Review: At Rs 49,990, Sony Xperia Z2 stands tall against competitors

Sony Xperia Z2
Price: Rs 49,990
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs: 5.2 inch display; 20.7 MP camera; 2.3GHz quad core processor; 3GB RAM; 16GB internal storage; 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth; microSIM; 136 grams; 3200 mAh battery

The Sony Xperia Z2 is a beauty, just as good looking as its predecessor the Xperia Z1 launched last year.

There is much hype around the flagships offerings from HTC and Samsung but Sony has also mastered the art of designing beautiful looking smartphones.

Design:
The Xperia Z2 maintains the same design language as the Xperia Z1. It has the aluminium edge design. There is a shiny glass slab at the front and the back has a prominent Sony branding. The device we tested was purple in colour which looked smart. At 5.2 inch, the display is slightly bigger than its predecessor. Even the bezel feels slim, making the Z2 comfortable to hold. There is a 3.5 mm jack on the top panel. Volume controls, power key, microSD card slot and camera shortcut key are on the right panel. The left panel has a micro SIM card slot along with the micro USB port for charging, which are hidden under a flap. Unfortunately, every time I opened the flap to charge the phone, my SIM slot was also exposed.

IP58 Certified:
Flagship smartphones are expensive. And the chances of dropping them in a sink or of rain messing the innards of the phone are high. Last year, Sony decided to make its flagship smartphone water and dust resistant. The story continues with the Xperia Z2 as well. This phone is IP58 certified. This means it is dust resistant and water resistant too. Nothing will happen to the phone in the rain or in case you drop it in the bucket. But only till about 1 meter deep and that too for 30 minutes. This surely is one big feature that even Samsung has added to its recently launched Galaxy S5.

Software:
Usually, Sony launches smartphones running on older version of the Android operating system and later providing the updates. But things are different with the Xperia Z2. My review unit runs on Android 4.4.2. The UI is typical Sony. The back, home key and multitasking carousel at the bottom are a part of the display. Apps in the main tray can be arranged in an own order, alphabetical, most used or installed. With Play Store on board, Sony has also added the option of Sony Select for getting more apps. Sony Music, Sony LIV, Xperia Care Support, Xperia Lounge, etc. are a few pre-installed apps.

Hardware:
Sony has done a brilliant job with this smartphone, leaving no scope for complaint. Complementing the latest version of the operating system is the 2.3GHz quad core Snapdragon 801 chipset. This has been backed with 3GB of RAM. What this means? Well, even with loads of data on the phone, there isn't any lag. It handles heavy apps and games such as Asphalt 8, Dead Trigger 2, etc. smoothly. There isn't any lag with the high frame rates either. But it did heat up slightly.

Camera & Video:
Packing in a 20.7 MP sensor, this phone is capable of capturing superb images. There are a plenty of modes including the Superior auto mode that takes phones and videos with automatically optimized settings. There is manual mode, background defocus, AR Effect, sweep panorama, etc.. The Xperia Z2 can captured 4k videos and there is an option of capturing Timeshift videos too. Z2 manages to perform in low light as well. But in certain shots, there was visible noise. Honestly, the automatic modes sometimes spoil the shots. Tweaking settings can get better images. The camera app did crash on me a couple of times. Hope this will be fixed with the software update.

Battery:
It has a massive 3200 mAh battery that lasts me over a day on a single charge. The best part of the Xperia Z2 is that even with 5 per cent battery, it manages to keep the phone for a much longer duration in comparison to other smartphones.

Glitches:
Well, there were a few issues that I faced in my review unit. People often complained about not able to hear me during calls. This can be a unit specific problem as my friends reviewing the same unit didn't face any issue. Secondly, when the phone is handled with wet hands and left unlocked, it goes mad. It automatically starts calling the last dial number again and again. Lastly, the Xperia Z2 restarted twice on its own. I have raised these concerns with Sony and will update once we receive a response.

BAG IT OR JUNK IT:
A great flagship smartphone from Sony.