Sony’s Xperia XZ2 Premium Revealed


Less than two months after unveiling the Xperia XZ2 at Mobile World Congress, Sony is back again with the Xperia XZ2 Premium. It retains the same overall design as the XZ2 — a departure from Sony’s past phones — but upgrades the display, camera, battery, and other specs. Still no headphone jack, though. The XZ2 Premium will be available beginning this summer. Pricing has yet to be announced, but it certainly won’t be cheap. The XZ2 runs $800 unlocked, so you’re probably looking at a $900 or $1,000 phone here.


Sony is putting a 5.8-inch 4K display in the XZ2 Premium, an improvement over the 5.7-inch Full HD+ (1080 x 2160) screen on the regular XZ2. Both of them support HDR video. When you’re watching videos, listening to music, or playing games, you’ll notice the new vibration system that debuted in the XZ2; it’s meant to provide rumble feedback to match whatever’s happening on screen, but feels somewhat gimmicky.


The biggest upgrade here, according to Sony, is the camera. The XZ2 Premium has two of them around back — a first for the company. Rather than adding a telephoto / zoom lens like Apple, Samsung, and OnePlus, Sony is splitting image capture between one 19-megapixel color sensor and a 12-megapixel monochrome.


It’s an approach several other Android makers including Huawei have taken. Where Sony is trying to best everyone and stand out is in ISO performance. When shooting stills, the XZ2 Premium can reach a maximum ISO of 51,200. Videos go as high as 12,800. Normally anything you’d get at those numbers on a smartphone would look like grainy garbage, but Sony claims its “AUBE fusion image signal processor” can combine the data from both sensors, optimize for low light, and reduce noise so you get usable results. We’ll have to see how it actually pans out in real world use, but Sony claims this allows for “ultra-low-light capture previously only seen in interchangeable lens cameras.”


The dual camera system will also have a portrait feature (which Sony simply calls Bokeh mode) and will let you shoot using only the monochrome sensor for crisp, detailed black and white shots. Oddly, these two features won’t be on the XZ2 Premium at launch and will arrive in a Q3 software update. Like the XZ2, the Premium can record 960fps slow-mo video at 1080p resolution, an improvement over the 720p limitation on Samsung’s Galaxy S9.

Other improvements on the XZ2 Premium include RAM (now 6GB), battery capacity (3,540mAh), and a sharper front-facing camera.

WHAT’S BETTER ABOUT THE XZ2 PREMIUM?

  1. Display: The Premium model has a 5.8-inch 4K HDR screen, while the regular XZ2 has a 5.7-inch Full HD+ HDR panel.
  2. RAM: Sony’s putting 6GB of RAM in the XZ2 Premium versus the 4GB in the standard XZ2.
  3. Rear camera(s): Sony switched to a dual-camera system for the XZ2 Premium, which can capture higher-ISO photos and video. The color sensor is 19MP, and the monochrome is 12MP. Portrait and black and white shooting modes will be added in a future software update. The XZ2 has a single 19-megapixel sensor.
  4. Front camera: The XZ2 Premium has a 13-megapixel selfie camera. The XZ2’s is 5MP.
  5. Battery: The battery inside the Premium is 3540mAh compared to the 3180mAh battery in the regular model. That might not necessarily mean superior battery life, however, since the XZ2 Premium has to power a much higher-resolution display.
Other key specs remain the same as on the XZ2. Both phones ship with Android 8.0 Oreo and have a Snapdragon 845 processor inside.

TheVerge

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Limited Edition Ford GT 'Competition Series' Is All About The Track

Image
Ford's new GT Competition Series was built with weight-saving in mind, but also with an improved center of gravity for better road-holding. Among its features, you'll notice the lightweight carbon fiber racing stripes, A-Pillars and side mirrors, as well as the unique race-inspired Perspex acrylic engine hatch with integrated venting. Thanks to the manual latch and the carbon fiber prop rod, weight near the roof has been reduced, though Ford engineers went even further in their quest to make the car lighter, by making the bulkhead Gorilla Glass behind the driver about half as thick (and as light) as on other models. "The Ford GT has racing in its blood," said Ford exec Raj Nair, while adding that the Competition Series "was developed with the most hardcore track enthusiasts in mind, providing a tailored set of lightweight features and unique livery to match." There are also plenty of remaining performance features from the production car, such as ...
Read more

Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet Is A Crossover For Droptop Lovers

Image
Droptop crossovers have always been rather odd and the T-Roc Cabriolet is no different. It will be the only convertible Volkswagen on sale for the foreseeable future and will celebrate its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Rather than simply removing the roof of the standard T-Roc, Volkswagen has drastically altered the vehicle’s structure and body. In fact, its wheelbase is 37 mm longer than the standard T-Roc while its overall length is up by 34 mm. In addition, the Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet features structural strengthening in the underbody, side panels, cross members, doors, and windscreen frame to make up for the lack of a roof. The folding fabric roof developed by Volkswagen retracts in just nine seconds at speeds of up to 19 mph (30.5 km/h) and is similar in operation to the roof of the outgoing Golf Cabriolet. The presence of the soft top reduces trunk space by 161 liters down from the 284 liters of the run-of-the-mill T-Roc. We don’t think bu...
Read more

Alpine A110 Hits Geneva With Pure, Legende And GT4 Versions

Image
Renault’s reborn Alpine brand has been getting rave reviews for its new A110 and now, as promised, it’s revealed new versions of its coupe at the Geneva Motor Show. Following the success of the sold-out Premiere Edition, the A110 will now be offered in Pure and Legende trims. The A110 Pure is targeted at driving enthusiasts. It features one-piece Sabelt sports seats that weigh barely more than 13 kilograms (28.6 pounds) each and, combined with other weight-saving measures, helps keep the curb weight below 1,100 kg ( 2,425 lbs). It’s not entirely stripped out, though, and still comes with features like air-conditioning and satellite navigation. Buyers can also add upgraded Brembo brakes and an adaptive exhaust system and can upgrade to the adjustable comfort seats. Those come standard on the Legende model, which is geared more towards every day driving and grand touring and comes with leather upholstery. Customers can also choose between two Focal sound systems and two wheel...
Read more