After writing the first part of Sony Xperia Z review, I went home for a small trip, so it took a while to complete this second part. As I used Xperia S before, it didn't take me much time to get along with the phone. But I have to say that there is still a bit of switching cost if you happen to be an iPhone user like me. Xperia Z is equipped with Android 4.1.2, and I am sure that there is a scheduled update of 4.2 for this new flagship.
In general, the UI is relatively the same as it was on Xperia S. However, many details are fine-tuned and it is definitely more user-friendly now. By pressing on the blank space when you are at the standby screen. it shows up a few options such as adding more pages, widgets and apps, changing wallpapers and themes.
It feels smooth and responsive when I swipe and navigate through screens, thanks to the quad-core processor. However, that is not always the case with all the Android apps. For example, I feel that Sina weibo is somewhat not optimised for the phone, but that could be a general situation for Android app systems. After all, we can't feel the power of the processor if the app itself is coded inefficiently.
I've tried a few apps. They seem working fine in terms of screen resolution and ratio, like Instagram shown below.
In terms of the battery performance, Sony this time has provided 2330 mAh battery which is supposed to be lasting quite some time. However, since the monstrous 5 inch screen is a battery sucker and mobile connectivity also drains down the power, the standby time isn't particularly impressive. Sony does have a remedy for this. Under the settings-power management, a few modes can be switched on to save battery. STAMINA seems pretty useful when you don't want to receive push messages when you are not using the phone. Location-based wifi also helps reduced the power consumption in some way.
One thing I've noticed is that if I charge Xperia Z through USB cable using my MacBook Air, it is painfully slow (it's very fast on my iPhone 5). However, the charging is fairly fast if the phone is charged through a socket. In addition, if you are using the phone intensively, the body gets heated up and that's a bit annoying.
I believe many users like me are concerned with the new 13 megapixel camera sensor and want to see how it performs in day-to-day use. Here are some not so stringent comparison between Xperia Z and iPhone 5. Top: Xperia Z, Bottom: iPhone 5.
The auto-white balance on Xperia Z is struggling to produce an accurate result most of time, especially indoors. As you can see that the photo above is reddish and somewhat overexposed.
In the night shot, Xperia Z is taking the lead this round. The noise is better managed and the color of the light is more pleasing and accurate. iPhone 5 has less contrast overall.
It's an indoor shot with IKEA meatballs (yummy!). Again, Xperia Z's photo looks like washed with less contrast, iPhone 5's picture more correctly reflect the real situation.
I guess that Sony does have a good camera sensor embedded in Xperia Z. However, this is undermined by the imaging processor in the phone. In the daytime and outdoor, it performs fair enough, but it is just not up to the expectation when the lighting is dim. Below are a few more pictures taken by Xperia Z.
Verdict:
Sony Xperia Z is beautifully built and has powerful hardware. The 5 inch screen is attractive and just a great pleasure to look at. Its water and dust proof feature make the phone more durable in the challenging conditions and prevent potential damages. The improved UI also caters better user experience and functionality and we can look forward to more improvements in 4.2 upgrade.
However, I am somewhat let down by the camera performance. Hopefully the imaging processor can be improved over the next update. The battery power isn't much impressive, either (But I guess that's something we've got to live with when using a smartphone nowadays).
If you are looking for an upgrade for your Xperia series phone or you are obsessed with large screens, this will be worth your money. If you are very particular about the camera performance, you may want to try it at the showroom before you make your decision.
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