Monday, February 26, 2018

Sony Announces the Xperia XZ2 and the Xperia XZ2 Compact with 18:9 Displays and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC

At Mobile World Congress 2018, Sony unveiled the Xperia XZ2 and the Xperia XZ2 Compact. The phones are Sony's next-generation flagship smartphones, and their headlining features are 18:9 aspect ratio displays (a first for the company) and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 flagship system-on-chip.


Sony Xperia XZ2

Source: Sony

Specifications Sony Xperia XZ2
Dimensions 153 x 72 x 11.1mm
Weight 198g
Software Android Oreo with Sony Xperia UI
CPU Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (4x 2.8GHz Kryo 385 "Performance" + 4x 1.8GHz Kryo 385 "Efficiency") SoC
GPU Adreno 630
RAM and Storage 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage, expandable storage with microSD card slot (up to 400GB)
Battery 3,180mAh, wireless charging
Display 5.7-inch Full HD+ (2160 x 1440 pixels) 18:9 LCD
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0
Ports USB Type-C, [Dual SIM model: Hybrid Dual Nano SIM (Nano SIM/MicroSD) Slots]
Rear Camera 19MP with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash, PDAF and laser autofocus, 4K HDR video recording
Front Camera 5MP with f/2.2 aperture

The Xperia XZ2 is the successor to the Xperia XZ1, which launched at IFA 2017. It adopts Sony's new Ambient Flow design language, marking a shift away from the Omnibalance design the company introduced with the Xperia Z in 2013. Up until now, Sony's phones have been characterized by large bezels and squared-off corners. The Xperia XZ2 is different.

The handset has an 18:9 aspect ratio display with significantly reduced bezels compared to previous Sony phones (although the bezels aren't as small as some of the designs we've seen recently). All in all, though, it's a substantial improvement over the Xperia XZ1, if not quite on par with 18:9 phones such as the OnePlus 5T, Honor View 10, the recently announced LG V30s ThinQ, and others.

The Xperia XZ2's front is dominated by a 5.7-inch TRILUMINOS Full HD+ (2160 x 1440) LCD HDR-compliant display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The display is only slightly wider than the Xperia XZ1's screen, but substantially taller. Most Android vendors have opted to use 6-inch 18:9 displays in their flagship smartphones, but the Xperia XZ2's display size matches that of the LG G6.

The phone takes full advantage of the display's HDR compliance with Sony's Advanced X-Reality engine, which up-converts non-HDR downloaded and streaming videos to "HDR quality".

Source: Sony

The Xperia XZ2 boasts an aluminum frame, 3D Corning Gorilla Glass shielding, curved corners, and a dedicated shutter key, which is positioned below the power button and volume rocker on the right-hand side of the device. The Xperia XZ2's single rear camera is centered on the back, and the phone's fingerprint sensor is in the middle — an unconventional spot, to say the least. After years of integrating the fingerprint sensor into the power button on its phones, Sony decided to move the sensor to the back of its handsets this year, starting with the Xperia XA2 and the Xperia XA2 Ultra.

There's not much new when it comes to the camera. The Xperia XZ2 sticks with a single Motion Eye rear camera configuration, and the specifications of the rear camera are the same as the Xperia XZ Premium and the Xperia XZ1. It has a 19MP Exmor RS sensor with a 1/2.3-inch sensor size, f/2.0 aperture, phase detection and laser autofocus, an LED flash, predictive hybrid autofocus, and 5-axis stabilization. It can capture HDR video in 4K (which Sony claims is a world's first), and 720p and 1080p video at 960 FPS.

The front camera has 5MP and a f/2.2 aperture. It supports 3D Creator, Sony's 3D model-scanning app that lets you record Animoji-like scans of your face. The app isn't new, but the upgraded version applies post-processing to improve the quality of scans and allows you to share them directly to your Facebook timeline.

Under the hood, the Xperia XZ2 features Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage (expandable via microSD slot). The SoC alone makes the phone stand out from the crowd, as the Xperia XZ2 is one of the few devices announced so far with the Snapdragon 845 (the US/China variant of the Samsung Galaxy S9 being the first). The Snapdragon 845 features four high-performance Kryo 385 CPU cores and four efficiency Kryo 385 cores (based on the ARM Cortex-A75 and the Cortex-A55, respectively), and Qualcomm's Adreno 630 GPU, Hexagon 685 DSPSpectra 280 ISP, and X20 LTE modem. It goes without saying that the Snapdragon 845 is a notable step up from its predecessor, and it should make the Xperia XZ2 one of the fastest Android phones on the market.

In terms of audio, the Xperia XZ2 has a Hi-Fi audio DAC and improved "S Force" stereo speakers that make it 20 percent louder than its predecessor. It's supplemented with Sony Dynamic Vibration System, a low-frequency actuator that allows you to "feel what you see and hear" in music, games, and apps with synchronized vibrations.

The Xperia XZ2 is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance, and it has a 3.180mAh battery. It features wireless charging, and connectivity options including USB Type-C, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Miracast, NFC, and Bluetooth 5.0 with Qualcomm's aptX HD audio codec. However, it lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack, making it the first Sony phone to eschew analog audio in favor of Bluetooth and USB Type-C alternatives.

The Xperia XZ2 ships with Android Oreo with Sony's Xperia UI skin on top. It'll retail alongside a range of accessories, including new Style Cover Touch and Style Cover Stand models, Sony's Wireless Charging Dock, Quick Charger UCH12W, a new 2-way Style USB Audi & Bluetooth Headset with a USB Type-C connector that charges the phone while it's plugged in.

The Xperia XZ2 comes in Liquid Siler, Liquid Black, Deep Green, and Ash Pink, and will be available in March. Included in the box is a headset, a QuickCharge 3.0-compatible wall adapter, and a USB Type-C adapter.


Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact

Source: Sony

Specifications Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
Dimensions 135 x 65 x 12.1mm
Weight 168g
Software Android Oreo with Sony Xperia UI
CPU Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (4x 2.8GHz Kryo 385 "Performance" + 4x 1.8GHz Kryo 385 "Efficiency") SoC
GPU Adreno 630
RAM and Storage 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage, expandable storage with microSD card slot
Battery 2,870mAh
Display 5-inch Full HD+ (2160 x 1440 pixels) 18:9 LCD
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0
Ports USB Type-C; Dual SIM model: Hybrid Dual Nano SIM (Nano SIM/MicroSD) Slots
Rear Camera 19MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash, PDAF and laser autofocus, 4K HDR video recording
Front Camera 5MP with f/2.2 aperture

The Xperia XZ2 Compact is Sony's successor to the Xperia XZ1 Compact. While all Compact-branded Sony flagship phones have shipped with a 4.6-inch 16:9 aspect ratio display up until now, this changes with the Xperia XZ2 Compact — it has a 5-inch 18:9 display.

The XZ2 Compact doesn't look much like its bigger brother. While the Xperia XZ2 has a 3D glass back, the XZ2 Compact features an anti-scratch polycarbonate back panel with a "frosted glass-like" finish and "anti-twist" aluminum frame. Although the fingerprint sensor is placed on the back, just like the Xperia XZ2, the placement of the camera is different. Specifically, the LED flash is to the left-hand side of the camera rather than above it.

The XZ2 Compact shares the rest of its specifications in common with its larger counterpart… with a few exceptions. It has a Snapdragon 845 chip, a 19MP rear camera and 5MP wide-angle front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. And like the Xperia XZ, it doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack. But that's about all the two share in common.

The Xperia XZ2 Compact's display is 5-inch Full HD+ (2160 x 1440) LCD, which makes it the first 5-inch 18:9 panel that we have seen so far. (It's worth noting that the 18:9 aspect ratio means the display will have less screen area than a 5-inch 16:9 display, but more surface area than a 4.6-inch 16:9 display.) The phone also has a smaller 2,870mAh battery, and doesn't support wireless charging.

The XZ2 Compact will retail in March with Android Oreo, just like the Xperia XZ2, and it'll come in White Silver, Black, Moss Green, and Coral Pink. When it ships later this year, it'll be the first device in the XZ series that's both Verizon-certified and compatible with GSM SIM cards, Sony says.


New Imaging Sensor

Sony took the opportunity to preview an experimental imaging sensor at MWC. The company claims that the newly developed dual camera module, which packs Sony's cutting-edge image signal processor, can capture images in extremely dark conditions — ISO 51200 for photos and ISO 12800 for video — with reduced noise and blur. The company was mum on the details, but said that it'll come to a future Xperia device.


Let us know what you think about the Xperia XZ2 and the XZ2 Compact in the comments.



from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2GH0FAf
via IFTTT

No comments:

Post a Comment