This a Complete Review of the Xperia Z.Before starting the Review, I would like to thank Sony for the Unit.So, Currently,at the time of writing this Review,The Xperia Z sells in the Indian Market for about 38,000 Rupees.
*i.imgur.com/SbqfTA8l.jpg
1.Box and the contents
*i.imgur.com/zbiASp1l.jpg
The Sony Xperia Z comes in a very nice,sleek and small packaging.As of Today,There is an offer going on on the purchases of Xperia Z in India.Along with the phone,you get a pair of Sony MDR-ZX100 Over-ear headphones and a “Premium” Carrying Case for the phone.The back of the Box has a few specs written which I will talk later.
Inside the Box,You get the Phone itself,2 screen protector(One for front and one for back;although the screen is pre-applied with a screen protector),a good quality in ear headphones,Charger,USB Cable,User Guide and a Few different sizes ear tips.If you are interested in more detail,check out my unboxing here!(Please check and like the video)
2.Xperia Z- The design and the Hardware
*i.imgur.com/Nx6UimRl.jpg
At First Glance,the phone feels like a rectangular slab of glass.The outer body of the phone is completely made up of Glass.Although its not Gorilla Glass but the phone really feels premium in the hands.It doesn’t have the cheap feeling like many of the Samsung smartphones.It is relatively very thin and light too.I personally,had the phone in Black colour.Since the back is fully made up of glass,the black colour attracts a lot of fingerprints.So if you want your phone to look neat and tidy,go with the White version.Also to mention,The Phone is water-proof and Dust-Proof.The Phones comes with a 16GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded via a micro SD card.Overall,the phone feels elegant and strong in the hands.
The Phone is powered by a Quad Core Snapdragon Krait processor which has the Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC coupled with 2 Gigabytes of RAM.The GPU used is Adreno 320.
*i.imgur.com/ZiMFL8Yl.jpg
On the Front,We have a 2 Megapixel front facing camera capable of full HD recording.We also have a few sensors,call speaker and a tiny LED notification Light. Below that is the big,beautiful and Gorgeous 5 inch 1080p Full HD Bravia Engine 2 display with an insane PPI of 441.
On the Right Hand side,You have your Micro SIM slot covered in a flap(For Water proof purposes).Below that is the silver coloured round Power button which is easy to reach while holding the phone in hand.Below the power button is the Volume rocker and finally, a Single Tiny speaker which produced Decent Sound.
On the left we have the Micro USB Port,the Memory Card Slot and an accessory port for future accessories.The Micro USB port supports USB On the go as well as MHL.
Finally,On the Back is the nice looking 13 Megapixel Camera with Exmor RS Sensor and an LED Flash.The camera is capable of HDR video and photos.Below the Camera is the NFC center.The phones also has Bluetooth 4.0 and supports WiFi Direct
*i.imgur.com/Gow0CLil.jpg
*i.imgur.com/tgFz926l.jpg
*i.imgur.com/3YeMQWdl.jpg
3.The Screen
As I said before,we have a gorgeous 1920x1080p FULL HD LCD 5 inch display.The Pixel Per Inch or rather the Pixel Density of this display is 441!The Screen also has a pre applied screen protector which is very hard to notice but Yes You can apply the supplied protector over this one.I would like to mention that a small part of the screen is covered by the on screen button as this phone doesn’t have any physical or capacitive buttons.I personally use the Xperia S which has a 720p display with 341 PPI.So Yes, the 1080p display along with that extra 100 PPI does look better.It is great for Watching Movies as well as Playing Games.I found the 1080p Screen a lot better while Gaming.The screen is an LCD screen so we get accurate colour reproduction rather than the over saturated AMOLED Screen,Bravia Engine 2 enhances the Videos and Pictures too.The Only Con with the display is its bad Viewing Angles.The viewing angles compares to even the Xperia S are disappointing.Some people might like it,Some might not.But as long as you’re seeing Your display straight,it is perfect!
4.The Software
*i.imgur.com/3bu9Qsil.png
*i.imgur.com/UJgB1Ttl.jpg
Out of the Box,the Xperia Z runs on Android 4.1.2 Jellybean.Project Butter and all other awesome features are evident on the Device.We also have Google Now.Sony has customized the software in every aspect they can.We have a different kind of Lockscreen which provides easy access to the Camera as well as the Music Player.
*i.imgur.com/hWFpcBVl.png
There are also some nice added sony widgets .Overall the Basic UI is like any other Sony android phone but it is light and runs Smooth.There are also a few toggles for WiFi,Bluetooth,DATA AND Profile in the notification barThere were a few hiccups here and there at rare times but they might be due to the Sony widgets. .Overall,The UI of the phone is fast,fluid and easy to use.It is one of the most responsive and Snappy User interface you can get on a smartphone
*i.imgur.com/Zvecqbxl.jpg
5.Gaming and Media Playback
Gaming is the area where the GPU,CPU and the Display comes into play.Gaming on a smartphone which has a 1080p is just awesome.The details and the quality of the graphics are mind-blowing.Xperia Z does a great job in handling games.It will play each and every game smoothly with high frame rates.I tested Major Heavy android Games like Asphalt 7,Modern Combat 4,Dead Trigger,Real Racing 3 etc and trust me,the framerates have been constantly high.If you’re a heavy gamer on your smartphone,this phone will suffice you ☺. I would suggest you to watch this Gaming Test which I did.
*i.imgur.com/s1I1bwml.png
This phone is great for media consumption too.The inbuilt Album,Walkman and Movies app are great.The Walkman App offers a lot of customization and different effects so that you can tailor the Sound you want to hear.Full HD movies had no lag or stuttering while playing and the Movies Looked Good on the screen.The Loudspeaker on this phone is decent.But not comparable to something like “BoomSound” on the HTC One
5.Camera
*i.imgur.com/iOhoH8xl.jpg
We have a 13-Megapixel shooter on the back with an LED Flash and a noise cancelling microphone.The Camera offers various shooting modes.I personally did my testing on the Superior Auto mode.The camera is also capable of HDR Videos and photos.
Here is a full resolution Sample shot
Here is another Sample Shot(Full Res)
Here is the Last Sample shot(full res)
The Pictures during the Day Time Turn out to be Great.They could have been a bit more sharper and warmer but overall,the performance is really Nice.Different people have different tastes about the photo quality.Some like softer pics while some like saturated pics.Overall,The Phone has a great Camera according to me.The Indoor performance is also decent and the use of flash causes very less distortion in colours which is nice.I have recorded and short samples with the camera.The pictures look great on that Full HD display but when you transfer it to an external display,they look a bit softer sometimes.One issue I had was that, the stock camera app had very high compression rate.Most of the time it compresses the 13 megapixel shots to about 1.5-2.0 MB.Sony needs to fix that but you can third party apps like camera360 and set the quality to super fine.The Camera is software is good but Samsung's Camera app in the S4 offers a lot more features.You can also watch the Camera Review(Posting Soon) and the tests below and judge the performance.
6.Battery Life.
The Battery Life,Like any other smartphone is Average.If you are a light or a medium user,the battery should last for a day.But if you’re a heavy user who plays Heavy Games or Uses the Camera and other features for longer durations,you might have to charge your Xperia Z twice a day.Sony has included various power saving features like extended standby mode and stamina mode which do help in maximizing the battery life a bit
*i.imgur.com/7JbOdSLl.png
Benchmarks
I did the benchmarks tests because it were requested here.I personally donot believe in Benchmarking Smartphones.The Hands On usability and responsiveness of the phone matters to me.A Decent Hardware requires an amazing software to utilize it to its full potential.So here are some of the benchmarking tests I did!
*i.imgur.com/FsRxJdPl.jpg *i.imgur.com/bbtSYKpl.png
*i.imgur.com/4539YQMl.png
*i.imgur.com/xMhX6fdl.png
7.Verdict
So after all this big Review,the question is-Would I recommend this Phone?To be honest,the answer depends on You.The phone has nice hardware,slick and fast UI,nice performance and a great Camera but also the phone has an average battery life and poor viewing angles.I haven’t have had the Chance to test the HTC One or the Galaxy S4 but Overall,considering the price,I like the phone.The Build quality is Solid and the Glass backing is elegant.It can be a finger print magnet though.
Feel free to ask me any question about the phone.Check out my detailed review of the Phone which I will upload soon.You will get an idea of the performance of the phone by watching the Videos.
Thank You for reading and watching.I’l be back soon with some more reviews.Do watch/Like/subscribe to my YouTube Videos;It helps me to bring more reviews for you guys
Finally here are some more pictures of the Device
*i.imgur.com/4vhceXCl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/lxL09rQl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/Y8IWYsBl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/p05XULZl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/zLCATQil.jpg
*i.imgur.com/6716EVbl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/SbqfTA8l.jpg
1.Box and the contents
*i.imgur.com/zbiASp1l.jpg
The Sony Xperia Z comes in a very nice,sleek and small packaging.As of Today,There is an offer going on on the purchases of Xperia Z in India.Along with the phone,you get a pair of Sony MDR-ZX100 Over-ear headphones and a “Premium” Carrying Case for the phone.The back of the Box has a few specs written which I will talk later.
Inside the Box,You get the Phone itself,2 screen protector(One for front and one for back;although the screen is pre-applied with a screen protector),a good quality in ear headphones,Charger,USB Cable,User Guide and a Few different sizes ear tips.If you are interested in more detail,check out my unboxing here!(Please check and like the video)
2.Xperia Z- The design and the Hardware
*i.imgur.com/Nx6UimRl.jpg
At First Glance,the phone feels like a rectangular slab of glass.The outer body of the phone is completely made up of Glass.Although its not Gorilla Glass but the phone really feels premium in the hands.It doesn’t have the cheap feeling like many of the Samsung smartphones.It is relatively very thin and light too.I personally,had the phone in Black colour.Since the back is fully made up of glass,the black colour attracts a lot of fingerprints.So if you want your phone to look neat and tidy,go with the White version.Also to mention,The Phone is water-proof and Dust-Proof.The Phones comes with a 16GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded via a micro SD card.Overall,the phone feels elegant and strong in the hands.
The Phone is powered by a Quad Core Snapdragon Krait processor which has the Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC coupled with 2 Gigabytes of RAM.The GPU used is Adreno 320.
*i.imgur.com/ZiMFL8Yl.jpg
On the Front,We have a 2 Megapixel front facing camera capable of full HD recording.We also have a few sensors,call speaker and a tiny LED notification Light. Below that is the big,beautiful and Gorgeous 5 inch 1080p Full HD Bravia Engine 2 display with an insane PPI of 441.
On the Right Hand side,You have your Micro SIM slot covered in a flap(For Water proof purposes).Below that is the silver coloured round Power button which is easy to reach while holding the phone in hand.Below the power button is the Volume rocker and finally, a Single Tiny speaker which produced Decent Sound.
On the left we have the Micro USB Port,the Memory Card Slot and an accessory port for future accessories.The Micro USB port supports USB On the go as well as MHL.
Finally,On the Back is the nice looking 13 Megapixel Camera with Exmor RS Sensor and an LED Flash.The camera is capable of HDR video and photos.Below the Camera is the NFC center.The phones also has Bluetooth 4.0 and supports WiFi Direct
*i.imgur.com/Gow0CLil.jpg
*i.imgur.com/tgFz926l.jpg
*i.imgur.com/3YeMQWdl.jpg
3.The Screen
As I said before,we have a gorgeous 1920x1080p FULL HD LCD 5 inch display.The Pixel Per Inch or rather the Pixel Density of this display is 441!The Screen also has a pre applied screen protector which is very hard to notice but Yes You can apply the supplied protector over this one.I would like to mention that a small part of the screen is covered by the on screen button as this phone doesn’t have any physical or capacitive buttons.I personally use the Xperia S which has a 720p display with 341 PPI.So Yes, the 1080p display along with that extra 100 PPI does look better.It is great for Watching Movies as well as Playing Games.I found the 1080p Screen a lot better while Gaming.The screen is an LCD screen so we get accurate colour reproduction rather than the over saturated AMOLED Screen,Bravia Engine 2 enhances the Videos and Pictures too.The Only Con with the display is its bad Viewing Angles.The viewing angles compares to even the Xperia S are disappointing.Some people might like it,Some might not.But as long as you’re seeing Your display straight,it is perfect!
4.The Software
*i.imgur.com/3bu9Qsil.png
*i.imgur.com/UJgB1Ttl.jpg
Out of the Box,the Xperia Z runs on Android 4.1.2 Jellybean.Project Butter and all other awesome features are evident on the Device.We also have Google Now.Sony has customized the software in every aspect they can.We have a different kind of Lockscreen which provides easy access to the Camera as well as the Music Player.
*i.imgur.com/hWFpcBVl.png
There are also some nice added sony widgets .Overall the Basic UI is like any other Sony android phone but it is light and runs Smooth.There are also a few toggles for WiFi,Bluetooth,DATA AND Profile in the notification barThere were a few hiccups here and there at rare times but they might be due to the Sony widgets. .Overall,The UI of the phone is fast,fluid and easy to use.It is one of the most responsive and Snappy User interface you can get on a smartphone
*i.imgur.com/Zvecqbxl.jpg
5.Gaming and Media Playback
Gaming is the area where the GPU,CPU and the Display comes into play.Gaming on a smartphone which has a 1080p is just awesome.The details and the quality of the graphics are mind-blowing.Xperia Z does a great job in handling games.It will play each and every game smoothly with high frame rates.I tested Major Heavy android Games like Asphalt 7,Modern Combat 4,Dead Trigger,Real Racing 3 etc and trust me,the framerates have been constantly high.If you’re a heavy gamer on your smartphone,this phone will suffice you ☺. I would suggest you to watch this Gaming Test which I did.
*i.imgur.com/s1I1bwml.png
This phone is great for media consumption too.The inbuilt Album,Walkman and Movies app are great.The Walkman App offers a lot of customization and different effects so that you can tailor the Sound you want to hear.Full HD movies had no lag or stuttering while playing and the Movies Looked Good on the screen.The Loudspeaker on this phone is decent.But not comparable to something like “BoomSound” on the HTC One
5.Camera
*i.imgur.com/iOhoH8xl.jpg
We have a 13-Megapixel shooter on the back with an LED Flash and a noise cancelling microphone.The Camera offers various shooting modes.I personally did my testing on the Superior Auto mode.The camera is also capable of HDR Videos and photos.
Here is a full resolution Sample shot
Here is another Sample Shot(Full Res)
Here is the Last Sample shot(full res)
The Pictures during the Day Time Turn out to be Great.They could have been a bit more sharper and warmer but overall,the performance is really Nice.Different people have different tastes about the photo quality.Some like softer pics while some like saturated pics.Overall,The Phone has a great Camera according to me.The Indoor performance is also decent and the use of flash causes very less distortion in colours which is nice.I have recorded and short samples with the camera.The pictures look great on that Full HD display but when you transfer it to an external display,they look a bit softer sometimes.One issue I had was that, the stock camera app had very high compression rate.Most of the time it compresses the 13 megapixel shots to about 1.5-2.0 MB.Sony needs to fix that but you can third party apps like camera360 and set the quality to super fine.The Camera is software is good but Samsung's Camera app in the S4 offers a lot more features.You can also watch the Camera Review(Posting Soon) and the tests below and judge the performance.
6.Battery Life.
The Battery Life,Like any other smartphone is Average.If you are a light or a medium user,the battery should last for a day.But if you’re a heavy user who plays Heavy Games or Uses the Camera and other features for longer durations,you might have to charge your Xperia Z twice a day.Sony has included various power saving features like extended standby mode and stamina mode which do help in maximizing the battery life a bit
*i.imgur.com/7JbOdSLl.png
Benchmarks
I did the benchmarks tests because it were requested here.I personally donot believe in Benchmarking Smartphones.The Hands On usability and responsiveness of the phone matters to me.A Decent Hardware requires an amazing software to utilize it to its full potential.So here are some of the benchmarking tests I did!
*i.imgur.com/FsRxJdPl.jpg *i.imgur.com/bbtSYKpl.png
*i.imgur.com/4539YQMl.png
*i.imgur.com/xMhX6fdl.png
7.Verdict
So after all this big Review,the question is-Would I recommend this Phone?To be honest,the answer depends on You.The phone has nice hardware,slick and fast UI,nice performance and a great Camera but also the phone has an average battery life and poor viewing angles.I haven’t have had the Chance to test the HTC One or the Galaxy S4 but Overall,considering the price,I like the phone.The Build quality is Solid and the Glass backing is elegant.It can be a finger print magnet though.
Feel free to ask me any question about the phone.Check out my detailed review of the Phone which I will upload soon.You will get an idea of the performance of the phone by watching the Videos.
Thank You for reading and watching.I’l be back soon with some more reviews.Do watch/Like/subscribe to my YouTube Videos;It helps me to bring more reviews for you guys
Finally here are some more pictures of the Device
*i.imgur.com/4vhceXCl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/lxL09rQl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/Y8IWYsBl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/p05XULZl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/zLCATQil.jpg
*i.imgur.com/6716EVbl.jpg
