Review of the Sony Xperia Z2

[Polestar]

The Xperia Z2.

The Sony Xperia Z2 is Sony's newest flagship for 2014 and is the successor to the Xperia Z1. The phone was released the 1st of May in the UK and therefore it's brand spanking new
As with all flagships in the Z-series, the Z2 is Water and dust proof (IP55 and IP58) and runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat.

With my Xperia Z2, i got the Smartband - It's a wearable device that you'll have to Google on, i haven't got time to include it in this review.

Design.

The Xperia Z2 has extreme attention to details. The phone has an aluminium frame with glass on both sides of the phone making for an extremely rigid phone.

It just feels premium.

As their slogan goes "Details make the difference."








Camera.

The Xperia Z2 have got an amazing camera. It's a 21 Megapixel shooter (20.7 to be exact) which record 4K and 1080p video. Users are reporting some issues with the phone overheating when recording long 4K videos. The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a limit of 5 minutes when recording in 4K, as where in the Z2 you can record until your memory is full or the phone overheats. I've shot films that are 10 minutes before the phone is overheated, so that's still twice the time of the Galaxy S5.

These two photos were taken with the Z2:




Software.

The Sony UI is quite close to stock Android if you compare it to Samsung's TouchWiz or HTC's Sense, with a kind of minimalistic design.
I personally like the interface and find it clean and modern.




























Specifications.

Weight
163 grams

Dimensions
146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm

Camera

20.7 MP camera

Display
5.2” Full HD TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile with X-Reality for mobile picture engine

16,777,216 colours Full HD 1920x1080 pixels

On the inside
Google Android 4.4 (Kitkat)

2.3 GHz Qualcomm MSM8974AB Quad-core

Durability

Waterproof (IP55 and IP58)

Dust-resistant (IP55)


Battery

Talk time: up to 19 hours

Standby time: up to 740 hours

Music listening time: Up to 120 hours

Video playback time: Up to 10 hours

Battery: 3200 mAh minimum


Other stuff.


One cool thing about this device is that you can charge it in two different ways - either the standard Micro USB (open flaps first) or just snap on a magnetic charger (think Macbook)!

I wanted to keep my phone waterproof as long as possible, so i bought a magnetic charger for about 10£ that just snaps on to the sid of your phone without the hassle of having to open a flap and cause wear and tear to the rubber protecting the phone from water.

Right in the middle of the phone, there's an cutout for the charger that just snaps in.
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Magnetic charger connected.

[img][/img]
Micro USB connected (with flap open).

I've also got Sony's official case for this phone - the SCR-10. It looks like this and is basically a flipcover with cutouts for the two front facing speakers.


SCR-10 to the left and the Sony Smartband to the right.



Conclusion

I think the Sony Xperia Z2 is defiantly worth a go. The premium feel, the specs and the phone overall is just stunning.



That pretty much sums up my small review of the Sony Xperia Z2. Please do not copy this review and i hope you've had a good time reading it!

Peace,

Polestar

[Jimmy]

looks good but i stick with the iphone.

[Polestar]

(2014-05-17 18:50)Jimmy Wrote:  looks good but i stick with the iphone.

Pffft, iOS was overtaken by Android a while ago.

Here are some things that iOS can't do while Android has been able to do for quite a while.

1. App integration with Operating System
2. Can’t set default apps
3. No NFC capabilities
4. Google Now (with card notifcations)
5. True HD resolution
6. Widgets
7. Dual User
8. Replaceable keyboards (Swype, etc)
9. Photosphere (panorama) – without the use of a third party app (Nexus devices)
10. USB host – USB OTG
A. Transfer media to and from an external SD card
B. Watch streaming video or listen to streaming audio from external SD.
C. Control a Dslr without root.

[FR4NOx]

(2014-05-17 18:54)Polestar Wrote:  

(2014-05-17 18:50)Jimmy Wrote:  looks good but i stick with the iphone.

Pffft, iOS was overtaken by Android a while ago.

Here are some things that iOS can't do while Android has been able to do for quite a while.

1. App integration with Operating System
2. Can’t set default apps
3. No NFC capabilities
4. Google Now (with card notifcations)
5. True HD resolution
6. Widgets
7. Dual User
8. Replaceable keyboards (Swype, etc)
9. Photosphere (panorama) – without the use of a third party app (Nexus devices)
10. USB host – USB OTG
A. Transfer media to and from an external SD card
B. Watch streaming video or listen to streaming audio from external SD.
C. Control a Dslr without root.

Most of those things are strictly opinion. I still prefer iOS because of aesthetics and I use Garageband a lot. The powerful camera is also tough to beat on the iPhone 5s.

Anyway, I really like the Z2. It's a shame they don't sell it here because it really seems to be the best Android phone in the market. I guess I'll wait until Sony (maybe) releases it later this year in the United States.

[Polestar]

(2014-05-17 19:02)Kenwood Wrote:  

(2014-05-17 18:54)Polestar Wrote:  

(2014-05-17 18:50)Jimmy Wrote:  looks good but i stick with the iphone.

Pffft, iOS was overtaken by Android a while ago.

Here are some things that iOS can't do while Android has been able to do for quite a while.

1. App integration with Operating System
2. Can’t set default apps
3. No NFC capabilities
4. Google Now (with card notifcations)
5. True HD resolution
6. Widgets
7. Dual User
8. Replaceable keyboards (Swype, etc)
9. Photosphere (panorama) – without the use of a third party app (Nexus devices)
10. USB host – USB OTG
A. Transfer media to and from an external SD card
B. Watch streaming video or listen to streaming audio from external SD.
C. Control a Dslr without root.

Most of those things are strictly opinion. I still prefer iOS because of aesthetics and I use Garageband a lot. The powerful camera is also tough to beat on the iPhone 5s.

Anyway, I really like the Z2. It's a shame they don't sell it here because it really seems to be the best Android phone in the market. I guess I'll wait until Sony (maybe) releases it later this year in the United States.

Not a single item on the list is opinial, they just exist.
I personally think iOS looks old and iOS 7 just looks strange.

[Jimmy]

i only use iphone 5s for music and internet and call people + taking pictures sometimes, dont really need a phone with all those stuff like Z2 have.

[Warped]

I love the look of Zs and I'd definitely buy the Z2 in the near future. It's nicely thin and hand friendly yet has nice specs. Well done review, how much did you pay for the phone?

[Dowpy]

Z1 is good aswell.

[[TC] Stephen]

Having this phone, it's been great, I've also got the smart band (which is a '24/7 wearable device', waterproof as well).

I think what I've enjoyed most about it has been putting it under a tap in front of people, seeing their reactions is priceless lol