AVForums Sony Xperia XZ and X Compact Smartphone Review

[David Phelan]

Sony launch their new flagship Xperia XZ and smaller X Compact smartphones but how do they measure up to the competition in terms of features, performance and price?
Read the review.

Write your own review for Sony Xperia XZ

 

[soupdragon]

Great review. I'm still on z3 with no need to even consider an upgrade despite its 2 years of age. Bright screen even outdoors on a sunny day, fast processor, great battery life. That's all I need from a phone. 60fps slow motion time shift videos of my kids on holiday diving into a pool, bringing the phone underwater and seeing their smiling faces as they look towards me while they swim has let me capture memories that will last a life time. These Sony phones are simply brilliant in every area.

 

[ozzzy189]

I'm using a z3 compact and am not happy that I've now no compact with water resistance or magnetic charging port on the side of the phone. No mention anywhere in the review of how the phone actually sounds like when using it as a PHONE! You gave it a score of 9 but no text. The loudspeaker on the z3 compact is simply dreadful and is one of the only downsides to a great handset. I'll be keeping mine til it dies as I see nothing here that worth me spending a lot more money on. Thank you for your review even if you did miss out a really important (to me anyway) bit.
Regards
Daniel

 

[Dean]

I saw this (and a VIVO V3 max) in a Sony centre in Malaysia last week. I still thought my Z2 holds up well against it for the features I actually use. Z5 felt more premium in the hand.

 

[Krisafc80]

Great review. I'm still on z3 with no need to even consider an upgrade despite its 2 years of age. Bright screen even outdoors on a sunny day, fast processor, great battery life. That's all I need from a phone. 60fps slow motion time shift videos of my kids on holiday diving into a pool, bringing the phone underwater and seeing their smiling faces as they look towards me while they swim has let me capture memories that will last a life time. These Sony phones are simply brilliant in every area.

Same ... Although I'm actually still using the Z2 and been considering an upgrade but you know what .... I've read the specs on all the latest phones and the benefit of upgrading is marginal at best. Do I need a fingerprint scanner....no....laser focus....no....slightly faster processor....no. Z2 is still on the latest operating system and working as well as the day I bought it (ages ago).
Once upon a time, I'd have been wetting myself when upgrade time came around. Not so now.

 

[meep]

Interesting reading the comments. I have a Z1 that's lost the flap on the usb prot so is no longer waterproof and is exhibiting battery weariness (20% - 0 in 10 seconds, anyone?)

Even with that though, it's still a great phone and I thought I'd be going for a ZX but, like everyone else here, I don't have a pressing need.

Might wait until the new year and see what's available in sales and actually get hands on with one. Also wondering what Google Pixel will be like....

 

[Krisafc80]

They're expensive. What you have to ask yourself is does the 'new' tech incorporated into the latest phones really improve your user experience enough to warrant upgrading? We have reached a plateau imo. Don't get me wrong, it can simply just be because you fancy a new phone and there's nothing wrong with that. Personally, nowadays, I'd rather keep this one (as long as it's not faulty of course) and get a better deal with more data etc.

 

[Grimley]

Z3 Owner here. As others have said here I've no need to 'upgrade' I'm keeping mine until the battery dies, I drop & break it or the headphone socket packs up (I'm aware of this common fault)
I've owned Sony Android phones Since 2011 after being a long time Nokia user, I bought a Orange San Francisco to try out Android & liked it even though it has flaws & not updated enough to my liking....

 

[meep]

Picked up an XZ at the weekend to replace my Z1 whose battery is now on it's last legs.

It's very nice but with one big disappointment for me -no FM tuner.

I like to listen to radio on my way to and from work and the FM tuner on my Z1 was great as it worked in areas without great network coverage and didn't eat into data allowances. Hard to believe that Sony removed this feature from a flagship device.

I know I'm in a minority and most people will stream but I did like the actual radio.

 

[sammy20v]

I have owned a z3 and z3 compact, z5 compact and have just bought an X compact and I have to say it's the best of the so y phones I have owned. The screen on the X compact is far better than the other compacts as you cannot see an visible grid structure and is really sharp. Battery life is amazing and even though it has a mid range processor it's very quick.