved), in every other scenario EIS (on these phones) is as good as the others.

        • Y
        • Yann
        • stv
        • 15 Mar 2018

        Lets say that the camera is ok in daylight photos. In low light is still not on par with Samsung and iPhone. At least.
        Lets say that bezels are ok. Actually, I don't care about the bezels.
        Lets say that performance is good.
        Lets say that the screen is ok, despite the fact that I prefer OLED displays - better black, low power consumptions etc. Yes, they burn, but after 2 years and I change my phones more often.
        BUT!
        That thickness... 11.1mm? Are you crazy?
        FPS on the back is much more uncomfortable comparing to side mounted. I'm not living in US and do not care about their legislation. US is small part of global market.
        Removing the 3.5mm jack? Really? SONY boys. The same that invented the Walkman? Seriously? Following the trend??? Do you know how much you own on that 3.5mm jack?
        And the last thing - how, in that fat phone, you fit only 3200mAh battery??? In the most thickest phone in last years, you put a battery smaller than S9, which by the way is 8.5mm thick.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • y$7
          • 15 Mar 2018

          Why SONY always has much comments?

            Nick, 15 Mar 2018"better stereo sound" I honestly don't think so, S9+ proba... moreOk, ok, we get it, you are a Samsung fan, so "of course" everything there is better, no matter how its done, without actual compares....
            Why you actually here then?

            Im a Sony fan, and havent left a single "Sony better..." comment on S9 rev.
            Please, follow my example.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • I8m
              • 15 Mar 2018

              Nick, 15 Mar 2018"better stereo sound" I honestly don't think so, S9+ proba... moreI don't know. The Alcatel idol 4s and the axon 7 have some beastly speakers

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • I8m
                • 15 Mar 2018

                Hayaan Mo Sila, 15 Mar 2018Noise isn't always a bad thing. The S9 is cleaner but doesn... moreThe difference is not in artificial but more in resolution

                  • N
                  • Nick
                  • vmF
                  • 15 Mar 2018

                  [deleted post]"better stereo sound"
                  I honestly don't think so, S9+ probably has the best speakers on a mobile phone (apart from Razor Phone, but this one isn't waterproof) right now and is extremely hard to beat in terms of overall sound quality.

                  "Poor garbage of s9 and iphones, can not compete with Sony"
                  S9 has better camera, higher 3.5mm headphone jack output quality and the display which is miles ahead of competition... it is also overall much smaller than XZ2 yet lasts as long when it comes to battery endurance. I admit XZ2 is a very decent flagship phone (apart from its camera), but calling S9 "garbage" is outright ridiculous, shows that you really just want to hate on Samsung for no real reason.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 6p$
                    • 15 Mar 2018

                    AnonD-246723, 14 Mar 201810.times speaker? Lol making numbers out of thin air . If W... moreEveryone know xperia flagships have weak speakers. I own XZ and XZ premium.

                      • N
                      • Nick
                      • vmF
                      • 15 Mar 2018

                      Tann Hauser, 14 Mar 2018Oh man, this XZ2 shot is great. That other one looks just ... moreThe photo taken by S9 looks "dull" because it is not oversaturated and over-contrasty unlike the one from XZ2. And no, megapixel count and aspect ratio of the image is nothing to do with vibrancy of colours nor contrast.

                      "Btw, you havent commented on the snails detail on that shots before"
                      I don't quite get what you are saying, can you be more specific?

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • 6p$
                        • 15 Mar 2018

                        AnonD-481725, 14 Mar 2018I don't know what cigarettes do you smoke, but i really wan... moreWell, I tested it. XZ2 camera is far worse than note 4 camera. Too much noise.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 6p$
                          • 15 Mar 2018

                          Anonymous, 14 Mar 2018Best camera on earth? Have you ever seen a real camera? I m... moreWtf!!?? I am talking about smartphones.

                            Kudos to Sony. Photos from low light test look more detailed than everybody else on the market (in this gsmarena test), albeit noisier though.
                            Still, quite impressive!

                              Hayaan Mo Sila, 15 Mar 2018Noise isn't always a bad thing. The S9 is cleaner but doesn... moreNoise(luminance)/detail vs noise supression/loss of detail is a common debate in pro photography forums.

                              Conclusion was always:
                              that best is somewhere in between...,
                              but also that higher mpx cameras are better due to less noticable noise, due to higher picture res, and renders out the need to supress it too much and loose detail/sharpness.

                              Sony used its camera mpx advantage to the best here.

                                Cassy O, 15 Mar 2018Ok, i admit the XZ2 has more detail at the snail, that's b... moreSharing on social media compresses photos...so even more detail is lost.
                                The thing is...after the heavy compression to social media web format, noise will be even less noticable and some detail lost, so picture from a 19 mpx cam will end up like a 8 mpx one. And from a 12 mpx one, will look like a 4 mpx one.
                                Try it out, download samples from some Xperia user, and some other, and examine both up close.

                                  AnonD-601940, 15 Mar 2018Sony Is dead Since 2015 And they Keep releasing overpriced... moreNo u r wrong... Sony still alive

                                    • E
                                    • Ex galaxy heavy user
                                    • PA7
                                    • 15 Mar 2018

                                    Like curve back from moto X,
                                    Deep stereo bass from moto ROKr,
                                    Fast and stable update,
                                    Better than compatitor which sadly just new SoC & camera, old QC 2.0

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • mUA
                                      • 15 Mar 2018

                                      Good review tnx +1 for Sony really good phone

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-601940
                                        • IWS
                                        • 15 Mar 2018

                                        Sony Is dead Since 2015
                                        And they Keep releasing overpriced junks.. I really loved Sony in past... but now Im Done with them

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