Sony Xperia Z2 review round-up: Good display and camera, backed by great hardware

Sony’s Xperia Z2 is the latest **top-of-the-line smartphone to enter the Indian market** . The highlights of the device are a 5.2-inch 1080p display, 128GB expandable storage, Snapdragon 801, 20.7MP camera and Android 4.4 KitKat. While the **specs look in line with high-end flagships** from other manufacturers (see how the **Xperia Z2 stacks up against** the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8) let’s see what tech critics have to say about the Z2.   In terms of design, there is very little that’s not a hallmark of recent Sony devices in the Xperia Z2. While the device resembles the Xperia Z1, it does add some refinements such as a slimmer bezel and more rounded edges. “It’s a bold design that uses premium materials (scratch resistant glass front and back) and highlights the display, which is one of the Z2′s big selling points. And despite the size, the phone isn’t overly heavy. If you’re looking for a phablet-style phone, you could do much worse than the Z2 , and unlike with others, I’m not at all embarrassed to be seen with this one in public,” said Darrell Etherington of Techcrunch.   However, he also adds, “The phone’s sharp angles make for a visually striking contrast to the rounded rectangles that make up the vast majority of Android handsets, but that also means it might come across as uncomfortable in the hand, especially if you happen to have smaller mitts.” [caption id=“attachment_223348” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  The block-like Z2 design and the HTC One M8 with curvy edges[/caption]   Vlad Savov of The Verge said, “It’s still awkwardly large and lacks the ergonomically curved back of something like the HTC One. The uncompromisingly blocky shape that Sony prefers for its phones is attractive and masculine, but it doesn’t make for a comfortable feel in the hand. Then again, now that the One and Samsung’s Galaxy S5 have both grown in size — to the detriment of their own usability — Sony is essentially moving forward by just standing still.”   Talking about its rival Galaxy S5 in terms of design, CNET’s Andrew Hoyle said, “Its impressive performance rivals the Samsung Galaxy S5 for smartphone top dog, but the Z2’s slick glass and metal design trumps the S5’s plastic body. If you’re looking for both style and substance from a phone, you’ve come to the right place.”   Sony has stepped up its flagship with a slightly larger 5.2-inch display. The Triluminos IPS display maintains the same 1080 x 1920 resolution. Owing to the larger display, the pixel density is dropped slightly to 424ppi. However, that doesn’t make much of a difference in the viewing experience. The display, like most other smartphones this year, comes with multi-touch as well as shatter proof and scratch resistant glass.   “The Xperia Z2 The IPS display is extremely crisp, with small text on Web pages, icon edges and high definition photos looking pin sharp. Sony boasts that the display uses the same “Triluminos” technology as its Bravia TVs, which makes it more vivid. Whatever Sony has done, it’s worked, as the Z2’s display is absolutely superb. It’s not only very bright, it has rich, vibrant colours with plenty of contrast and excellent viewing angles to boot,” points out Hoyle. [caption id=“attachment_223293” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Take it for a swim[/caption]   Apart from Nokia, Sony is the only company to go beyond a 20MP sensor. With Z1, the company had taken a huge leap from 13MP sensor to 20.7MP, and now it maintains the same sensor in the Z2 along with support for 4K recording.   “The Z2’s meaty images don’t result solely from the high resolution, but also from the size of the sensor: at 1/2.3 inches, the chip can suck in significantly more light than any of its Android rivals. Coupled with large JPEG sizes of up to 9MB (albeit, unfortunately, with no RAW option), this yields photographs with less noise and less of the flat “digital” feel that you’d normally expect from a phone camera," says Engadget’s Sharif Sakr.   On the other hand John McCann of TechRadar said, “It’s not all good news in the 4K video recording camp. A three minute video shot at 4K resolution takes up a whopping 1GB of storage. Sure there’s a microSD card slot, but if you fancy shooting a lot in 4K you’ll be eating up space in double quick time. Another issue, and one which has been reported by many Xperia Z2 owners already, is the fact the handset does heat up to quite a temperature during longer 4K recordings.”