Introduction
While Sony seemed timid the last year, now its ready to roar again. It poured all its tech prowess into the making of the Xperia XZ Premium, which marks a number of world firsts. The XZs is a mid-season upgrade of the former top dog, borrowing the Motion Eye camera from the Premium. Then there are the super mid-rangers - the XA1 impresses with its flagship camera, the XA1 Ultra with its selfie cam.
The Sony Xperia XZ Premium marks Sonys return to 4K mobile screens, but added HDR support to the 5.5" panel and increased brightness by 40% over the Z5 Premium. Another first is the Motion Eye camera - it can record 960fps slow-mo videos, 4x the frame rate of the current best phones.
The XZ Premium als o boasts a powerful Snapdragon 835 chipset and a 1Gbps LTE modem... or rather will boast - the phone will not be available until late in the Summer.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium at a glance
- Body: Glass Loop Surface (Gorilla Glass 5), IP68 waterproofing
- Screen: 5.5" Triluminos display, 4K resolution (2,160 x 3,840px), HDR
- Chipset: Snapdragon 835 running Android 7.1 Nougat
- Camera: 19MP Motion Eye camera (1/2.3" Exmor RS, f/2.0); SteadyShot, Anti-distortion shutter, predictive capture
- Video: 4K video recording, 720p @ 960fps slow-mo
- Selfie: 13MP (1/3.06" Exmor RS, f/2.0)
- Memory: 4GB RAM, 64GB on-board storage, microSD slot
- Connectivity: 1Gbps LTE, USB-C
- Battery: 3,230mAh, QuickCharge 3.0, Qnovo adaptive charging
- Fingerprint reader: Market de pendent
The impatient can jump on the Sony Xperia XZs, coming out in early April. This model builds the original XZ with the same Motion Eye camera as the Premium, otherwise its the same phone. Which is very competitive to this day - a 5.2" 1080p screen, Snapdragon 820, waterproof body.
Sony Xperia XZs at a glance
- Body: IP68 waterproofing, Gorilla Glass 5
- Screen: 5.2" Triluminos display, 1,080 x 1,920px resolution
- Chipset: Snapdragon 820 running Android 7.1 Nougat
- Camera: 19MP Motion Eye camera (1/2.3" Exmor RS, f/2.0); SteadyShot, Anti-distortion shutter, predictive capture
- Video: 4K video recording, 720p @ 960fps slow-mo
- Selfie: 13MP (1/3.06" Exmor RS, f/2.0)
- Memory: 3GB RAM, 32GB/64GB on-board storage, microSD slot
- Connectivity: 450Mbps LTE , USB-C
- Battery: 2,900mAh, QuickCharge 3.0, Qnovo adaptive charging
- Fingerprint reader: Market dependent
The XA1 pair has two things in common - a lack of side bezels and a presence of awesome cameras. The main camera on the Sony Xperia XA1 has a 23MP 1/2.3" sensor with an f/2.0 lens Hybrid AF and SteadyShot. Youd be forgiven to think we accidentally mixed up some Xperia X flagship specs, but no - the XA1 cam is that good. The one thing that keeps it from outshining its more expensive siblings is the lack of 4K recording.
Sony Xperia XA1 at a glance
- Body: Borderless edge-to-edge screen
- Screen: 5", 720 x 1,280px resolution
- Chipset: Helio P20 running Android Nougat
- Camera: 23MP camera (1/2.3" Exmor RS, f/2.0); SteadyShot
- Video: 1080p video recording
- Selfie: 8MP (1/4" Exmor R, f/2.0), autofocus
- Memory: 3GB RAM, 32GB on-board storage, microSD slot
- Connectivity: 300Mbps LTE, microUSB
- Battery: 2,300mAh, Pump Express+ 2.0, Qnovo adaptive charging
The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra has the same main camera, but you wont stop smiling for the selfie camera (pun intended). A surprisingly-capable 16MP 1/2.6" sensor with optical image stabilization and dedicated flash.
Besides that, both XA1s are very similar to their XA parents, but with updated chipsets and memory. Both are coming out in the Spring.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra at a glance
- Body: Borderless edge-to-edge screen
- Screen: 6", 1,080 x 1,920px resolution
- Chipset: Helio P20 running Android Nougat
- Camera: 23MP camera (1/2.3" Exmor RS, f/2.0); SteadySho t
- Video: 1080p video recording
- Selfie: 16MP (1/2.6" Exmor RS, f/2.0) with OIS, dedicated flash, autofocus
- Memory: 4GB RAM, 32G/64GB on-board storage, microSD slot
- Connectivity: 300Mbps LTE, microUSB
- Battery: 2,700mAh, Pump Express+ 2.0, Qnovo adaptive charging
Well be upfront - were going to spend a lot of time talking about Sonys new Motion Eye camera. Not that you would complain, would you? Now, we dont mean to rush you, but at 960fps mere moments can extend to minutes.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium hands-on
With the Xperia XZ Premium Sony took the XZ design to its logical conclusion - the two sheets of glass fused into one that wraps around the entire phone. How Sony and Corning got Gorilla Glass 5 to do that is a mystery, but the result is gorgeous (if a bit slippery and smudged up with fingerprints).
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
This leaves the top and bottom panels to house the antennas of the phone. There is a lot of bandwidth pumped through those antennas - thanks to its Snapdragon 835 chipset, the Premium will be among the first phones capable of 1 gigabit LTE speeds. Carriers all over the world are already running test networks, so 1Gbps on the go may be closer than you think.
Note the USB-C port. It is wired for full v3.1 speed and supports QuickCharge 3.0 (with Qnovos enhancements to prolong battery life).
The only two places not covered in Gorilla Glass 5
Anyway, under the glass, the phone features a "premium mirror effect." There are two color options Deepsea Black and Luminous Chrome. "Luminous" is right, the phone is so reflective you can barely tell if it has a color of its own or just reflects all surrounding light.
Luminous Chrome and Deepsea Black • Chrome is very reflective
After handling the Xpeira XZ Premium, we were a bit surprised to find the spec sheet lists its weight as 195g. Its definitely a heavy phone, but it carries its weight well.
A heavy phone, but sturdy
We didnt get much time with the new 5.5" 4K screen but it was enough to tell it is much, much better than the screen of the Xperia Z5 Premium. The difference in contrast and brightness (up 40%, Sony says) is immediately obvious.
This is also the first 4K mobile screen to support HDR. And with the demise of the Galaxy Note7, one of the few mobile screens to support HDR. Its the new "must have" thing in TVs and we think phones are no different. Strange that Sony was mum on a potential VR future for the XZ Premium - the phone definitely has the screen and chipset for it.
Dont think that this sort of precision made the phone fragile - it has full IP68 rating.
The fingerprint reader is on the side - on the Power button to be precise - which is Sonys preferred po sition. Whatever the regional issue was, it is still here: Xperia XZ phones sold in some regions will not use the fingerprint reader.
Off to the side are the card slots, hidden under a single flap. The unit we handled took one nanoSIM, but Sony has plans for dual-SIM models as well.
A fingerprint reader, depending on where you live
Sony Xperia XZs hands-on
Sony wouldnt wait a full year to release an "s" upgrade for the XZ flagship, so heres the Sony Xperia XZs about half a year later after the original model. This one is coming out in early April and will give us a taste of the new Motion Eye camera (discusse d below) while keeping the rest of the specs unchanged.
Sony Xperia XZs
That means an IP68-waterproof body that houses a 5.2" 1080p screen, Snapdragon 820 and yes, stereo speakers. Thats reasonably competitive, many early 2017 flagships are coming out with Snapdragon 821 because waiting for the 835 chipset will cause a delay (exhibit A: XZ Premium).
The Xperia XZs lacks the Glass Loop Surface of the Premium, instead it uses two separate panes of Gorilla Glass (one on the front, one on the back).
This model comes in different colors too: Ice Blue, Warm Silver and Black. Were particularly fond of the Ice Blue option and wish the Premium would be available in a similar hue.
Sony Xperia XZs in Black, Warm Silver and Ice Blue
The layout should be quite familiar: Fingerprint reader/Power button on one side, card slots on the other, headphone jack on top, USB-C port on bottom.
Fingerprint reader • Card slots • Headphone jack • USB-C port
The Xperia XZs upgrades from the 23MP camera of its predecessor to a 19MP Motion Eye camera. There hasnt been an upgrade on the front, the XZs still u ses the 13MP selfie shooter of the original.
19MP Motion eye camera • 13MP selfie camera
Sony Motion Eye camera
This is the first camera of its kind - instead of the usual 2-layer design, this one features a memory layer in between the sensor and control circuitry layers. This allows the camera itself to store photos and videos temporarily instead of waiting on the chipset to transfer them to RAM. That has a bigger impact than you would expect.
Motion Eye camera on the Xperia XZ Premium • 13MP selfie cam
For one, the sensor reads out the full resolution 19MP image 5x faster, which prevents rolling shutter. Also it enables the headlining feature - 960fps video! Most phones manage 240fps at best, but the Motion Eye allows you to stretch time four times longer.
Sony went with a slightly lower resolution for this Exmor RS senor (previous models were at 23MP, size is 1/2.3"), which has the benefit of 19% bigger pixels. This will result in lower noise in the dark (though we didnt get to test this in sunny Barcelona). The aperture is the not-so-bright f/2.0, same as the Google Pixels (which, to be fair, are amazing at low-light shooting).
The camera has a prescient feature called Predictive Capture. It snaps four photos behind the scenes so if you were late to the shutter button, you can use one of those instead. To maximize the chance it captures the photo you want, this feature leans on motion detection to ge t only interesting features.
Its too early to be talking about image quality, the Xperia XZs is coming out a month from now and the XZ Premium later still. So, lets all lean back and enjoy these shots together.
Sony Xperia XZs camera samples
Early or not we couldnt resist snapping a comparison photo with an iPhone 7 we had on hand.
Sony Xperia XZs • Apple iPhone 7
Traditionally, weve dinged Xperias over their panorama mode, but thats about to end. The new XZ flagships seriously increase the resolution - up to 4K vertically, older phones only did 1K. Also, you can stop the panorama at any time you like, older phones used to get confused if you dont do the full 360° (a minor thing, but annoying all the same).
Sony Xperia XZs panorama
This camera features Sonys "triple image sensing technology", which includes Predictive and Laser autofocus, plus an RGBC-IR sensor. Thats a hefty acronym, but essentially it scans the surrounding light (both visible and infrared) to tune the color rendering for natural, vibrant hues.
On the front of both the Xperia XZs and XZ Premium is the same selfie camera found on the original XZ. Its based on a 13MP sensor (1/3.06") with an f/2.0 lens.
Sony Xperia XA1 hands-on
The Sony Xperia XA1 is a sequel to the popular mid-ranger, though Sony has upgraded it to "super mid-ranger" status. We think most of that comes from the camera - the 23MP camera based on a huge 1/2.3" Exmor RS sensor with SteadyShot support!
Sony Xperia XA1
Seriously, thats Xperia X level stuff. It would have been XZ-level if it could record 4K 2160p video, but it cannot (Sony still has to leave room on the market for its flagships, after all). The XA1 camera can launch in 0.6s and get accurate focus thanks to Hybrid AF.
The camera lens has an f/2.0 aperture and it captures a wide-angle view (24mm in 35 mm equivalent), those are essentially the same readings as the XZ camera, though we dont know yet if the came ra uses the same sensor or not.
The Sony Xperia XA1 has great cameras
Like the XZs, the Xperia XA1 reuses the selfie camera from its predecessor. Its a solid camera, though, so no complaints from us - the 8MP 1/4" sensor sits behind an f/2.0 lens (23mm) and boasts autofocus (even some flagships lack AF, which we think is unforgivable).
Sony also upgraded the chipset, going from a P10 to a MediaTek Helio P20. That one still uses an octa-core Cortex-A53 processor, but at higher clock speeds. You get more RAM - 3GB - and the storage doubled to 32GB (theres a microSD card on the side).
If you were hoping that the 2017 model will sport a fingerprint button, you would be disappointed.< /p>
Card slot • Fingerprint-less power button
Speaking of missed upgrade opportunities, the Xperia XA1 maintains the 5" 720p screen of the original. With the right price (thats TBA), it could be a mighty competitor in the entry-level segment, though we do wish that awesome camera was paired with a better chipset.
Sony also failed to upgrade the phone to USB-C, the XA1 still uses microUSB. At least you get fast charging - MediaTeks version of it, Pump Express+ 2.0 - along with Qnovo adaptive charging (so that the battery will live through more charge cycles than normal batteries).
Speaking of, the battery capacity remains at 2,300mAh.
Old-school microUSB port • Headphone jack
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra hands-on
The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra is the mid-range phablet of the X family. Sorry, the super mid-ranger. Upgrades to the 6" giant feel more limited than the changes to its smaller sibling.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
Yes, Sony used the same awesome 23MP camera as on the XA1. But the original XA Ultra already had a pretty solid 21.5MP 1/2.4" sensor. The selfie camera remains the same - Sony did not upgrade any selfie cams for the MWC.
Thats still one of the best camera to snap a self portrait, though. It features a large 16MP 1/2.6" sensor backed by optical image stabilization, something very few phones have. Both this and the main camera record 1080p video.
One of the best selfie cameras money can buy
Were pretty mad that Sony did nothing to up the battery capacity. 2,700mAh wasnt enough for a 6" screen last year and its not enough this year. Yes, maybe the new Helio P20 chipset running Android Nougat will do better, but we expect great battery life out of phablets.
The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra is not a small phone - it weighs a shade under 190g - so theres no excuse for the battery. It is interesting to note that the 6" Ultra weighs less than the 5.5" XZ Premium, though.
Look at how big the Xperia XA1 Ultra is, why the small battery?
At least Sony did add USB-C to the XA1 Ultra (keeping the Pump Express+ 2.0 and Qnovo charging assistants). Thats still a "no" on the fingerprint reader.
USB-C comes to Sonys mid-range
First impressions
We come away from this encounter excited by what the Sony Xperia XZ Premium has to offer, though a little disappointed that well have to wait to get it. Sure, the Xperia XZs will give us a taste of the cool Motion Eye camera earlier than that and we think the rest of the phone (which was not updated) will hold up ag ainst early 2017 flagships.
The small Xperia XA1 will likely become the camera king in the entry level segment. We just hope Sony is reasonable about the price (the company didnt reveal pricing about any of the four phones). The big Xperia XA1 Ultra is probably the smallest update here and we couldnt muster much excitement for it - we love the XA Ultra and were not sold that this one is a must-have upgrade.
Sony is best known for its consumer products, but this year the company took a page out of Samsungs book and built a phone on the strength of great components. The 4K HDR screen and memory-packing camera sensor are the kind of innovation we want when looking at a Sony gadget.
! ( hope useful)
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