Japanese tech giant Sony announced the Sony Xperia XZ2 smartphone back in February this year. Later in April, the company announced the Xperia XZ2 Premium. And now, a day before IFA 2018 kicks-off in Germany, Sony has further expanded its portfolio of XZ series smartphones by announcing Sony Xperia XZ3.
Like the Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Premium, the Sony Xperia XZ3 is also a flagship smartphone. It is powered by Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 845 SoC which is mated to 4 GB RAM (meh). The smartphone comes with 64 GB of internal storage and you also have the option to further expand the storage up to 512 GB via microSD card.
The Sony Xperia XZ3 boasts a 6-inch OLED HDR display that has aspect ratio of 18:9 and a resolution of 2880 x 1440 pixels. The display is also backed up by Sony’s X-Reality for mobile technology that “up-converts” SDR content into “near HDR” content to enhance your video watching experience.
In terms of design, the Sony Xperia XZ3 flaunts a glass-metal sandwich construction. What that means is that the front and back of the smartphone is covered with 3D Gorilla Glass 5, whereas, the side frames are made out of metal for durability. In addition to this, the Sony Xperia XZ3 also comes with IP65/68 dust and water resistance which means taking the phone along with you in a shower is totally cool.
On the software side of things, the Sony Xperia XZ3 will ship with Android 9.0 Pie which is the latest version of Android. This makes Xperia XZ3 one of the first devices to run Android Pie out-of-the-box. The Xperia XZ3 also comes with a new UI called Side sense that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to offer quick and easy access to your most used apps. The way this works is you simply have to double-tap on either side of the phone, and you will be shown the apps that you are most likely to use next. These apps will be placed “within easy reach” on the display so that users don’t have to keep scrolling to search those apps. Sony says Side sense is developed by keeping large displays in mind, and, it also offers one-hand usage.
Having said that, moving on to the photography department, the Sony Xperia XZ3 rocks a single 19 MP Motion Eye camera at the back and a 13 MP camera on the front. And, the smartphone does come with camera features that we have seen on the Xperia XZ2 Premium.
The Sony Xperia XZ3 is offered in four colors – Black, White, Forest Green and Bordeaux Red – and, keeping this entire package up and running is a 3300 mAh which comes with Quick Charge 3.0 support and draw power from a USB Type-C port.
Other features on Sony Xperia XZ3 include a Dynamic Vibration System, S-Force Front Surround Sound speakers, Hi-Res Audio, DSEE HX, and, LDAC.
Commenting on the launch of Xperia XZ3, Hideyuki Furumi, Executive Deputy President, Head of Sales Marketing, Sony Mobile Communications, said, “Our new XZ3 flagship smartphone is not just beautiful to look at, but it’s packed with Sony’s cutting-edge audio and visual technologies, letting you enjoy high quality content just as the creators intended, for a truly immersive entertainment experience in the palm of your hand.”
Sony Xperia XZ3 Specifications
- CPU: Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor
- RAM: 4 GB
- GPU: Adreno 630
- Operating System: Android 9.0 Pie
- Display: 6-inch QHD+ (2880 x 1440 pixels) HDR TRILUMINOUS Display with Gorilla Glass 5, X-Reality for mobile and Dynamic Vibration System
- Rear Camera: 19 MP Motion Eye Camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1/ 2.3” Exmor RS™ for mobile memory-stacked sensor, BIONZ mobile image-processing engine, Predictive Capture, Predictive Hybrid Auto-focus, SteadyShot, 4K HDR Movie Recording, 960 FPS Super Slow-Mo Recording in HD and Full-HD resolution, and, LED flash
- Front Camera: 13 MP 1/ 3.06” Exmor RS™ for mobile sensor with 23 mm wide-angle lens and SteadyShot
- Internal Storage: 64 GB UFS
- External Storage: Expandable up to 512 GB via microSDXC card
- SIM: Single/Dual SIM (depending on market)
- Connectivity: 4G LTE, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, NFC, USB Type-C Gen 3.1 (no 3.5 mm headphone jack)
- Other: Fingerprint Scanner, IP65/68 Dust and Water Resistance, Stereo Speakers, Hi-Res Audio, DSEE HX, LDAC, aptX HD, Clear Audio+, Stereo Speaker with S-Force Front Surround
- Colors: Black, White, Forest Green and Bordeaux Red
- Battery: 3300 mAh with Quick Charge 3.0
Sony Xperia XZ3 Price and Availability
- Price: £699 (around $910/₹64,513)
- Availability: To be available in selected markets globally from end of September
