Sony’s XZ Premium packs the latest Snapdragon 835 go-fast processor, a 5.5” Triluminous 4K, HDR10 screen, a great front and rear camera, and water resistance into its 2017 flagship – if you like Sony gear you will love this.
It even looks like a Sony – the Japanese bling style is back with “luminous” chrome finish all over (yes you can check hair and makeup in this Gorilla Glass 5 finish), true front-firing stereo speakers, and that certain reassuring Sony build – it is a solid, not so little phone at 156 x 77 x 7.9 mm x 195g.
While other makers are duelling it out with dual cameras, 18:9 screens and more Sony has taken a relatively safe path using the best available tech to build what is on paper the best available phone – the whole is greater than the sum of the parts reflecting Sony’s long heritage in the smartphone business. It has even kept the 3.5mm audio jack.
Spoiler alert: If you like Sony gear and the Japanese heritage this is the one to strongly consider. Apik tenan!
{loadposition ray}
Out of the box – Sony XZ Premium
You get
- The smartphone
- A 5V/1.5A charger (7.5W). The Quick Charge UCH12W is at extra cost
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- A set of stereo Sony buds with replacement ear tips. The Hi-Res MDR-NC750 are at extra cost
First impressions are this is a big phone – for comparison
- 5.46” Sony XZ Premium 156 x 77 x 7.9 mm x 195g
- 5” iPhone 7 Plus 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm x 188
- 5” HTC U11 153.9 x 75.9 x 7.9 mm x 169g
- 2”, 18:9, Samsung S8 Plus 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm x 173g
It is not to say the phone is too big but you need to consider “pocketability”. Didn’t the late Steve Jobs say anything over 4” was unnecessary?
Second impressions – at least for the review unit – where the luminous chrome is very Bling. I immediately started putting my fingers all over it only to find that the oleophobic coating really did not work – you don’t have to try very hard to smudge this chrome wonder.
What is has that other flagships don’t (using the HTC U11 as a base)
- 5mm audio jack
- The 5.5” 4K, HDR10, Triluminous screen is amazingly good for an IPS LCD
What is missing? (what other flagships may have)
- Wireless charging
- AMOLED screen for Daydream VR
- 18:9 screen ratio
- The fingerprint reader is disabled in certain markets – not Australia
- A Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 charger (it is compatible)
Specifications
|
Sony XZ Premium |
Comments |
|
|
Models |
Available in single G8141 and dual sim G8142 |
Telcos are demanding single sim models |
|
Screen |
5.46” IPS LCD |
One of the better IPS screens. Bright colours, dark blacks - user-definable colours. This is one of the first with HDR10 so expect great shadow and highlight details. The screen defaults to HD when not playing 4K content to preserve battery. No always-on-display but has a notification LED. Good contrast and brightness but high reflectivity washed out the screen in outdoor use. |
|
STBR |
68.4% screen to body ratio |
This is a traditional 16:9 design with very large bezels top and bottom and on the sides – the Sony look. Despite the huge bottom bezel, the forward/home/apps key are part of the screen reducing usable space. |
|
IP rating |
IP65/68 |
The rating is IP65/68 which can mean two totally different waterproof levels. It mentions a “capless” USB-C port must be completely dry before charging. The only other orifices are the 3.5mm port and Sim port which presumably must be closed to achieve IP68. |
|
Processor |
Qualcomm 835 |
The best you can get. In independent tests, it was amongst the fastest flagships generally coming just under the Samsung GS8 Exynos chip. |
|
RAM Storage microSD |
4GB |
4GB makes it future-proof for Android releases. OITG to 2TB tested and works |
|
Camera Rear |
“Motion Eye” |
Used in Superior Auto mode it takes some of the best pictures I have seen. However, there are better low light cameras available.
No mechanical optical image stabilisation - only 3-axis EIS at 4K 5-azis at HD.
Slo-mo is harder to use to get the right shot |
|
Camera Front |
13MP, 1/3.06” sensor |
No screen flash and was a poor low light performer. But overall it took great selfies. |
|
LTE/Bands |
Cat 16 (1Gbps/150Mbps) |
There are no Australian carriers supporting Cat 16 so the best you will get is about 200Mbps |
|
Comms |
Wi-Fi AC dual band 2x2 MU-MIMO |
75Mbps on 2.4GHz band. 468Mbps on 5GHz band from a D-Link AC5300 tri-band router. The HTC U11 gets 866Mbps using what should be the same modem. |
|
Other |
Fingerprint in right side power button |
Fast and accurate |
|
Sound |
High-Resolution Audio aptX and LDAC |
Nice to see Hi-Res Audio creeping into flagships so why do they provide a basic set of ear buds. I know it is about cost. |
|
Battery |
3250mAh |
Has a 72-hour theoretical endurance rating but in the real world its somewhere between 8-10 hours hard use and 18-20 typical use. The standard charger takes over 2 hours. Quick Charge delivers 42% in 30 minutes – an hour overall. |
|
OS |
Android 7.1.1 |
A very light skin using all of Google Apps – you really cannot escape using them |
|
Size Weight |
156 x 77 x 7.9 mm |
It is a big phone in comparison to the svelte Samsung S8 and feels wide in the hand. |
|
Colours |
Luminous Chrome |
Performance
The XZ Premium has early firmware and while good, it can only get better.
In GeekBench 4 multicore is scored 5837, less than the HTC U11 at 6125 and Samsung Galaxy S8 (835) at 6106. There is more tuning to do but overall it is comparable to all other Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 equipped smartphones.
I could not fault it, it performed excellently with dozens of apps open, and never once felt hot to touch.
Wireless Broadband speeds on Telstra 4GX in the Sydney CBD were average at around 233 Mbps but there was one occasion where this skyrocketed to 350Mbps. Uploads were from 25-35Mbps.
Wi-Fi is puzzling. It has the same specs as the HTC U11 but generally only attained a fraction of the speed of the latter. It’s best was 468Mbps versus 866Mbps.
Sound
True stereo, matched, front firing speakers – nirvana. But in playing music and for hands-free use, while very clear, lacked the punch and volume I was used to.
Audio quality output to an amp or over Bluetooth (LDAP) was fine with a little loss in the upper 15kHz to 20kHz range.
Screen
You will not find a higher pixel per inch count anywhere – 807 is impressive. But the screen remains in HD 1920 x 1080 for all but 4K video playback.
I tried a 4K video legally ripped into H.264 and it took about 10GB for a one hour show. Given mobile data is still expensive I can only recommend loading it on board this way via say an external SSD or flash drive (the USB-C is Gen 1 – 5Gbps max). Watching 4K video sapped the battery – an hour’s use took 30% of the battery.
Choice of sRGB is useful for professionals who want to see real reproduction colours.
Camera
Sony make many of the other brand's camera sensors and one could assume it could make the best camera for itself.
Independent DxOMark tests have not been run yet but to be sure it will come in somewhere between Samsung Galaxy S8 at 88, the Google Pixel at 89 and the newly crowned king – the HTC U11 at 90 out of 100.
The sensor has a RAM chip built in. This serves as an ultrafast buffer where the camera can temporary offload photos or video without the need to store everything in slower storage. This enables Predictive Capture and the 960 fps slo-mo.
It has a superior auto mode that constantly changes to suit scenes, vistas, and light conditions. It is a definite step up from the ZX Premium. It manages HDR auto as well.
Daylight, good even light: Sharp, detailed, accurate colour and little noise. It will autodetect if mounted on a tripod and allows for higher ISO or longer shutter speeds.
Early evening, muted light: The lens extracts maximum light and the shots are accurate.
Indoor, office lighting, 500 lumens: Great shots but a little flare on bright lights.
Indoor, low light: Loss of detail and more noise. However, with a tripod, the auto mode kicked in and changed ISO/Shutter speed and the shots were good.
Slo-mo: 960fps. capture for 1/5th of a second then stretches out across six playback seconds. It is very hard to capture the moment - still a gimmick.
Summary: The rear camera won’t beat DxOMark top scores but it will be among the better cameras to date. I suspect Sony has some more work to do and the Superior Auto mode that shows lots of promise.
Selfies: Good but beautification mode seems to be always on.
Intelligence
Sony offers Xperia Actions that monitors the phone's usage and makes recommendations. It has extensive tips and screen help.
Smart Cleaner can be enabled by default and Qnovo will extend battery life.
Otherwise, it is Google Assistant if you want voice control.
Pros
- Great screen when playing 4K, HDR content, otherwise it is HD
- Sony bling style – you will love it or hate it
- Clean Android skin with added value via apps
- Qualcomm 835 is awesome and is behind so many of the Sony features like aptX, dual image processing, etc.
- Front-firing speakers
- Camera great on Superior Auto except in very low light – single LED flash needs more punch
Cons
- Way too large bezels – 68.4% STBR is just not acceptable any more
- Big bezels but back/home/apps keys take up screen space
- Fingerprint magnet – oleophobic coating or note
- Sony needs to work on turning its handset to the Qualcomm 835’s fullest ability
- Average speaker loudness
- Daylight visibility average
- No OIS – only EIS and not for all modes
- Not VR capable
- No Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 charger supplied
- It is a big, wide phone – make sure you are comfortable with it in your pocket
Summary
It is a decent phone all round and it is a Sony – bling and all. It has heaps of performance, good camera, and good support.
At $1,056 outright it is within that band where you could consider the Samsung S8, LG G6, Huawei P10, Moto Z2 (coming) and the HTC U11 – all have different strengths but Sony should be on your flagship shopping list.