Sony Xperia XZ2 long-term review

24 May 2018
The Xperia XZ2 can’t be confused for anything other than a Sony smartphone. But we wanted to find out is whether the XZ2 can stand out in the very crowded field of the top-of-the-line Android handsets, in more ways than just its looks. To be able to adequately evaluate what it’s like to live with this smartphone every day, we’ve used it as our one and only device for an extended period of time. This is what that experience felt like.

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  • D
  • AnonD-660035
  • 0$Y
  • 24 May 2018

It´s a really great phone in all aspects. Even camera, but in low light you have blown out light sources. The typical old problem. That´s why I can´t wait to see how XZ2 Premium performs in low light. I guess it will be great. They should bring this phone to all major markets ASAP. And that means not end of August...

    • H
    • Harry
    • Sv@
    • 24 May 2018

    Does the reviewer realise that "the dynamic range is reasonable, if not mind-blowing" means that one could even say it *is* mind-blowing? Because they seem to think that the aforementioned sentence means that the dynamic range is reasonable *although not* mind-blowing. And indeed the provided pictures don't indicate it being mind-blowing indeed.

      Shanti Dope, 24 May 2018Sony tuned the camera to produce images mostly as raw as th... moreAgreed. That's why i'm always set my Google Camera to minimize it's noise reduction. I'm always prioritize detail more than noise-free photo

        Anonymous, 24 May 2018Sony decided to remove jack because they in 2017 sold more ... moreBut again, what's point on it? It's not like you can't use your wireless earphone when the 3.5mm jack is present on a phone.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 6Ps
          • 24 May 2018

          I love Xperia xz2

            • N
            • Nasri
            • p{5
            • 24 May 2018

            Second microphone not working special on loudspeaker
            Can not hear sexond person when call is over 2 minutes
            Tried all thing safe mode and reset
            Any ideas or help plz

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • IbE
              • 24 May 2018

              Anonymous, 24 May 2018Sony decided to remove jack because they in 2017 sold more ... moreNice info given...

              I liks that Sony takes initiative and takes chances unlikes those other cheep qualiti mfgs that copy and follow. Hehehe

                • M
                • Me
                • Js{
                • 24 May 2018

                https://youtu.be/Up17Dl0JicQ

                Start video at 16:00 .... They turn lights off then use XZ2P to shoot a pic. The Flash was OFF, it was just relying on ISO.

                They show the picture on the phone, you can clearly see everything on the wall, also read ( if you know japanese)

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • Js{
                  • 24 May 2018

                  Daemon Spade, 24 May 2018Nope, HTC removed it because they wanted to follow the tren... moreSony decided to remove jack because they in 2017 sold more wireless than wired.
                  Mobile Division has to obey orders from above.

                  Someone who works for Sony told me the engineers were told to kill the jack on flagships.

                  Nothing to do with Apple. Sony does not care about Apple unlike Samsung, Xiaomi and Huawei.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • Js{
                    • 24 May 2018

                    Too early for a long term review.

                    Phone is available just since April.

                      Daemon Spade, 24 May 2018Nope, HTC removed it because they wanted to follow the tren... moreSony removed the jack because of the new design that they're employing (which is rather stupid IMO).
                      They don't want another hole in their symmetrical looking Ambient Flow design, which they claimed to ruin the actual look of the phone.
                      Even if HTC has USonic earbuds, Sony has millions of wired and wireless headsets, in which I believe that at least 75% of them sounds better than any of HTC's best headsets.
                      If you're lucky, you could even win them for free when buying the phone, bur even if not, they are now cheaper at least.

                      But I hope that the feedbacks about the jack on this XZ2 will convince Sony enough to bring it back on the next generation of Xperia phones. 'Cause I remember that Kazuo Hirai (the previous Sony CEO) actually thought of removing the jack as a stupid thing to do, and that they actually had no plan at all to do it.
                      Maybe, just maybe, wishes will come true, and they start being more serious at competing, since having 3.5mm jack and no notch alone give them an upper hand to opponents.
                      You see, the S9+ isn't exactly the best at everything, but it has everything that a consumer would want and need, and it also does everything that it has greatly.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • vjw
                        • 24 May 2018

                        Sony can do no wrong! -_-

                          vrvly, 24 May 2018Its a shame they cannot do better with such great sensor th... moreSony tuned the camera to produce images mostly as raw as they were shot, with very little to no modifications to them.
                          The added noise are good, in a way that they often give off the feeling of a more detailed shot (which, in most case, is usually true).
                          I read GSMArena's camera comparison of the XZ2 and S9, and I definitely agreed with what they have said that "the S9's noise-free daylight photos have some plasticky feel to them" because a true camera will produce noise no matter what you do.
                          If large APS C sensor digital cameras aren't even invulnerable to noise at low light, how much do you expect smartphone cameras with tiny dinky sensors to do better??

                          Sorry dude, but I'd rather keep the noise for the benefit of added details, and a much more natural look and feel to the images.
                          If I want to shoot a photo without noise, I'd go to Manual mode and set the ISO to the lowest possible and enjoy the "noise-free" image, even if it means I can't see any detail anymore.

                            Funny how you downplay Sony phones at the end. Typical gsmarena.

                              alvinzm, 24 May 2018I love this phone. Best phone I've ever used. Good to know ... moreOops, I meant "I was pessimistic to the phone's design and ergonomics at first, but actually, the phone looks great and feels amazing in my hand."

                                • D
                                • Daemon Spade
                                • uF0
                                • 24 May 2018

                                Love the Community, 24 May 2018I'm a HTC fan and I would want to point this out that this ... moreNope, HTC removed it because they wanted to follow the trend Apple had created. USonic is nothing more than useless proprietary included-in-the-box earbuds if you already have a great pair of earphones, and according to PocketNow's audio review, U11's dongle doesn't even support 24bit hi-res audio output. So they were trying to be Apple, just like Sony/Huawei/Xiaomi etc who also shamelessly removed the headphone jack for the sake of copying what Apple do.

                                  alvinzm, 24 May 2018Oh yes, the only downside of its rear camera is the great a... moreIts a shame they cannot do better with such great sensor than like samsung on f2.4 . Didn't see 12mp shots but I can imagine its not noiseless, even with that ISP.
                                  Best example of how bad it can be is blue sky on even sunny day, full of grainy noise at 100%.

                                    • L
                                    • Love the Community
                                    • Fv4
                                    • 24 May 2018

                                    I'm a HTC fan and I would want to point this out that this has no Headphone Jack. No buy!

                                    I mean c'mon. How come I see lesser flak on Sony for having no Jack compared to every HTC news ever? To make matters worse, Sony removed it because they did it. HTC removed it because they developed Usonic, an earphone that uses USB-C as a jack and so far did fantastic.

                                      • P
                                      • Petr
                                      • CSK
                                      • 24 May 2018

                                      Clearly the best phone of 2018 so far - wait for the XZ2 Premium. Bravo Sony.

                                        I agree that the FPS placement is bad. I've tried it for a couple of minutes in a sony store. Very nice phone and the bezels is idealfor me, not that huge and not very small

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