Sony Xperia Z3+ Features Place Handset Among Android Market Elite

By Don Reisinger

Chief among Sony’s concerns with the Xperia Z3+ was to make it more compact than its predecessor. To accomplish that goal, the company made the device slimmer and lighter than the Xperia Z3. The handset is just 6.9mm thick and weighs 144 grams, making it extremely thin and lightweight. It’s one of the thinnest smartphones on the market, and Sony is quick to point that out.

Sony has been making its handsets more weather-resistant in recent years, and the Xperia Z3+ is no different. According to the company, the device is both waterproof and dustproof and its USB port doesn’t even require a cover to maintain the integrity of its internal components. The phone has a rating of IP65 and IP68 for water and dust resistance.

Sony’s Xperia cameras have arguably been among the top in the smartphone space for the last couple of years. The Xperia Z3+ has a 20.7-megapixel Exmor RS lens built into the device. The lens features an ISO12,800 and 4K video capture. In other words, getting the Xperia Z3+ is like getting a high-end digital camera.

No surprise here, but the Xperia Z3+ is running on Google’s Android. The operating system has long been the platform of choice for Sony’s products, and it has again found its way to the company’s flagship. It’s unclear at the moment whether there is an upgrade path to the upcoming Android M version. But chances are, Sony will bring the update at some point in the future.

One of the latest crazes in the smartphone camera business is selfies. HTC, Samsung and others have all touted their front-facing cameras as “selfie” options, and Sony has now joined the fray. The company says that its front-facing 5-megapixel camera has a wide-angle lens, allowing Z3+ users to include more of their friends in selfies. Sony’s front-facing camera also includes SteadyShot technology to stabilize the picture when taking video.

Sony has done a solid job of boosting the Xperia Z3+’s battery life. The company says that it can last up to two days on standby and it can play music for a whopping 91 hours. Users can also view more than 9 hours of video before it dies out. Sony doesn’t say how long it will take to recharge the handset, though.

So, what’s living inside the Xperia Z3+? According to Sony, the handset will ship with the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Octa-Core processor. The Xperia Z3+ also has 3GB of RAM and up to 32GB of onboard storage. Plus, it includes a microSD slot that can accommodate 128GB of additional storage. In addition, the smartphone has a Cat 6 LTE modem, allowing it to handle theoretical wireless download speeds of up to 300M bps.

One of the hallmarks of Sony’s mobile strategy has been entertainment. After all, the company owns a gaming division, a movie business and a record label, so integrating those features make sense. The Xperia Z3+ offers remote gaming with integration with the Sony PlayStation 4. One-touch connectivity also means the handset will connect to other Sony products to stream programming.

Most smartphone makers have been opting for small screens in the 4.5- to 4.7-inch range and large screens of 5.5 inches or so. Sony, however, has decided to go with a 5.2-inch screen in the Xperia Z3+. Interestingly, Sony went with a 1080p display in its flagship handset, even though it can record 4K video.

Ultimately, current Xperia Z3 owners will need to ask themselves a valid question: Should they upgrade to the Z3+? The devices, after all, look somewhat similar, with the Z3+ having slightly improved components across the board. While the Xperia Z3+ may be appealing to general Android buyers, it’s not necessarily a must-have upgrade for recent Z3 buyers who are happy with their handsets. Keep that in mind before deciding on the Xperia Z3+.