![]() ![]() The next flagship that Sony put out in 2015 was the Xperia Z5, which at last gave us a significant upgrade, at least in the design – remember that if you changed your phone every two years, you would be four Xperia flagships down the line based on Sony's launch strategy at the time. In the end though, we concluded that it didn't have the "wow factor" we were hoping for. The LCD screen was once again a 5.2, 1080 x 1920 pixel affair, though the software jumped to Android 5.0.1 Lollipop.īesides commenting on the iterative nature of the update and the odd choice of moniker for the phone, our Sony Xperia Z3+ review highlighted the impressive, waterproof design of the handset and its competitive price point, for the time. The processor got a bump to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 and the base level storage increased to 32GB storage, though the 3GB of RAM stayed the same and so did the 20.7MP camera. In 2015 Sony briefly experimented with adding a + to the name of its flagship phones, though if you were in Japan you would have known this phone as the Sony Xperia Z4 – something else that hasn't changed much down the years is Sony's fondness for an unconventional naming strategy when it comes to its smartphones.Īgain, the upgrade was a rather minor one, which is going to happen if you're releasing two flagships per year. The Z3 had both a Compact and a Tablet version as well – the full set. The premium design came in for particular praise, showing that Sony has always known how to make a decent-looking gadget. Read through our Sony Xperia Z3 review from the time and you'll see that we found ourselves rather impressed by the phone, even if it wasn't a massive leap from what had gone before. The design was improved slightly though, and the display got brighter. ![]() ![]() The cameras, processor and screen size and resolution were all identical on the Xperia Z3, so there really wasn't any need to upgrade if you had bought the Xperia Z2 a few months prior. The IP rating went up to IP68, the battery got slightly bigger, a 32GB storage option was added, and the phone came running the newer Android 4.4.4 KitKat.Īnd that was it: this is one of the smallest upgrades in smartphone history. Sony's two-flagships-a-year approach continued with the arrival of the Sony Xperia Z3 later in 2014, but there was barely any change from the Xperia X2. There was no Xperia Z2 Compact this time around, but there was, confusingly, an Xperia Z2 Tablet. Our Sony Xperia Z2 review mentioned a lot of plus points, though the minuses included some bugs with that 4K video recording, and what we described as a "bezel-heavy design" compared with what other phone manufacturers were doing. Also notable was the 4K resolution video recording offered by the phone, a real innovation back in 2014. The phone came with Android 4.4.2 KitKat when it launched on the software side, and in terms of the hardware design you can see a slow evolution towards the Sony Xperia flagships that we know today. The IP rating went up a notch to IP58 and the LCD display now stretched to 5.2 inches (while sticking to the 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution). The Sony Xperia Z2 wasn't a huge jump from the Xperia Z1 – the rear camera module was the same, the 16GB starting point for internal storage was the same, and the RAM and processor got small bumps to 3GB and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 respectively. Sony wasn't quite finished with phones in 2013 though, squeezing in the launch of the smaller Z1 Compact before the end of the year. In our Sony Xperia Z1 review the design of the phone and that camera were definite highlights, as was the waterproofing and the performance of the phone with that faster Snapdragon 800 inside. The phone sported a 5-inch, 1080 x 1920 LCD display, again like the Xperia Z, and it came running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. While the starting RAM and internal storage specs stayed the same (a 32GB storage option was added), the processor did get a boost to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, so together with the camera upgrade it was a worthwhile new release despite coming so quickly after its predecessor. Sony has long been prioritizing a good camera setup, and that's been consistent down the years. The Xperia Z was swiftly followed by the Sony Xperia Z1 later the same year, with a very impressive 20.7 megapixel rear camera that beat out most of the competition at that time (the iPhone 5S of the same year managed an 8MP rear camera). ![]()
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