What makes a smartphone premium? Is it the specs or the build quality?  My answer is both.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium is the flagship unit of Sony Xperia mobile line that was launched last February 2017. I know it’s a bit late but better late than never in my case. Here’s my quick review of Sony Xperia ZX Premium based on my buying preference which is based on the specs and the camera.

Hardware

Sony has proven their track record of building high-quality smartphone such as having a metallic aluminium chassis enclosed with Corning  Gorilla 5 glass both on the front and back panel of the unit, not to mention including all their latest Sony technology from their Display, Audio and Camera department.

The display is a 5.5” 4K HDR Display, TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile, X-Reality™ for mobile, Dynamic Contrast Enhancer which means you won’t find a sharper screen on another smartphone. Just think “TV Technology on the palm of your hand” Yey for watching movie or binge-watching on your phone. LOL.

Actually, I really prefer watching here rather than using my laptop because of Screen and the Sound quality it gives.  I enjoy watching video content in Full HD.

With its slightly large upper and lower bazels,  the unit boost 2 stereo front-facing speakers which allow better audio quality when playing games or watching your favourite Youtube Channel.

On the right side of the unit, it has the signature Sony unlock button that is integrated with a fingerprint scanner while the volume rocker is located on the upper right side of the unit while the Memory expansion card and SIM card slot is located at the opposite side. The bottom part host the USB Type C charging port. Good news for Audiophiles the Sony Xperia XZ Premium still has its 3.5mm Audio Jack which is located at the top corner of the unit. I guess they still don’t have the “Courage” to do so, just like the other fruit brand. LOL

Another positive feature with is its IP68 dust and water resistance, which means it’ll survive a dip in the bath and heavy rain – just don’t go deep-sea diving. The IP protection only affords the phone protection up to depths of 1 meter in fresh water.

Camera

The higher the Megapixel, the more details the picture has, while lower apeture is good for lowlight photography.

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium packs an impressive camera with its 19 MP  Sony-made rear sensor which features HDR, face detection, EIS (electronic image stabilization), predictive phase detection and laser autofocus. I got great pictures in a well-lit environment while descent photos during low light condition. I wish there’s an option to change the exposure control in the  Superior Auto mode as some of the pictures tends to overexpose on harsh lighting settings.

Low Light Sample Picture

Don’t forget the 13 MP front Camera perfect for those selfie moments and does Full HD Video Recording.

Another feature of the Sony ZX Premium is its Super SLOW Recording which captures moving subject at the rate of 960fps footage while recording, The only let down is that you can’t edit the Super Slow Recording once it is already shot. The camera also offers 4K video recording with software-driven image stabilization. You have to be very still as this unit doesn’t support OIS (Optical Image Stabilization)

Photo Credit to @naimnoorzai

Conclusion

I used the unit a couple of days as my daily driver and I must say it’s really fast and snappy and will get me through the day on a single charge. Because Sony has learned from the past of removing some of its bloatware and integrating their own skin with Android, they were able to achieve this smooth and flawless user experience. Handling the unit might be tricky because of its ergonomics, the curved glass panels and hard edges make it slightly slippery to hold and a fingerprint magnet. In the design aspect, they should be reduced the size of the bagel as this is a thing of the past. I am really satisfied and happy with the overall performance of the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. I wish on the next flagship they should increase the RAM to 6 GB and throw in a lower aperture and OIS  to their camera settings for complete the package.

Specs
Processor: Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 (Which is really fast and Snappy)
Memory: 4GB RAM
Storage: 64GB Internal Storage, microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) – dual SIM model only
OS: Android 8.0 (Oreo) which I already upgraded

Camera Front:13 MP (f/2.0, 22mm, 1/3″, 1.12 µm), 1080p
Camera Back: 19 MP (f/2.0, 25mm, 1/2.3″), gyro EIS, predictive phase detection and laser autofocus, LED flash

Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 3230 mAh battery which will last you for a day with a single charge
Connectivity: Wifi, Bluetooth, NFC and 4G LTE