Sony Xperia XZs Specs & Review: The Edged Beauty

Sony Xperia XZs has been launched in India with a price-tag of Rs Rs 49,990 with a new design and better camera. We’ve been accustomed to seeing a new Sony smartphone in every 6 months or so and Sony Xperia XZs is here as an addition to an arsenal that has been struggling to keep up with the competition.

A few months back, we got to witness Sony Xperia XZ, the smartphone that was expected to turn the tables for the company but unfortunately, it bowed down in front of Google Pixel XL, iPhone 7 and even the OnePlus 3. Although the camera was still one of the best unit found in that category, the price-tag somehow made us wary of going for the device. And, here we are. Sony Xperia XZs, the said successor, is here with a lower price, better camera, beefed up RAM and a design we always love to see.

However, much has been said about flagship devices and flagship killers and the fact remains the same that companies like OnePlus and Honor have always eaten a pie from more premium smartphones’ cake and Sony has been the biggest loser in this trend.

Despite that, uncertainty is not holding Sony back and the six-months trends have managed to remain constant after all those failures. Further, by the looks of it, Sony Xperia XZs looks more promising than it’s predecessor but it’s our duty to put it against the test of time and peel the layers, one at a time.

Sony Xperia XZs Specifications

• 5.2-inch (1080×1920) full-HD Triluminos IPS LCD display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection
• Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor along with Adreno 530 GPU
• 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage, expandable via microSD card
• 19MP Motion Eye rear camera
• 13MP front-facing camera with 1/ 3.06” Exmor RS sensor, 22mm wide-angle lens and f/2.0 aperture
• Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box
• 2,900mAh battery with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0
• Fingerprint sensor embedded into the power button
• IP68 Certification
• 4G LTE, VoLTE, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth, GPS, and USB Type-C port

What’s Good in Sony Xperia XZs

• The Sony Xperia XZs continues to carry iconic design language with a rectangular shape and pronounced corners. This time, though, Sony has slightly rounded edges, making the device feel sort to the hand, and the new textured back also makes it less slippery and easy to use.
• Bravia Mobile Engine and X-Reality, the mechanisms that manage color and contrast on Sony Xperia XZs, makes the 5.2-inch display with 4K resolution, one of the most vibrant one with good visibility under direct sunlight.
• Android 7.0 Nougat with Xperia UI on top is one of the most welcomed features of the smartphone.
• Exceptional Audio, just like the Xperia XZ
• Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor along with Adreno 530 GPU, 4GB RAM, and 32GB Internal memory, is one of the best hardware packages for both mature and heavy users. Frame drops and lags will be reduced to the minimum or we can say ‘eliminated’.
• The biggest plus that Sony Xperia XZs has, is the 19 MP Motion Eye rear camera with Exmor RS sensor, triple image sensing, and 5-axis stabilization technology. The camera is capable of recording videos up to 960 fps (Slo-Mo) and also supports 4K videos.

What we Miss in Sony Xperia XZs

• Sony could have played the waiting game and introduced Sony Xperia XZs with the newly built Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.
• The 2900 mAh battery is our biggest concern as for a device this big and having a hardware package like this, a 3500 mAh battery could have been a welcomed change.
• Considering the package that Sony Xperia XZs is, a price-tag anywhere between Rs 40,000-45000, could have done wonders for the device.

Verdict

The Xperia XZs is a marked improvement on the Xperia XZ and it is more than evident that Sony has mastered the art of survival and success in this unforgiving smartphone industry. The devices live or die on the basis of consumer choices and the Sony Xperia XZs doesn’t quite make it to be considered as the top device from the Japanese multinational company. Yes, it has an exceptional camera, a sturdy built and a hardware that will never let you down, but the battery and the asking price could be the two edged blade that might put Xperia XZs in the backdrop of this fierce competition.

Sony Xperia XZs will be available via Flipkart as well as offline stores and pre-orders will be open between April 4 and April 10. Those who pre-order the smartphone, will also get Sony’s SRS-XB10 wireless Bluetooth speaker worth Rs. 4,990.