Review: Sony XZ2, beware the Japanese

At the same time, Sony is also using its own X-Reality technology that can upscale traditional SDR media into HDR. An example we saw at one of Sony’s sessions at it’s headquarters was of an SDR photo being upscaled into HDR more or less looked as though the screen boosted saturation, but there was also a little more contrast, and it certainly was the more eye-catching scene to watch.

All of this is being powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845 processor, which is reportedly 30 percent faster than last year’s Snapdragon 835 chipset, as well as 30 percent more efficient. The XZ2 comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, as well as a MicroSD card slot in case you need more storage. It flew through menus and apps opened quickly;  the device has to date been a powerhouse.

The phone runs Android 8.0 Oreo, and while we’re happy it’s coming with the latest version of Android, there are some parts of Sony’s user interface that are not too attractive, and there’s a decent amount of Sony apps that come pre-installed. It’s not a deal-breaker at all; we’re just nitpicking.

The Xperia XZ2 comes packed with a 3,180mAh battery, and since there’s glass on the back of the phone, it’s capable of wirelessly charging through the Qi standard. It’s also IP68-water resistant, meaning it can survive in up to 1.5 meters underwater for 30 minutes.

You undoubtedly won’t have a problem with performance on this device, We’re happy with the full day batter life we’re getting from our review XZ and the display on the XZ2 as well, and we’re excited to continue testing Oreo on it.

Look, Hear, and Feel

Sony’s mantra for the XZ2 focuses on three aspects of this entertainment device: Look, Hear, and Feel. Look is comprised of the HDR upscaling technology and the HDR-supported screen we’ve talked about. Next up is “hear,” which places an emphasis on high-fidelity audio.

The dual front-facing stereo speakers are 20 percent louder than the XZ2’s predecessor, and it leverages Sony’s S-Force Front Surround to envelope the listener with 360-degree surround sound. It certainly has gotten loud, but it was tough to judge audio quality during our time with the phone. Luckily, during our visit to Sony HQ, a visit to Sony Music reaffirmed our uncertainty over the sound quality. See the below video of where sound is played off the Sony XZ premium.

Along with the speakers, the XZ2 supports a wide variety of high-resolution audio codecs and technologies, including the company’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine, LDAC, as well as Qualcomm’s AptX HD.

The final “feel” category revolves around a new Sony technology called the Dynamic Vibration System, and it’s a little odd. Essentially, the XZ2 has a bigger actuator that provides stronger vibrations. The device uses an algorithm to offer more haptic feedback based on the audio output. So if you’re watching a movie, you may feel more vibrations when there’s a dramatic event taking place. For games, the phone will feel more responsive when the sound effects or music ramp up. You’ll want to turn it off when listening to music, though, since the phone just seems to constantly vibrate (yes, you can turn it off).

Learn more on our haptic experience at Sony here

Camera

There’s no dual-camera system on the XZ2, sadly. Instead, you’ll find a 19-megapixel camera, and a new feature called 4K HDR video recording, which Sony says is a world first.

More interestingly, Sony’s signature Super Slow Mo technology has improved. It has always been able to capture 960 frames per second in 720p, but it can now do the same in 1080p as well. It’s a leg up over Samsung’s super-slow-motion on the Galaxy S9. The slow-motion videos are shorter, though, as it can only capture half the speed of 720p. That means you’ll get only 0.09 seconds of slow-motion video, which will net you 3 seconds of playback.

We did take a few stills with the camera app, and we found the phone snapped photos relatively quickly. It did a solid job with some indoor shots, but it did seem to suffer with an extremely bright sky and a dark foreground — something our Galaxy S9 managed easily at the same time.

The 3D Creator app, which lets you create a 3D model of objects and faces, first debuted on the XZ1. On the XZ2, it now works with the front-facing camera, so you can create a 3D scan of yourself by yourself. You can also now share it directly to Facebook. It’s kind of neat, and creating a selfie 3D scan myself produced decent results, but we still see this feature as gimmicky for the average consumer. Still, there are some genuine uses here, especially since these scans can be sent to 3D printers, or placed as avatars in certain games.

Electric Town, Tokyo ? pic.twitter.com/mbr0k5YkKT

— Papi Mabele (@Papi_Mabele) April 26, 2018

Availability and price

All in all, the XZ2 is a good device that offer something a little different. There are a few aspects we’re not sold on yet, such as the Dynamic Vibration System, as well as the camera experience compared to phones like the P20 and Galaxy S9. But we love the 1080p Super Slow Motion camera, and you can’t deny that it delivers a great viewing and listening experience thanks to support for all these technologies. The XZ2’s strengths definitely make it a device worth buying. The XZ2 is available locally for R13,499.