Sony unveiled two new Xperia smartphones – Xperia XZ2 and the Xperia XZ2 Compact – during its press event at the ongoing MWC 2018 exhibition in Barcelona, Spain. The Xperia XZ2 and the Xperia XZ2 Compact feature 5.7-inch and 5-inch Full HD+ HDR screens, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 19-megapixel rear-facing cameras with world’s first 4K HDR video recording capabilities in a smartphone, front-facing stereo speakers with synchronised vibration, and Android 8.0 Oreo.
Let’s have a detailed look at the features and specifications of these smartphones after knowing its availability and pricing.
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Sony Xperia XZ2, XZ2 Compact: Price, Availability
Both phones will be available for purchase from March 2018 worldwide. While the Indian pricing hasn’t been announced yet, the Xperia XZ2 will cost £699 (approximately, Rs. 63,317) in the UK, while the Xperia XZ2 Compact is priced at £549 (approximately, Rs. 49,730).
Sony Xperia XZ2: Features
The Sony Xperia XZ2 is the company’s newest flagship smartphone, and it succeeds the Xperia XZ1 from last year. The Xperia XZ2 comes with a 5.7-inch TRILUMINOS™ Display with Full HD+ resolution (2160×1080 pixels), 18:9 aspect ratio, HDR content playback capabilities, minimal bezels, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The company has equipped the screen with its patented technologies – X-Reality™ for mobile and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer – for even better picture quality. The XZ2 uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, 4GB RAM, and 64GB UFS storage to run Android 8.0 Oreo. The phone has a glass-and-metal sandwich design, and it is IP68 certified for dust and water resistance. The phone has a fingerprint reader at its rear.
There are two front-facing stereo speakers with S-Force Front Surround and Clear Audio+ technologies as well as the company’s brand new Dynamic Vibration System which synchronises the haptic vibration feedback with the audio for an immersive experience. There’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, though, so you’ll have to use the bundled USB Type-C to 3.5mm headphone port adapter if you want to use your old headphones. The phone can automatically optimise audio according to the connected headphones. You can also use aptX, aptX HD, or LDAC capable Bluetooth headphones instead. The phone is also playback Hi-Res audio files (LPCM, FLAC, ALAC, DSD). There’s a microSDXC card slot that accepts up to 400GB microSD cards for storage expansion.
On the imaging front, Sony has equipped the Xperia XZ2 with a 19-megapixel rear-facing Motion Eye camera (1/ 2.3” Exmor RS™ sensor with 1.22µm pixels), Predictive Hybrid Autofocus (phase-detection autofocus + laser autofocus + contrast-detection autofocus), ƒ/2.0 25mm Sony G Lens, 4K HDR video recording at 30fps, and super slow-motion 1080p video recording at 960fps. The camera lacks OIS, but the company says that it can make up for it, thanks to 5-axis EIS, anti-distortion shutter, and triple image sensing technology. Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact are the world’s first smartphones that can record 4K HDR videos. There’s a 5MP front-facing camera (1/5-inch Exmor RS sensor) with ƒ/2.2 23mm fixed-focus lens and 5-axis EIS.
Sony Xperia XZ2 - Colours
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Connectivity features of the Xperia XZ2 include a dual-nano SIM card slot, 1.2Gbps 4G LTE, GPS, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast, Google Cast, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and USB 3.1 Type-C port. It can also be used to play games on PlayStation 4 using PS4 Remote Play feature. There’s a 3180mAh battery inside the phone with Quick Charge 3.0, USB Power Delivery, Qi wireless charging, STAMINA Mode, Smart Stamina, and Qnovo Battery Care. The phone is 11.1mm thin, and is available in four colours: Liquid Black, Liquid Silver, Deep Green, and Ash Pink.
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact: Features
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact - Colours
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The Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact has a 5-inch TRILUMINOS™ Display with Full HD+ resolution (2160×1080 pixels), which means that it will have a higher pixel density compared to the screen on the Xperia XZ2. Even this screen has 18:9 aspect ratio, HDR content playback capabilities, minimal bezels, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The phone features the same internal hardware and software as that of the Xperia XZ2. There’s Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB UFS storage, and microSDXC card slot (up to 400GB). It runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. There are front-facing stereo speakers on the XZ2 Compact as well, but it lacks the Dynamic Vibration System which is present in the XZ2. There’s a fingerprint reader at its rear.
The front (5MP) and rear-facing cameras (19MP Motion Eye) on the Xperia XZ2 Compact are exactly similar to the ones present on the Xperia XZ2, including 4K HDR and 1080p 960fps slow-motion video recording. Similar to the XZ2, the XZ2 Compact lacks a 3.5mm headphone port, so you’ll have to rely either on the USB Type-C port to 3.5mm headphone port adapter or Bluetooth headphones. It can playback Hi-Res audio files (LPCM, FLAC, ALAC, DSD). All the connectivity features of the XZ2 Compact are similar to that of its bigger brother, the XZ2. There’s a 2870mAh battery inside the phone, and it features Quick Charge 3.0, USB Power Delivery, STAMINA Mode, Smart Stamina, and Qnovo battery care. The only thing that’s missing is Qi wireless charging, because the phone uses a plastic back instead of glass.
The Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact will be available in four colours: Liquid Black, Liquid Silver, Deep Green, and Ash Pink. At 12.1mm, the phone is thicker than the Xperia XZ2, but features the same ingress protection against dust and water, thanks to IP68 certification. Both phones, the XZ2 and the XZ2 Compact feature the 3D Creator app, which can create 3D avatars of people or 3D scans of objects, and they can be shared directly on Facebook.
“If entertainment is your priority, then our new Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact are your smartphones”, said Hideyuki Furumi, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing, Sony Mobile Communications, “From what’s inside — world-class technology, to a new sleek, sophisticated design, these smartphones are everything you need and probably a lot more. We have pushed Sony’s boundaries even further with our new products for movie recording, viewing, and music listening – offering entertainment to the extreme.”
