Sony Xperia XZ3 review

13 September 2018
Few phones can claim they caused quite as big of a stir as the Xperia XZ3. After Sony dropped its first curved OLED Xperia, seemingly out of the blue at IFA 2018, reactions have ranged from overwhelming excitement, through confusion and all the way to denial and anger. That's a level of drama typically reserved for soap operas or celebrity gossip and it all spells out one thing - a massive wave of exposure for Sony.

Sort by:

Shanti Dope, 14 Sep 2018Nope Samsung's panel is roughly just 8-bit with some softw... moreDid you read the review?
"Hence, a more OLED-relevant standard was developed by the Ultra HD alliance, requiring 540 cd/m2, the same blacks and a contrast of at least 1,080,000:1. Our standard tests measure brightness with the test pattern filling 75% of the area of the panel - a case in which the XZ3 fails to meet those requirements. But is should be noted that competing offers, like on recent Samsung devices do manage to cope.
Clearly, Sony has put quite a bit of effort on the HDR front, facilitating easy capture and playback. And for most users, those two points will be more than enough. However, not all HDR-certified devices are created equal and it is worth noting that by all accounts, the panel on the XZ3 is on the lower end of that spectrum.''
VESA has a competing and arguably more precise HDR standard, in recently released, which defines three tiers of HDR (HDR 400, HDR 600 and HDR 1000). Without digging too deep into the standard itself, we can clearly see the XZ3 only covers the first level. The point we are trying to drive across here is that, as far as HDR screens go, the XZ3 is not the end-all of mobile devices. Something we felt we had to address, after reading some of the discussions about Sony's latest flagship.''

    abubasim, 14 Sep 2018Closer to a RAW file? A RAW file is unprocessed. Sony's cam... moreWith all the chromatic noise left, I would say it almost had no noise reduction at all. But yep, it's not close to RAW.

      Subzero, 14 Sep 2018Where is the real difference with "NEW" camera software??? ... moreNew software is now more happy to use higher ISO values.
      Exposure is better as a result, and dynamic range was also improved quite a bit.

        TheGreyApe, 14 Sep 2018Surely though if they expanded the screen down so it was fl... moreYeah it will have less bezels, but it would look hideous.
        It would look like the Mi Mix 2S, which in itself already looks odd to me.
        S9 without curved edges is the best as it could get.

          Anonymous, 14 Sep 2018Stop it...only LG oled display technology is superior, may ... more"the s9+ does have the superior display"
          from the review.
          Read it again.
          And LG oled phone display sucks big time.

            Shanti Dope, 14 Sep 2018The issue is that the internals of the bezels require that ... moreSurely though if they expanded the screen down so it was flush with the bottom of the phone it would look 100x better

              Lordford, 14 Sep 2018Lol no . Oled XZ3 IS superior. XZ2 oled is HDR rec ... moreIf you don't believe gsmarena then what are you doing here?
              According to the review, Samsung display is better, much better in brightness, hdr and color accuracy.

                • S
                • Subzero
                • SbF
                • 14 Sep 2018

                Where is the real difference with "NEW" camera software???
                Sudio comparison XZ2 vs XZ3 shows that XZ2 shows more details

                  Anonymous, 14 Sep 2018XZ3 does not use stacking. Not even their Mirrorless have ... moreCloser to a RAW file? A RAW file is unprocessed. Sony's camera applies way too much of it, with no way of tuning it down, and isn't offering third party apps any control over this either.
                  Read Menneisyys' article at dpreview to understand what 'near RAW' looks like. I won't post the link here as it will get flagged as spam. Just google for 'TIPS: Getting the most out of the Note 4 camera in broad daylight + using VERY high shutter speeds'.

                    TheGreyApe, 14 Sep 2018They could have improved the screen design so much by remov... moreThe issue is that the internals of the bezels require that much space.
                    The front camera is 1/3.06" large, while the speakers are quite large as well.
                    Asymmetrical bezels don't look good IMO. That's why I'm quite bothered with my Redmi 5 Plus, which has smaller top bezel than the bottom bezel.

                      • P
                      • Photographer...
                      • mdx
                      • 14 Sep 2018

                      The only thing you guys really testet is the Camera (maybe) and some datasheet specs.

                      First of all, the Sony has the better Screen than any of those phones... they simply have the advantage and knowledge. Their Bravia Engine and skin tones are unmatched.

                      The battery Life? the P20Pro is a joke compared to the one year old XZ premium which had a 4K display and 20% less capacity... let sink it in. (i tested both while the XZ was already one year in use... -.-)

                      The overall Performance was always the best on sony phones, Let alone the benchmark results... its well known that samsung has algoritms which can detect a benchmark and overclock and/or block background tasks to improve the results.

                      Whats ABOUT LDAC and High Resolution Audio... ? The Speakers are good, but their High res technology is unmached since the z1.

                        Anonymous, 13 Sep 2018Very interesting that the XZ3's portrait mode even works wi... moreYou dont need dual pixel AF for single lens portrait mode. Instead pixel binning like hdr, multi frame capture with different focus then stack, or using the AI to separate subject and background.

                          They could have improved the screen design so much by removing the tacky Sony logo at the bottom, and instead adopting something similar to other devices by extending the screen down past the logo, To be honest I think Sony would benefit from having a more compact logo for their smartphone range

                            Anonymous, 14 Sep 2018I'm pretty sure that Note9 can record in 4K too...It can. Nobody said it can't.
                            But 4K HDR is a different thing from standard 4K, which the Note 9 is simply incapable of (at least not that Samsung allows users to do it on their phones). With it, you get more preserved highlights, better shadows, and wider range of colors that can take full use of the gorgeous QHD+ HDR OLED display.
                            Sony didn't just implement HDR screens, they also made some ways to make great use of it.

                              Anonymous, 14 Sep 2018It cannot beat versitality of 2 cameras (zoom and everythin... moreA well-rounded single camera > Under-utilized dual cameras with small sensors
                              Pixel 2's single camera destroys the iPhone X's dual cameras, and even the Note 9 is beaten in the primary camera quality (only beats it in zoom, which makes sense, but the P20 Pro destroys the Note 9 here by a huge margin).

                              You're saying that software isn't good on any Android? Well, how many Android devices have you tried, that you've got that statement?
                              Of course if you have a Samsung low end phone, you won't have the best experience, but differentiate Sony and Google phones. These two are the heavyweight champions of the Android world when it comes to software experience and fluidity, which are easily rivaling iOS.

                              I'll go and stop you there. I DO listen to music with the speakers at times. especially when I'm home, and sometimes even when I'm out. I only use headphones when in public and with lots of noise.
                              Besides, even if you don't listen to music on the speakers, we are talking about premium flagships, so good speakers must always be expected. It's just the same argument as removing the jack just because more people use wireless headphones nowadays, and yes I do hate the fact that the XZ3 has no jack.

                                Hip hop king, 14 Sep 2018How about that. There is more. A note9 with 4k hdr vi... moreYep, those are some good points as well.
                                So, in a nutshell, this is what the Galaxy S9 should've been.

                                  Lmao, 14 Sep 2018Note 9 is not user friendly and its screen will make you bl... moreI hope you realize that I'm actually trying to prove how much better the XZ3 is against the Note 9.
                                  Note 9 is by no means a bad device, but XZ3 is definitely a better buy, that's for sure. Also take in the fact that Sony phones drop prices quickly. Here in the Philippines, XZ Premium already costs almost half the Galaxy S8+, and is comparable to the Nokia 7 Plus's price.

                                    • R
                                    • Ruben
                                    • K32
                                    • 14 Sep 2018

                                    It's a shame that Sony doesn't include a descent headphones with their flagships

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • MNT
                                      • 14 Sep 2018

                                      Hip hop king, 14 Sep 2018How about that. There is more. A note9 with 4k hdr vi... moreI'm pretty sure that Note9 can record in 4K too...

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • MNT
                                        • 14 Sep 2018

                                        Shanti Dope, 14 Sep 2018A Note 9 with better primary and front camera A Note 9 wit... moreIt cannot beat versitality of 2 cameras (zoom and everything...)

                                        And software is not really good on any Android.

                                        And nobody actually uses speakers to listeb music. There are headphones now.

                                          24 of 30