#MobileInsider - Sony Xperia Z2 Handset Review

[katroberts]

Welcome to the latest #mobileinsider round.

The Mobile Insider team are Telstra customers that are selected to be part of a social review team. This means that they trial new phones/tablets/accessories which they receive and provide honest opinions on them. 

This time our reviewers @dkeppie and @Jupiter are trialling the:

- Sony Xperia Z2 handset

- A Wireless Charger

- Sony SmartBand

- Digital Noise Cancelling Headset.

We're going to put their reviewers through their paces asking them everything about the phone - look, feel, weight, usability, apps, photos, ect.

We'd love you to kick off the discussion by submitting the questions on the Z2 below.

[DEANJA]

Hi Guys ...

What smart or dumb phones have you been using.

Physically how would you compare the Xperia Z2 to your current daily user.

[Vermark26]

G'day Guys,

If you have access to a vehicle with MirrorLink installed, as part of the infotainment system, can you confirm the seamless Z2 smartphone integration and intuitive operation with the vehicle infotainment system ... for the provision of app services, etc ?

The majority of vehicles (German) built from the beginning of this year, MY14 or MY15, would most likley have this capability.

Regards

Vermark26

[ChristopherL]

How are the reviewers finding the actual OS and the camera? It is responsive and fluent is it a good multitasking?

[winmas]

Could the two of you explain the use of wireless charging? How does that work and what's your thoughts about it? Thanks!

[Jupiter]

Vermark26,

I went for a wander around the car park at work and looked at about 500 odd cars and no-one has a vehicle with a MirrorLink enabled infotainment system (in fact, there were only 5 european branded cars in the entire carpark).

Once I receive the phone (hopefully today), I will go to a couple of the car dealerships and see if I can hijack one of their vehicles to test it.

[DEANJA]

Dedication would dictate that you would let the moths fly out of your wallet and just go out and buy a new car, wouldn't it?

[Jupiter]

Success!!!

I have received the Sony Xperia Z2 and have it up and running (nice painless process).

First impressions are:

• Screen is amazingly clear
• Very responsive
• Sound from speakers is excellent
• Not a fan of the port covers, surely they could come up with a slide type system
• Magnetic dock charging - battery dropped from 58% to 50% overnight - was downloading apps on Wifi all night though - jury out
• Noise cancelling earphones are excellent - soundwise and comfort
• Smartband was a bit fiddly to get set up, but have got it up and running now (will post a more detailed review of this in a few days)
• Haven't had the opportunity to try the camera/video yet
• Setup is very easy. Especially if you are migrating across from another Android device - everything magically appears (just make sure you are hooked up on a Wifi connection first)
• Works well with my Jabra Bluetooth in the car. Media streaming from MOG also works seamlessly.

Will post the unboxing video and some more initial impressions later tonight.

[Jupiter]

Winmas,

I like wireless charging (I use it on my Nokia Lumia 920).  Unfortunately the Sony Xperia Z2 does not have Wireless charging built-in.  You need to buy an adapter case that connects to the Magnetic Dock port on the side of the phone.

The downside is that these cases are nearly impossible to find.

The Xperia Z2 can be charged either via Micro USB port (works very well, but not overly convenient - especially in the car) or via the Mangnetic Docking Port (jury is out at the moment - used last night with the included Wall adapter which puts out 1500mA and didn't maintain the charge. Will try using a 3rd Party 2100mA adapter tonight.).

[Jupiter]

Deanja,

The moths all starved to death. 

[dkeppie]

Week one questions:

o What smartphone were you using before starting the review and what features did you most like about that phone?

I was using an Apple iPhone 4S (since August 2012) before the review. The features I have enjoyed the most on this phone include:

•   Compact size
•   Ease of use
•   Access to the iTunes store
•   General usability
•   Attractive design

o What steps were involved in setting up your Sony Xperia z2 Smartphone, and were you able to set it up with ease?

From the moment you begin it is quite straight forward. The only two areas I was challenged by were:

1.      The need to charge the Xperia Z2 for 30 minutes before turning it on; and
2.      The need for a micro SIM when I had a regular sized SIM

Apart from these it seemed quite user friendly and intuitive.

o Can you video and share on CrowdSupport the Sony Xperia z2 “un-boxing” experience? 

Have filmed and am editing.

o What do you think about the entertainment experience and the appearance and weight able to set it up with ease?

This is definitely a strength of the Xperia Z2. The entertainment pedigree of Sony shines through delivering an excellent multi-sensory experience. The noise cancelling headphones deliver a great sound quality and the screen is large and crystal clear.

o After a few days what your overall opinion on the Xperia?

I have been pleasantly surprised. I entered the trial thinking Sony may be past its prime as a manufacturer of high end, innovative smart phones and was quite mistaken. Whilst I am still getting used to the larger size than my old phone. When I compared it to the latest Samsung and HTC phones there wasn't much in it. However, there is still a bit of a size difference with the iPhone 5.

The Android Snapdragon 2.3 GHz quad-core processor is seriously fast and showed me some serious potential for videos and games. Hopefully I wont need to test the water  and dust resistance, but it's nice to know that it's there. 

[Pabloscho]

Hi all,

I've had my Z2 for about 3 weeks now and my verdict is as follows-

1. Very slippery to hold and a large from factor doesn't help either. Cost to replace screen is $330 from Sony (discovered this after having phone for 3 days!!!! Ouch!!!!).

2. Operating system is excellent and the clean/stripped back Android is nice

3. Best part!! The Camera/Waterproofing!! Just had a a week in Thailand where it rained a lot and we spent a lot of the time near a pool taking photos as well as time in a rainforest taking pictures/video of animals rainforest etc!! The fact that you don't have to worry about getting your phone damaged in this environment is fantastic and while others didn't dare go near water (they had their phones covered in plastic bags etc) felt me feel invincible!!! The pictures turned out spectacular and I barely took my SLR out of the bag (it was bulky and not water resistant in any way!!!).

Overall it's a great phone with some minor drawbacks!!

[jacquibuckley]

If you need any more people to trial and review phones please please let me know 😄

[xtracrazy]

Like you I found the phone slippery to hold (and very ne

[xtracrazy]

Sorry, very nearly dropped it. Would suggest any new Z2 owners get a cover before taking the phone out of the box. I found a great 'mercury av' branded cover. Make sure you get a cover that allows access to charger port. Better still get a charger adapter or dock that utilises the magnetic port. Not sure why when this phone has such a feature that Sony does not include a magnetic adapter as standard.

[dkeppie]

Hi Jeff,

Before receiving the Xperia Z2 I was using an iPhone 4S.

The first thing I noticed when opening the box was how large the Xperia is.

[dkeppie]

Hi @xtracrazy 

The Xperia Z2 has a lot of screen, which made me choose the Sony Style Cover Stand SCR10 to prevent scratches and keep the fingerprints and dust to a minimum. It also fold back to allow charging in the Magnetic Charging Dock (DK36). The case was $39.00.

[DEANJA]

Hi Kep, you'll find that you'll appreciate the larger screen acerage after a few days, especially in web surfing on the unit. I was one of the first in the country to move to the large screen factor with the original Galaxy Note, which we still use. Got a lot of stares and laughs at first, but now most of the manufacturers have goner to the larger screen.

You'll find if you go back and try to use a small screen after a while, it's just not right.

I can relate to what you've said about Sony. I worked in the Broacast Radio and Television industry and know the quality that Sony have always put out.

As I said in my Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet reviews, (the over-grown eddition of this phone) a case is a must; and lash out and get a magnetic charger cable and or dock, because whilst the water/dust proofing is great you don't want to be trying to open and close the seals on these units on a daily bassis.

[Jupiter]

Even though I am used to the large form factor of the phone having a Samsung Galaxy S3 and a Nokia Lumia 920, I find the Z2 a little bit harder to hold.  The edges are quite harsh, which makes it not sit in the hand quite as easily as the Galaxy and Lumia.

It is also a fingerprint magnet.  Far more than my previous phones were, although the overall brightness and intensity of the screen overcomes this.

The phone is very responsive with the only problem I have encountered is hitting the back button in Chrome.  It doesn't like going back and even though the keystroke is registering, the browser doesn't respond.  I have loaded Firefox and it is responding the way i am used to.

I set my alarm last night, put the phone in the magnetic charging dock with a charge of 72% and got woken at 5am by the vibration of the Smartband on my wrist and the alarm on the phone gently increasing in volume (didn't wake my wife for a change, so that was good).

The magnetic dock was being powered by the suppled AC adapter again, and this time the phone was at 100% charge when I woke.  Looks like the supplied adapter is sufficient to charge the phone when the phone is not constantly downloading content.

I tried out the "Throw" function on the phone last night with my Samsung TV which is hooked in to my home Wifi network.  Worked beautifully.  Switched the source on my TV to Wifi, activated "Throw" on the Z2 and the screen on the phone magically appeared on the TV.

Amused he kids with the drawing app that comes built in with the Z2 and the lag is only a fraction of a second.  the drawing app is very responsive as well and I managed to draw a couple of fairly respectible sketches.

 

Also tried out the AR Effect App, which the kids love.

[katroberts]

hey team,

I'd love to know what the camera is like on the phone and see some examples

[Jupiter]

I had a couple of minutes free from work during daylight hours yesterday and managed to have a quick play with the camera.  Initial results are quite pleasing.

I like the Smile Shot function - can't post the photos, but I left the phone propped up in the office with the camera running and the Shutter noise turned off (yes, you can do it on the Sony very easily), and captured some very nice candid shot of my coworkers.  Every time someone walked by with a big smile on their face it took a photo of them - perfet for the end of year christmas party montage.

Here are a few photos that I took yesterday on the Sale Common.  Scratch that, Crowdsupport will only allow a maximum file size of 3MB and the photos are almost 5MB each.  I will make some thumbnails for here and I will post a link to the full sized photos later this evening.

Will do a full review of the Camera over the weekend.

[dkeppie]

Hi Kat,

I just took the Xperia on a trip to Singapore and found the 20.7MP camera to be of excellent quality. The tag line that this is "The world’s best camera and camcorder in a waterproof smartphone" appears to be well founded.

Here are some shots that I took, including the obilgatory selfie.

So good, you can almost leave your camera at home. Especially in the day time. I did find that the night shots were not quite as clear. Here is an example:

[dkeppie]

Hi @winmas,

The term wireless charging simply means that the Xperia Z2 may be placed in a dock to charge. Rather than opening the special water-resistant cover repeatedly, to plug in the standard charger. The dock I am using is the Magnetic Charging Dock DK36 and it retails for $59.00.

Here are a couple of photos:

I think this is a worthwhile upgrade. Particularly if you plan to use the Xperia Z2 as an alarm clock. Or just want to watch a movie on its large screen.

[dkeppie]

Hi @ChistopherL, 

The Sony Xperia Z2 smartphone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AB v3, Quad Core 2.3 GHz processor.

It is also running the Kit Kat 4.4.2 version of Android.

It is the fastest phone I have ever used.

So far, I have been impressed with its ability to process. In particular, the time it takes to download apps, as well as the relative ease it displays when playing large YouTube files.

I don't know if it's the fastest phone avaialble, but it is cetainly fast. Even when multitasking.

I hope this helps answer your question.

DK.

[dkeppie]

Well folks,

At long last I have completed my unboxing video for the Sony Xperia Z2. 

It was much harder than I thought it would be.

I hope you enjoy the final video, and find the insights useful.

[Jupiter]

OK, I'll admit it.  I officially like this phone.  I still think that the physical design needs a couple of tweaks though.

• I'm not 100% sold on the idea of the Glass back.
• The camera could do with being repositioned slightly. I am always having to reposition my left hand when taking landscape shots as my hand has a habit of curling around into the top left of the frame.
• The edges of the phone are a bit "sharp", while it gives a nice look to the phone, it doesn't feel as nice in the hand as other models.
• The micro usb port (or the magnetic charging port) is not in an ideal place if you are using a car dock.  Having the cable come in from the side makes it look messy and the port cover makes it a bit fiddly when getting in to the car. Positioning it on the bottom of the device and a sliding port cover would be an improvement.

What I do like:

• Call quality is excellent
• Audio (music) quality is excellent, having stereo speakers makes it a pleasure to listen to.  The noise cancelling earphones are probably the best (provided) earbud earphones I have tried.  They look a bit weird, but the sound is excellent and does block out most of the ambient noise.
• The screen is blinding (in a good way).  It is very bright and clear, the only downside is in bright daylight, although you can see the screen clearly you can also see a grid pattern of dots on the screen.
• Haven't had a single glitch when running applications, runs smoothly and quick. No complaints there.
• Battery life with reasonable usage starting at 100% at 7am in the morning and finishing at 32% at 10pm.

I like this phone a lot.  Although I haven't bought a case for it (I don't really like cases), I have just bought a second magnetic charging dock for work and a dedicated holder for the car. I have also bought a magnetic charger cable for use in the car so I don't have to fiddle around with the port cover.

[DEANJA]

Well done Darren.

Hey Jupe, where's YOUR selfies????? 

[Jupiter]

I am having some problems uploading pictures & video.

Keeps on coming back with errors, going to shrink them some more and try again (sort of defeats the purpose though)..

Here is a very recent selfie (me right now arguing with oversized photos) and yes, just taken with the Z2 front facing camera.

[Yannick]

Thank you @dkeppie and @Jupiter for your detailed reviews of the Sony Xperia Z2 Smartphone so far, I have a few follow up questions which you may have already covered but i would like your take on.

How do you rate the feature apps? 

How do you rate the display in comparison to your other devices?

How do you rate the Xperia for:

• Gaming?
• Emails?
• Messaging?
• Social media ?
• Watching videos?

What do you consider to be the overall pros and cons for the Sony Xperia z2?

If you had the option what would you change with this phone?

[Jupiter]

---

How do you rate the feature apps? 

The Apps for the Camera Function are very good. The kids love the AR app and the editing functions are some of the best I've had on a phone. The Panorama App works beautifully, the Panoramas actually looks good, no jagged edges or severely warped bits.  The only part that doesn't impress me greatly is the 4K video app, it isn't that impressive (the slo-mo video is though).

Not a great fan of the Walkman App, too blocky for me, I would like a striaght forward list option. Much easier to find what I'm looking for.  The Album & Movies apps function very well and are easy to use.  I also now have the Movie Creator App which downloaded on the weekend, but it keeps telling me I am out f memory. I think it needs a bit of a rework. 

  How do you rate the display in comparison to your other devices?

The display on the Z2 is very clear and bright (almost blindingly when you look at it for the first time).  Works well in bright daylight.  Best display that I've had in terms of crispness and viewability. (Compared to Lumia 920, Galaxy S3)

How do you rate the Xperia for:

• Gaming?

Plants vs Zombies 2 (a staple in our house) plays more smoothly on the Z2 than it does on my laptop. Very impressed. In fact, haven't had any issues at all with game play. Even works smoothly as the second screen on my PS4.

• Emails?

Comparable to other phones. Works well with both IMAP and Exchange.

• Messaging?

I have loaded up chompSMS which I prefer to the inbuilt Messaging app, just a personal preference. Skype works brilliantly when hooked up to either Wifi or 4G (bit hit and miss in my office - poor 3G reception), sound is clear and so is the picture.

• Social media ?

The inbuilt Facebook App annoyed me. I like having the most recent conversations on my startup screen, but it couldn't handle it. I am now using Flipboard to read my Facebook Posts. The Twitter App works fine, I am just not a great fan of Twitter.

• Watching videos?

Picked up my Plex server on my home network straight away. Movie playback works great, could even Throw the picture to my Samsung TV in the bedroom and listen to the audio through my earphones. Being a full HD screen, watching movies works great, the hardware inside means no glitching or pauses during playback. Combined with the Magnetic Charging Dock, you can have a movie running on your Desk without having to prop the phone up or hold it.

What do you consider to be the overall pros and cons for the Sony Xperia z2?

Pros: Excellent Phone overall, Good Battery Life, Excellent Display & Audio, Magnetic Charging Port great idea

Cons: Micro USB Charging Port cover annoying, Not being able to disable the Charging LED.

If you had the option what would you change with this phone?

The microUSB Charging Port Cover need to be a sliding cover. The LED needs to be able to be disabled. if you have it in the dock next to your bed charging at night, the bright green LED lights up half to room. The edges (not the corners) of the phone could be a little smoother.

---

[chongsu]

Great reviews, I've also got an Xperia z2 currently and I agree with the notion of it being a fingerprint magnet! Especially the rear glass panel.

I bought myself a cheap 3$ matte rear screen protector and now it looks and feels great to hold. And adding to that, no fingerprints and no scratches too.

[dkeppie]

Hi @Yannick,

Thanks for these additional questions

Let me start by likening the Sony Xperia Z2 to a luxury supercar like the Maserati. The sleek, sophisticated design and powerful processor all combine to deliver an elegant mobile device.

How do you rate the feature apps?

The Xperia comes loaded with a range of useful apps that all work exceptionally well with this impressive smartphone.

In particular, I have found the Walkman app and Camera apps both to be excellent. The Z2 also runs Google Maps and YouTube in a fast and efficient manner. Load times are minimal.

I tested the Xperia Z2 with a companion wearable called the Sony Lifeband. The band tracks the usual stuff: walking, running, sleeping, and also allows you to install third-party apps to control your experience from your wrist. Right now, I am running an app that allows me to control my alarm, and have also used this to answer the phone and avoid missing calls whilst fishing for the Z2 in my pocket. 

All the data is captured by an app called Lifelog, which has already changed the way I approach my own wellness. Here are my stats from the day I competed in the City2Surf (Sydney).

How do you rate the display in comparison to your other devices?

The 5.2-inch 1920×1080 screen is something to behold, especially when viewing the gorgeous photos you just took with the 20.7MB camera. People have often commented how vibrant the screen, and my photos are, with the Z2.

How do you rate the Xperia for:

• Gaming?

The Xperia Z2 is a versatile gaming device. It comes loaded with Playstation Mobile as well as a Gameloft Games . I think the ability to use a Playstation controller in conjunction is quite cool. But the controls on the device work quite well too.

• Emails?

I am using both Gmail and Outlook and find that they both work well. The interface is great for email management. Sadly, the Xperia is not yet able to filter and respond to many of the less relevant emails I receive.

• Messaging?

Messaging on the Xperia is very good. Apart from the general ease of use the large interface enables prompt and accurate texting. Especially if you have had some practice with predictive texting.

• Social media ?

I use Social Media regularly and found this device to be excellent across my most used channels, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare. (Yes, some people still use Foursquare!)

I particularly enjoyed consuming longer form content thanks to the high quality visual interface.

Well equipped and user friendly. The excellent camera is great for taking high quality photos and uploading them to social media with very little editing required.

• Watching videos?

Visually stunning combined with high sound quality through the noise cancelling headphones.

What do you consider to be the overall pros and cons for the Sony Xperia z2?

• Pros:

- High quality
The overall build quality of the Xperia Z2 is exceptional, and it looks as good as it performs. The Z2 is also waterproof and dustproof, making this a rugged phone, camera and internet browser.
- Multimedia
The Xperia Z2 is great at playing videos, displaying photos and listineing to music. When you put the noise cancelling headphones on, you are immediately transported to your own private studio. So good that you must be extra careful when crossing the road.
- Battery life and processing speed
The Xperia Z2 is able to process apps quickly thanks to its large RAM (3MB). It also has a long battery life which is great when you are on the road. Whilst there is software on board to help you stretch the battery life out for many days. The most impressive battery stat, however, is the life you get just by using your phone normally. Without any power augmentations turned on and under heavy use, you’ll easily get two days out of the Xperia Z2.

• Cons:

- Cost of high quality accessories

There is a vast range of optional accessories for the Xperia Z2. Whilst this allows further personalisation and optimisation of your smartphone experience. Please budget a few hundred dollars for extra accessories that will enable you to fully enjoy the capabilities of the Z2.

- Fingerprint magnet

The elegant glass makes the phone look and feel stylish, but please take a glasses cleaning cloth with you to polish off finger prints from time to time.

If you had the option what would you change with this phone?

• Improved microphone to capture the voice when using the handset as a telephone. On multiple occasions, when not using the headset, people commented on my voice sounding muffled and hard to hear.
• Additionally, whilst the optics on the camera are exceptional for a smartphone, and the array of controls and setting is vast, it would be nice to have some simple setting to help capture movement, as well as low light shots.
• Finally, I think the little covers that protect the SIM, memory and charging ports seem flimsy compared to the rest of the phone. 

The photo below helps remind us how far the evolution of mobile phones has come between 2007 and 2014. Sometimes you need to pinch yourself to believe how quickly the flagship devices like Xperia Z2 are improving. This is a wonderful device for those individuals who demand quality and like to walk to the beat of a different drum.

I hope that the Crowd Support community have found my review informative and useful, as they weigh up if this device is the right one for their next upgrade to a premium smartphone.

[dkeppie]

Hi folks,

Here is a helpful link that shows off some helpful features of the Xperia Z2:

http://blogs.sonymobile.com/2014/07/07/xperia-z2-top-tips-tricks/

I think these are really practical tips from Sony.

DK.

[Jupiter]

Now I will say that I have one very annoying problem with the Z2, since the latest firmware update, the phone will now only connect to wifi networks on the 5GHz band.  Will not connect on the 2.4GHz band.

[Rob1990]

I have also found the handset slippery to hold, however after 11 months of using it, it just doesn't seem that way anymore. You eventually just get used to the way you have to hold it. Funny how people comment on dropping and smashing screen. I got a case to start with, and it drove me crazy, so I canned it. Over the time it has had a number of tumbles onto concrete, including the most recent toss by my 3 year old son up in the air and then down onto the tiles. (I thought it was broken for sure) still no cracks or chips. This is the most hardy handset I think I have ever known. (was a phone salesman for 2 years, so iv had my fair share of them)