The Xperia Z2 is an important smartphone for Sony. The original Xperia Z was a great piece of kit, but once that fell by the wayside in the wake of Samsung's Galaxy S4 and theHTC One. Last year's Xperia Z1 looked to fix some of its predecessor's issues, but was more of a stop-gap while the company worked on a true sequel. That arrived today, and we've already put one through its paces to bring you some first impressions.
On first inspection, little appears to have changed; Sony's so-called Omni-Balance design is present and correct, with an aluminium frame and tempered glass on the front and rear. Pick it up, however, and it's immediately obvious that Sony has slimmed out the Z2's dimensions. The slimmer display bezels mean you can comfortably hold it in one hand and still reach the far edge of the screen. It's lighter and thinner than the Z1 too, at a svelte 8.2mm, which is impressive considering it is both water- and dust-proof, and that the screen has grown from 5in to 5.2in.
Although it hasn't gained any extra pixels, the 1,920x1,200 resolution still looks pin sharp, with a 423 pixels per inch (PPI) pixel density. It's impossible to see individual pixels from an average viewing distance and we aren't convinced anyone needs 2K or 4K resolutions in their smartphones just yet so we applaud Sony for sticking to its guns. Instead, the company has opted for meaningful upgrades, switching to an IPS panel for significantly improved viewing angles that show no signs of colour shift when turned away from you. Triluminos colour technology definitely makes images appear more vibrant, but some of the example photos we saw looked unnaturally vivid; we'll have to compare the Z2 to the best AMOLED and LCD screens to see whether Sony has finally got it right on the third try.
Android 4.4 KitKat certainly felt snappy; Sony's custom interface completely replaces the default Google UI, but does so subtly and without placing a heavy strain on the Snapdragon 801 processor. Apps were quick to load and widget-filled home screens felt responsive. The only major new app addition is LifeLog, Sony's companion app for the Core and LifeBand fitness tracker. We only saw it briefly, but it clearly wants to be a hub for everything you do, as it keeps track of your music, photos and web bookmarks as well as tracking steps and counting calories.
We felt the 20.7-megapixel rear camera was something of a disappointment in the Xperia Z1, so it was a little alarming to see Sony sticking with the same Exmor RS sensor and Bionz for mobile image processor for its replacement. However, the addition of SteadyShot image stabilisation could change things for the better. During our brief hands-on with the phone, Sony's digital algorithms certainly helped reduce visible camera shake when shooting video. The company claims it is better than the optically stabilised competition, but we'll have to wait until a full review to decide whether that's true.
The new slow motion mode lets you edit a video clip filmed at 120fps, slowing down action shots without cutting the sound; other smartphones we've tried mute all sound for the duration of the slow motion effect. It's a one-touch system that's very easy to use - possibly even more so than with the iPhone 5s.
The bundled pair of noise cancelling headphones could really set the Xperia Z2 apart from other smartphones for commuters. For no extra charge, the phone is able to detect and digitally cancel out most background noise when on planes, trains or in the office. We tested it using a noise generator, and it did indeed cut out a significant amount of unwanted noise. Although there was admittedly an unavoidable hiss in the background, which is synonymous with digital noise cancellation, it was reasonably quiet and nowhere near as obtrusive as other headphones we've tried.
Sony appears to have listened to its critics and genuinely improved its flagship smartphone for the Xperia Z2. This should certainly please fans of the company, but at the time of writing Samsung had yet to officially announce the Galaxy S5; whether it will seem quite so impressive once the competition makes itself known remains to be seen.
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