An improved camera, now with 4K video
Moving on to the user experience, Sony has done well with their skin of the Android OS, things are fluid and simple to use as stock. While they do suffer from the same thing its camera division does, i.e. menus a little more complex than need be, it’s no more than a slight inconvenience and no major cause for concern. Improved is the camera, retaining the very impressive 20.7MP sensor from its predecessor, the Z2 ramps it up a notch adding 4K video support and an iOS-like execution of the slow motion function. It’s intuitive and easy to control which bits you want to slow down, unlike other manufacturers. Image quality wise, I’ve always been a fan of Sony phones in full manual mode, this camera does shine. The background defocus tool of the Z2 is not as good as the dedicated one for the HTC handset but it’s better than the GALAXY S5 execution, making it far easier to take a “bokeh” shot with your phone.
Almost as good as its successor, the Xperia Z3
Specs wise, the Z2 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.3Ghz processor , 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 graphics processor. It’s pretty much what the Z3 has to offer (with excpetion of the slightly slower clock speed), no surprise there with such a short release window. Where the Z2 trumps the Z3 however is the 3,200mAh battery that gives that slight boost in battery life over the Z3’s 3,100mAh. Using the Z2, I have yet to run out of juice in the middle of the day, unless of course it’s when I’m playing Brave Fronteer continuously!
Perhaps one criticism I have of the Z2 is the speaker and sound handling. At default, the notification tones are pretty soft and un-noticeable and adjusting the volume is not following a smooth ascending curve as its meant to. You can go from mediocre softness to embarrassingly loud in two presses of the volume. You’d think with forward facing speakers, this would not me so much of a problem on the Z2.
The Xperia Z2 ain’t “Yesterday’s news” yet
All in all, the Z2 offers a very good value proposition. A device that is 4 months older than its newer counterpart, with nearly the same specs, available at a much lower price point. The recommended retail price of RM2,099 might not seem much, compared to the RM2,399 price tag of the Z3. However the Xperia Z3 is available on Maxis for RM1,499 on a 2 year contract while the Z2 is available on Celcom for RM988, and though I know it’s not an Apples to Apples comparison, in the grand scheme of things it does make sense to be cheaper as the Z2 is “Yesterday’s News”.
So if you’re looking for a good way to be up to date specs wise with an incredible handset that while is not at the cutting edge of the mobile industry is pretty darn close, the Xperia Z2 is still pretty relevant. I won’t be switching from this Z2 anytime soon, despite my loins burning at the sound of the Z3 Compact but maybe the Z4 will be that jump akin to the Z1 to Z2 people have been waiting for.
At a Glance
Price: RM2,099
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 2.3Ghz processor with 330 Adreno GPU
RAM: 3GB
Capacity: 16GB (up to 128GB MicroSD expansion)
Screen: 5.2-inch IPS display, 1920 x 1080 resolution
Camera: 20.7-megapixel Exmor RS mobile image sensor
OS: Android 4.4 KitKat with Sony UI
Size: 146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2mm
Weight: 163g
*Opinion and review is the authors own and does not reflect the complete opinion and view of the organisation.
More images of the Sony Xperia Z2
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