Sony xperia z3 front camera. Review and testing of the smartphone Sony Xperia Z3

Today we have a new flagship from Sony, the Xperia Z3 smartphone. The previous model turned out to be quite successful, but very little time has passed since its release. Let's see what the improvements are over its predecessor and how high-quality the fresh Z3 is.

Design and usability

With the Sony Xperia Z3, the company continues to hone the design ideas behind the first. In fact, before us is the same "sandwich" of two glasses with an iron filling.

Compared to the previous flagship, changes need to be looked for in the details. The first thing you pay attention to is the changed shape of the sidewalls. Now they are neatly rounded, no trace of brutality remains. Plastic inserts appeared on the corners of the case.

They were added for practical reasons, with them the smartphone has a better chance of surviving a fall. Perhaps for the same reason, our engineering sample of the Xperia Z3 has minimal gaps between the glass and the bezel, which, unfortunately, collects debris.

In addition, compared to the Z2, the Sony Xperia Z3 has become a little thinner, narrower, shorter, lighter and received a new protection class:

The new body colors are another new addition to the Xperia lineup:

The arrangement of controls and connectors is traditional for Sony flagships. The camera keys, volume control, power and connectors for Nano-SIM and memory card under the common flap are located on the right side.

The magnetic connector on the charging dock, the Micro-USB port under the cover and the strap attachments are on the left. Above - only the headset connector and the second microphone hole.

In addition to the name of the company and the display on the front side, you can see small slots for stereo speakers, a camera lens, light and proximity sensors. The multi-colored indicator of missed events is now in the upper left corner, it is hidden under the glass.

The rear of the Sony Xperia Z3 is practically indistinguishable from the Z2 - the same camera lens, flash, NFC area.

When it comes to usability, the Xperia Z3 is thin. It is to her that you pay attention first of all when you take the device in hand. In general, the device is quite compact. At first it may seem that you are holding a 5-inch smartphone in your hand, but the increased diagonal, and with it the dimensions make themselves felt - to successfully handle the Z3 with one hand, you need to practice a little.

Smooth rounded sides, together with a thin body and glass back, create an ambiguous effect - the smartphone seems to stick to all smooth surfaces, making it difficult to lift it off the table at first.

Metal and glass are very pleasant to the touch and feel expensive, but in dry hands the Sony Xperia Z3 turns out to be quite slippery. The volume keys are convenient to use for their intended purpose, but many programs for reading books and articles suggest using them for turning pages and in this scenario of use they turn out to be inconvenient due to their low placement.

Sony is one of the first companies to launch waterproof smartphones. Already in the second generation Xperia Z, engineers were able to get rid of the 3.5 mm plug, but it still remained with MicroUSB. There is no doubt about the reliability and durability of the connector covers, but the aesthetics and usability suffer. Perhaps, in future models, engineers will be able to reduce the number of detachable elements of the case, or they will add wireless charging to the smartphone.

Apart from the small slots mentioned above, there are no complaints about the build quality. The Sony Xperia Z3's body feels monolithic, although it does have a minimal degree of flexibility.

Operating system and shell

As befits a flagship, the Xperia Z3 runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system. The entire line of Sony Xperia Z smartphones will receive an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop. Compared to the Xperia Z2, the interface has not received any changes.

Hardware platform

The smartphone is built on the basis of a system-on-chip Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC), in which 4 Krait 400 cores operate at a frequency of up to 2.5 GHz along with Adreno 330 graphics. The amount of RAM is 3 GB, permanent memory - 16 GB, of which 11.5 GB available. There is a slot for memory cards, media up to 128 GB are supported.

Wireless interfaces include Bluetooth 4.0 (ANT +), Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac (DLNA), NFC module.

The speed of the smartphone corresponds to the class of the device, there are no problems with games, viewing FullHD and 4K video or solving any other tasks. After prolonged use of the camera or heavy games, the back of the smartphone heats up slightly. Overall, the performance of the Sony Xperia Z3 is similar to that of the previous model and other flagships.

The work of the GPS and Wi-Fi modules is not satisfactory.

Calls, multimedia

In the Sony Xperia Z3, the company has implemented a number of proprietary technologies aimed at improving the sound quality of the smartphone. In addition to the classic equalizer, there are “ClearAudio +” settings to optimize the sound and “Dynamic Normalizer” to equalize the volume level of different recordings. If you turn them off, the smartphone sounds similar to other flagship models, but turning them on makes the sound subjectively better and more spacious.

Besides, Sony Xperia Z3 plays uncompressed audio formats (wav, aiff, flac, alac). The company calls them "high-definition audio", and for listening to such compositions, it recommends using a number of branded full-size headphones or output the uncompressed source signal via USB to compatible branded equipment - a smartphone can act as a DAC. Unfortunately, we didn't have the right hardware to test this functionality.

The smartphone uses a special 5-pin 3.5 mm jack, which allows you to connect branded accessories. Among them: MDR-NC31EM active noise canceling headphones and STM10 external microphone. These headphones came with the Xperia Z2, but they were removed from the Z3 package. Considering that this functionality is unique, and the availability of Sony accessories in Ukraine leaves much to be desired, simplification of the packaging is a key deterioration in the Xperia Z3 compared to the previous flagship. In addition to the above, the company has other accessories in its arsenal - a charging dock and a special holder for the Play Station 4 joystick.

Support for various video formats is implemented at an average level, for some reason our sample did not play files with AC3 tracks, although the previous model did not have any problems with this.

It's hard to make any complaints about the quality of the speakers. They are loud, conveniently located, but sound less voluminous compared to HTC One M8.

During a call, the speaker shows an excellent volume reserve, which is enough for comfortable communication even in a very noisy environment. The vibrating alert on the Xperia Z3 feels good, and the user will most likely not miss an incoming call.

Together with the Xperia Z3, the company announced a version of the Z3 Dual smartphone that supports the simultaneous operation of two Nano-SIM cards.

Working hours

The smartphone has a non-removable battery with a capacity of 3100 mAh. Compared to the previous model, its capacity has decreased by 100 mAh, but this did not prevent the smartphone from showing an increase in autonomy of 10-20%, depending on the operating mode.

Mode	Sony Xperia Z3	Sony Xperia Z2	Oneplus one	LG G3 (ART)
Music	66:40	87:30	—	58:49
Reading	16:40	13:20	15:23	8:42
Navigation	10:32	—	8:20	—
Viewing HD video	12:30	11:06	11:07	7:02
Watching HD Videos from Youtube	8:00	10:00	6:27	6:04
Antutu tester (points)	6773	590*	4667	396*
GFXBench (minutes)	193	245	181	140
GFXBench (points)	1625 (29.0 fps)	1228 (21.9 fps)	1607 (28.7 fps)	634 (11.3 fps)

In the mode reading all wireless communications are disabled, including data transmission in the mobile network, and the display brightness is set to 200 cd / m2. While listening music automatic data synchronization and data transmission worked. Headphone volume at 12 out of 15 possible levels. All music files in MP3 format, bit rate 320 Kbps.Navigation includes getting directions in the Google Navigation app. The brightness is set to 200 cd / m2, all communication modules are disabled. During playback video data transmission in the mobile network is active, the display brightness is set to 200 cd / m2, the sound volume in the headphones is at level 12 out of a possible 15. Video file format MKV, resolution 1024x432 pixels, frame rate 24. Video playback from Youtube was accompanied not only by work in the Wi-Fi network, but also by active data transfer. Display brightness is set at 200 cd / m2, headphone volume at 12 out of 15 possible levels.
* - data obtained under similar conditions, but with brightness set to 50% and possible
You can get acquainted with the testing methodology in material

The company promises up to two days of smartphone operation in a typical operating mode. According to the information posted on the manufacturer's website, this mode includes approximately five hours of total activity (calls, text messages, web surfing, multimedia) with a screen brightness of 100 cd / m2.

In the author's mode of operation, which includes the constant synchronization of two Google accounts, conducting various tests, watching videos at maximum brightness, actively using the camera, the smartphone worked for about a day, and the screen time was five hours.

Taking into account the fact that the smartphone practically does not discharge in standby mode, the data given by the manufacturer can be considered correct - an abstract user will receive two days of work from one charge. The smartphone has power saving modes Stamina and Ultra Stamina, allowing you to increase the operating time.

Display

The Sony Xperia Z3 has a 5.2-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Its brightness varies from 3 to 519 cd / m2, the contrast is 1: 572. The smartphone uses a new matrix with an increased brightness level. In the display settings, you can enable X-Reality picture enhancement technologies, high brightness mode, enable glove control and adjust the white balance.

Based on the measurement results, a matrix of average quality is used. Its main disadvantages are inaccurate color reproduction and a very high color temperature, which gives the image a characteristic bluish tint.

Default display settings:

Adjusting the white balance manually allows you to slightly lower the color temperature, but the color rendition still remains quite cool.

Manual White Balance (Blue: 0, Green: 200, Red: 250):

Based on personal impressions, the smartphone display can be called controversial. It has excellent viewing angles, one of the widest dimming ranges, good sun readability and a high-quality oleophobic coating.

On the other hand, not everyone will like the specific cold color rendering, the displays of most competitors have a much more natural color rendering. Minor shortcomings of the screen also include the mesh of the sensor layer, which is barely visible in direct sunlight (appears in the form of small reflective dots) and the average sensitivity of the sensor in the "With gloves" mode - it reacts to cloth gloves, but ignores leather ones.

Cameras

The Sony Xperia Z3 has two cameras. The main module received a new Exmor RS sensor with a resolution of 20.7 megapixels, a maximum light sensitivity of 12800 ISO, a wide-angle (25mm) G Lens with an aperture of 1 / 2.3. It is capable of shooting 4K video, FullHD video in HDR mode or at 60fps. The front camera has a resolution of 2.2 megapixels, it is capable of recording FullHD video.

The camera application gives you access to a variety of shooting modes, among which there are quite a few entertaining ones. For example, you can take a photo and record the surrounding sounds, or shoot the same subject from multiple angles using a pair of Sony smartphones and combine all the images into one footage.

You can add virtual dinosaurs, gnomes to the photo, follow them in the viewfinder. Additional camera modules can be downloaded from the Play Market, for example, an application for capturing Time Lapse videos.

Examples of pictures in maximum resolution (20 Mp):

When you start the camera with the volume key from the locked screen, a special automatic mode is activated. All shooting parameters, scene and required mode are adjusted automatically, and the resulting photos are saved in 8 megapixel resolution.

Sample photos taken in automatic mode (8 Mp):

To take photos in full resolution, you need to switch to manual mode, in which you can adjust the shooting parameters yourself.

Examples of photos taken at night (8 megapixels):

Traditionally for smartphones, the final quality of photos and videos depends on the shooting conditions. In a studio setting, the Sony Xperia Z3 delivers picture quality comparable to the Xperia Z2 and other flagships. Looking at photographs taken in real conditions, one can notice the aggressiveness of the image processing algorithms and periodic errors in determining the white balance. As is often the case with Sony flagships, the quality of the resulting photos will improve with the release of new firmware.

Sample Videos

FullHD video:

Slow-motion video shooting:

4K video:

The front camera demonstrates the photo quality that is normal for modern devices:

In terms of camera launch speed, focusing and saving photos, the smartphone is comparable to other flagships.

Outcomes

The Sony Xperia Z3 can be perceived as a slightly improved version of the Xperia Z2. Compared to it, it has become smaller, lighter, got a brighter display, new body colors, a slightly overclocked processor, better battery life and a comparable camera. Unfortunately, excellent headphones have disappeared from the package, helping to evaluate a number of proprietary technologies and distinguishing a smartphone from among similar ones, and the display has received a rather specific color rendering. At the same time, the famous "Sony-style" has been preserved, including high-quality case materials, the maximum degree of moisture protection, a huge selection of branded accessories, so the Z3 will surely find its customers.

Liked:

Body materials

Maximum degree of water resistance

Hardware platform and performance

Stereo speakers, support for uncompressed audio formats

Autonomy

Display: brightness, olephobic coating, readability in the sun, work with gloves

Large selection of accessories

Did not like:

- Slippery body

- Average number of supported video codecs

- Lack of a headset in the package

- Display: cool color rendering


Operating system	Android 4.4 (KitKat)
RAM, GB	3
Built-in memory, GB	16
Expansion slot	microSD (up to 128GB)
Dimensions, mm	146x72x7.3
Weight, g	152
Dust and moisture protection	IP65 / IP68
Accumulator battery	3100 mAh
Opening hours (manufacturer's data)	talk time: up to 16 hours, standby time: up to 890 hours, music playback: up to 130 hours
Diagonal, inches	5,2
Permission	1920 × 1080
Matrix type	IPS TRILUMINOS
PPI	424
Brightness adjustment sensor	+
Touch screen (type)	touch (capacitive)
Other	16M colors, X-Reality for mobile
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 + GPU Adreno 330
Kernel type	Krait 400
Number of Cores	4
Frequency, GHz	2,5
Main camera, MP	20,7
Autofocus	+
Filming	2160p, 30 fps
Flash	LED
Front camera, MP	2,2
Other	8x digital zoom, image stabilization, face detection, geo-tagging, burst mode
Wi-Fi	802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth	4.0 (A2DP)
Gps	+ (GLONASS)
IrDA	—
NFC	+
Interface connector	USB 2.0 (micro-USB)
Audio jack	3.5mm
MP3 player	+
FM radio	+ (RDS)
Type of shell	monoblock
Keyboard type	screen input
More	proximity and lighting sensors, accelerometer, digital compass, gyroscope, barometer, A-GPS receiver, vibration alert, DLNA support, Sony 3D Surround Sound (VPT) technology, Clear Audio +

It's time to compare the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 with the latest flagship Sony - 5.2 '' Xperia Z3... The Sony phone has a whole slew of tricks up its sleeve that will help it counter the popularity of the iPhone lineup: a waterproof case, stereo speakers, a 20MP camera, so let's find out which one gets the top spot ...

Design

The Xperia Z3 is not a small 5.2-inch phone at all, especially when compared to some other flagships with a similar display size. This is due to the rather wide upper and lower bezels (the bezel around the screen), which is also true for the iPhone 6, but given the smaller screen diagonal, using the iPhone 6 with one hand is much more convenient. There's an excuse for those comparatively wide bezels that flank the screens of both smartphones - the Xperia Z3 has waterproof stereo speakers, and the iPhone 6 has a fingerprint sensor built into the Home button. Both phones are incredibly thin and light and look very elegant despite their unimpressive screen-to-body ratio.

Incredibly thin cases and premium design make the iPhone 6 and Xperia Z3 some of the most beautiful devices on the market, and Sony's flagship is also waterproof.

The iPhone has a premium metal body to look and feel, but the Sony creation, with its rounded edges and glass back, also looks great, plus it's also highly dust and water resistant (IP68).

If you look at the sides of the devices, on the right side of the Xperia Z3 you can find the traditional Sony (in accordance with the design concept of OmniBalance) round power button, which looks a little wobbly and requires bending your thumb to press. The lock key in iPhone 6 is conveniently located right under your fingertip. In the Xperia Z3, most of the elements are located on the right side: you will also find there a rather thin volume control, slots for nanoSIM and microSD cards, as well as a separate camera shutter button. Both slots, as well as the microUSB port located on the left, are covered with protective caps that ensure the body is sealed, and if you do not want to constantly open the cap while charging the phone, there is a magnetic connector on the left side for more convenient charging and synchronization, but you will need to purchase a special cable or a docking station.

What we didn’t like about both smartphones was the location of the camera in the upper left corner: it is too close to the edge and you can easily block it with your finger during shooting. In addition, the iPhone 6's camera protrudes slightly from the body.




Apple iPhone 6 (left, bottom) and Sony Xperia Z3 (right, top)

Screen

The Apple iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch, 750-by-1334-pixel display, which translates into a lower pixel density (326 ppi) compared to the Xperia Z3's 5.2-inch Full HD (1080 x 1920) 424 ppi display. However, the pixel density of both displays is more than adequate for any need, and small text, as well as other small details, look sharp and crisp on both displays.

Outperforming in terms of color reproduction, the Xperia Z3's screen outperforms the iPhone 6 in size and resolution

The superiority of the iPhone in terms of color reproduction is obvious - the colors are very accurate, while the Xperia Z3 suffers from not only grossly irregular colors, but also an excessively cold blue tint of the image. Sony explained that this was done on purpose, since this is the current trend for TV screens - colder colors are perceived by the brain brighter than natural ones. Be that as it may, we would rather choose clothes from an online store on the iPhone screen than the Xperia Z3. You can adjust the white balance of the Xperia Z3 using Display Options, by increasing the intensity of the three primary colors, which looks a little artificial.

On the other hand, the Sony Xperia Z3's on-screen technology has been tested to reach a maximum brightness of over 700 nits, a record result and better outdoor readability than iPhone 6. Plus, the new LED backlight is even more energy efficient. than before. Combined with "display memory" technology, which eliminates the need for the GPU to constantly update the image when displaying a static picture, the Xperia Z3's screen allows the smartphone to achieve record-breaking battery life, but we'll talk about that a little later.

In terms of viewing angles, since we are dealing with high quality IPS displays, both phones perform well, with a slight advantage over the iPhone 6. The Xperia Z3's screen can be used with gloves, if you activate the appropriate mode in the settings, which increases the sensitivity of the sensor, it will be useful in the winter.

Interface

The Sony Xperia interface is one of the most functional and at the same time simpler skins. Compared to "bare" Android, it adds some multitasking tools (Small Apps), allowing you to run up to five windowed applications at the same time, which can be moved and scaled. The iPhone 6 does not have such features, but it has a much more convenient Control Center and Notification Center, unlike the Sony interface, where, in order to get to the archaic type of connection switches, you will need to do a few extra swipes on the screen every time.

Apple opened access to the Action Center, now there can be third-party application widgets that send messages and interactive notifications. They are certainly not as functional as the full Android widgets that can fit across multiple desktop screens, but this is a less intrusive, Apple-style approach.

Apple iPhone 6 user interface

Lock screen	Desktop	Control point

Notification Center	One-handed operation

The only thing the Xperia Z3 provides for comfortable one-handed operation is the ability to shrink the keyboard to the left or right on the display, making it much easier to reach the on-screen buttons with your finger. The iPhone 6 offered so-called Reachability mode, which when you double-tap the Home button moves the entire interface to the bottom of the screen, so you can easily enter the web address or the name of the email recipient. You can also swipe to the right from the left edge of the screen, this gesture emulates the back button in the respective applications, such as the browser. On the Xperia Z3, you'll have to reach the top of the screen with your finger.

Sony Xperia Z3 user interface

Lock screen	Desktop	Applications section	Task bar

Small Apps		Quick settings

Processor and memory

You won't be disappointed with the performance of these smartphones as both come with decent specs. The Apple iPhone 6 is powered by a 64-bit A8 processor, clocked at half the speed of the Snapdragon 801-AC in the Xperia Z3, but with comparable performance in synthetic benchmarks. The built-in apps in IOS 8 are optimized for 64-bit computing, and the interface is extremely fluid no matter what you do, while the Xperia Z3 has minor lags every now and then, which will likely be fixed with software updates. as the hardware is very powerful. Apple does not indicate the amount of RAM in the specifications of its phones, but it is known that it is still 1 GB, while the Xperia Z3 has as much as 3 GB of RAM - this does not mean that the iPhone has any performance problems in heavy applications and games, but iOS has to actively unload minimized programs from memory. The Small Apps mode in the Xperia Z3 no doubt consumes more RAM, especially if you decide to run more than two or three apps at the same time.

Despite the Xperia Z3's higher clock speed and more RAM, the iPhone 6 experience smoother. But you'll have to fork out for the extra storage

As for the internal memory, the Xperia Z3 is equipped with 16 GB, of which 12 GB is available to the user, while the iPhone 6 has variants with 16 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB, with the older configurations being significantly more expensive. The Sony smartphone has a microSD card slot to help increase usable space.

Performance test results (benchmarks):

Camera

Sony's flagship has a 20.7-megapixel 1 / 2.3 "Exmor RS sensor with a pixel size of 1.12 microns, just like the Xperia Z2, but Sony advertises that the angle of view has been increased to 25mm (wide-angle lens) and many have been added. other improvements such as ISO sensitivity up to 12800. Apple has also improved its 8-megapixel 1/3 "iSight camera with 1.5-micron pixels and f / 2.2 aperture, adding a new focusing system as well as new shooting modes. When it comes to shooting speed, the iPhone 6's camera takes a shot and is almost instantly ready to snap another - the fastest phone in our tests in that regard. The Xperia Z3 also takes pictures quite quickly, a separate two-step camera shutter button on the right side can launch the camera application and take a picture directly from the locked screen, it only takes about a second, a maximum of two.


Apple iPhone 6 camera interface



Sony Xperia Z3 camera interface

With the exception of Time-lapse mode, the Xperia Z3 offers all the settings and shooting modes found on the iPhone: panorama, HDR for live photos and videos, and so on. In addition, there is a rather interesting background defocus mode (Background Defocus), which allows you to achieve the popular shallow depth of field effect.

The new iSight camera is the fastest we've ever tested and handles excellently in all lighting conditions, while the main advantage of the Xperia Z3 is its ability to shoot 4K video.

In terms of image quality, the iPhone 6 takes great photos with slightly warm but generally accurate colors and great detail in all conditions. The Xperia Z3, with Superior Auto, set by default, captures 8 megapixel images with comparable levels of detail. Colors are softer than iPhone 6. The Xperia Z3 has trouble shooting against a bright light source such as a window or the sun.



Sample images of Apple iPhone 6



Sample pictures Sony Xperia Z3

When it comes to shooting indoors, the Xperia Z3's color reproduction remains generally natural, while the iPhone 6 gravitates heavily towards warm tones. However, the Xperia Z3 looks pretty heavily post-processed and slightly washed out, while the iPhone manages to maintain high detail and acceptable noise levels. Both LED flashes are good enough to illuminate a small scene, although the iPhone 6's dual-tone flash seemed a little more powerful.

Good lighting	Medium illumination	Low lighting	In the dark with a flash

Apple iPhone 6

Sony Xperia Z3

Camera speed:

* Camspeed score - estimate the speed of the camera in the dedicated Camspeed app

The Xperia Z3 has the edge when it comes to video recording, as it is capable of recording 4K (Ultra HD) videos with higher levels of detail. This process heats up the smartphone more and uses up its memory, compared to Full HD (1080p) video recording, which is quite enough for most cases. The Apple iPhone 6 is capable of shooting 1080p video at 60 frames per second, and it also offers time-lapse and slow-mo video recording modes that look great. Videos captured by both phones are smooth, free of annoying artifacts, and good color rendering. The sound range is also excellent and matches the quality of the video - clean, loud enough and without background noise, if you comment on what is happening during video recording.

Examples of videos captured by smartphone cameras are presented below (to view in original quality, follow the link on YouTube and select 1080p in the settings):

Connection quality

The Xperia Z3's earpiece speaker is average in sound quality, loud enough to be heard in noisy environments, but voices seem muffled and slightly distorted at high volumes. On the iPhone 6, even in noisy environments, speech is clearly audible. Both the Xperia Z3 and iPhone 6 have additional noise-canceling microphones that filter out ambient noise perfectly, delivering loud, clear speech to the other end of the cable. However, it won't help if you're in an area with poor reception - you'll start to sound like a mouthful of toffee, which is common on all phones.

Battery life

The Sony smartphone packs a large 3100mAh battery, while the slim iPhone 6 packs a 1810mAh battery. Both companies quote 14 hours of talk time, but Sony's claimed standby battery life is an impressive 37 days, while the iPhone is content with just ten. Of course, this data is nothing more than a hint of real ability. The Xperia Z3 managed more than 9 hours in our tests, while the iPhone 6 didn't even last 6 hours. That's a pretty big difference, which means the iPhone 6 will have to be charged at the end of each day, and with the Xperia Z3 you can count, as Sony advertises, on a phone with a "two-day battery."

We measure battery life using a dedicated web script that emulates typical smartphone use. Screen brightness for all tested devices is set to 200 nits.

Prices

You can compare prices for smartphones in various online stores using the links below.

Conclusion

Both the iPhone 6 and Xperia Z3 are the best that design giants like Apple and Sony have to offer. Slim and stylish, both devices look and feel the same premium, but differ greatly in use.

The Apple iPhone 6 is more comfortable to use with one hand than the rather large Xperia Z3 and is almost invisible in your pocket. It also has a better camera, which is especially noticeable in low light conditions, and an excellent screen with accurate color reproduction. To these benefits, we must add a better optimized iOS system and the fact that the iPhone 6 will depreciate much more slowly than the Xperia Z3 (which is true for people who sell old smartphones). Sony's new flagship, in turn, has a lot to offer that is not available on the iPhone. Of course, not everyone and does not always need a waterproof phone, just as many do not care about stereo speakers, but it is always nice to know that such opportunities are available if necessary.

The most important reason for the Sony smartphone, which we left for last, is its remarkable battery life in terms of battery life. Its "2-day battery" is currently the best in the flagship category, as we have verified in our own tests. So, if you're tired of charging your smartphone every night, which will certainly happen with the iPhone 6, the Xperia Z3 should be at the top of your list of buying candidates.

The six-month production cycle of flagship smartphones gave us in September 2014 another representative of this link and the fourth in the company's top line, and this Sony Xperia Z3 review- go! Despite the not so big difference with its predecessor Xperia Z2, the novelty still found a number of improvements, both in terms of design and technical filling, with its strengths, which allow us to call it the main representative of the line without exaggeration. Here you will find a faster processor, improved audio, new camera algorithms, software additions and other innovations, which we will discuss in more detail below.

Design and dimensions

The first time I saw the new Xperia Z3, in truth, I fell in love with this device - despite the general design concept of OmniBalance, the smartphone received rounded side frames in the body color, which made it much more comfortable and pleasant to hold it in the hand. The Japanese also managed to make the case, albeit a little, but still more compact, thinner and lighter than its predecessor - the physical dimensions of the model are 146 x 72 x 7.3 mm and the weight is only 152 grams, which is very good considering that the case is made of metal. As already mentioned, the side edges are rounded and they are completely made of metal, the only thing is that all four corners are made of a special polymer that can absorb and cushion the impact from a possible fall, so that the internal components do not suffer - this is the consumer's concern. Both the front and back panels are traditionally covered with tempered glass. The buttons are also made of metal, and the power key has become larger. The plugs are now rounded. By the way, the phone uses nanoSIM, which is worth considering. On the front, you will see two stereo speakers that are located in the center of the top and bottom bezels. And yet, how not to twist the Z3 - it is perfect and beautiful!

Traditionally, for expensive models of the line, this smartphone received a waterproof and dustproof case in accordance with a higher degree of certification IP65 \ 68, so if it is suddenly covered with sand, then you can soak the phone for half an hour at a depth of up to one and a half meters.

Another innovation was the color options and the Sony Xperia Z3 should be noted in colors: classic black and white, as well as new menthol and bronze. This is how they look live:

If we compare the model with the main competitors of the market, then it is a little larger, but it also looks more beautiful for me.

Sony XperiaZ3 overview of display parameters

The model received a display similar in size and characteristics to that of the Z2 - it is a 5.2-inch IPS LCD matrix with FullHD resolution with a pixel density of 424ppi. And yet, despite the lack of differences in terms of parameters, this is a new panel with a corrected color gamut, more optimized in terms of power consumption and very high brightness. All this thanks to Live Color LED technology and TRILUMINOS. In tests, the screen performed very well - the highest brightness, deep blacks and great contrast. If you are looking for superb clarity and high image quality, then the Xperia Z3 has it all. The only thing is that the color gamut goes a little blue, but again this is done because the human eye perceives just such tones better. If something does not suit you, then you can always correct the white balance.

Hardware and performance

You can look at more detailed technical specifications in, but we will tell you a little about the main part of the hardware part. First of all, I would like to say that two versions of the model have been released: the Sony Xperia Z3 with one SIM card and the dual-SIM version of the Sony Xperia Z3 Dual, whose review would be completely similar to this one, because in everything the phones are the same except for the number of support for operator cards.

At the heart of Sony Xperia Z3 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset MSM8974AC - this is an overclocked version of the chip with 4 cores at 2.5 GHz and Adreno 330 video. It is a slightly improved processor than the Xperia Z2. There is also 3 GB of RAM on board. Based on synthetic tests, the smartphone takes its rightful place among competitors, even despite some slight differences in performance. Still, you can't rely on "synthetics", because the true performance is felt in real use, and I can tell you, it's more than enough. Multiple test results:

To store data in the phone, a 16 GB drive is installed, of which more than 11 are available to the user. You can always expand it using microSD memory cards up to 128 GB.

The sound of the speakers is good enough for a waterproof smartphone: its quality is high, the melody is clear. The support for noise canceling headphones has not disappeared anywhere, only they are not included in the kit, which is a pity.

Despite the fact that the battery capacity was reduced to 3100 mAh, as it turned out, this did not negatively affect the battery life, with all this, the smartphone showed one of the highest results on the market in terms of battery life! If you use your phone for an hour of calls, an hour of internet and an hour of video a day, then the battery should last 85 hours, that is, for three and a half days!

User interface

Out of the box, the smartphone comes with Android 4.4.4 KitKat, and the user interface has been changed and, as for me, for the better. The branded Xperia Home is very smooth, comfortable and practical. Fortunately, the smartphone is not overloaded with an excessive number of unnecessary programs and has a list of really important applications, among which, of course, it is worth noting multimedia: “Album”, “Movies” and WALKMAN. Below you can see the video of the interface and screenshots.

Highest sensitivity camera on the market

The camera in the Sony Xperia Z3 is a 20.7 Megapixel Exmor RS module, already well known to us since the Xperia Z1, with a BIONZ processor. The front camera has not changed - 2.2 Megapixels. As for the main camera, it received an enlarged matrix and new optics, as well as the highest light sensitivity ISO12800. The mechanical button for launching the camera, which is very convenient when shooting underwater, has not gone anywhere either. However, when you start the camera in this way, “Super auto mode” will start with a maximum frame resolution of 8 Megapixels; to switch to the full 20 Megapixels, you need to use “Manual mode”. The settings have all the necessary options, modes and settings, and you can also use special applications for the camera, such as augmented reality effect, slow motion, and more. This is how the camera interface looks like:

The Japanese have done a great job with the algorithms of the camera, and the camera began to work really better. Images come out clear in both automatic and manual modes. The photos have excellent dynamic range, good color reproduction, but still noticeable increase in white balance. 20MP shots have more detail. Pictures taken from automatic mode have slightly less noise and increased sharpness. In low light conditions, the automatic mode also has less noise. Here are some examples of photos taken with the Xperia Z3:

A photo in ISO12800 mode in very low light without a flash - of course, noise is noticeable and the clarity is not the best, but in reality, not a single smartphone will take a photo of better quality in such conditions:

In terms of video, the camera is also good: it has the ability to shoot video at 2160p at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps and even a slow-motion mode with 720p resolution, as well as HDR video. SteadyShot digital stabilization does its job well - the picture does not jitter. Below you can check the quality of the recorded video:

Outcome Sony Xperia Z3 Review

In general, the transition from Xperia Z2 to Xperia Z3 cannot be called too global, if you are the owner of the second “zet”, then there are not so many reasons to switch to Z3, but if you are buying the flagship of a Japanese brand for the first time, then the Sony Xperia Z3 will certainly be the best choice. ... It has a beautiful design, first-class build quality, a waterproof case, a bright display with great contrast, high performance, excellent autonomy, stereo speakers, and a good camera on its side.

In contact with

Sony Xperia Z, Z1, Z2, Z3, Z5 - how not to get confused listing the modifications of smartphones released in the last 3 years? And this is not counting versions like Compact, Ultra or Premium, which also exist in the line of the Japanese brand.

To make life more interesting and more fun, Sony came up with the X series, which is also not simple and consists of several smartphones: XA is a simpler option, X is a middle class, X Performance is the top, and XA Ultra is a king-size for connoisseurs of everything big ...

Xperia X or Xperia Z3?

A friend recently wrote to me and asked, why buy an Xperia X when you can buy an Xperia Z3 or Z3 +? The idea of taking last year's flagships instead of new "middle school students" is not new. Therefore, I decided to compare both smartphones in order to understand how the new Xperia X will delight in comparison with the old model. The price difference between them is about 10-12 thousand rubles, a weighty argument.

The Xperia X is on the left and the Xperia Z3 is on the right. find 10 differences

Attack of the clones

I love the design of Sony smartphones, but the Japanese haven't changed it in years, so it's easy to get confused about phones. Look at the pictures, the Xperia X looks a lot like the Xperia Z3 +. They are almost identical in size, but the Xperia X is slightly smaller and noticeably lighter. I explain this by the fact that the screen size is more modest here: 5 inches versus 5.2.

The design of the Xperia X will delight Sony fans, but if you are not a fan of the Japanese brand, you will be confused among a bunch of similar phones.

The sides are made of aluminum in both cases, but the Xperia X lacks plastic inserts in the corners, which in theory take a hit when dropped. But I doubt that it saves in those cases when the glass body flies on the asphalt.

Aluminum vs glass, a win-win anyway

After all, the back surface of the Xperia X is made of aluminum, while the Z3 + has glass. What's better? I like the matte finish better, it doesn't get dirty at all compared to the stained glass surface. But the glass reflects beautifully, which the Xperia X cannot boast of. Practicality vs beauty is the eternal torment of choice.

The volume control button of the Xperia X has gone down, you confuse it with the power button and often press the wrong place out of habit. I think that the Z3 + had a more convenient key arrangement, but apparently due to the addition of a scanner, the whole structure was redesigned.

The Xperia Z3 + does not have a fingerprint scanner, it appeared in the Z5, and the Xperia X also inherited this useful feature. True, I had to sacrifice the branded round - the power key became flat. Sony is the only company to build a scanner on the side. It is mostly added to the center button below the screen (Apple, Samsung, HTC, Moto) or to the back (Huawei and thousands of Chinese brands). It's more intuitive for me to press the button below the screen, but in a week I got used to the location of the button on the Xperia X.

The scanner works well, but there were times when it didn't work the first time. I had to enter a password to get to my data. But there were very few such cases, so I will not suffer on this score.

For the scanner to work, you must press the physical button, otherwise it will not work. But if the backlight of the screen is on, then a light touch is enough; you do not need to press the button until it clicks. It is a pity that this function does not work even when the screen is locked.

Juicy, bright, Full HD

The new Xperia X has a curved glass at the edges, 2.5D looks and feels nicer than plain flat glass. It is enough to slide your finger over it to feel all this difference on yourself. The screen has a good oleophobic coating in all cases, the finger glides as it should.

I feel the picture quality is comparable to previous Xperia models, if you don't like the default settings, you can manually set the colors.

It's a shame Sony didn't give the Xperia X a “bezel-less design, the bezels are the same as the Z3. But there is protection from moisture, but the Xperia X does not have it, bathing in the sink is a lethal number for it. Due to the fact that the screen size is not very large, it is convenient to operate the phone with one hand. The Xperia X is comparable to the Galaxy S6, but due to its angular shape, the Japanese phone looks more massive than the Korean one.

Xperia X on the left, Xperia Z3 on the right, don't be confused

Two days without an outlet

I was not expecting anything special from the Xperia X with a 2620 mAh battery. It turned out that I was wrong and the phone was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it worked longer than I expected. On average, I got 2 days of work with 4.5-5 hours of active screen. In a simple phone, it practically does not burst.

But I noticed that if you turn on LTE, the device sits down faster. Perhaps this is due to the non-final Sony firmware, tk. I did not notice a similar situation with other devices. Z3 works less, it took me about one day. A triumph of technology.

I also note that Sony has a convenient Stamina function, which is responsible for energy saving and turns off "unnecessary" processes to save battery power.

Don't twitch when not asked

The compartment for the nano SIM and Xperia X memory card is located on the side under the flap. Moreover, even if you raise it a little, the phone goes into reboot, considering that they invariably want to pull one of the cards out of it. Xperia X will appear in a version with one SIM-card, but there will also be a dual-SIM version, where you can put a microSD instead of the second card.

I have no complaints about the dynamics, people can be heard well, but I would like the bell to be more powerful. Here it is quiet and calls are easy to miss.

Naturally, LTE is present, complete order. NFC helps to pay for purchases from the phone, I tried the service together with a Tinkoff card, everything works. At the same time, I was surprised that the seemingly progressive Alfa-Bank does not know how to perform such an operation.

Fast Smartphone

Here is a plate with test results for everyone. For comparison with the Xperia X, I took the Xperia Z3, last year's Samsung Galaxy S6, which fits within that budget. And the new Alcatel Idol 4s is filled with the Xperia X.

The Xperia X has a mid-range processor, Qualcomm 650, in terms of power comparable to last year's top chips, but inferior to them in terms of graphics. Feelings are exactly the same as after meeting Alcatel: the benchmarks are adequate. But the software is still damp: the gallery slows down, then the browser suddenly dulls.

The Xperia X received 32 GB of internal memory, of which 20 GB remains for personal needs, if this is not enough, then the microSD slot will help increase the space. The smartphone has received an updated shell, it is seriously different from the one in the Xperia Z3, although they have the same version of Android. Both are on the 6th version. I think it would be fair to devote a separate article to the shell, there is something to tell about.

I liked the phone in terms of sound quality, but the headphone headroom is not very large, for the subway you need to choose headphones with good noise isolation.

Jet chamber, but raw software

In theory, the Xperia X is the new star in the world of mobile photography. The phone received a new autofocus system, when we point the camera at an object, and it "guides" it until the shutter button is pressed. In the language of photographers, this is "shooting with a wiring". I tried it on cars on a cloudy day, the camera blurs the background well, leaving the subject sharp. But do we often film vehicles? I - no, where more often children. But with them there is a problem, it can be difficult to remove a nimble child in a room. Also, the camera does not always focus on close objects.

I was impressed by the fast shooting function, which we enable in the settings. Then it takes half a second from the moment you press the shutter button to taking the picture. Dedicated shooting key is a separate plus for Sony, few people add this button to smartphones. But the Japanese have thought of everything to the end, and this key is here for a reason, but helps to take pictures very quickly, not to waste time on unlocking.

The examples show how the camera "lathers" along the left edge, I'll write it off on pre-production software or a defective module, this, unfortunately, happens. In general, I liked the camera, during the day the phone shoots very well, in the evening the quality drops, here the lag behind flagships like LG G4 or Samsung Galaxy S6 is noticeable. But they can be bought for the same money that is asked for the Xperia X.

Compared to the Xperia Z3, the new Xperia X has more accurate color reproduction and better white balance. But there is much more noise in the pictures. I think these are software flaws. I was also surprised that HDR is practically imperceptible in operation, that you enable this option, that there is no difference - there is almost no difference.

Here we have a comparison with the Xperia Z3, you can clearly see the difference with the wide-angle optics of the Xperia X. In the example below, there are problems with the left side of the picture. I also think Sony followed the Samsung path and went for sharper shots. And along with this, we added a portion of noise to the pictures.

A bunch of pictures in different conditions for review.

Z3 Vs Xperia X

Pros of Z3:

water protection
more comfortable ergonomics
upgrade to Android 6.0
lower price
4K video recording
strap mount

Xperia X pros

fingerprint scanner
new shell and Android 6.0
the camera focuses faster
works longer
higher speed of LTE
aluminum finish is more practical than glass

Opinion

For comparison with the Xperia X, you could take other Sony smartphones: not only the Z3, but also the Z3 +, Z5 can become an alternative to this model. At least they are cheaper, take pictures at a comparable level, and the difference in performance is not very big.

I think that 39,990 rubles for the Sony Xperia X is a lot. Sony wants to compete on an equal footing with Samsung, but last year's Galaxy S6 can be bought for the same money as the Xperia X, and it will be better in all respects. Or consider the Galaxy A5 as an option, which costs about 25 thousand rubles.

The Sony Xperia X is more expensive than its classmates with other comparable qualities, so the brand name alone is no longer impressive. So my friend looked at the Xperia X, touched the Xperia Z3 and ordered an iPhone 6.

Specifications

Sony is currently revamping its mobile device business and shifting its focus to high- and mid-range solutions. Sony Mobile Communications expects to ship 38 million smartphones this fiscal year. Despite rumors of abandoning a strategy of releasing new flagship models every six months, Tim Harrison, vice president of global communications and public affairs at Sony, said in a recent interview that the company has decided to release flagship models more than once every 12 months. On the one hand, such a solution allows you to quickly take into account past mistakes and impose worthy competition on other manufacturers. But in this case, can we count on cardinal improvements compared to the previous model? It can also lead to competition between devices within the line itself. We will try to find out how justified this is in modern market conditions using an example that we have been testing.

In terms of dry performance, this model is not much different from its predecessor -. There is still the same 5.2-inch Full HD IPS-display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and 20.7 megapixel main camera. Then a logical question arises: "What's the difference?" It lies in a number of design improvements, the proprietary Xperia Home shell and several technical nuances. We will talk about all this in more detail below. First, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the technical characteristics of the Sony Xperia Z3:

Manufacturer
	Xperia Z3 (D6603)
Type, form factor	Smartphone, candy bar
Communication standards			850/900/1800/1900 MHz
			850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz
			700/800/850/900/1700/1800/1900/2100/2300/2600 MHz
High speed data transfer	GPRS (32-48 Kbps), EDGE (236 Kbps), HSDPA (up to 42.2 Mbps), HSUPA (up to 5.76 Mbps), LTE Cat.4 (up to 50 Mbps UL, up to 150 Mbps DL)
SIM card type
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC): 4 Krait 400 cores, up to 2.5 GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 28nm HPm process technology
Graphics adapter	Qualcomm Adreno 330: up to 578 MHz, supports OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenVG 1.1, OpenCL 1.1 and DirectX 9.0c
	IPS, 5.2 "TRILUMINOS, 1920 x 1080 pixels (423 ppi), touchscreen, capacitive, multi-touch up to 10 touches, Asahi DragonTrail X protective glass, X-Reality and Live Color technologies
RAM	3 GB Dual Channel LPDDR3
Persistent memory
Card reader	microSD (up to 128GB)
Interfaces	1 x 3.5mm audio mini-jack
Multimedia	Sound processing
	Acoustics
	Microphone

	The main	Exmor RS (1 / 2.3 "): 20.7 MP, BSI, f / 2.0 aperture, autofocus, LED flash, SteadyShot digital image stabilization," HDR "-shooting, video recording in 4K Ultra HD (30 FPS)
	Frontal	2.2 MP, f / 2.8, fixed focus, 1080p video recording
Communication capabilities		802.11 a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 / 5 GHz) (Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot)






	Accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, light sensor, LED indicator, geomagnetic sensor (compass), barometer
Battery	Li-ion, non-replaceable: 3100 mAh
Charger	Input: 100 ~ 240 VAC ex. at 50/60 Hz Output: DC 5V e.g. 1.5 A
	Dust and moisture protection according to IP65 and IP68 standards
	146 x 72 x 7.3 mm

	Black / White / Olive / Copper / Purple
Operating system	Android 4.4.4 KitKat + Xperia Home v7
Official guarantee	12 months
Products webpage

Delivery and packaging

The tested smartphone comes in a traditional small square box. The packaging is made of a fairly dense matte cardboard and is characterized by a restrained and laconic design. On its front side there is a partial image of the smartphone, as well as the model name and manufacturer's logo. The side edges are reserved for stickers with service information (IMEI, S / N, Model, Color and country of origin). On the reverse side (in the form of icons) you can find the main features of the Sony Xperia Z3 and the legal information about the manufacturer. There is also an image of the novelty in several color variations. This style of packaging hints that this is a premium device.

Together with the smartphone, a potential buyer will find the following accessories in the box:

user guide;
warranty card;
charger (5 V; 1.5 A);
micro-USB-USB cable.

We express our gratitude to the Ukrainian representative office of the company Sony Mobile Communications AB for the smartphone provided for testing.

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