Sony Xperia XZ review: Fast, gorgeous – and flawed

Sony Xperia XZ review: Battery Life

The Xperia XZ has enough stamina to go the distance. Its 2,900mAh battery lasted an impressive 14hrs 32mins in our continuous video playback test with the screen set to our predefined brightness level of 170cd/m2. That puts it ahead of the LG G5 and HTC 10, but it’s still some way behind the S7, S7 Edge and OnePlus 3, all of which last several hours longer.

That said, this is still a very good result and the Xperia XZ should regularly last at least a day, if not a little into the next depending on usage. Just remember to take your USB Type-C cable with you: the XZ has swapped the micro-USB port from previous models for the more up-to-date USB Type-C standard.

Sony Xperia XZ review: Camera

There’s a rather large cloud hanging over the XZ, however: Sony’s overly aggressive image processing continues to spoil the pictures taken by its rear sensor. The Xperia Z5 suffered from this problem as well, and it puts a real downer on the whole phone, since its 23-megapixel camera just can’t match the same quality produced by its rivals.

It’s a shame, really, since the hardware onboard – 1/2.3in Exmor RS sensor, 24mm wide-angle G Lens, predictive hybrid autofocus and ISO levels that go up to 12,800 – would otherwise imply. However, when I looked at my test photos, everything was exceedingly grainy and lacking in fine detail. It also had a habit of taking quite dark shots, making scenes feel rather gloomy as a result. Switching to Manual mode and turning on HDR improved things very slightly, but not significantly.

This trend continued indoors as well, where fine detail was soft and smeary. Admittedly, colours looked fantastic, but closer inspection revealed some hazy outlines, particularly in lower lighting conditions. However, none of this will prove an issue if you generally take pictures for only uploading to social media, but the camera isn’t a patch on the models included in the OnePlus 3, LG G5, Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.

Sony Xperia XZ review: Verdict

Ultimately, though, it’s the Xperia XZ’s price that is its main undoing, since it fails to undercut its key rivals. Now available for under £400, it still sits in a very competitive space, with the likes of the S7, LG G5 and even the newer LG G6 to compete with.

Then there’s the OnePlus 3, which trumps them all with its excellent value for money. With such competition, the Xperia XZ fails to make much of an impression, even if its speed, screen and battery life are all excellent in their own right.

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Sony just hasn’t done enough to trouble the frontrunners in today’s market. It’s a nice enough phone, but until Sony sorts out its camera issues and adds a whole lot more pizzazz to the overall package, the Xperia XZ will just have to be content with mid-table obscurity.