Sony Xperia Z1 Review

As good camera quality has become a trend in smartphones this year, it was only a matter of time for some manufacturers to take this new trend very seriously, for example, Nokia with its Lumia 1020 and its monstrous 40 MP camera. Sony is the next OEM to ship a smartphone with a gorgeous camera, in this case, the Xperia Z1. Very similar to the Xperia Z we've seen at the beginning of the year, the Z1 is a refresher that adds a faster processor, an impressive 20.7 MP rear camera and a larger battery to the flagship smartphone.

	Sony Xperia Z1	Sony Xperia Z
Body	144 x 74 x 8.5mm, 169g  IP58 certified (dust-proof and water-proof for up to 1 meter for 30 minutes)	139 x 71 x 7.9mm, 146g  IP58 certified (dust-proof and water-proof for up to 1 meter for 30 minutes)
Display	5" 1920 x 1080 (441ppi) Triluminos with X-Reality engine	5" 1920 x 1080 (441ppi) with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
Connectivity	GSM, HSDPA, LTE	GSM, HSDPA, LTE
Storage	16 GB, 2 GB RAM	16 GB, 2 GB RAM
Ports	microSD (up to 64 GB), microUSB	microSD (up to 64 GB), microUSB
Camera (Rear)	20.7 MP with Sony Exmor RS image processor, 1080p video + LED flash	13.1 MP,1080p video + LED flash
Camera (Front)	2 MP, 1080p video	2.2 MP, 1080p video
Battery	Non-removable 3000 mAh Talk time: 14 hours Standby time: 880 hours	Non-removable 2330 mAh, Talk time: 14h Standby time: 530 hours
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 (Quad-core Krait 400 @ 2.2GHz + Adreno 330)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 APQ8064 (Quad-core Krait 300 @ 1.5GHz + Adreno 320)
OS	Android 4.2 Jelly Bean	Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Design

The Xperia Z1 follows the same design language used in all 2013 Xperia devices. The shape of the device is plainly rectangular and is slightly thicker and heavier than the Xperia Z, no doubt due to the monstrous camera and the larger battery, measuring 8.5mm thick and weighing 169g. Comparing to other 5" flagships the Xperia Z1 is pretty hefty, but that doesn't mean it's uncomfortable to hold.

As with the norm for 2013 Xperia smartphones, the Z1 has a rather stylish-looking glossy polycarbonate back, available in black, white or purple colors. The top left edge of the back houses that beastly 20.7 MP rear camera, and just under it is the LED flash. The only complaint I have with the Xperia Z1's design is that the bezels, especially the top and bottom bezels, are considerably wider than what other manufacturers have achieved (recalling the LG G2 and its almost bezel-less design). The thicker-than-normal left and right bezels make the phone wider and less comfortable to hold. Large bezels and heftiness aside, I still consider Sony's new design concept one of the most stylish designs this year. 

Display

Much like the Xperia Z and most of 2013's flagships, the Xperia Z1 has a large 5" display with a crisp 1920 x 1080 resolution (441ppi). What's different in the Z1 is that is packs some new display technologies, specifically, TRILUMINOS display technology, which enhances the color reproduction spectrum and producing bright, colorful images, and an X-Reality picture processing engine, which analyses the content of pictures, videos, and games and makes them clearer, sharper and more colorful. So while the basic specs of the display remain unchanged, Sony has included some new display technologies to bring clearer, more colorful content into the screen. 

Camera

The biggest selling point of the Xperia Z1 is, no doubt, its camera, and it does impress. Sure, the camera doesn't protrude from the device like the Lumia 1020, and the rather small camera lens would make you think its another boring old 13 MP shooter, but don't judge this 20.7 MP beast just by its minimalism. Aside from the higher pixel count, Sony is also borrowing from its compact digital camera technology, integrating a large 1/2.3" image sensor with Exmor RS technology, ensuring excellent low-light shots with little grain and vibrant colors. The Xperia Z1 also utilizes Sony's excellent G Lens of F/2.0 aperture, and to back up these powerful optical instruments is a BIONZ image processing engine, which enables noise reduction, as well as intelligence exposure and white balance adjustments automatically, Motion Detection, which alters the camera shutter speed to greatly reduce motion blur other visual treats.

The result is a nearly perfect camera on your smartphone. Not only is the 20.7 MP a very high resolution, per-pixel quality is the best due to the G Lens' F/2.0 aperture and the Exmor RS image sensor, both of which help more light to pass through the camera, enhancing low-light shots, reducing noise in low-light situations and greatly aiding color reproduction, creating the most vibrant shots. Like that wasn't already enough, the BIONZ ISP takes digital image processing to its best, eliminating motion blur, and ensuring the best exposure and white balance settings for every shot. All that comes without having a bulbous camera lens protruding from the device, like in the Lumia 1020 or, even worse, in the Samsung Galaxy Camera. Many of you might just not care about this, but if you want a smartphone with an excellent camera without sacrificing portability, the Xperia Z1 is the perfect phone for you.

Performance

Like many flagship refreshers coming out this quarter, the Xperia Z1 upgrades its processor to a monstrous Snapdragon 800 SoC. While this isn't the highest binned Snapdragon 800, it still packs a lot of power. The Xperia Z1's Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 consists of four Krait 400 CPU cores clocked at 2.2 GHz plus an Adreno 330 GPU at 450 MHz. That puts it in line with the absolute fastest smartphones available.

Conclusion

The Xperia Z1 is, no more, no less, than a refresher of the Xperia Z. It builds upon the already proven smartphone solution with a new processor, a better display, a larger battery, and it gives it something to distinguish itself from other flagships: an excellent camera, which incorporates years of development in compact camera technology into a smartphone camera that not only has a high pixel count, but also boasts excellent per-pixel quality and takes advantage of advanced image signal processing, without making the sensor itself too large and without adding too much girth to the device.

If you're on the market for a flagship device, the Xperia Z1 should be near the top of your list. Personally, I have no big complaints about it, and I would recommend it to anyone unless you're particularly sensitive about a smartphone's size and weight. Without any major deficiencies, this smartphone is easily one of the best available, and if you consider camera quality an important factor, then look no further. 

Sony Xperia Z Ultra Review: Ultra Large, Ultra Fast

No one can deny it. Sony has made huge strides in the smartphone department, going from being a minor smartphone vendor to one of the market's biggest players. Having successfully taken on the smartphone competition with the rugged Xperia Z, and also produced quite a good tablet with the Xperia Tablet Z, Sony is now extending the Z-series' reach to include phablets. Enter Xperia Z Ultra. The new flagship device touts an already proven design with a beautiful, enormous screen and industry leading performance.

The design is where Sony has become extremely successful this year, and it shows in the Xperia Z Ultra. To put it simply, the Ultra is SLIM. Measuring 6.5 mm, the phablet is thinner than just about every major smartphone available. It's quite heavy, weighing 212g, but when you think about its size you realize it's pretty light. Despite being so thin, and despite having such a classy design, Sony managed to make this device as rugged as it can get. The Ultra has IP58 certification, which basically means it's dust proof, and also waterproof, for up to 30 minutes under one meter of water (given that all the ports are covered), so, despite how fragile this device looks, it can take a lot of damage.

The back of the device, much like the Xperia Z and the Tablet Z, is beautiful. Very simplistic and very stylish, the back is covered by a layer of glass, which gives the device a slightly reflective effect. The phablet is available in black, white, and purple (?). The bottom of the back contains an Xperia logo, and on the center there's a Sony logo. On the top, there's a very good 8 MP camera, capable of 1080p video and HDR, but without an LED flash. The general cleanness of the back, together with the glass-induced reflectiveness, results in a very premium, expensive look for the Ultra. 

The front of the device is almost 100% display, which has become common in large screen devices. The left and right bezels are very slim, but unfortunately the top and bottom bezels could be slimmer. Granted, though, the top bezel needs space for the Sony logo, the proximity and ambient light sensor and the front-facing 2 MP camera, also capable of shooting 1080p video (a bit pointless really, in my opinion), and the bottom bezel is probably as large as the top one to induce symmetry in the design.

Honestly, I think that the Xperia Z Ultra is too close to tablet territory in terms of screen size. Measuring 6.4 inches diagonally, it begs for more comparison to the Nexus 7 than, say, the Galaxy S4 or Note II. Many people will probably like it, but personally, I think the display size isn't ideal for neither tablet-like nor smartphone-like use. 6.4 inches means it's probably too big to fit into your pocket (and the added weight also makes that more difficult) and it could be awkward to stick that to your face and talk on the phone, so I find it inadequate for use as a smartphone. So the only reason why you'd want that device, other advantages aside, is either if you think the Nexus 7 is too large (you probably don't, except perhaps if you have tiny hands) or if you want something almost Nexus 7-sized that can make calls (a question from the Galaxy Tab 7.0 time, when it was often discussed how weird it is to talk on the phone with such a big device). You might have other reasons, and if you feel the screen size is good, you can't possibly be disappointed by the Xperia Z Ultra.

Odd screen size aside, the display is gorgeous. Sony is introducing the new Triluminos display technology with X-Reality enhancement, which is the successor to the already proven Mobile BRAVIA Engine. Basically, X-Reality will boost the color saturation of images, video, games, etc. significantly, making everything pop out more. The 1920 x 1080 resolution results in a pixel density of 344ppi (lower than 5" 1080p smartphones' 441ppi, but unless you're using a microscope you won't notice the difference), ensuring razor-sharp text and clear images. Combine the enhanced colors of the display, thanks to X-Reality, with the very crisp pixel density, and you have a near-perfect display in your hands. 

Under the hood is where the Xperia Z Ultra impresses the most. That would be because the Ultra is one of the first products to launch with the brand new Snapdragon 800 SoC paired with 2 GB of RAM. For a recap, the Snapdragon 800 is a 28nm SoC consisting of four Krait 400 cores ticking at a monster 2.3GHz, plus a brand new Adreno 330 GPU, which, as benchmarks show, is by far better than any of the competition, even NVIDIA's recently launched Tegra 4. The Xperia Z Ultra can therefore handle, and I say literally, anything. UI performance will definitely be flawless, and it'll be a monstrous mobile gaming machine (it's faster than the NVIDIA Shield. Period). The Ultra's SoC will only disappoint you when OpenGL ES 4.0 becomes the norm in games, and would happen around 2018-2020. To put it simply, whether you want a device to do some simple web browsing, reading and watching videos, or if you're a hardcore mobile gamer, the Xperia Z Ultra won't disappoint you.

Other specs include Android 4.2 out of the box and a non-removable, beefy 3050 mAh battery, but ironically, Sony claims 16 hours of talk time and up to 7 hours of video playback, which is good, but not as good as the battery size might suggest. Well, I suppose that's the price for such a large display.

The device was already released, although it hasn't arrived in the US yet, but you can find it in a retailer or two for $799. This is, I think, the same price as the Galaxy S4 without a contract, so it's not unaffordable, and it works perfectly as a phone, touting 4G LTE connectivity. If you're not bothered by the screen size, you're basically getting a near-perfect device. It offers a beautiful, yet very durable design and spotless performance, and I definitely recommend the device if the screen size is OK for you.