I've posted this before on the Xperia Z reviews thread, however, I've been reading lots of posts about the Xperia Z vs the HTC One and I'd thought I'd share my opinions on the Xperia Z and why I chose it instead of the HTC One. I've modified some information in the review to tell you more about why I chose the Z. The original can be found here: [http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=40061336#post40061336]
My Honest Sony Xperia Z Review
Why I Chose The Xperia Z
I had the Xperia Z for a month or so and I'm ready to make my review on it. I was up for an upgrade last month(March) and was browsing through phones that may appeal to me. I am coming from an iPhone 5. In the end, there were only 3 phones that caught my eye. The Xperia Z, the HTC One and the HTC Butterfly, or Droid DNA in the USA. The Butterfly was the first to go as it lacked LTE and NFC. The Xperia Z and the HTC One remained. Luckily, I found a HTC One demo unit in one of the Carriers, Singtel(Plaza Singapura if any fellow Singaporeans wanna check it out). Well hidden in a corner, I should say and it was the Black one. At the same time, The Xperia Z just launched like, 2 days ago(At that time). Picking up the HTC One, I realized how solid it feels, and boy, premium was written all over it. I turned it on and played around with the software. It was good, lag-free and looks great. I tried the camera and I have to say it was horrible. No joke. It was not clear and most details looks fuzzy. Maybe thats just me, but it really looks not on par with phone cameras these days. Sense 5.0 was alright, it was clean and fresh from the previous Sense versions. BlinkFeed was just a Flipboard like widget on the homescreen. Sense 5.0 does looks nice, but it was not for me. I am also afraid of the build of the phone. I am a careless person. I have to admit. My iPhone 5 was covered in scuffs and dents all over the place. Having the full aluminium body makes me shudder every time I imagine dropping it. Wanted to know more but the HTC rep was nowhere to be seen. Next, I went to the Xperia Z demo unit. The Sony Xperia rep there gave me a run through on the specs and features. I was actually pretty impressed and excited by the fact I could take my phone to the shower and use it while showering. To me, what it means by having a good phone is having a good experience. When I picked up the phone, I immediately realized how realistic the colors looked when playing video and viewing images. Outside of that, it looked rather dark. The design was sexy. REALLY sexy. It felt extremely good in the hand and is durable. VERY durable. Dropped it a few times and not a scratch. The thing that closed the deal was the UI. I like the stock UI. In fact, I love it. The Xperia Z's UI is extremely close to stock. The Nexus 4 is not available here, so it was out of the question. The UI is neat, smooth and looked fabulous. Unlike HTC's Sense 5.0, which is an extremely heavy skin and does not appeal to me. With the water resistance, it was clear which is the phone for me. I hope after reading my review, you'll know which phone to get. We are all brothers here at XDA Developers and I hope that whichever phone we use, we may contribute to the developer community and not flame each other because of our personal preferences. XDA Developers is a place for developers, by developers. Lets not let our choice of phone affect that.
The Beauty Meets The Beast
The Xperia Z packs a SnapDragon S4 Pro Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor, Adreno 320 GPU and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It sports an all glass design, similar to the iPhone 4 and 4S. The Xperia Z has excellent build quality and looks absolutely fantastic. The ports are covered by flaps, which may prove to be an annoyance for some but with good purpose. The most prominent feature of the Xperia Z is probably the on/off button. Its large, and ridiculously well placed. It stands where the thumb rests on the phone, or the index finger if you're using your left hand and is incredibly convenient to press compared to the stretch you'd have to make on other phones. Below that is the volume rocker, also easy to access when needed. The speakers are indeed placed in a horrible position, as its easy to mute with your palm unintentionally but its not an issue for me as I use my phone with my left hand.
Overall, the design turns heads and the hardware don't fail to deliver. Feels solid in the hand, BUT might be a problem for people with small hands as it may cut into it and make it uncomfortable. Very, very impressive Sony.
User Interface
Sony's UI is probably the closes you can get to stock android, and I love it. It's simple, nothing fancy and neat, although, I'd like a Black theme rather then the Grey. There are some UI lags here and there though. The lack of Android 4.2.2 also disappoints me a little but its coming, and I'll wait for it. After all, Good things come to those who wait.
Performance Powerhouse
Lag is a thing of the past with the SnapDragon S4 Pro as everything is buttery smooth, with minor UI lags here and there. Problem solved with one of the launchers. I've also noticed a little waiting time when launching the camera. Games run smoothly and without issue, not to mention looks AWESOME on the Full HD display. Although, I'd prefer to see the SnapDragon 600 on the Xperia Z as a future proof maneuver as games get increasingly power hungry.
Camera, Video and Screen
Video playback is amazing on the Xperia Z, as a result of the Full HD 1080p screen. Words are crisp and I rarely see any pixels other then low-res images. The Camera doesn't disappoint either with a 13MP back camera and a 2.1MP front facing camera. Both camera film 1080p videos as well so vlogging on the phone will definitely be great. However, I did notice that the colors are not on par with other phones and look rather dark. The Bravia Mobile Engine 2 does help and actually make the colors extremely realistic, but only when viewing images and videos. Low contrast ratio here doesn't help either. Had no issue using the phone in daylight. The viewing angles are GREAT. Only having some colors being washed out, I don't see any issue with viewing angles. Even if there is an issue with viewing angles, who cares? Nobody, NOBODY uses their phones 90 degrees unless you're a total idiot.
Connectivity
No issues here. LTE, NFC. What else could you ask for? Have to say though, kudos to Sony on having a campaign on promoting NFC usage and even launching new TVs with NFC compatibility. Wi-Fi is great, only had issue when it keeps dropping on free public Wi-Fi access points. But hey, free Wi-Fi, who knows. No issues with the Wi-Fi at home.
Its Music To My Ears
I listen to music. A lot. Everyday to and fro school, when travelling, heck, even when I'm bored. The bundled headset, The MH-EX300AP is AWESOME in providing high quality sounds. Sony also has ClearAudio+, which is like Beats Audio on the HTC, makes the experience all the more awesome. You can say its like having an orgasm in your ears. Eargasm if i may.
Speaker & Microphone Quality
The speaker, is actually quite the disappointment as number one, its placed in a horrible position. Next, its not as loud as I'd like it to be. There's xLoud, but it sacrifices quality for volume. Considering the quality without xLoud, I'd rather have it disabled. Lastly, as said before, the quality isn't all that great. However, I got the NFC Wireless Speaker, The SRS-BTV5 for free, which solves all the above issues, thus no complaints from me. But its kinda inconvenient to carry a speaker around with you all the time, so yeah. It is an issue.
Call quality is great, however. I can hear the other party clearly and they can hear me clearly too. No issues with dropped calls.
The Xperia Z Runs Far, With Great Stamina
I start my day at 4:30AM and end at 6PM. With 80% battery left. Stamina mode is no gimmick, it really does help with the battery life. Awesome battery life. If the screen is mostly off that is, which is usually the case. I find that if LTE is enabled, battery drains extremely fast, which makes me resort to using HSPA+, which isn't that all bad in my country. HSPA+ use nearly 3 times as less battery then LTE on my set. Location Based Wi-Fi is AWESOME. Its really cool to have your Wi-Fi turn off automatically when you leave the house and turns on then you're back. Not to mention the convenience. The phone will probably last me 2 days or so, but I still charge it every night anyway. Don't we all do?
Prepared For Accidents
The Xperia Z is IP57 certified - dust and water resistant with water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes. Let's be honest here. We all had times where we wished we could take our phones into the shower or bathtub. That wish is now fulfilled. I take the Xperia Z into the shower with me everyday and text or watch YouTube videos while showering. When the phone is dirty? No sweat. Rinse it under washing water. Now you also do not have to worry about dropping your phone into the water or bring it camping in the desert(whatever the reason LOL). Plus, you can wow your friends or freak your parents out by pouring water on the phone or dunk it into a glass of water. Heck, even take it swimming. Be careful about salt water though, Sony does not recommend dunking it in salt water. With Wet Finger Tracking technology, you don't have to dry your hands to use your phone, although it does get a little jumpy at times. The phone is also quite durable as I've dropped the phone a few time and there's not a scratch. That a plus as I'm usually very careless.
Take note that the phone disables touch input while underwater so, no texting while swimming.
Conclusion
The Sony Xperia Z is a great phone. Its not for everybody, and it has it's fair shares of ups and downs. I am throughly satisfied with it and do not regret not waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One. Its great for the average user and is definitely good enough for me. The water and dust resistance is not necessary but its nice to have. Its smooth, provide great music listening, plays games like a champ. I would recommend it to anybody, but hey, its your call. You have the decision to which phone is right for you and nobody can force you to take the Xperia Z or any phone for the matter. For me, I made my choice, and I have no regrets whatsoever.
Therefore, I dare say: I'M A PROUD SONY XPERIA Z OWNER
Thank you for taking your precious time to read my review. I'm still a noob, and I hope I may be more useful to the developer community here.
P.s Feedback on my review?
Thanks for your input. I suggest you take a look at the AnandTech review of the HTC One and you'll find the camera is excellent, if not the best available. I really like my Z but I find it unrealistic to say the camera is better if Sony doesn't fix the extreme post-processing. In low-light conditions the One wins hands down. Not so weird with optical image stabilization and pixels that are twice as big.
I'd suggest taking a picture (in auto mode) of a tree or bush at lets say 2-3 meters distance and then look at the picture at 100%. You'll see it's smeared out. Funny thing is, try the same in burst and you'll see it looks MUCH better.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221246
Great review. I agree with most parts.
Only issues for me with Z, which are a real shame to me, are the mic and ear piece speakers which do not provide the best call clarity, callers and myself experience weird overprocessed sound and issues when on calls, but they are minor, and the waterproofing accounts for this I imagine.
The only other issue for me, which again is a big shame considering the phone is made by Sony, is the music quality.
The music through the earphones is far too quiet, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
Say what you will about Beats audio on HTC phones, but the HTC One X beats the Z into the ground on volume and sound quality.
One X has no distortion at volume levels twice that of the Z! Max volume on the Z is around 30% too quiet, and the sound quality
is a little underwhelming, with the EQ having a strange volume limiting effect on walkman player.
Aside from those, and the little lags on the phone, which occur not only in the launcher, but also in the UI such as apps and settings menu's etc, the phone is great.
Knowing me, I will love the Z for a while, but then the little issues will grow louder and louder until deafening and i'll have to go off again in search of greener pastures.
HTC One is looking good, barring the sub standard camera.
I wasn't interested in the One, till I saw on in the shop yesterday, compared the speed (which is lag free and superfast), and a HD movie on Youtube side by side with my Z and was left open mouthed at how much better the One was in those departments.
Great review ! Some of things i don't understand ( and i've seen this a couple of times already ) are :
1. If you don't like the UI of any android phone there are Launchers . I , for example , don't like the sony launcher . No problem , i went with Nova launcher wich is as closest to stock as I can get. I'm sure you could have done the same on the One.
2.It's an open comunity => I flashed mine with Purexaudio mod and now my loudspeaker is too damn loud on max haha ! ( no bootloader unlocked , just rooted )
_JT said:
Thanks for your input. I suggest you take a look at the AnandTech review of the HTC One and you'll find the camera is excellent, if not the best available. I really like my Z but I find it unrealistic to say the camera is better if Sony doesn't fix the extreme post-processing. In low-light conditions the One wins hands down. Not so weird with optical image stabilization and pixels that are twice as big.
I'd suggest taking a picture (in auto mode) of a tree or bush at lets say 2-3 meters distance and then look at the picture at 100%. You'll see it's smeared out. Funny thing is, try the same in burst and you'll see it looks MUCH better.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221246
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would have to say the Z has excellent low light capabilities when flash is not required. I am not impressed with HTC one camera or samples at all and have read reviews that rubbish the HTC One camera.
As for burst mode, I have never ever been able to get anything buy a noisy image out of it, and it offers zero improvement in clarity. Interestingly, my pics are generally pin sharp when HDR is off.
The HTC One blurs trees in the distance though.
Thanks for that. I am deciding between the One and Z, and slightly leaning towards the Z at the moment. I do like HTC and Sense UI but then I like what Sony has done too. The Zoe features on the One do look good, but I am sure I could find alternative apps to do similar things, albeit not integrated like on the One.
I do like to flash different ROMs my phones so I guess it might come down to what has the biggest development support.
L0cke said:
Thanks for that. I am deciding between the One and Z, and slightly leaning towards the Z at the moment. I do like HTC and Sense UI but then I like what Sony has done too. The Zoe features on the One do look good, but I am sure I could find alternative apps to do similar things, albeit not integrated like on the One.
I do like to flash different ROMs my phones so I guess it might come down to what has the biggest development support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... Then I would recommend the Xperia Z. Its bootloader is easily unlockable. But if you prefer the HTC One, there's the Developer edition that ships with the bootloader unlocked, but its not on contract, so you might have to pay more as there are no Carrier subsidies.
biffsmash said:
I would have to say the Z has excellent low light capabilities when flash is not required. I am not impressed with HTC one camera or samples at all and have read reviews that rubbish the HTC One camera.
As for burst mode, I have never ever been able to get anything buy a noisy image out of it, and it offers zero improvement in clarity. Interestingly, my pics are generally pin sharp when HDR is off.
The HTC One blurs trees in the distance though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly! When I take an image with the HTC One, details that are in the background isn't very clear and is noisy. Glad to see that someone has the same opinion as me. As for the Xperia Z, I usually use it in Superior Auto and under 9MP. Images are very clear while burst mode are just blurry images.
fookea said:
Great review ! Some of things i don't understand ( and i've seen this a couple of times already ) are :
1. If you don't like the UI of any android phone there are Launchers . I , for example , don't like the sony launcher . No problem , i went with Nova launcher wich is as closest to stock as I can get. I'm sure you could have done the same on the One.
2.It's an open comunity => I flashed mine with Purexaudio mod and now my loudspeaker is too damn loud on max haha ! ( no bootloader unlocked , just rooted )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but then again, whats the point of buying the particular brand or model then? Why not go for the one that has the best specs. Just my 2 cents.
Gonna try Purexaudio. Thanks
biffsmash said:
Great review. I agree with most parts.
Only issues for me with Z, which are a real shame to me, are the mic and ear piece speakers which do not provide the best call clarity, callers and myself experience weird overprocessed sound and issues when on calls, but they are minor, and the waterproofing accounts for this I imagine.
The only other issue for me, which again is a big shame considering the phone is made by Sony, is the music quality.
The music through the earphones is far too quiet, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
Say what you will about Beats audio on HTC phones, but the HTC One X beats the Z into the ground on volume and sound quality.
One X has no distortion at volume levels twice that of the Z! Max volume on the Z is around 30% too quiet, and the sound quality
is a little underwhelming, with the EQ having a strange volume limiting effect on walkman player.
Aside from those, and the little lags on the phone, which occur not only in the launcher, but also in the UI such as apps and settings menu's etc, the phone is great.
Knowing me, I will love the Z for a while, but then the little issues will grow louder and louder until deafening and i'll have to go off again in search of greener pastures.
HTC One is looking good, barring the sub standard camera.
I wasn't interested in the One, till I saw on in the shop yesterday, compared the speed (which is lag free and superfast), and a HD movie on Youtube side by side with my Z and was left open mouthed at how much better the One was in those departments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The mic and speakers are alright to me though. Maybe its just me. About the earphones, yeah, they are kinda soft, but loud enough for me. They output the same volume level as I had set before on the iPhone 5 when I was using it. I don't really like my music loud. About Beats Audio, I did not say anything bad about it? I was trying to explain that the ClearAudio+ is similar to Beats Audio on HTC phones that is just a setting that you enable/disable. Don't get me wrong, Beats audio is great. I agree with the little UI lags on the Xperia Z. Its kinda irritating? I don't know. But it does annoy me a little. About the HTC One, yes, its a fast phone, but Sense 5.0 is not for me and no, I won't use launchers. Period. The screen is better? I don't know. Thats what reviews and people that own it say. It actually doesn't matter to me, at least. As long as the screen looks great, who cares if there are other better ones out there. I like my Xperia Z screen just fine, thank you. Call me dumb, but this is just my opinion. And the above is YOUR opinion, and I respect that. Everyone have different views on different phones.
Thanks for letting me know what you think
_JT said:
Thanks for your input. I suggest you take a look at the AnandTech review of the HTC One and you'll find the camera is excellent, if not the best available. I really like my Z but I find it unrealistic to say the camera is better if Sony doesn't fix the extreme post-processing. In low-light conditions the One wins hands down. Not so weird with optical image stabilization and pixels that are twice as big.
I'd suggest taking a picture (in auto mode) of a tree or bush at lets say 2-3 meters distance and then look at the picture at 100%. You'll see it's smeared out. Funny thing is, try the same in burst and you'll see it looks MUCH better.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221246
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... Sure, I'll have a look. In my experience, I find the Xperia Z camera to be better then the HTC One. The Xperia Z takes great pictures. Details are present even far in the background, unlike the HTC One, which is just a fuzzy mess. Maybe its the particular model that I tried out. I'm just content with my Xperia Z camera now. Thanks for sharing your view
Great reviews. I like sony smartphone's special interface very much, and as well as its music. But I just want to experience the Ultrapixel camera of HTC One.
Good review. I did a similar SWOT analysis between the HTC One, the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC Butterfly and finally bought the Xperia Z. Here's the link for those who'd like to see and decide (or comment).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2171584
Dead cookies leave no trails...
I am wondering how many people here that say their pictures with the HTC One looks worse actually own the device and have tested it extensively instead of just a quick pic in the store.
biffsmash said:
I would have to say the Z has excellent low light capabilities when flash is not required. I am not impressed with HTC one camera or samples at all and have read reviews that rubbish the HTC One camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe this is interesting to see: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_software_update_improves_camera_performance-news-5759.php
biffsmash said:
The only other issue for me, which again is a big shame considering the phone is made by Sony, is the music quality.
The music through the earphones is far too quiet, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
Say what you will about Beats audio on HTC phones, but the HTC One X beats the Z into the ground on volume and sound quality.
One X has no distortion at volume levels twice that of the Z! Max volume on the Z is around 30% too quiet, and the sound quality
is a little underwhelming, with the EQ having a strange volume limiting effect on walkman player.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally disagree on this point. The quality I've heard from the XZ surpasses every phone (In my opinion) If you're having some issues regarding the sound try out the sound mods in the dev section.
About the volume itself: I'm biking each day to work with music on (earpiece) and most of the times I don't even come near the 75% mark of volume and even then i hear everything perfect. So that's while the wind is blowing in/over my ear. I've heard some more people complain about the volume itself, each time I read it, I ask myself: What have these people been doing to their ears that they find the sound too low, or either you're all 60+ (No offense).
So if you haven't tried any of the sound mods, I'd say do so, it might change your mind. Each and every day I'm amazed about the sound quality.
Sounds mods (require root):
[SOUNDMOD] PureXAudio v10.1
AC!D Audio Engine v2
Dsteppa said:
I totally disagree on this point. The quality I've heard from the XZ surpasses every phone (In my opinion) If you're having some issues regarding the sound try out the sound mods in the dev section.
About the volume itself: I'm biking each day to work with music on (earpiece) and most of the times I don't even come near the 75% mark of volume and even then i hear everything perfect. So that's while the wind is blowing in/over my ear. I've heard some more people complain about the volume itself, each time I read it, I ask myself: What have these people been doing to their ears that they find the sound too low, or either you're all 60+ (No offense).
So if you haven't tried any of the sound mods, I'd say do so, it might change your mind. Each and every day I'm amazed about the sound quality.
Sounds mods (require root):
[SOUNDMOD] PureXAudio v10.1
AC!D Audio Engine v2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After your and biffsmash posts I got curious. Quickly tried my Jamo in-ears and AKG DJ619. Result: Jamo's were VERY loud and max volume on the AKG was just about enough, really wouldn't want any louder than that. Not sure wether I heard distortion but this was streamed, need to listen to good quality recordings first before I can judge sound quality. From what I can remember from my HOX it wasn't really louder.
Dannyada1988 said:
Great reviews. I like sony smartphone's special interface very much, and as well as its music. But I just want to experience the Ultrapixel camera of HTC One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be sure to drop by your local Carrier retail store to check it out!
Cookie Ninja said:
Good review. I did a similar SWOT analysis between the HTC One, the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC Butterfly and finally bought the Xperia Z. Here's the link for those who'd like to see and decide (or comment).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2171584
Dead cookies leave no trails...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I'll take a look at your post as well.
_JT said:
I am wondering how many people here that say their pictures with the HTC One looks worse actually own the device and have tested it extensively instead of just a quick pic in the store.
Maybe this is interesting to see: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_software_update_improves_camera_performance-news-5759.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is good to hear for HTC One users and potential owners. Its actually pretty bad. I spent 30mins at the store checking it out. But that's before the update though. Maybe its much better now
Well I am using Xperia Z for 4-5 day's now.. It's really beautiful phone and if I can say - something different for me..
After years of using Galaxy ( S, S2, S3, Note 2) I decided to switch to Sony for the first time.. Some things are different, but I was able to do those simple things root/CWM.. (And that all I know how to do, but again those are most important things for me).. I don't want to play with those bootloaders because I don't know what it's doing and I can f..k up my phone - so no ROM's for me now..
What I don't like about phone (or where I am little disappointed) :
SOUND is too low on max volume.. On my Galaxy I could never put it on max volume.. Here on max volume is just - pfff... weak..
(Headphones which come with phone - REALLY STUPID not having volume up/down, so you have to take your phone every time when you want to change volume.. That cord on right earphone sooo long, on the left so short - annoying... )
CAMERA - I did't use it for this couple of day's - but I was looking here on XDA thread with Xpera Z images/photos... VERY disappointing.. Photos are just NOT SHARP at all.. Only thing that I am hoping for is that Sony will fix that with some software update.. Because you can't tell me that one SONY whose sensor has been used by so many other phones - can't make its camera perfect (at least better than competition)..
Those are things for now that I can see.. But as I said I am using this phone only for couple of days now - will see..
_JT said:
Maybe this is interesting to see: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_software_update_improves_camera_performance-news-5759.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might wanna look at this
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_vs_xperia_z-review-917p9.php
Winner: Sony Xperia Z. The color rendering and HDR could have been better, but if Sony tweaks its image processing algorithms, the Xperia Z can put out some pretty good shots. Even as things stand now though, it has an advantage over the HTC One.
The HTC One enjoys a wider FoV, better color accuracy HDR, but the low 4MP resolution limits the resolved detail and image noise eats further into it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PokerFaze said:
I've posted this before on the Xperia Z reviews thread, however, I've been reading lots of posts about the Xperia Z vs the HTC One and I'd thought I'd share my opinions on the Xperia Z and why I chose it instead of the HTC One. I've modified some information in the review to tell you more about why I chose the Z. The original can be found here: [http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=40061336#post40061336]
My Honest Sony Xperia Z Review
Why I Chose The Xperia Z
I had the Xperia Z for a month or so and I'm ready to make my review on it. I was up for an upgrade last month(March) and was browsing through phones that may appeal to me. I am coming from an iPhone 5. In the end, there were only 3 phones that caught my eye. The Xperia Z, the HTC One and the HTC Butterfly, or Droid DNA in the USA. The Butterfly was the first to go as it lacked LTE and NFC. The Xperia Z and the HTC One remained. Luckily, I found a HTC One demo unit in one of the Carriers, Singtel(Plaza Singapura if any fellow Singaporeans wanna check it out). Well hidden in a corner, I should say and it was the Black one. At the same time, The Xperia Z just launched like, 2 days ago(At that time). Picking up the HTC One, I realized how solid it feels, and boy, premium was written all over it. I turned it on and played around with the software. It was good, lag-free and looks great. I tried the camera and I have to say it was horrible. No joke. It was not clear and most details looks fuzzy. Maybe thats just me, but it really looks not on par with phone cameras these days. Sense 5.0 was alright, it was clean and fresh from the previous Sense versions. BlinkFeed was just a Flipboard like widget on the homescreen. Sense 5.0 does looks nice, but it was not for me. I am also afraid of the build of the phone. I am a careless person. I have to admit. My iPhone 5 was covered in scuffs and dents all over the place. Having the full aluminium body makes me shudder every time I imagine dropping it. Wanted to know more but the HTC rep was nowhere to be seen. Next, I went to the Xperia Z demo unit. The Sony Xperia rep there gave me a run through on the specs and features. I was actually pretty impressed and excited by the fact I could take my phone to the shower and use it while showering. To me, what it means by having a good phone is having a good experience. When I picked up the phone, I immediately realized how realistic the colors looked when playing video and viewing images. Outside of that, it looked rather dark. The design was sexy. REALLY sexy. It felt extremely good in the hand and is durable. VERY durable. Dropped it a few times and not a scratch. The thing that closed the deal was the UI. I like the stock UI. In fact, I love it. The Xperia Z's UI is extremely close to stock. The Nexus 4 is not available here, so it was out of the question. The UI is neat, smooth and looked fabulous. Unlike HTC's Sense 5.0, which is an extremely heavy skin and does not appeal to me. With the water resistance, it was clear which is the phone for me. I hope after reading my review, you'll know which phone to get. We are all brothers here at XDA Developers and I hope that whichever phone we use, we may contribute to the developer community and not flame each other because of our personal preferences. XDA Developers is a place for developers, by developers. Lets not let our choice of phone affect that.
The Beauty Meets The Beast
The Xperia Z packs a SnapDragon S4 Pro Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor, Adreno 320 GPU and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It sports an all glass design, similar to the iPhone 4 and 4S. The Xperia Z has excellent build quality and looks absolutely fantastic. The ports are covered by flaps, which may prove to be an annoyance for some but with good purpose. The most prominent feature of the Xperia Z is probably the on/off button. Its large, and ridiculously well placed. It stands where the thumb rests on the phone, or the index finger if you're using your left hand and is incredibly convenient to press compared to the stretch you'd have to make on other phones. Below that is the volume rocker, also easy to access when needed. The speakers are indeed placed in a horrible position, as its easy to mute with your palm unintentionally but its not an issue for me as I use my phone with my left hand.
Overall, the design turns heads and the hardware don't fail to deliver. Feels solid in the hand, BUT might be a problem for people with small hands as it may cut into it and make it uncomfortable. Very, very impressive Sony.
User Interface
Sony's UI is probably the closes you can get to stock android, and I love it. It's simple, nothing fancy and neat, although, I'd like a Black theme rather then the Grey. There are some UI lags here and there though. The lack of Android 4.2.2 also disappoints me a little but its coming, and I'll wait for it. After all, Good things come to those who wait.
Performance Powerhouse
Lag is a thing of the past with the SnapDragon S4 Pro as everything is buttery smooth, with minor UI lags here and there. Problem solved with one of the launchers. I've also noticed a little waiting time when launching the camera. Games run smoothly and without issue, not to mention looks AWESOME on the Full HD display. Although, I'd prefer to see the SnapDragon 600 on the Xperia Z as a future proof maneuver as games get increasingly power hungry.
Camera, Video and Screen
Video playback is amazing on the Xperia Z, as a result of the Full HD 1080p screen. Words are crisp and I rarely see any pixels other then low-res images. The Camera doesn't disappoint either with a 13MP back camera and a 2.1MP front facing camera. Both camera film 1080p videos as well so vlogging on the phone will definitely be great. However, I did notice that the colors are not on par with other phones and look rather dark. The Bravia Mobile Engine 2 does help and actually make the colors extremely realistic, but only when viewing images and videos. Low contrast ratio here doesn't help either. Had no issue using the phone in daylight. The viewing angles are GREAT. Only having some colors being washed out, I don't see any issue with viewing angles. Even if there is an issue with viewing angles, who cares? Nobody, NOBODY uses their phones 90 degrees unless you're a total idiot.
Connectivity
No issues here. LTE, NFC. What else could you ask for? Have to say though, kudos to Sony on having a campaign on promoting NFC usage and even launching new TVs with NFC compatibility. Wi-Fi is great, only had issue when it keeps dropping on free public Wi-Fi access points. But hey, free Wi-Fi, who knows. No issues with the Wi-Fi at home.
Its Music To My Ears
I listen to music. A lot. Everyday to and fro school, when travelling, heck, even when I'm bored. The bundled headset, The MH-EX300AP is AWESOME in providing high quality sounds. Sony also has ClearAudio+, which is like Beats Audio on the HTC, makes the experience all the more awesome. You can say its like having an orgasm in your ears. Eargasm if i may.
Speaker & Microphone Quality
The speaker, is actually quite the disappointment as number one, its placed in a horrible position. Next, its not as loud as I'd like it to be. There's xLoud, but it sacrifices quality for volume. Considering the quality without xLoud, I'd rather have it disabled. Lastly, as said before, the quality isn't all that great. However, I got the NFC Wireless Speaker, The SRS-BTV5 for free, which solves all the above issues, thus no complaints from me. But its kinda inconvenient to carry a speaker around with you all the time, so yeah. It is an issue.
Call quality is great, however. I can hear the other party clearly and they can hear me clearly too. No issues with dropped calls.
The Xperia Z Runs Far, With Great Stamina
I start my day at 4:30AM and end at 6PM. With 80% battery left. Stamina mode is no gimmick, it really does help with the battery life. Awesome battery life. If the screen is mostly off that is, which is usually the case. I find that if LTE is enabled, battery drains extremely fast, which makes me resort to using HSPA+, which isn't that all bad in my country. HSPA+ use nearly 3 times as less battery then LTE on my set. Location Based Wi-Fi is AWESOME. Its really cool to have your Wi-Fi turn off automatically when you leave the house and turns on then you're back. Not to mention the convenience. The phone will probably last me 2 days or so, but I still charge it every night anyway. Don't we all do?
Prepared For Accidents
The Xperia Z is IP57 certified - dust and water resistant with water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes. Let's be honest here. We all had times where we wished we could take our phones into the shower or bathtub. That wish is now fulfilled. I take the Xperia Z into the shower with me everyday and text or watch YouTube videos while showering. When the phone is dirty? No sweat. Rinse it under washing water. Now you also do not have to worry about dropping your phone into the water or bring it camping in the desert(whatever the reason LOL). Plus, you can wow your friends or freak your parents out by pouring water on the phone or dunk it into a glass of water. Heck, even take it swimming. Be careful about salt water though, Sony does not recommend dunking it in salt water. With Wet Finger Tracking technology, you don't have to dry your hands to use your phone, although it does get a little jumpy at times. The phone is also quite durable as I've dropped the phone a few time and there's not a scratch. That a plus as I'm usually very careless.
Take note that the phone disables touch input while underwater so, no texting while swimming.
Conclusion
The Sony Xperia Z is a great phone. Its not for everybody, and it has it's fair shares of ups and downs. I am throughly satisfied with it and do not regret not waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One. Its great for the average user and is definitely good enough for me. The water and dust resistance is not necessary but its nice to have. Its smooth, provide great music listening, plays games like a champ. I would recommend it to anybody, but hey, its your call. You have the decision to which phone is right for you and nobody can force you to take the Xperia Z or any phone for the matter. For me, I made my choice, and I have no regrets whatsoever.
Therefore, I dare say: I'M A PROUD SONY XPERIA Z OWNER
Thank you for taking your precious time to read my review. I'm still a noob, and I hope I may be more useful to the developer community here.
P.s Feedback on my review?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Xperia Z for 2 weeks. For me the battery is horrible, it ends up for only one day. I'm thinking to much about HTC One. Now I rooted my Z, removed preloaded apps, battery is fine now
I just could not decide so got both One and Z
Water proof, without that, i wouldn't have bought Z .
daniel.nguyen said:
I have Xperia Z for 2 weeks. For me the battery is horrible, it ends up for only one day. I'm thinking to much about HTC One. Now I rooted my Z, removed preloaded apps, battery is fine now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm... The battery life on mine is awesome. 8 hours in school and the battery doesn't drop a single percentage. The preloaded apps might be the issue.
mndgz said:
I just could not decide so got both One and Z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I guess that solves the problem as well
Sent from my Sexy White Xperia Z
I thiink exactly the same, great post
I'm just comparing this to the One M8 which is my current phone, and to be honest this is almost as good, if not better than the M8 is almost all aspects. One thing which I'm curious about though, which is very under-reported in all media and all reviews, is how the audio quality is when recording very loud things during video recording. To me, there are only 3 phones which are capable of recording things like concerts, street music performances or other really loud things and not have the audio quality make you cringe - The Nokia 808, Nokia 1020 and the One/One M8. Those phones have special microphones which make recording things like music concerts absolutely possible without the sound distorting to a horrible degree.
So how is the Z3 in this respect? The Z2 was just as bad as any other phone other than the 3 I listed above, so I expect the Z3 is just as bad, but I'd like to find a definitive answer before passing judgement.
I GOT A Z2 AND WHEN I RECORD VIDEOS IN THE CLUB ( VERY LOUD BOOM) i use http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/accessories/stereo-microphone-stm10/ and sound is better than any phone out there now if u try without it forget it bad hopefully it would work on the z3
Is the audio quality only bad with loud music /loud noise?? I wouldnt expect a camera phone to record a video at a concert with high quality audio to be fair but would be awesome if it could
To be honest man, with z2 forget about recording at really loud concerts, they somehow ****ed up software-wise recording mic gain...
I would love an answer to this as well...I'm excited for this device to be available stateside. I'm coming from owning galaxy phones since the SII and I would like a change. All the galaxy phones I've had were terrible at recording in very loud environments. My girlfriend's Iphone would do great.
[kEkA] said:
To be honest man, with z2 forget about recording at really loud concerts, they somehow ****ed up software-wise recording mic gain...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
almost any android sounds bad in loud environments( htc one m8 sounds decent) thats why sony came out the smp10 or whatever the name is for it using that microphone connect it to ur z2 sounds is amazing i show u i recorded this at a erasure concert http://youtu.be/Jj14G_-F24k and this one is in a club LOUD 4K btw http://youtu.be/4YRAmzn-APo all of those video were recorded using a z2 this one with a lumia 1520 http://youtu.be/5KVPxgIMwQU
Wondering about this one as well, read that the Z3 actually has different recording modes for audio including a concert one so it might actually finally be addressed! Usually the sensitivity is way too high for concerts with phones... But I haven't actually been able to find any results. Had the Lumia930 (and 920) which were also excellent for concerts...
And getting additional mics for me isn't really an option unfortunately...
Looked up the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55458948&postcount=41
Yes, three audio recording modes now and auto. Not yet tried video in a loud environment, but have to assume it's better than the Z2 (not hard).
Smeghead_ said:
I'm just comparing this to the One M8 which is my current phone, and to be honest this is almost as good, if not better than the M8 is almost all aspects. One thing which I'm curious about though, which is very under-reported in all media and all reviews, is how the audio quality is when recording very loud things during video recording. To me, there are only 3 phones which are capable of recording things like concerts, street music performances or other really loud things and not have the audio quality make you cringe - The Nokia 808, Nokia 1020 and the One/One M8. Those phones have special microphones which make recording things like music concerts absolutely possible without the sound distorting to a horrible degree.
So how is the Z3 in this respect? The Z2 was just as bad as any other phone other than the 3 I listed above, so I expect the Z3 is just as bad, but I'd like to find a definitive answer before passing judgement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. Didn't you know htc had to change there audio capture setup as they copied a patent by nokia so only early htc one phones were good at capturing loud music. Htc had to revise mics and capture of audio got worst with newer models.
http://www.dailytech.com/Nokia+Wins...+to+Sink+Struggling+Handsets/article30403.htm
ipmanwck said:
Lol. Didn't you know htc had to change there audio capture setup as they copied a patent by nokia so only early htc one phones were good at capturing loud music. Htc had to revise mics and capture of audio got worst with newer models.
http://www.dailytech.com/Nokia+Wins...+to+Sink+Struggling+Handsets/article30403.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought HTC eventually came to some sort of agreement with Nokia and it's all been sorted now?
I know the LG G3 made a big deal of recording in loud environments, and when I tested video recording on that earlier in the year, I noticed it's extremely directional too,
I can only hope Sony has improved things massively, to have even added a menu option to let you choose.
ajftl said:
almost any android sounds bad in loud environments( htc one m8 sounds decent) thats why sony came out the smp10 or whatever the name is for it using that microphone connect it to ur z2 sounds is amazing i show u i recorded this at a erasure concert http://youtu.be/Jj14G_-F24k and this one is in a club LOUD 4K btw http://youtu.be/4YRAmzn-APo all of those video were recorded using a z2 this one with a lumia 1520 http://youtu.be/5KVPxgIMwQU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure that there is a way to fix that,
Few days ago I've been in a very very loud place, in a club. I wanted to send some recordings and since that person didn't have viber I did it via facebook messenger, I was more then surprised how good it recorded, and it made think that theres something wrong with software they are making, with the mic gain, but not with the OS or hardware itself.
I can't wait for someone to post their impressions of z3 in loud place.
I'm only gonna be sad that I won't be changing my z2 in next one or two years, which is perfect for me in any way, if z3 proves to be better and audio recording.
I would this weekend. I got a z3 in my hands I would try with and without the smp10
Don't forget to inform us please, if its gonna be positive im gonna think of selling z2 and getting z3 compact then.
Blaalad12 said:
Is the audio quality only bad with loud music /loud noise?? I wouldnt expect a camera phone to record a video at a concert with high quality audio to be fair but would be awesome if it could
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The M8 records concert sound absolutely great, and the M7 before it did it even better. I do not hold up too much hope of the Z3 doing the same as it is not quite the beast the M8 is.
As for Nokia patents, pretty sure that was sorted as M8 concert recordings sure sound like they use HDR mics.
After that I had a problem with distorted sound
Video shooting on my xperia z1
I solved it through PIMP MY XPERIA Z1
I reduced the microphone volume in five levels
And now he Recorder
Great
Before
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9rTrkEnvjo
Listen to the recording quality in youtube
After
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Tf29RQXQE
pimp my z1...doest it work on...z3? (mic level volume control..?)
guybrush2099 said:
pimp my z1...doest it work on...z3? (mic level volume control..?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to use any "pimping". Simply play only the sound from the right microphone (VLC player has this option for example). Sony did a **** job with mics. Left is much worse than right. So when you mix it to stereo the result is pure crap. But if you play the sound only from the right mic, it's pretty good, it's mono of course, but at least it sounds a little bit like real world
guybrush2099 said:
pimp my z1...doest it work on...z3? (mic level volume control..?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes new the mic is perfect
So..anyone tried to record in a loud environment with the Z3? How is it??
I record this video with Xperia Z3 , with low Sensitivity mic setting, and cinema fv-5 for touch focus, the audio output is low because i set mono recording (64kbps, 22khz), but if you put in stereo and aac-he, the output is (157kbps, 48khz), i think is very good in loud environments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqGVmbwmXqQ
Hello all just thought that I'd share my opinion of this model and beg Sony/Google to do something about root.
I've had this for 24hrs now and coming from the Xperia Z I'm very happy.
The fingerprint works flawlessly every time and is in a very convenient position.
I feel that the volume button should have been above the power button.
The size compared to the Xperia Z is very similar. Everything is smooth and feels very nice in the hand.
Some ui changes to other Xperia lollipop versions.
The side bar in app drawer is gone. The notification bar is also auto hidden in the app drawer. Oh and where is the rotation option in the home settings.. Very annoying!
Root is very much needed as I feel Android is getting more like iOS everyday.
Battery life is impressive not had chance to test to its full potential just yet though.
I hope they continue in the mobile market as I don't think I'd want anything else.
I have the z4 tablet also and the ui changes I've mentioned here are present in the tablet ? I've loved the Xperia home in the past and also look for ports for other devices my family has. These changes however are making me think about moving to another launcher.
Anyway thanks for reading ?
Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk
Thanks for posting your 1st impression, is it possible you make a camera video sample in 720p and 1080p and share it on YT.
Goose Fair Nottingham , shoot in 60 fps . Im reeally impressed with the video and photo capabilities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA3S2861FAE&feature=youtu.be
It does not look so good on Youtube ...xd
How is the audio quality through headphones? I had the Z3 and the quality/clarity was good but the volume was not loud enough.
Impressive quality on you tube link posted from jimi83 imo, seriously thinking to sell my LG G3 and buy Z5
So Z5 non compact is out?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
augie7107 said:
How is the audio quality through headphones? I had the Z3 and the quality/clarity was good but the volume was not loud enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They fixed that on the z5 series, not only is the volume output via headphones louder now but also the audio quality got vastly improved!
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Great news, getting mine Wednesday, looking forward to it.
Jiyeon90 said:
They fixed that on the z5 series, not only is the volume output via headphones louder now but also the audio quality got vastly improved!
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I had a few niggles with my Z3 I used to own and checked them at a Sony training event earlier this week and they are still present.
Namely,
The audio output is quiet. I tested with my headphones and compared to my LG G4 and HTC M9. Both louder than the Z5
Ringtones/notifications are quiet and only come out the bottom speaker. Still the same behaviour in the Z5.
The bezels. Still huge. Can make my peace with it but the G4 by comparison has a waaay better screen to body ratio.
I hope they sort out how quick they are compared to other brands when it comes to android updates...
Those aside it seems to be a great handset and I definitely miss the battery performance that I got out of the Z3.
The waterproofing was nice to have too.
The fingerprint reader is my favourite implementation of any handset on the market currently. Camera seems a vast improvement but the few dark shots I took were kinda noisy. I'm probably going to pick one up soon. I rather like the green one.
I'm a little disappointed in the camera - the centre of the picture is fine but as you get to the outer edges everything is really blurry/out of focus.
WastedJoker said:
I'm a little disappointed in the camera - the centre of the picture is fine but as you get to the outer edges everything is really blurry/out of focus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I was looking for. I met quite a few people online with exactly the same problem but they had the Z5 Compact just like me. I was hoping that the Z5 would not have this issue since this is really annoying.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63120497&postcount=44
jonjohnsonwright said:
This is what I was looking for. I met quite a few people online with exactly the same problem but they had the Z5 Compact just like me. I was hoping that the Z5 would not have this issue since this is really annoying.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63120497&postcount=44
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another QC problem. Sony needs to know this, every time the first few batches of their phones have problems. The Z3 phones had some purplish tint on the middle of the photos, some Z3+ also had lens misalignment.
can you please update us on the battery life ,I had the Z3 and it was great but the battery life on the Z3+ wasn't as good .
itsjustJOH said:
Another QC problem. Sony needs to know this, every time the first few batches of their phones have problems. The Z3 phones had some purplish tint on the middle of the photos, some Z3+ also had lens misalignment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took quite a few pictures with the Z5C and compared them with my Redmi Note 2 and my Vivo Xshot. You can clearly see that the Z5C is only able to focus the middle of the picture. The corners are mostly darker, out of focus and blurry.
Take a look at my album https://goo.gl/photos/t8yMJ1wF7pwf3cPVA
The last two pictures are the most obvious ones.
Edit:
In terms of battery life.... I can not compare it to a Z3, Z3C or a Z3+ since I have never had a Sony phone before. From what I have heard that the Z3C has an amazing up to 3 days battery life I could not manage to get this much time out of the Z5C. I mostly had to charge it every day on normal usage.
One thing that bugs me even more is that if you want to view a picture it takes up to two seconds until the pic gets crisp. This is crazy. I used another picture viewer app as well. Same problem. I tried it with another Z5C in another store which had the same problem. It is really annoying if you want to view pics on your phone or on your TV and you always have to wait 1-2 seconds until the photo gets clear.
I do not think that the reason for this is the 2GB of ram. Can someone confirm this? Does this happen on the Z5 as well?
senjiroh said:
Really? I had a few niggles with my Z3 I used to own and checked them at a Sony training event earlier this week and they are still present.
Namely,
The audio output is quiet. I tested with my headphones and compared to my LG G4 and HTC M9. Both louder than the Z5
Ringtones/notifications are quiet and only come out the bottom speaker. Still the same behaviour in the Z5.
The bezels. Still huge. Can make my peace with it but the G4 by comparison has a waaay better screen to body ratio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree abut the audio being quiet I tested the same song on my Z3 vs the Z5 compact and the compact is alot louder and clearer. I have never tested the G4 but I do agree it is not as loud as the M8/9 but not many phones are.
Thanks for the feedback. I had an M9 and that rocked through headphones. I was hoping they improved volume over Z3 and it sounds like they did. I didn't expect it to track M9 levels, which to be honest, couldn't be played all the way open because it was so loud. Nice to have that option though
I cant wait till I receive this phone. I ordered the Made For Bond version and coming from a s6 I am not expecting super results. I am just tired of Touchwhiz and want to try something new. I hope this phone does it for me.
jetbruceli said:
I cant wait till I receive this phone. I ordered the Made For Bond version and coming from a s6 I am not expecting super results. I am just tired of Touchwhiz and want to try something new. I hope this phone does it for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was looking everywhere for that version. Only saw Vodafone UK and pay monthly. Is that where you got it?
augie7107 said:
Thanks for the feedback. I had an M9 and that rocked through headphones. I was hoping they improved volume over Z3 and it sounds like they did. I didn't expect it to track M9 levels, which to be honest, couldn't be played all the way open because it was so loud. Nice to have that option though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The m8/9 are too loud tbh, no one needs to listen to their music that loud.
augie7107 said:
I was looking everywhere for that version. Only saw Vodafone UK and pay monthly. Is that where you got it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
o2 germany has it! http://www.o2online.de/eshop/sony-shop/sony-xperia-z5