The Sony Xperia Z2 has just been unveiled by Kunimasa Suzuki, the CEO and President of Sony Mobile Communications. The new bigger brother to the Xperia Z1 doesn’t have a large hardware improvement over its predecessor, although there are a few noticeable differences to refresh our thoughts on what a flagship phone should be able to do.
So let’s get into the specs of the Xperia Z2:
- Omnibalanced design with more rounded edges compared to the Xperia Z1
- 5.2- inch 1920 x 1080 (424ppi) TRILUMINOUS Display with the X-Reality mobile picture engine
- 2.3GHz Quadcore Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC) / Adreno™ 330 GPU
- 3GB RAM.
- 16GB Internal Storage (4GB for Firmware and apps, 12GB for Movies, Music, Pictures, etc).
- Up to 64GB expandable storage from a microSD card (SDXC support)
- 4G LTE
- Digital noise cancelling built into the phone and supplied ear buds (Reduces up to 98% of ambient noise)
- Water / Dust Resistant (IP55/IP58)
- Camera
- Front: 2.2MP (1080p video recording)
- Rear: 20.7MP Exmor RS image sensor, capable of 4K video recording at 30 fps
- 146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm / 158 grams
- 3200mAh Battery
One of the key features of the Xperia Z2 is the implementation of digital noise cancellation, this allows users to enjoy their favorite music or videos while greatly reducing the amount of ambient noise in the background.
Like the Xperia Z1, Sony have included a number of camera applications to enhance the overall user experience. These apps could be a simple effect for your photos/videos, a document scanner or a virtual reality game. Sony have included the same 20.7MP Exmor RS sensor that they first implemented in the Xperia Z1, although they have increased the processing power which allows the phone to capture video at 4K (3840×2160 pixels at 30p)
Just like the Xperia Z and Z1 before it , the Z2 will be launching with three colours: Black, White and Purple. The Z2 will also launch with Android 4.4 (KitKat) out of the box – thank you Sony for launching a phone with the current Android version!
The Xperia Z2 will launch worldwide in March, and Sony Australia have announced that it will be available through Telstra, Optus and Vodafone as well as other major telco retailers and Sony direct channels. Pricing of the Xperia Z2 has not been announced yet although we should start to see this closer to the launch next month.
What are your thoughts on the Xperia Z2, is it a big enough upgrade from the Xperia Z1? Would you consider it to be a worthwhile upgrade from the Z1?
Despite believing this phone will be the best available when released, I don’t see it as a worthy enough upgrade for the 12 month old Xperia Z, let alone the Z1. Rather wait another 12 months and see what the Z4 has to offer.
Why they’re releasing so many models I’ll never know, such a waste. Surely just upping the marketing around the Galaxy and iPhone releases would suffice.
Better display, larger screen but smaller bezels, built in noise cancelling, bigger battery…fantastic improvements from Sony.
This IS my next…
Don’t forget the 3GB of RAM, 4K video recoding, and slightly faster CPU and GPU, compared to the Z1.
After the embarrassment of the S5, this looks like the phone for me.
Best specs in a phone so far. Stunning design.
Samsung need to take note and learn how to design hardware + software because they’re failing at both!
Looks really nice. After my Nexus 5 this would probably be my second choice.
Same here! Although I’m trying to decide between buying the N5 or Z2…
Got the missus an N5 last year – its a great phone, but battery life is awful (won’t last a day) and camera is decent but not great. Fantastic value though.
But those 2 things alone make the Z2 stand out for me.
I’ve actually been really impressed with the N5’s battery life. I get a day out of it easy. The only weak point on the phone is the camera software but with a major overhaul expected (soon?) I really think the N5 will continue to be the kingpin of the current gen.
are the provider only gonna have 1 colour option this time cauz with the z1 optus only had black while telstra had black and purple and no provider offered white
The reason I bought the LG G2 instead of the Z1 was the huge ugly bezels and they haven’t gone away. Nice to see rounded corners though.
I could care less about the bezels. Sony have a great skin, 10x better then Touchwiz or LG’s UI. I can’t wait to get rid of my S4 for this phone.
I agree bezels should not be a major purchase consideration. I wasn’t too get on board the Sony phone and tablet bandwagon. What is stopping me is the screen. Hopeless viewing angles, color reproduction and clarity. How they do with updates will also be a concern
All the early hands-on reviewers are saying the screen is amazing and a huge improvement over the Z1.
Shipping with 4.4.2 is a good start…
Viewing angles have been fixed. Although this was never an issue for me as I could care less about them. As 99% of the time I am the only one looking at my phone front on.
Looked at Z1 at JB HiFi. Woeful colours and clarity. Moving slightly off straight on and the picture died. If this is rectified then Nexus or this for meme. Timely updates are also a consideration. S4 was my first Samsung and can’t wait to move on.
Ugh… same camera… I was really hoping for a better camera in this one. I had a hard time giving up my iPhone 5S because of the camera alone (I was being a dirty traitor… BUT it was all in the name of research ;))
Ergh, iPhones.
Be nice.
It’s a nice sensor. Sony’s got to work on the software a bit.