Sony Xperia XZ Takes Aim at High-End Android Smartphone Market

The Xperia XZ smartphone may be the best mobile device Sony has produced to date. Here’s a sneak peek of the smartphone before it hits the market in October.

The Xperia XZ was designed to be as simple as possible, with rounded edges that allow users to grip it firmly. According to Sony, the smartphone’s backplate comes with a metal finish it calls Alkaleido. The technology is supposed to be a higher-quality metal finish than one typically finds in a smartphone case.

The Xperia XZ’s rear-facing camera features 23 megapixels and comes with an imaging sensor that’s capable of predicting movement and ensuring the subject is in focus. There’s also a laser auto-focus sensor for better performance in low-light conditions, as well as a visible color and IR sensor that can adjust white balance on the fly. Simply put, the Sony Xperia XZ’s camera is one of the best on the market.

Sony’s Xperia XZ has a 5.2-inch curved display that features full-HD resolution. It also has sensors that can adjust on-screen colors to look best in direct sunlight or low-light conditions. The sensors work in the background to ensure colors look “just as you see them” in real life, according to Sony.

Sony seems to be taking a page out of Samsung’s book by offering water resistance in the Xperia XZ. While it shouldn’t be submerged in water for an extended period, the Sony Xperia XZ should be able to handle “sudden spills or unexpected showers” without losing any functionality.

The Xperia XZ comes with an “Intelligence” feature that automatically tracks how a person is using the device. By doing so, the device is able to suggest enhanced security settings or see if users want to reduce the number of notifications they’re receiving. It even changes how the screen operates. Think of XZ Intelligence as a smart assistant that analyzes how owners use the phone and responds with intelligent alternatives to improve the overall experience.

Sony doesn’t say how long its battery will last on a single charge, but it did say the device supports what it calls “adaptive charging” that’s capable of analyzing how the smartphone is used. Based on that data, it will adjust the smartphone’s power consumption. For instance, it could go into a low-power mode at night, when it’s typically not in use, to allow for more battery life during the day, when users are making calls and using apps. Sony claims that, at best, the feature will double the Xperia XZ’s battery life.

The Xperia XZ comes with a Smart Cleaner feature that can learn which apps owners are using the most. Based on that data, it can automatically deactivate apps users don’t typically use and clear the memory cache. The service’s goal, Sony says, is to optimize the smartphone’s performance on apps users care about most.

Since the Xperia XZ is designed to be Sony’s top-of-the-line smartphone, perhaps it’s no surprise it comes with a high-end processor. Users will find the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor in the smartphone, which should deliver more than enough power for most applications a user would want to run.

The Xperia XZ runs on Google’s Android Marshmallow operating system, which was released in 2015. It’s unclear why Sony didn’t choose Nougat for the Xperia XZ and didn’t say in a statement whether it has plans to upgrade the smartphone to Nougat at some point in the future.

As of this writing, Sony hasn’t shared the Xperia XZ’s pricing, though it likely will cost several hundred dollars when it launches, since it’s a high-end device. However, customers won’t need to wait too long to find out how much it costs: The smartphone is slated to launch globally in October.