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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Shui8, 16 Mar 2018Check on picture comparison tools, even without OIS, XZ2 pr... moreI am pretty certain OIS would have no to minimum advantage for Xperia to be even better in lowlight photo here, but wider apperture.
Then again wider apperture has its downsides of focal point range, and if too much, gets too bright for decent good light photography.

    Anonymous, 16 Mar 2018Please note that studio shots are taken with the phones mou... moreImage quality is excellent.

    You must be refering to less noise reduction here. But it would loose great detail and texture that way.

    Too much noise reduction as some other do it, looses detail and sharpness, and produces less quality image, so Sony did the other way around here.

    And no, OIS wouldnt help in keeping the noise lower here, but wider apperture to keep the ISO lower, and thus less noise to reduce.
    Tho even the noise levels are good and barely noticable here. Due to higher mpx camera.

    Indeed, produces great low light shots, IMO better than some big competitors.

    And Daylight ones are top, dont even have to discuss those.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • vV5
      • 16 Mar 2018

      AnonD-647882, 16 Mar 2018https://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=5&idPhone1=... morePlease note that studio shots are taken with the phones mounted on tripods and do not reflect actual handheld situations. The XZ2 is able to detect the presence of a tripod in auto mode and use a slower shutter speed, and hence lower ISO, to improve the image quality in lowlight. In handheld conditions, it will resort to using higher ISO, which reduces image quality.

        xXENDER FREAKXx, 14 Mar 2018Lol sarcasm fam???Nope. This is true. I due love it.

          • S
          • Shui8
          • KZ8
          • 16 Mar 2018

          PeterThePanda, 16 Mar 2018No headphone jack = No buy. Not to mention excessively thic... moreCheck on picture comparison tools, even without OIS, XZ2 provide very good quality results in low light photography, simply the best non OIS phone. This time Sony do it right. Yeah I know your money to be worth it if OIS added. Imagine if Sony put OIS in next Xperia phone with current image algorithm, it will be excellent!

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            • AnonD-94604
            • 61$
            • 16 Mar 2018

            PeterThePanda, 16 Mar 2018No headphone jack = No buy. Not to mention excessively thic... moreI think with XZ2 sony has made an improvement, previous sony phone are like 2002 style enginering, using old school cable solution for antennas, and plastic band for metal body design, but now they have use better antennas solution, i dont know about internal construction, is it still the same or not, but i think its it doesnt change verymuch.

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              • AnonD-647882
              • IVR
              • 16 Mar 2018

              https://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=5&idPhone1=8966&idPhone2=9081&idPhone3=8967
              xz2 camera compare with S9 and S9+ is already has improvement or some part better than S9 and S9+, Sony are in the right direction

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

                Tann Hauser, 15 Mar 2018And yet higher mpx on Xperia does make a difference in good... moreThe WORST good light performance
                The WORST low light performance
                The WORST camera on any phone.
                Stay away from XZ2.

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                  • Anonymous
                  • 6p$
                  • 16 Mar 2018

                  -. -, 15 Mar 2018nope, detail is much better than s8, so does the noise perf... moreI tested cameras of XZ2 and note 4. In XZ2, detail is less than galaxy note 4 and more noise than galaxy note 4. Can XZ2 beat galaxy s4 in camera? I still have to test. We'll see soon.

                    No headphone jack = No buy. Not to mention excessively thicc while having an average battery, a testament to poor PCB designing and internal construction. Compare that to thinner phones from other companies but have the same battery capacity.

                    Only blind fanboyism will make people like this phone (and the XZ2 Compact). I used to like Sony, but their poor choices (lack of OIS), bad camera software optimization, and terrible aftersales and customer service turned me away from Sony. The last good Sony phones were the Z series, which was their golden era. They likewise ruined the Compact line by releasing the horrible fat monstrosity XZ2 Compact, which is a terrible successor to the Compact series.

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                      • Anonymous
                      • kXE
                      • 15 Mar 2018

                      -. -, 15 Mar 2018Yup, samsung release a capable mirrorless camera, but capab... moreWhich means you clearly never used them and should not be commenting about them

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                        • Anonymous
                        • kXE
                        • 15 Mar 2018

                        Tann Hauser, 15 Mar 2018And yet higher mpx on Xperia does make a difference in good... moreNo. F1.7 to f1.5 was a good lap. This is just improvement

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                          • Anonymous
                          • kXE
                          • 15 Mar 2018

                          Anonymous, 15 Mar 2018Samsung does the same... All SD835 phones have QC 3.0... moreNot even close to the same

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                            • Anonymous
                            • kXE
                            • 15 Mar 2018

                            XtremE16, 15 Mar 2018Breaking News :- Samsung wants to become Sony’s worst ni... moreThey are already are. But that's because of Sony's refusal to do anything about it. Just float along

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                              • Angie
                              • 0Wf
                              • 15 Mar 2018

                              They downgraded some specifications and removed features like the selfie camera with lower resolution and without autofocus, the lower display resolution, the worse fingerprint position, the lack of audio jack, lose VR capabilities, etc.

                              You can try to hide the facts with what the phone do better but those flaws still be there and the actual design is so generic, the ugly back and the spoon soup shape make it unstable and slippery. With the new vibration engine you can easily imagine the amount of times that it'd end in the floor: https://gifs.com/gif/YvxnPO or if you push it accidentally.

                              If we put the XZ2 together with it's cost and specifications in one of the plates of a balance scale and the XZ1 equally in the other plate, taking into account when both were released. The XZ1 was and still is clearly a better value for the money.

                              The flaws of the XZ2 are clear and if you go to the Sony forums you perceive it immediately in their own customers. What i've seen visiting them, if we divide the actual customers of previous models in three parts, two of them don't like the new ones. One third talk about wait for future models and watch if Sony reconsider change the design, another third that want change now of phone prefer change to other brand before buy a XZ2 and only one part or less are talking about buy the XZ2 or the XZ2 compact.

                              Downgrade some specifications, remove features and ask for a higher price seems to not be a good idea, and the SoC doesn't count because is simply the next generation. Each one can figure their own conclusions, it looks like Sony is learning from Apple, but be careful, even if you maintain your profits for a while with less sales at some point you'll fall if you don't do anything to address it asap.

                                eelpout, 15 Mar 2018so PhoneArena's box came with a true quick charger or were ... moreTo answer my own question, it looks like they received a charger that will go up to 12v, 1.35a. So not 20 watts but close.

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                                  • nice
                                  • Nu7
                                  • 15 Mar 2018

                                  Yann, 15 Mar 2018And I don't get it how you can call lowlight photos excelle... more The only thing this phone lack is headphone jack. Everything else is game changing and almost perfect as per current standard. Even gsmarena is impressed. Just give it a rest. It's a well-made, thoughtfully designed different phone.

                                    XtremE16, 15 Mar 2018Xperia XZ2 unboxing https://youtu.be/u_AwWPUT4-Aso PhoneArena's box came with a true quick charger or were they mistaken? too bad they didn't state the amperage. Guess this will be a regional difference.

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                                      • AnonD-537624
                                      • XNe
                                      • 15 Mar 2018

                                      I might get the green version

                                        Nick, 14 Mar 2018Nope, if you really have "trained eyes" you will be able to... morenoise: the one thing I'll point out from the two shots you selected is the S9 has two stops of an advantage as it was shot at ISO 320 and the Sony XZ2 at ISO 1250. But this is where S9's OIS comes in to play because the camera can steady itself better then the Sony can.

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