Power button is in a really bad spot on phone. Heavy phone. Picks up better cell phone service than my samsung. Interface is very well put together. Battery is better than my samsung s9+. Dont like the rounded shaped back. Like previous flat backs of old sony phones. Switching sim card and calling for data was easy. limited good slim phone cases for it online. The phone grows on you and you will really like it.
Sony has consistently had disappointing sales in the Android market. Sony has consistently hyped its new cameras with each succeeding generation, largely to a critical "Meh" reaction from the Android press. But Sony also has a core base of rabidly loyal fans who sing their phones' virtues. What's going on here?
I should add, I am coming from the Xperia XZ Premium, and the Xperia XA1 before it, so I must have been in the fanboy camp, to some degree. Before that, I was a Nokia devotee on Windows Phone.
DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY
The Xperia XZ2 represents a change of course to some degree for Sony. They stuck with 16:9 LCD screens, headphone jacks, and relatively large top and bottom bezels for several years after other manufacturers had made their premium phones 18:9 with OLED. This time around, Sony has dropped the jack and trimmed the bezels significantly and adopted an 18:9 ratio, all of which definitely has the phone looking more "on trend." Thankfully, there is no "notch." The screen remains an LCD, but frankly it's not a great loss. The contrast ratio and brightness are excellent, and there are no concerns of burn-in, which is a very real issue on phone screens with static navigation icons. Overall, I like the change, as it allows for more information to be displayed on an app like Facebook, NYT, or Google. The LCD panel is 1080x2160 resolution, with HDR support. It has a pixel density of 424 pixels per inch, and no pixels are visible on text or images. It's solidly nice.
The fingerprint sensor has been moved from the side power button (which was a fantastically useful placement) to almost the very center of the rear of the phone. Now, I will say, the sensor works great. I have not yet gotten a read error from any angle, and I've added four fingers total to the phone's memory. But the placement is not good. It's quite low, which makes it awkward, and the sensor is both close to and exactly the same size and shape as the camera. I purchased a case (Ringke Onyx Brushed Metal Design TPU) which mitigates this, as it has a sort of groove to guide your finger to the sensor only. But if you rock this phone naked, it is almost certain that you will finger the camera accidentally.
SHOULD you rock this phone naked? That's a hard no. The phone is a "glass sandwich" ringed by an aluminum bumper, with Gorilla Glass 5 offering scratch protection. Predictably, it's an absolute fingerprint magnet, even with a solid oleophobic coating. The rear of the phone is curved, which combined with glass, makes this phone incredibly slippery. It will not sit still on a table on its rear. I miss the flat designs of prior Xperias, as well as metal/polycarbonate backs. The glass back does allow for Qi wireless charging, which works well.
The rear camera has been moved from the top corner to the upper middle of the phone. I think this is kind of a "six of one, half a dozen of the other" sort of change. It's true that corner placement does result in some "finger" shots in landscape. Those are gone. But in their place are... finger shots in portrait. Sigh. They should have placed this higher along the middle of the phone if they were intent on moving it from the corner.
Stereo speakers still grace the front of the phone, though the bottom speaker is now at the bottom edge, due to reduced bezel size. They are loud and high quality, great for videos and music. I would say that Sony's speakers are in the top two or three phones on the market, possibly even the best of the pack.
SD card and Micro SIM are accessed on the top with a slide out panel - fingernail only, no need for a key. The phone will accept cards up to 400gb.
Aesthetically, the phone is a looker. Sony has always excelled at industrial design, and the fit and finish are exceptional. I just think that the XZ1 and XZ Premium were better looking phones, for my tastes. It's got a bit of a fat backside, and it is heavy. But these are not dealbreakers for me. I like a bit of heft in something that costs this much. The phone is extremely durable and rigid, as indicated by "Jerry Rig Everything" testing on YouTube.
SOFTWARE
Sony's Android skin has not changed from previous iterations. It is very light, only really changing the App Drawer from up-down scrolling to left-right scrolling. Sony allows you to replace the launcher, which I did immediately, to Square Home 2 (I like my tiles, folks!). The home screen is completely customizable, with options for animations, swiping actions, icon size, icon packs, and the like.
Sony includes a few of their own apps which duplicate stock android apps, such as Music and Album (for photos). I ended up choosing them over the stock apps because I find they work very well, with nice graphics (the pinch zooming of your camera roll in the Album app is really cool).
Sony has included an "Xperia Assist" app, which gives a chat interface for tips and tricks, with an AI respondent. Thankfully, it does nothing more. OK Google is fine, and it works well here.
PERFORMANCE
With a Snapdragon 845 and 4gb of RAM, this phone screams through everyday tasks. There are no lags whatsoever on any task, and app switching is instantaneous. Regular use does not create much in the way of warmth, though of course fast charging or wireless charging does heat things up (as does recording video in 4K HDR).
BATTERY LIFE
Sony's reputation for excellent battery life is safe with the XZ2. A full day of heavy use is easy to achieve, and 1.5 days with moderate use is also easy.
Sony's Stamina mode and Adaptive charging modes are still present, as well. Stamina mode usually gives you extra few hours of juice by limiting background functions, while the adaptive charging learns your routine (e.g. bed time and wakeup) and slow-charges your phone to 90%, only topping off at the very end, to reduce time at full charge, which can be stressful for a battery. Having used the XZ Premium for a year, I am confident in asserting that these technologies will have you feeling like your phone battery is just as fresh a year in as on the day you got it.
CAMERA
Yet again, a new generation of Sony phones brings a new generation of Sony hype for their camera tech. And while most years, this proves to be underwhelming, I have to say this year the hype is deserved.
Sony claims its "Bionz" processing and high-ISO shooting significantly improves low-light performance. My testing has borne this out as true. The attached snap of my cat was taken at night, indoors, with only a dim lamp for light. The detail level is exceptional, and improves on my XZ Premium.
Daylight snaps also show excellent detail, with significantly better post processing than Sony's prior efforts, by which I mean less noise and sharpening upon close "pixel peeping" inspection.
Sony's superb burst modes and predictive capture are also present, which make this an exceptionally good choice for users with young kids (it's hard to get those little buggers to sit still!).
Video has seen an upgrade to 4k HDR recording (1080p and 4k non-HDR are still options, of course). Super Slow-Motion at 960fps is available now in both 720p and 1080p (1080p being a first for smartphones). Unfortunately, predictive capture is not available on slow-mo, as it is on the Samsung S9. So you get better image quality but still a finicky trigger which makes it hard to slow down just the right moment.
CONCLUSION
At this price, I think this is a 4 star device. Sony keeps cranking out phones every six months, and the prices often drop precipitously within 3 months of release. So I would recommend waiting until this one is at or below 650.
With that said, this is probably the best phone Sony has released in a long time. The camera is finally competitive with the very top tier of flagships, and the performance overall is superb.
I love the look of the ash pink handset, and I haven't found the placement of the fingerprint location clumsy, as some users have said. The 19 pixel rear camera is as good as anyone would expect from Sony; and I look forward to trying out some of its many special effects and features. I'd like it if Sony could pare off a few grams of weight without compromising any of the phone's deluxe features--otherwise, I can't think of any complaints.
I freakin love this phone!!! best phone i have ever owned. the processing speed is great and it didn't come with as much bloatware as my previous phones. it really is wonderful phone. i live in portland and with my older cheaper phone, i would get dropped service in certain areas and so far, this phone has stayed connected with no issues. even on the metro. so that part was a really great surprise. i love how smoothly it was to get used to the setup and picture and sound quality is so awesome. thank you for this phone!!! it is by far the best phone ever for the price point!
Excelente servicio, me encanta el teléfono, funciona de maravilla, el único inconveniente es que el detector de huella esta muy cerca de la cámara y el lente siempre estará un poco sucio por poner tu dedo
Feature Product
- Bundle Item 1 of 3: Sony Xperia XZ2 Unlocked Smarphone - Dual SIM - 5.7"" Screen - 64GB - Liquid Black
- Bundle Item 2 of 3: Sony SBH90C 2-Way Listening Style USB Audio & Bluetooth Neckband Headset
- Bundle Item 3 of 3: [CASE] Style Cover Stand SCSH40 for Xperia XZ2
- 5.7-inch, extended 18:9 aspect ratio HDR Full HD+ display with new "Ambient Flow" design. Automatic up-conversion of SDR streaming and downloaded video into HDR-quality experiences. Gorilla Glass 5
- Unlocked and compatible with carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Straight Talk, MetroPCS, Cricket wireless, simple mobile, and others
Description
Sony Xperia XZ2 Accessory Bundle: 1 of Sony Xperia XZ2, 1 of SBH-90c, 1 of SCSH40. Sony takes a bold step forward with Xperia XZ2, which introduces immersive innovations for optimizing mobile entertainment experiences and creativity and houses them in a strikingly sleek and rounded new body design. Xperia XZ2 features an all-new “ambient flow” approach that leverages Xperia’s renowned IP68 water-resistant seamless glass look and evolves it with premium materials, so the dynamic curves and arches flow naturally and emphasize both style and functionality. An Advanced X-Reality engine optimizes your viewing experience by up-converting standard dynamic range (SDR) downloaded or streaming videos to HDR quality. Audio advancements include improved stereo S-Force Front Surround Sound speakers and the all-new Sony Dynamic Vibration System, which creates a synchronized visual-sound vibration that makes you feel what you see and hear. The upgraded 19MP Motion Eye camera system now records Super Slow-Motion in either 1080p Full HD or HD mode and captures video in spectacular 4K HDR, while the 3D Creator has also been enhanced, adding the capability to create “selfie” 3D scans and post scanned images on Facebook. Combining innovative camera, audio, visual, and now haptic technology, Xperia XZ2 is the ultimate smartphone for captivating your senses with superior entertainment capability and pushing the boundaries in content creation.
Un exelente celular. La bateria dura mas de un dia y medio con un uso moderado. El lector de huellas no es un problema despues de acostumbrarse a su ubicacion. Corre cualquier aplicacion actual de android sin ningun problema. El audio es exelente. La unica cosa no tan buena es el sistema de vibracion, que no es muy util ya que durante las aplicaciones, videos y musica vibra aleatoriamente (solo funciona bien dentro de la aplicacion Play Station Remote). Recomendado 100%
I like the phone and I'm able to use it with another carrier so I will keep it. However I wanted to use it for a Verizon number. After having their tech try to get it to recognize the sim card they could not get it to work and told me to call the other carrier. All information I could find pointed to that it would work but turns out I was wrong.
good cell phone, the only issue that i had was configuring the text messages but i had to get the correct configuration from my carrier, after that all worked.
at this time i did not test the dual sim or add it a SD card , the internal storage, for now, is enough to me.
It is a slick and smooth phone that is difficult to find a case for and it slides around, a lot. I like it but it's dangerous to keep and falls if left on a table, alone to charge or on a seat etc. Could be brighter and the battery could last a bit longer but I us eit for games and shows so it fades quickly.
Celular de 1ª calidad como esperaba, siempre elijo Sony. Cada vez mejor
