Sony announces the Xperia XZ at IFA 2016
Today at IFA 2016 Sony announced the "new crown jewel" in it's mobile lineup, the Sony Xperia XZ. One of the the main focuses of the XZ is photography performance, as it is using the same 23 Megapixel sensor as the Xperia X and X Performance but new to the sensor is a laser autofocus and an RGBC infrared sensor, which Sony says "accurately adjusts the white balance based on the light source in the environment." With the assortment of sensors, Sony hopes to distinguish itself by simply taking better images than most of the competition
Beyond its camera, the Xperia XZ is a standard flagship Android phone for 2016 in terms of specifications. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 820, it has a fingerprint sensor built into its side-mounted power button, and its display is a reasonable 5.2 inches in size with a 1080p panel. With 3GB of RAM and 32GB of on board storage that can be expandable, the XZ could even be said to be slightly behind the curve as other debutants here at IFA, like the Nubia Z11, reach up to 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. To gain some distinctiveness in the already crowded smartphone market, Sony is introducing a new Forest Blue color that gives the device a bit more character than some other smartphone options out there already.
Sony has carried over its Predictive Hybrid AF from the Xperia X models to help the XZ capture fast-moving subjects reliably, and the company’s also highlighted that capability with 5-axis video stabilization. Up front, there’s a 13-megapixel camera with a maximum ISO stretching all the way up to 6400 — this helps the camera pull out a decently lit image even out of very dark environments, though that comes at the cost of image quality, which could be perfect for the selfie lovers out there.
One somewhat disappointing aspect of the XZ is that it’s listed as only water-resistant, not waterproof like previous Z series flagship phones have been. Still, it does have Qnovo adaptive charging — which "monitors and adjusts the charging current to avoid damage for battery longevity" — and it also charges via USB-C, which is becoming the new standard on most flagship phones.
Taken as a whole, the Xperia XZ can be considered quite a predictable advancement for the series. It marries Sony’s latest innovations and design philosophy with its established strengths and goes after the one hardware feature that everyone wants to be perfect: the camera. It’ll be hard to defeat the incumbents of Apple and Samsung in this field, but not impossible.
Sony today also launches its widely anticipated Xperia X Compact, a 4.6-inch Android smartphone that shares a number of the bigger flagship’s features and specs. the X Compact will be launching sooner, with UK sales opening from next week. The Xperia XZ will be available from the start of October.
Via: | Engadget |
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Source: | No source was given |
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Image Credit: | PCAdvisor |
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Steven Schroeder contributed to this article
