The sequel to Sony’s excellent
Xperia Z1 smartphone, the
Z2, is Sony’s next-gen answer to recently launched flagship smartphones like HTC’s stunning
One M8 and Samsung’s mighty
Galaxy S5. Combining blistering performance, a stunning display, an excellent camera and cutting-edge Android software into a body that is gorgeous to look at, the Xperia Z2 is an all-round performer worthy of topping any smartphone wish-list.
Design-wise, the Xperia Z2 retains its predecessor’s stylish aluminium and beautiful tempered-glass template. The Z2 has the same glass front and back and aluminium band running around the edge. It still looks stunning and feels extremely luxurious to hold, and it definitely feels premium with Sony’s standard level of exemplary build quality. The Z2 is also completely water-proof, capable of surviving in up to 1.5 metres of water for up to 30 minutes at a time. The Z2 now ships a larger 5.2-inch Full-HD panel (pixel count: 423 PPI) that boasts Triluminos display technology, along with Sony’s X-Reality engine, which translates to one of the best mobile displays. HD content especially showcases the screen’s brilliance.
As expected from a new flagship smartphone, the Z2 packs the latest processor, putting it head to head with its top-tier rivals. There is a blistering 2.3GHz quad-core processor along with 3GB of RAM, so your performance issues are well and truly taken care of. The Z2 is stocked with Android 4.4.2 as well as Sony’s proprietary user interface, which feels intuitive and brilliantly complements the beautiful screen. The Z2’s camera is where it trumps its rivals, with its 20.7MP rear camera capable of capturing breathtakingly detailed pictures. The camera is quick to load, fast to focus and almost always takes fantastic images. Add to that the ability to record videos in 4K resolution and you have the best to-date smartphone camera in hand.
The Xperia Z2’s battery life is also quite impressive, easily capable of lasting a good day’s use. If you are running low on juice, ‘Stamina’ mode also makes a huge difference, by turning off all non-essential functions when the phone is locked. A minor gripe is the Xperia Z2 only comes with 16GB of internal storage, which is actually more like 11GB when you account for Android and all the bloatware that Sony has included. However, a microSD card slot that supports up to 64GB should meet your storage needs, but honestly, a little more out of the box would have been nice.
Yantrick’s Verdict: Available for around the Rs 75K mark, the Z2 is not cheap, but if you want a premier performance, you have to pay premier price too.