Expert Rating
3.5/5
Design
★★★★★
★★★★★
Display
★★★★★
★★★★★
Software
★★★★★
★★★★★
Camera
★★★★★
★★★★★
Performance
★★★★★
★★★★★
Battery
★★★★★
★★★★★
Pros
  • Compact and waterproof design
  • Powerful hardware
  • Impressive snapper with 960fps slow-mo video capabilities
Cons
  • Battery barely manages to last a day
  • Heats up
  • Doesn’t match up to the competition
  • Overpriced

The first phone I ever owned was the Sony Ericsson W700i, which offered impressive music playback capabilities. That was an era when Sony was known for its audio and imaging prowess with the W and K Cybershot series, respectively. A lot has changed since then – for Sony as a brand, and the mobile phone landscape as well. Instead of boring you with history however, I’ll come straight to the device I’ll be talking about today – the Xperia XZs (first impressions) – the brand’s latest offering in the Indian market. While it might not be correct to refer to it as the flagship, considering its sibling, the Xperia XZ Premium (first impressions) brings forth mouth-watering specs such as a Snapdragon 835, Gigabit-class speeds, and a 4K HDR display, the XZs also has some impressive hardware features and its price tag of Rs 49,999 brings it in flagship territory. So can it compete with the likes of the Google Pixel, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the recently-launched Galaxy S8? I’ve been using the phone since past few weeks to find an answer to that. Here’s what I think.

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Specs at a glance

Display
Size5.2 Inch
ResolutionFull HD (1080 x 1920 pixels)
Performance
CPUQuad core, 2.2 GHz, Snapdragon 820
RAM4 GB
Storage
Internal memory64 GB
External memoryUp to 256 GB
Battery
Capacity2900 mAH, Li-ion, Non removable
Camera
Primary camera19 MP
Secondary camera13 MP
Connectivity
Network supportDual SIM 4G
Other optionsWi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS
Others
Battery Capacity2900
Operating systemAndroid 7.0 Nougat

Design and display: compact and typically Sony

Dimensions: 146 x 72 x 8.1 mm
Weight:  161 grams

The first time I held the Sony Xperia XZs in my hands, it felt extremely familiar… the design isn’t much significantly from the previous high-end offerings from the Japanese giant. In fact, it looks almost exactly the same as its immediate predecessor, the Xperia XZ (review), and not too different from the previous phones in the Xperia Z series either. While the XZs’ body might seem plastic-y, it’s actually metal, a proprietary aluminium alloy dubbed as ALKALEIDO.

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At the front, the display panel acts as the centrepiece, with the earpiece, secondary camera, and Sony branding above it. Below the screen, lies the speaker grille. The navigation keys are available as software overlays. Even though the Xperia XZs is built around a compact 5.2-inch display, it has wide bezels on the top and bottom, which is a downer for me.

The button and port placement is also the same as what you’d find on Sony devices. The left edge hides the tray with the SIM slot and the microSD card slot, making it easy to access. Strangely though, the Sony Xperia XZs restarts every time you pull the tray out, even if the SIM isn’t changed. Towards the right, you’ll find the power button that also functions as a fingerprint reader, followed by the volume rocker and the camera shutter button.

The fingerprint scanner on the right spine works well for unlocking the phone, but as I had mentioned in my Xperia Z5 review, one needs to add different permutations and combinations for scanning fingers since you could hold the phone using either the left or right hand. That said, the authentication is quick and accurate, although due to its narrow size, at times, it fails to detect fingerprints. Additionally, I find it extremely difficult to reach the volume buttons, and would have preferred them to be placed either higher or on the left spine. The hardware shutter key, without a doubt, is quite useful for accessing the camera instantly along with focussing on the object.

The back panel of the Sony Xperia XZs features matte finish, which might not be as pleasing as the glass finish on the XZ Premium, but it provides good grip. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s able to keep smudges at bay. The rear is also you’ll find the main camera sensor, which protrudes slightly and is accompanied by the LED flash and laser autofocus module.

Talking about Xperia XZs’ display, the 5.2-inch IPS panel outputs 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, which is odd considering that 2K resolution has become the norm for smartphones in this price range. The display however, is plenty sharp and vivid too with good contrast. The viewing angles are quite good, and the brightness levels are also adequate enough for outdoor conditions. I really like the glove mode feature on the Sony phones, which makes the touchscreen extra sensitive. If you don’t like the colour reproduction, then you can change the image enhancement mode or even tweak the white balance.

Overall, I feel that the design of the Sony Xperia XZs is neither good nor bad. While it’s surely compact and offers a good in-hand feel, it doesn’t push the envelope as such, considering nowadays manufacturers are trying to innovate with bezel-less displays and construction materials. That said, it’s great to see the company continuing with dust- and water-proofing of its smartphones, with the IP 68 rating. 

Software: Nougat camouflaged by a custom skin

Operating System: Android
OS Version: 7.0, Nougat

Sony smartphones have never been known for their custom interface, yet the electronics giant has continued to skin the Android OS with its proprietary layer on top. The Sony Xperia XZs ships with the latest iteration of Google’s OS, i.e. Android 7.1.1 Nougat and even comes with Google Assistant, which can be brought to life by long-pressing the home button.

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The lock screen is simple, while the home screen also gets a dedicated page for Google Now. There’s a dedicated app drawer – which isn’t available on most smartphones nowadays – and it also has a panel towards the left which lets you search for apps, shows the recently-accessed titles along with some app recommendations. Like its predecessors, I like the ability to sort the apps alphabetically, by name or date, or on the basis of frequency.

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The Xperia XZs has some bloatware as well, with a slew of preloaded apps such as Facebook, along with some titles from Sony itself like News and Liv. Sadly, they can’t be uninstalled. The phone also comes with demo versions of a few games likes Asphalt Nitro and Midnight Pool preinstalled, which is odd considering they’re freely downloadable.

Camera: trades resolution for better images, adds slow-mo magic

Primary camera:  19 MP
Flash: LED Flash
Secondary camera:  13 MP

While the Sony Xperia XZs seems to be largely similar to the Xperia XZ till now, the picture changes (pun intended) when we move to the camera section. In fact, I feel that with the phone, the brand is revisiting the K series of yesteryears as the Xperia XZs features a memory-stacked Exmor RS sensor, which was first introduced with its Cybershot RX100 IV and RX 10 II cameras. While the resolution is lowered (19MP vs 23MP on the Xperia XZ), the Xperia XZs’ camera comes with a number of tricks, such as the ability to capture action shots even before one clicks the shutter button (dubbed Predictive Capture, which detects motion automatically and clicks up to four photos before you press the shutter button) or the option to capture super slow-motion videos at 960fps. All this is possible due to the DRAM, which allows the camera to have a buffer memory of its own, and that’s why Sony is referring to it as Motion Eye camera. It can also focus on the subject quickly, thanks to the predictive autofocus mechanism.

The camera UI is the same as other Sony smartphones, and in the vertical mode, the shutter button takes centerstage at the bottom and is accompanied by the settings menu and preview for previous captures. Up top, you get the option to toggle the flash and switch to the front camera, along with the ability to go to the manual mode or video or enable various camera apps. The default mode is the superior auto mode which automatically detects the best settings for capturing a photo depending upon the scene, though you can tweak things such as shutter speed, manual focus, etc. with the manual mode.

Sony Xperia XZs screenshot 01 Sony Xperia XZs screenshot 02 Sony Xperia XZs screenshot 03

So the camera specs are impressive, what about the image quality? They’re gorgeous as well – full of detail and vibrant colours. The Sony Xperia XZs does complete justice to different scenarios, be it landscape imagery or close-ups. Thanks to the f/1.9 aperture, you can also achieve bokeh effects in some cases. The HDR effect isn’t available up front and you need to go to the manual mode to enable it, although I didn’t feel the need for it. The camera sensor also offers good low-light capabilities, and the output isn’t grainy. The 13-meg camera at the front is able to capture good selfies in daylight conditions. However, it lacks a screen-based or LED flash to provide illumination in poorly-lit environments. Here are a few camera samples of the XZs for your viewing pleasure.

While it took me some time to figure out how to capture 960fps slow-mo video from the Xperia XZs, the results blew my mind when I actually shot a few. Once you enter the video mode, you’ll see a separate button to enable the slow-mo capture, though it records for just two seconds in 960fps, which means you need to tap it again to get more footage. The 960fps video is shot in 720p and works well when you use it at the right moment. For normal videos, the device is quite capable and while it lacks OIS, it does come with electronic stabilisation, which the company calls SteadyShot.

In sum, the Xperia XZs offers markedly improved photographs over its predecessor. But if you talk about the competition in the form of Samsung’s Galaxy flagships, Apple iPhones or Google’s Pixel duo, then it feels a couple of steps behind. 

Performance: 2 fast and 2 furious

CPU:  Quad core, 2.2 GHz, Snapdrago…
GPU: Adreno 530
RAM: 4 GB
Memory: 64 GB + Up to 256 GB
SIM Slots: Dual SIM , GSM+GSM
Battery: 2900 mAH

The Snapdragon 820 from Qualcomm was the chipset of choice for phone makers in 2016, but Sony has chosen it for this year’s high-end offering. This is strange considering that the SD821, released towards the end of last year, offers a marginal performance boost along with support for VR with Daydream. Don’t get me wrong, the Sony Xperia XZs is not a slouch in terms of performance, and there were no lags whatsoever during my time with it. Even multitasking was a breeze thanks to 4 gigs of RAM. The graphics department is taken care of by an Adreno 510 GPU and gaming was an enjoyable experience, be it racing in Asphalt 8 or killing zombies in Unkilled.

Sadly however, Sony hasn’t been able to curtail the heating issues which have plagued its Xperia Z series (and later the Xperia X). While the device doesn’t become unbearably hot, the warmth at the back is noticeable. The same problem exists while using the camera for long durations as well, which results in shutting down of the app.

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For storage, the Xperia XZs comes with 64GB of memory on board, which is a welcome upgrade from its previous iteration. The storage can also be topped up further with the use of a microSD card of up to 256GB.

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Fuelling up the Sony Xperia XZs is a 2,950mAh embedded battery. The handset offers some battery enhancing modes such as STAMINA and Ultra STAMINA mode, and they come in handy, considering the backup delivered by the phone is average at best. Even though it was able to play an HD video on loop for 11 hours and 30 minutes as part of the battery test, it barely manages to last an entire working day. Charged at 100 percent at 8 in the morning, it was hardly able to continue till 8 in the evening after heavy usage of 4G, GPS navigation, few calls, watching videos and around 20 to 25 minutes of gaming. In terms of the screen-on time, we usually got around three to three and a half hours, which is just about average. Thankfully, you get fast charging capabilities with the bundled Qnovo adaptive charger.

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The smartphone would be a treat for the ears of audiophiles too, as it comes packed with several audio-centric features. With DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement), the Xperia XZs enhances the sound quality even if the tracks aren’t Hi-res, while LDAC offers better experience while listening over Bluetooth.

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Verdict

If you think about it, the Sony Xperia XZs is exactly same as the Xperia XZ with the only change being the new Motion Eye camera and increase of RAM capacity. But this is because the Japanese brand is continuing with its strategy of two flagships a year, which makes it almost impossible to bring revolutionary changes every time.

While the Xperia XZs is a loaded smartphone, what makes its case difficult is the fact that hardware-wise, you could get the Snapdragon 820 and 4GB RAM combination on phones priced as low as Rs 14,999 (on the Lenovo Z2 Plus). And, if you consider the asking price of the XZs, then it’s up against the formidable compact flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 (review) and Google Pixel (review), with the former offering a 2K panel and an attractive design, while the latter features SD821 along with the purest and latest build of Android. You can also opt for the XZs’ predecessor, the Xperia XZ, which is now available at a more attractive price point thanks to price cuts. The recently-launched Samsung Galaxy S8 (first impressions) and LG G6 (first impressions) also seem quite promising, and are easy to handle even with their phablet-sized displays.

Even if I keep the pricing aside, the Xperia XZs comes off as a mixed bag. Its design is nothing out of the box, the display resolution is standard, and the battery barely manages to last an entire working day. I certainly like the slow-motion capabilities in the palm of my hand and Predictive Capture is useful in some situations, but I’m not sure if that alone warrants its purchase. In fact, if you are after a Sony phone, then my suggestion would be to wait for its successor, as the company can be expected to offer better specs along with the Motion Eye camera.

 

Editor’s rating: 3.5 / 5

 

Pros

  • Compact and waterproof design
  • Powerful hardware
  • Impressive snapper with 960fps slow-mo video capabilities

 

Cons

  • Battery barely manages to last a day
  • Heats up
  • Doesn’t match up to the competition
  • Overpriced

 

Photos by Raj Rout