Xperia z3 review. Sony Xperia Z3 review – a beautiful and powerful successor to the top line. Design and dimensions

It's time to compare the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 with Sony's latest flagship - 5.2 inch Xperia Z3. Sony's phone has a whole bunch of tricks up its sleeve that will help it stand up to the popularity of the iPhone line: a waterproof body, stereo speakers, a 20-megapixel camera, so let's find out who gets the top spot...

Design

Xperia Z3 is not at all small phone for a screen diagonal of 5.2 inches, especially when you compare it with some other flagships with a similar display size. This is due to the fairly wide top and bottom bezels (the frame around the screen), which is also true for the iPhone 6, but given the smaller screen diagonal, using the iPhone 6 with one hand is much more convenient. There is a justification for these relatively wide bezels that frame the screens of both smartphones - the Xperia Z3 houses waterproof stereo speakers, and the iPhone 6 has a fingerprint sensor built into Home button. Both phones are incredibly thin and light, and look very elegant despite their unimpressive screen-to-body ratio.

Incredibly thin bodies and premium designs make the iPhone 6 and Xperia Z3 some of the best-looking devices on the market, and Sony's flagship is also waterproof

The iPhone has a premium metal body to look and feel, but Sony's creation, with its rounded edges and glass back, also looks great, plus it's highly dust- and water-resistant (IP68).

If you look at the side surfaces of the devices, on the right side of the Xperia Z3 you can find the traditional Sony (in accordance with the OmniBalance design concept) round power button, which looks a little wobbly and requires bending your thumb to press. The iPhone 6's lock key is conveniently located right under your fingertip. In the Xperia Z3, most of the elements are placed on the right side: you will also find a rather thin volume control, slots for nanoSIM and microSD cards, as well as a separate camera shutter button. Both slots, as well as the microUSB port located on the left, are closed with protective caps that ensure the case is sealed, and if you don’t want to constantly open the cap while charging the phone, there is a magnetic connector on the left side for more convenient charging and synchronization, but you will need to purchase a special cable or docking station.

What we didn't like about both phones was the placement of the camera in the top left corner: it's too close to the edge and can easily be blocked by your finger while shooting. Besides, iPhone camera 6 protrudes slightly from the body.

Apple iPhone 6 (left, bottom) and Sony Xperia Z3 (right, top)

Screen

The Apple iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch screen with a resolution of 750 x 1334 pixels, which results in a lower pixel density (326 ppi) compared to the Xperia Z3's 5.2-inch Full HD (1080 x 1920) display with a density of 424 ppi. However, the pixel density of both displays is more than sufficient for any needs, and small text, as well as other small details, look sharp and clear on both displays.

While losing in terms of color reproduction, the Xperia Z3's screen outperforms the iPhone 6 in size and resolution

The superiority of the iPhone in terms of color reproduction is obvious - the colors are very accurate, while the Xperia Z3 suffers not only from severely incorrect colors, but also from an overly cool blue tint to the image. Sony explained that this was done on purpose, since this is the current trend for TV screens - cooler colors are perceived by the brain brighter than natural ones. Be that as it may, we would prefer to choose clothes in an online store on iPhone screen, not Xperia Z3. You can adjust the white balance on the Xperia Z3 using the screen settings, by increasing the intensity of the three primary colors, which looks a little artificial.

On the other hand, the screen technology of the Sony Xperia Z3, according to our tests, allows it to achieve a maximum brightness value of more than 700 nits, which is a record result and leads to better readability outdoors compared to the iPhone 6. In addition, the new LED backlight is even more energy efficient, than before. Combined with display memory technology, which eliminates the need for GPU to constantly update the image when displaying a static image, the Xperia Z3 screen allows the smartphone to achieve record performance in terms of time battery life, but we'll talk about this a little later.

As for viewing angles, since we are dealing with high-quality IPS displays, both phones show good results, with a slight advantage for the iPhone 6. The Xperia Z3 screen can be used with gloves, if you activate the appropriate mode in the settings, which increases the sensitivity of the sensor, this will be useful in winter.

Interface

The Sony Xperia interface is one of the most functional and at the same time simple shells. Compared to bare Android, it adds some multitasking tools (Small Apps), allowing you to run up to five windowed applications simultaneously, which can be moved and scaled. The iPhone 6 does not have such capabilities, but it has a much more convenient implementation of the Control Center and Notification Center, unlike the Sony interface, where to get to the archaic view of the connection switches, you will need to do several extra swipes across the screen each time.

Apple has opened access to the Notification Center, now there can be widgets for third-party applications that send messages and interactive notifications. They're certainly not as functional as Android's full-fledged widgets, which can be placed across multiple desktop screens, but they're a less intrusive, Apple-style approach.

Apple iPhone 6 user interface
Lock screen		Desktop	Command centre
Notification Center		One-handed control mode

The only thing that the Xperia Z3 provides for convenient one-handed operation is the ability to shrink the size of the keyboard to the left or right on the display, in which case it becomes much easier to reach the on-screen buttons with your finger. The iPhone 6 introduced something called Reachability mode, which, when you double-tap the Home button, moves the entire interface to the bottom of the screen so you can easily enter a web address or the name of an email recipient. You can also swipe right from the left edge of the screen, which emulates the back button in related apps, such as the browser. On the Xperia Z3 you will have to reach up to the top of the screen.

Sony Xperia Z3 user interface
Lock screen	Desktop	Applications section	Task bar
Small Apps		Quick Settings

Processor and memory

You won't be disappointed with the performance of these smartphones as both have decent specifications. Apple iPhone 6 is equipped with a 64-bit A8 processor, running at half the frequency of the Snapdragon 801-AC in the Xperia Z3, but showing comparable performance in synthetic tests. Built-in apps in iOS 8 are optimized for 64-bit computing, and the interface is extremely smooth no matter what you're doing, while the Xperia Z3's interface suffers from minor stuttering every now and then, which will likely be fixed with software updates. since the hardware component is very powerful. Apple doesn't list the amount of RAM in the specs of its phones, but we do know that it's still 1GB, while the Xperia Z3 has a whopping 3GB of RAM - which doesn't mean the iPhone has any performance issues. heavy applications and games, but iOS has to actively unload minimized programs from memory. The Small Apps mode on the Xperia Z3 will undoubtedly consume more RAM, especially if you decide to run more than two or three apps at once.

Despite the higher clock speed of the Xperia Z3 processor and more RAM, the iPhone 6's interface runs smoother. But you will have to fork out for additional internal memory

As for the internal memory, the Xperia Z3 is equipped with 16 GB, of which 12 GB is available to the user, while the iPhone 6 has varieties with 16 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB, with the older configurations being significantly more expensive. The Sony smartphone has a slot for MicroSD cards, which will help increase usable space.

Performance test results (benchmarks):

Camera

Sony's flagship features a 20.7-megapixel 1/2.3" Exmor RS sensor with a 1.12-micron pixel size, like the Xperia Z2, but Sony touts that the viewing angle has increased to 25mm (wide-angle lens) and has added a host of Other improvements such as ISO sensitivity up to 12800 Apple have also improved their 8-megapixel 1/3" iSight camera with 1.5-micron pixels and f/2.2 aperture. new system focusing, as well as new shooting modes. When we're talking about about shooting speed, the iPhone 6 camera, having taken a photo, is almost instantly ready to take another - in this regard, it is the most fast phone in our tests. The Xperia Z3 is also quite fast at taking photos, the dedicated two-stage camera shutter button on the right side can launch the camera app and take a photo directly from the locked screen, it only takes about a second, two at most.

Apple iPhone 6 camera interface

Interface Sony cameras Xperia Z3

With the exception of Time-lapse mode, the Xperia Z3 offers all the settings and shooting modes found on the iPhone: panorama, HDR for real-time photos and videos, and so on. In addition, there is a rather interesting background defocus mode, which allows you to achieve the popular effect of shallow depth of field.

The new iSight camera is the fastest we've ever tested and excels in all lighting conditions, while the Xperia Z3's biggest selling point is its ability to shoot 4K video

In terms of image quality, the iPhone 6 takes excellent photos, with slightly warm but generally accurate colors and excellent detail in all conditions. The Xperia Z3's default Superior Auto mode takes 8-megapixel photos with a comparable level of detail. Colors are softer compared to the iPhone 6. The Xperia Z3 has problems when taking photos against a bright light source, such as a window or the sun.

Sample shots of Apple iPhone 6

Sample shots of Sony Xperia Z3

When it comes to shooting indoors, the Xperia Z3's color performance remains generally natural, while the iPhone 6 leans heavily toward warm tones. However, the Xperia Z3's photos look quite heavily post-processed and slightly blurred, while the iPhone manages to maintain good detail and acceptable noise levels. Both LED flashes are capable of sufficiently illuminating a small scene, although we found the iPhone 6's dual-tone flash to be a little more powerful.

Good lighting	Medium lighting	Low light	In the dark with flash
Apple iPhone 6
Sony Xperia Z3

Camera speed:

* Camspeed score - camera speed rating in the special Camspeed application

The Xperia Z3 has an advantage when it comes to video shooting, being able to record 4K (Ultra HD) video with a higher level of detail. This process heats up the smartphone more and uses up its memory, compared to Full HD (1080p) video recording, which is quite enough for most cases. The Apple iPhone 6 is capable of shooting 1080p video at 60 frames per second, and also offers time-lapse and slow-mo (240fps) video recording modes that look great. Videos taken with both phones are smooth, without annoying artifacts, and have good color reproduction. The sound is also excellent and matches the quality of the video - clear, loud enough and without background noise, if you comment on what is happening during video shooting.

Examples of videos shot with smartphone cameras are presented below (to view in original quality, follow the link to YouTube and select 1080p in the settings):

Connection quality

The Xperia Z3's earpiece has average sound quality, loud enough to hear people in noisy environments, but voices seem muffled and slightly distorted at high volumes. On iPhone 6, even in noisy environments, the other person's speech remains clearly audible. Both the Xperia Z3 and iPhone 6 have optional noise-canceling microphones that do a great job of filtering out ambient noise, delivering loud and clear speech to the other end of the phone. However, this won't help if you're in an area with poor reception - you'll start to sound like you've got a mouthful of toffee, which is common with all phones.

Battery life

The Sony smartphone is equipped with a capacious 3100 mAh battery, while the thin iPhone 6 is equipped with a 1810 mAh battery. Both companies list 14 hours of talk time, but Sony's claimed standby time is an impressive 37 days, while the iPhone's is only ten. Of course, these data are nothing more than a hint at real abilities. The Xperia Z3 managed to last more than 9 hours in our tests, while the iPhone 6 didn't last even 6 hours. That's a pretty big difference and means the iPhone 6 will need to be charged at the end of each day, whereas with the Xperia Z3 you can expect a phone with what Sony advertises to be a "two-day battery".

We measure battery life using a custom web script that emulates typical smartphone usage. The screen brightness of all devices undergoing testing is set at 200 nits.

Prices

You can compare prices for smartphones in various online stores using the links below.

Conclusion

Both the iPhone 6 and Xperia Z3 are the best that design giants like Apple and Sony have to offer today. Slim and stylish, both devices look and feel equally premium, but are very different in operation.

The Apple iPhone 6 is more comfortable to use with one hand than the rather large Xperia Z3, and is almost invisible in your pocket. He also has best camera, which is especially noticeable in low-light conditions, and an excellent screen with accurate color reproduction. To these advantages we must add a better optimized iOS system and the fact that the iPhone 6 will depreciate much more slowly than the Xperia Z3 (which is important for people selling old smartphones). Sony's new flagship, in turn, can offer a lot of things that are not available on the iPhone. Of course, not everyone and not always need a waterproof phone, just as many people don’t care about stereo speakers, but it’s always nice to know that such capabilities are available if necessary.

The most important argument in favor of the Sony smartphone, which we saved for last, is its remarkable durability in terms of battery life. Its "two-day battery" is currently the best in the flagship category, and our own tests confirm this. So, if you're tired of charging your smartphone every night, which you certainly will be with the iPhone 6, the Xperia Z3 should be high on your list of candidates to buy.

On this moment Sony is modernizing its business mobile devices and shifts the focus to solutions in the upper and mid-price range. Sony Mobile Communications plans to sell 38 million smartphones this fiscal year. Despite rumors of abandoning the strategy of releasing new flagship models every six months, Sony Vice President of Global Communications and Public Relations Tim Harrison said in one of his latest interviews that the company has decided to release flagship models more often than once every 12 months. On the one hand, such a solution allows us to quickly take into account past mistakes and impose worthy competition on other manufacturers. But can we then count on fundamental improvements compared to the previous model? This could also lead to competition between devices within the line itself. How justified is this in modern conditions We will try to find out the market using an example that we tested.

From a dry point of view technical characteristics, this model not much different from its predecessor −. It still has the same 5.2-inch Full HD IPS display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and 20.7 megapixel main camera. Then the logical question arises: “What is the difference?” It lies in a number of design improvements, the proprietary Xperia Home shell and several technical nuances. We will talk about all this in more detail below. To begin with, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the technical characteristics of the Sony Xperia Z3:

Manufacturer
	Xperia Z3 (D6603)
Type, form factor	Smartphone, monoblock
Communication standards			850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
			850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
			700 / 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2300 / 2600 MHz
High speed data transfer	GPRS (32-48 Kbps), EDGE (236 Kbps), HSDPA (up to 42.2 Mbps), HSUPA (up to 5.76 Mbps), LTE Cat.4 (up to 50 Mbps UL, up to 150 Mbit/s DL)
SIM card type
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC): 4 Krait 400 cores, up to 2.5 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 28 nm HPm process technology
Graphics adapter	Qualcomm Adreno 330: up to 578 MHz, support OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenVG 1.1, OpenCL 1.1 and DirectX 9.0c
	IPS, 5.2" TRILUMINOS, 1920 x 1080 pixels (423 ppi), touch, capacitive, multi-touch up to 10 touches, Asahi DragonTrail X protective glass, X-Reality and Live Color technologies
RAM	3 GB, dual channel LPDDR3
Persistent memory
Card reader	microSD (up to 128 GB)
Interfaces	1 x 3.5mm mini-jack audio jack
Multimedia	Audio processing
	Acoustics
	Microphone
	Main	Exmor RS (1/2.3"): 20.7 MP, BSI, f/2.0 aperture, autofocus, LED flash, SteadyShot digital image stabilization, HDR shooting, 4K Ultra HD video recording (30 FPS)
	Frontal	2.2 MP, f/2.8 aperture, fixed focus, 1080p video recording
Communication capabilities		802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 / 5 GHz) (Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot)
	Accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, LED indicator, geomagnetic sensor (compass), barometer
Battery	Lithium-ion, non-replaceable: 3100 mAh
Charger	Input: 100~240 VAC eg at 50/60 Hz Output: 5 VDC e.g. 1.5 A
	Dust and moisture protection according to IP65 and IP68 standards
	146 × 72 × 7.3 mm
	Black / White / Olive / Copper / Purple
operating system	Android 4.4.4 KitKat + Xperia Home v7
Official guarantee	12 months
Products webpage

Delivery and configuration

The tested smartphone comes in a traditional small square box. The packaging is made of fairly thick matte cardboard and is characterized by a discreet and laconic design. On its front side there is a partial image of the smartphone, as well as the model name and manufacturer’s logo. The side edges are reserved for stickers with service information (IMEI, S/N, Model, Color and country of origin). On back side(in the form of pictograms) you can familiarize yourself with the main Sony features Xperia Z3 and legal information about the manufacturer. There is also an image of the new product in several color variations. This packaging style hints that this is a premium device.

Along with the smartphone, the potential buyer will find the following accessories in the box:

• user guide;
• warranty card;
• Charger(5 V; 1.5 A);
• micro-USB↔USB cable.

We express our gratitude to the Ukrainian representative office of the company Sony Mobile Communications AB for the smartphone provided for testing.

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Sony Xperia Z, Z1, Z2, Z3, Z5 - how not to get confused when listing modifications of smartphones released over the past 3 years? And this is not counting versions like Compact, Ultra or Premium, which also exist in the line of the Japanese brand.

To make life more interesting and fun, Sony came up with the X series, which is also not simple and consists of several smartphones: XA is a simpler option, X is middle class, X Performance is the top, and XA Ultra is king-size for lovers of everything big .

Xperia X or Xperia Z3?

Recently a friend wrote to me and asked, why buy an Xperia X if you can buy an Xperia Z3 or Z3+? The idea of ​​taking last year’s flagships instead of new “mid-rangers” is not new. Therefore, I decided to compare both smartphones to understand what the new Xperia X will do compared to the old model. The price difference between them is about 10-12 thousand rubles, a weighty argument.

Xperia X on the left and Xperia Z3 on the right. find 10 differences

Attack of the Clones

I like the design of Sony smartphones, but the Japanese haven't changed it for many years, so it's easy to get confused about the phones. Look at the photos, Xperia X is very similar to Xperia Z3+. They have almost identical dimensions, but the Xperia X is slightly smaller and noticeably lighter. I explain this by the fact that the screen size here is more modest: 5 inches versus 5.2.

The design of the Xperia X will please Sony fans, but if you are not a fan of the Japanese brand, you will get confused among a bunch of similar phones.

The sides in both cases are made of aluminum, but the Xperia X does not have plastic inserts at the corners, which, in theory, take the impact when dropped. But I doubt that this saves in cases where the glass body flies onto the asphalt.

Aluminum vs glass, a win-win choice in any case

After all, the back surface of the Xperia X is made of aluminum, while the Z3+ has glass. What's better? I like the matte finish better; it doesn’t get dirty at all compared to a stained glass plane. But the glass has a beautiful glare, which the Xperia X cannot boast of. Practicality vs beauty, this is the eternal torment of choice.

The volume button on the Xperia X has moved down, you confuse it with the power button and often press it in the wrong place out of habit. I think that the Z3+ had a more convenient key layout, but apparently due to the addition of a scanner, the entire design was redesigned.

The Xperia Z3+ does not have a fingerprint scanner; it appeared in the Z5; the Xperia X also inherited this useful feature. True, we had to sacrifice the signature round shape - the power key became flat. Sony is the only company that integrates a scanner on the side. Basically, it is added to the central button under the screen (Apple, Samsung, HTC, Moto) or on the back surface (Huawei and thousands of Chinese brands). It’s more intuitive for me to press the button under the screen, but after a week I got used to the Xperia X’s button layout.

The scanner works well, but there were cases when it did not work the first time. I had to enter a password to get to my data. But there were very few such cases, so I will not suffer on this score.

For the scanner to work, you must press a physical button, otherwise it will not work. But if the screen backlight is on, then a light touch is enough; you don’t need to press the button until it clicks. It's a shame that this feature doesn't work when the screen is locked.

Juicy, bright, Full HD

The new Xperia X has curved screen glass at the edges, 2.5D looks and feels nicer than simple flat glass. It is enough to move your finger over it to feel all this difference for yourself. The screen has a good oleophobic coating in all cases, the finger glides as it should.

In my opinion, the picture quality is comparable to previous Xperia models; if you don’t like the default settings, you can set the colors manually.

It's a pity, but Sony didn't give the Xperia X a frameless design, the frames are the same as the Z3. But there is protection from moisture, but the Xperia X does not have it; swimming in the sink is fatal for it. Due to the fact that the screen size is not very large, the phone is convenient to operate with one hand. The Xperia X is comparable to the Galaxy S6, but due to its angular shape, the Japanese phone looks more massive than the Korean one.

Xperia X is on the left, Xperia Z3 is on the right, don’t confuse it

Two days without an outlet

I didn't expect anything special from the Xperia X with a 2620 mAh battery. It turned out that I was wrong and the phone pleasantly surprised me by working longer than I expected. On average, I got 2 days of work with 4.5-5 hours of active screen. When idle, the phone practically does not explode.

But I noticed that as soon as I turn on LTE, the device sits down faster. Perhaps this is due to the non-final Sony firmware, because I have not noticed a similar situation with other devices. Z3 works less, it took me about one day. A triumph of technology.

I’ll also note that Sony has a convenient Stamina function, which is responsible for energy saving and turns off “unnecessary” processes to save battery.

Don't jerk when you don't ask

The compartment for the nano-SIM and memory card of the Xperia X is located on the side under a flap. Moreover, if you even slightly lift it, the phone goes into reboot, believing that they invariably want to pull out one of the cards from it. Xperia X will appear in a version with a single SIM card, but there will also be a dual-SIM version, where you can install a microSD instead of a second card.

I have no complaints about the speaker, I can hear people well, but I would like the ringer to be more powerful. Here it is quiet and calls are easy to miss.

Naturally, LTE is present, everything is in order. NFC helps you pay for purchases from your phone, I tried the service together with a Tinkoff card, everything works. At the same time, I was surprised that the seemingly progressive Alfa Bank does not know how to perform such an operation.

Fast smartphone

There is a sign with the test results for everyone. For comparison with the Xperia X, I took the Xperia Z3, last year Samsung Galaxy S6, which fits within this budget. And new Alcatel Idol 4s with filling like Xperia X.

The Xperia X has a mid-range processor; the Qualcomm 650 is comparable in power to last year's top-end chips, but inferior to them in graphics. The sensations are exactly the same as after getting acquainted with Alcatel: the test performance is adequate. But the software is still somewhat damp: sometimes the gallery slows down, sometimes the browser suddenly gets stuck.

Xperia X received 32 GB of internal memory, 20 GB of which remains for personal needs; if this is not enough, then a microSD slot will help increase the space. The smartphone has received an updated shell, it is seriously different from the one found in the Xperia Z3, although they have the same Android version. Both are on version 6. I think it would be fair to devote a separate article to the shell, there is a lot to talk about there.

I liked the phone for its sound quality, but the headphone headroom is not very large; for the metro you need to choose headphones with good noise insulation.

Reactive camera, but crude software

In theory, Xperia X is the new star of the world mobile photo. The phone has a new autofocus system, when we point the camera at an object, and it “guides” it until we press the shutter button. In the language of photographers, this is “shooting with wiring.” I tried it in cars on a cloudy day, the camera blurs the background well, leaving the object sharp. But how often do we film vehicles? I - no, much more often than children. But the problem with them is that it can be difficult to photograph a nimble child indoors. The camera also does not always focus on objects nearby.

I was impressed by the quick shooting function, which we enable in the settings. Then from the moment you press the shutter button until the photo is taken, it takes half a second. A dedicated shooting key is a separate plus for Sony; few people add this button to smartphones. But the Japanese thought everything through and this key is there for a reason, it helps you take pictures very quickly, without wasting time on unlocking.

The examples show how the camera “washes” along the left edge, I’ll attribute this to pre-production software or a defective module, unfortunately this happens. In general, I liked the camera, the phone takes pictures very well during the day, but in the evening the quality drops, and the lag behind flagships like the LG G4 or Samsung Galaxy S6 is noticeable. But they can be bought for the same money that they ask for the Xperia X.

Compared to the Xperia Z3, the new Xperia X has become more accurate in rendering colors, and the white balance works better. But there is noticeably more noise in the pictures. I think these are software flaws. I was also surprised that HDR is practically not noticeable in operation; when you turn on this option, when not, there is almost no difference.

Here we have a comparison with the Xperia Z3, the difference with the wide-angle optics of the Xperia X is clearly visible. In the example below, problems with the left side of the image are noticeable. I also think that Sony followed the path of Samsung and went into high-sharpness images. And at the same time they added a portion of noise to the pictures.

A bunch of pictures in different conditions for your reference.

Z3 Vs Xperia X

Pros of Z3:

• water protection
• more convenient ergonomics
• update to Android 6.0
• lower price
• 4K video recording
• strap holder

Pros Xperia X

• fingerprint scanner
• new shell and Android 6.0
• The camera focuses faster
• works longer
• higher LTE speed
• aluminum finish is more practical than glass

Opinion

For comparison with the Xperia X, you could take other Sony smartphones: not only the Z3, but also the Z3+, Z5 can become an alternative to this model. At least they cost less, take photos at a comparable level, and the difference in performance is not very big.

I think that 39,990 rubles for Sony Xperia X is a lot. Sony wants to compete on equal terms with Samsung, but last year's Galaxy S6 can be bought for the same money as the Xperia X, it will be better in all respects. Or consider the Galaxy A5, which costs about 25 thousand rubles, as an option.

Sony Xperia X is more expensive than its classmates with other comparable qualities, so the brand name alone cannot impress. So my friend looked at the Xperia X, touched the Xperia Z3 and ordered an iPhone 6.

Characteristics

The six-month release cycle of flagship smartphones gave us in September 2014 another representative of this level and the fourth in a row in the company’s top line, and this Sony Xperia Z3 review- go! Despite the not so big difference with its predecessor Xperia Z2, the new product still gained a number of improvements, both in terms of design and technical content, with its own strengths, which allow us, without exaggeration, to call it the main representative of the line. Here you have more fast processor, and improved audio, new camera algorithms, software additions and other innovations, which we will discuss in more detail below.

Design and dimensions

When I first saw the new Xperia Z3, to be honest, I fell in love with this device - despite the general OmniBalance design concept, the smartphone received rounded side frames in the color of the body, which made holding it in the hand much more convenient and pleasant. Also, the Japanese managed to make the case, albeit a little, but still more compact, thinner and lighter than its predecessor - the physical dimensions of the model are 146 x 72 x 7.3 mm and the weight is only 152 grams, which is very good considering that the case is made of metal. As already mentioned, the side edges are rounded and they are completely made of metal, the only thing is that all four corners are made of a special polymer that can absorb and soften the impact of a possible fall, so that internal components were not harmed - that’s caring for the consumer. Both the front and back panels are traditionally covered with tempered glass. The buttons are also made of metal, and the power key has become larger. The plugs acquired a rounded shape. By the way, the phone uses nanoSIM, which is worth considering. On the front panel, you will see two stereo speakers, which are located in the center of the top and bottom frames. And yet, no matter how you look at it, the Z3 is perfect and beautiful!

Traditionally for expensive models of the line, this smartphone received a waterproof and dustproof case in accordance with a higher degree of certification IP65\68, so if it suddenly gets covered with sand, you can soak the phone for half an hour at a depth of up to one and a half meters.

Another innovation is the color options and it is worth noting the Sony Xperia Z3 colors: classic black and white, as well as new menthol and bronze. This is what they look like in real life:

If we compare the model with the main competitors of the rank, it is a little larger, but in my opinion it also looks more beautiful.

Sony XperiaZ3 display options overview

The model received a display similar in size and characteristics to the Z2 - it is a 5.2-inch IPS LCD matrix with FullHD resolution with a pixel density of 424ppi. And yet, despite the lack of differences in terms of parameters, this is a new panel with an adjusted color gamut, more optimized in terms of charge consumption and very high brightness. All this thanks to Live Color LED and TRILUMINOS technology. The screen performed very well in tests - highest brightness, deep black and high contrast. If you value superb clarity and high quality images, then the Xperia Z3 will provide you with this in full. The only thing is that the color scheme goes a little blue, but again this was done because the human eye perceives such tones better. If you are not satisfied with something, you can always adjust the white balance.

Hardware and performance

You can look at more detailed technical specifications in, but we’ll tell you a little about the main hardware part. First of all, I would like to say that two versions of the model have been released: the Sony Xperia Z3 with one SIM card and the dual-SIM version of the Sony Xperia Z3 Dual, a review of which would be completely similar to this one, because in everything the phones are the same except for the amount of support for operator cards.

The Sony Xperia Z3 is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset model MSM8974AC - this is an overclocked version of the chip with 4 cores at 2.5 GHz and Adreno 330 video. This is a slightly improved processor than the Xperia Z2. There is also 3 GB of RAM on board. Based on synthetic tests, the smartphone takes a worthy place among competitors, even despite some minor differences in performance. Still, you can’t rely on “synthetics”, because true performance is felt in real use, and I’ll tell you, it’s more than enough. Several test results:

To store data, the phone has a 16 GB drive, of which more than 11 GB is available to the user. You can always expand it with the help of cards microSD memory up to 128 GB.

The sound of the speakers is quite good for a waterproof smartphone: its quality is high, the melody is clear. Support for noise-cancelling headphones is still there, but they are not included in the package, which is a pity.

Despite the fact that the battery capacity was reduced to 3100 mAh, as it turned out, this did not negatively affect the battery life; nevertheless, the smartphone showed one of the highest results on the market in terms of operating time on a single charge! If you use the phone for an hour of calls, an hour of Internet and an hour of video per day, the battery should last for 85 hours, that is, three and a half days!

User interface

Out of the box, the smartphone comes with Android 4.4.4 KitKat, and user interface was changed and, as for me, for the better. The signature Xperia Home is very smooth, comfortable and practical. Fortunately, the smartphone is not overloaded with an excessive amount of unnecessary programs and has a list of really important applications, among which, of course, it is worth noting the multimedia ones: “Album”, “Movies” and WALKMAN. Below you can see a video of the interface and screenshots.

Camera with the highest light sensitivity on the market

The camera in the Sony Xperia Z3 is a 20.7 Megapixel Exmor RS module with a BIONZ processor, already well known to us since the days of the Xperia Z1. Front-camera has not changed - 2.2 Megapixels. As for the main camera, it received an enlarged matrix and new optics, as well as the highest light sensitivity ISO12800. The mechanical camera start button, which is very convenient for underwater photography, has also remained intact. However, when you start the camera in this way, “Super Auto Mode” will start with a maximum frame resolution of 8 Megapixels; to switch to the full 20 Megapixels, you need to use “Manual Mode”. The settings have all the necessary options, modes and settings, and you can also use special applications for the camera, such as the augmented reality effect, slow motion, and more. This is what the camera interface looks like:

The Japanese did a great job with the camera algorithms, and the camera really began to work better. Images come out clear in both automatic and manual modes. The photos are excellent dynamic range, color rendition is good, but the increase in white balance is still noticeable. 20-megapixel photos have more detail. Photos from automatic mode have slightly less noise and increased sharpness. In low light conditions, the automatic mode also produces less noise. Here are examples of photos taken on the Xperia Z3:

Photo in ISO12800 mode in very low light without flash - of course, noise is noticeable and clarity is not the best, but in reality not a single smartphone will take a photo best quality under these conditions:

In terms of video, the camera is also good: it is possible to shoot 2160p video at 30 frames per second, 1080p at 60fps and even slow motion mode with a resolution of 720p, as well as HDR video. Digital stabilization SteadyShot does its job perfectly - the picture does not twitch. Below you can see the quality of the recorded video:

Bottom line Sony Xperia Z3 review

In general, the transition from Xperia Z2 to Xperia Z3 cannot be called too global; if you are the owner of a second “Zetka”, then there are not many reasons to switch to Z3, but if you are buying the flagship of a Japanese brand for the first time, then for sure best choice It will be the Sony Xperia Z3. It has a beautiful design, first-class build quality, a waterproof body, a bright display with high contrast, high performance, excellent battery life, stereo speakers, and a good camera.

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Detailed testing of the new Sony flagship Mobile

Perhaps it’s worth starting with the fact that Sony, having once again updated its main and most popular line of mobile devices called Xperia Z, this time brought everything “to a common denominator”, giving all devices included in the updated series, without exception, a serial number 3. Thus, even the miniature version of the flagship smartphone Sony Z3 Compact immediately “jumped” one digit in its index, so as not to differ from its comrades in the line. There is no longer and will never be a model called Xperia Z2 Compact; users immediately received a third “mini” version, and now all three main products in the top family have the same index Z3 in their name.

New line of mobiles Sony devices was presented at the very beginning of autumn during the IFA 2014 world exhibition and includes three top-end devices: the flagship smartphone Sony Xperia Z3, its miniature version Xperia Z3 Compact, and a new eight-inch tablet called Sony Z3 Tablet. This applies to the main devices of the line. Besides them, in new series Sony mobile products have entered budget Xperia smartphone E3, and a watch, and a new bracelet with an electronic ink screen... But everything has its time. Today we present to your attention a detailed test review of the most important device in the top family - the Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone, which very quickly replaced the Xperia Z2 introduced literally in the spring. The Japanese firmly adhere to the once chosen course of updating the flagship line every six months, rightly believing that during this time enough reasons have accumulated to update the model range.

Unlike the Xperia Z2, which progressed relative to its predecessors precisely in terms of technical improvements, the Xperia Z3 added virtually no changes in this regard. But on the other hand, very significant work was done on the appearance of the product itself and the user GUI, that is, most of the changes this time lie precisely in the plane of design and decoration. However, this does not mean that the next update should be treated with disdain. On the contrary, the Sony Xperia Z3 has eliminated all those shortcomings and roughness that irritated the powerful, but in many ways rough Xperia Z2. However, in terms of technical characteristics, some changes have occurred. Let's talk about everything in order.

Video review

First, we suggest watching our video review of the Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone:

Key Features of Sony Xperia Z3 (Model D6603)

	Sony Xperia Z3	Vivo Xshot	HTC One M8	Samsung Galaxy S5
Screen	5.2″, IPS	5.2″, IPS	5″, Super LCD 3	5.1″, Super AMOLED
Permission	1920×1080, 423 ppi	1920×1080, 424 ppi	1920×1080, 440 ppi	1920×1080, 432 ppi
SoC			Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 Krait 400 cores) @2.3 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 Krait 400 cores) @2.5 GHz
GPU	Adreno 330	Adreno 330	Adreno 330	Adreno 330
RAM	3 GB	2/3 GB	2 GB	2 GB
Flash memory	16 GB	16/32 GB	16/32 GB	16 GB
Memory card support	microSD	microSD	microSD	microSD
operating system	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.3	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4
Battery	non-removable, 3100 mAh	non-removable, 2600 mAh	non-removable, 2600 mAh	removable, 2800 mAh
Cameras	rear (20.7 MP; 4K video), front (2.2 MP)	rear (13 MP; 4K video), front (8 MP)	rear (4 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP)	rear (16 MP; 4K video), front (2 MP)
Dimensions and weight	146×72×7.3 mm, 152 g	146×73×8 mm, 148 g	146×71×9.4 mm, 160 g	142×73×8.1 mm, 145 g
average price	T-11028534	T-10970877	T-10761030	T-10725078
Sony Xperia Z3 offers	L-11028534-10

• SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC), 2.5 GHz, 4 cores
• GPU Adreno 330
• operating room Android system 4.4 KitKat
• Touch IPS display, 5.2″, 1920×1080
• Random access memory (RAM) 3 GB, inner memory 16 GB
• MicroSD card slot up to 128 GB (SDXC)
• Protection against dust and moisture according to IP 65/68 standard
• Communication GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communications 3G UMTS HSPA+ 850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz
• LTE Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 20 (2600/800 FDD are used in the Russian Federation)
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
• Support DLNA, MHL 3.0, OTG, Media Go, MTP, Miracast
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), point Wi-Fi access
• GPS/Glonass
• Exmor RS 20.7 MP camera, autofocus, LED flash, 4K video
• Front camera 2.2 MP
• Non-removable battery 3100 mAh
• Dimensions 146×72×7.3 mm
• Weight 152 g

Contents of delivery

The Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone is packaged in a fairly simple-looking, flat and square box made of thin unvarnished cardboard, which has already become classic for the latest products in the Sony mobile line, with a cardboard tray and three different-sized compartments inside, separated by thin partitions.

The Sony Xperia Z3 package is very laconic: a compact charger and a Micro-USB connecting cable. Sony has decided to no longer include headphones in the package with its flagship products; they will be offered separately at a fairly reasonable price, as an additional accessory.

Appearance and ease of use

If most of the main changes in the Sony Xperia Z2 affected the technical part, then in the third incarnation the previous content was dressed in a much fresher shell. Since the very first Xperia Z appearance The casing of all flagship smartphones in the line has remained virtually unchanged over generations, remaining the same type. The basis of the design, to which the developers even gave their own name OmniBalance, was a frame with flat edges. Moreover, recently it has taken on the appearance of such a rough, heavy all-metal structure with cut off sharp edges that the Xperia Z2, for example, was really uncomfortable to hold in the hand. The main complaints that immediately poured in from users regarding the Xperia Z2 presented in the spring concerned precisely the roughness and heaviness of the body of the new product. This time, the developers took into account all the negative nuances and changed the feeling of using a smartphone beyond recognition.

Moreover, they didn’t have to do almost anything: they just removed the flat chamfers from the surface of the side frames, which made the rough edges that dug into the palm disappear. The metal frame has become completely streamlined; flat and sharp edges have been replaced by rounded sides, making the device really pleasant to hold in your hand.

The polymer gasket between metal and glass, which disappeared in recent models, has not returned here, but the metal edges of the edge no longer dig into the skin as before. Now in the hands of the user there is a pleasant-to-touch, smooth and streamlined “block”, which has also lost weight. The weight of the Sony Xperia Z3 was brought to a comfortable level, which had the most favorable effect on the overall perception of the device - now there is simply nothing to complain about.

As for the general structure of the case, the smartphone is still a monolithic, non-separable candy bar, consisting of two glass plates and a metal frame that runs along the entire side perimeter of the case. The metal surface is matte and slightly rough, which is why the smartphone is perfectly held in the fingers and does not slip out of the palm.

At the same time, even greater changes have been made to the design of the frame than are immediately noticeable to the eye. The fact is that the corners of the frame this time were made of polycarbonate material, which absorbs shock when the device falls. Now they play the role of shock absorbers, which, in theory, should have a beneficial effect on the “survival” of the product after falls from a height. This plastic is indistinguishable from the metal of the frame itself, so that overall the body retains a uniform appearance.

Another change affected the thickness of the case: the smartphone has become a little thinner, and it looks very cool. True, the decrease in thickness led to a decrease in the volume of the built-in battery, but the changes in this regard are not very significant.

Otherwise, everything remains in place: the front and rear windows no longer have the factory protective film, the characteristics of the glass are similar to the popular Corning Gorilla Glass, but proud Sony does not like to talk about its suppliers. The screen is now made using IPS technology, next to it on the front side there are two stereo speakers facing the user. A special connector with an open pair of contacts for installing a smartphone in a docking station has not been forgotten. The connector is universal: most modern Sony devices, including tablets, can be installed in the same docking station, purchased separately.

The covers on the side frame are still made of metal and equipped with rubberized gaskets. As a result, the smartphone, like its predecessors, is provided with maximum protection against the ingress of water and dust according to the IP 65/68 standard. There are two covers; they hide slots for a memory card and SIM card, as well as a Micro-USB connector. By the way, changes have occurred here too: now top-end Sony mobile devices use Nano-SIM format cards, obviously with an eye to a painless possible transition for some users from the Apple iPhone. The rest will have to go back to the communication store and change their SIM card to a card of the new standard.

The front and rear glass panels now do not have those factory protective films that were so controversial. Maybe this is for the better, since the films naturally wore out faster and became covered with a lot of scratches than glass, and removing them was quite problematic, and besides, the glass then lost its grease-repellent coating.

The sound output grilles are located at the top and bottom of the screen; the role of the grilles is played by two symmetrical slits in the glass. A completely logical solution is to turn the speakers towards the user, and not away from him, and there are two speakers themselves. By the way, the sound of the new flagship has become significantly louder than that of its predecessors, even despite the gaskets that protect it from water. Another change: previously, it was through the top slot of the speaker that the status indicator light made its way, now its role is played by a more traditional, separately located LED point. In the settings menu there is an item where you can disable some of the indicator’s functions, leaving it to notify only about the charging status.

Below the screen, as is customary with Sony, there are no hardware touch buttons; control is carried out using virtual buttons on the screen. So here below you can only find the lower speaker grille, and even then there is not much space left for it. In general, the frames around the screen are very thin on all sides, so that the body of the smartphone, with such a large display area, remains in quite manageable dimensions - both for the average human hand and for a pocket of any size.

The back wall of the case is exactly the same as the front: it is made of glass, there is no protective film on it, there are no gaskets between the glass and the metal of the side edges, and functional elements There are only a camera window and a flash eye. The flash here consists of a single LED, while most competing flagships have had dual flashes for a long time, and now they also come in multi-colored ones. It’s good that they didn’t forget to provide the smartphone with pre-installed software that allows you to use this module in flashlight mode.

The power and lock button is located on the right side, next to the volume key. It is traditional for latest smartphones Sony has the appearance of a metal round, but in models of the third series it is somewhat different in appearance. All the keys are large, easy to feel blindly, and have a distinct spring-loaded action, so there are no complaints about the controls of the Sony Xperia Z3.

At the bottom of the right side there is a dedicated hardware camera control key, thanks to which the smartphone can be used for shooting even underwater, although the screen at this time becomes insensitive to touch. The ability to shoot underwater on Sony mobile devices is a proprietary feature that the company constantly plays out in advertising and on posters.

The headphone audio jack (3.5 mm) is located on top here, and it is not covered by any plugs. However, it is also protected from water getting inside the case. There is nothing on the bottom end - a universal Micro-USB connector, which, by the way, supports connecting external devices in OTG mode, hidden under a cover on the left side. For daily charging, you will have to flip this cover every time - or use a separately purchased docking station. Support wireless charging Sony is in no hurry to integrate it into its mobile devices.

There is another hole in the lower left corner of the case - this is a traditional strap mount, which is present on all Sony smartphones, and it is a pity that other manufacturers neglect this useful element.

The color scheme of the new flagship's cases has undergone significant changes. Quite unexpectedly, the smartphone was presented not only in traditional black and white, and also, quite expectedly, gold, but also in a completely new one - mint green, which the developers simply call green. In fact, this color has a soft pastel, like a slightly faded greenish tone; The color is discreet and very pleasing to the eye. But the golden color is more reminiscent of highly polished copper, which is why it got its name Copper (copper-red).

Screen

The Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone is equipped with an IPS touch matrix. The screen dimensions are 64x114 mm, diagonal - 5.2 inches, resolution - 1920x1080 pixels. A parameter such as pixel density is 423 ppi here. From the developers themselves this type The display received the brand name Triluminos.

The screen is covered from the outside protective glass without factory protective film - this is branded distinctive feature completely disappeared from the screens of Sony mobile devices. The thickness of the side frames from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is approximately 3 mm - the frames are very narrow.

The display brightness can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment. Multi-touch technology here allows you to process up to 10 simultaneous touches. The display can be operated with gloves or wet fingers. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is locked using a proximity sensor.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens of both devices (Sony Xperia Z3, as it is not difficult to determine, is on the right; then they can be distinguished by size):

Both screens are dark, but the Sony screen is still darker (its brightness in the photo is 98 versus 103 for the Nexus 7). The tripling of reflected objects in the Sony Xperia Z3 screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the outer glass (also known as the touch sensor) and the surface of the matrix (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass-air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better under strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, perhaps better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 680 cd/m², and the minimum was 4.7 cd/m². The maximum value is simply huge and is a record for this type of technology, and, given the good anti-reflective properties, in bright daylight and even in direct sunlight, the image on the screen should be clearly visible. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the logo on the front panel). IN automatic mode When external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the brightness adjustment position. If it is at maximum, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 130 cd/m² (too much), in an artificially lit office (about 400 lux) it sets it to 350 cd/m² (very much), in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 580 cd/m² (enough). If the brightness slider is at half the scale (it is very non-linear - after 50% the brightness goes up sharply as the setting value increases), then the screen brightness for the three conditions indicated above is as follows: 68, 240 and 580 cd/m² (suitable values). If the brightness control is set to minimum - 7.4, 120, 580 cd/m². As a result, the auto-brightness function works absolutely adequately. At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.

This screen uses an IPS type matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of the Nexus 7 and Sony Xperia Z3, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m² (over a white field in the entire screen), and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K . White field perpendicular to the plane of the screens:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:

The colors on the Sony Xperia Z3's screen are oversaturated, skin tones are heavily red-shifted, and the color balance is very different from the standard. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on the Sony Xperia Z3 the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to the strong brightening of blacks and a greater decrease in brightness. And a white field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (at least 5 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but in the case of the Sony Xperia Z3 the drop in brightness is greater (brightness according to photographs is 216 versus 230 for the Nexus 7). However, the color tone did not change much. When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly and acquires a violet or red-violet hue. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same for the screens!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is average, since there are areas with slightly increased brightness along the edge:

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is normal - about 690:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 23 ms (14 ms on + 9 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 33 ms. Constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, the gamma curve did not reveal any blockage in either highlights or shadows, and the index of the approximating power function was 2.31, which is higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve strongly deviates from the power law:

The smartphone has a dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness depending on the nature of the displayed image. The general tendency is that in dark images the brightness is reduced, but the algorithm is somewhat complex, and as a result, periodically the brightness jumps noticeably, which is annoying, and decreasing the brightness in dark images reduces the visibility of gradations in the shadows under external illumination. That is, there is zero benefit from this function, only harm. As a result, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates with a consistently average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen. Of course, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen.

The color gamut is noticeably wider than sRGB:

Let's look at the spectra:

They are very atypical. As they write on the Sony website, this screen uses LEDs with a blue emitter and green and red phosphors (usually a blue emitter and a yellow phosphor), which, in combination with special matrix filters, allows for a wide color gamut. Unfortunately, as a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and these are the vast majority) have an unnatural saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. The result is shown in the photo above. Note that when compared with the Sony Xperia Z2, it is clear that the manufacturer tried to improve the situation with oversaturated colors, and to bring the coverage back to normal, it increased the cross-mixing of components, but something stopped it at the phase of reducing the saturation of the green color. Thanks for trying, but we need to go further, reduce it to sRGB.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is far from ideal, since the color temperature is higher than the standard 6500 K. True, the deviation from the spectrum of an absolutely black body (ΔE) over most of the gray scale is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. But at the same time, the variation in color temperature and ΔE is large, which negatively affects the visual perception of color balance. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

This smartphone has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the intensities of the three primary colors. That's what we tried to do, the result is data signed as Corr. in the graphs above. As a result, we slightly reduced ΔE on white and brought the white point a little closer to 6500 K (but also greatly reduced the brightness).

We were prevented from bringing at least the white point back to normal by the limited range of adjustments and high discreteness, which is actually higher than the adjustment step. However, this correction did not reduce the oversaturation of colors.

If someone still finds the image on the screen of this smartphone not bright enough, you can turn on the proprietary mode X-Reality for mobile. The result is shown below:

Saturation and contour sharpness are software enhanced, and there are fewer discernible gradations in the area of ​​saturated colors. But the picture, yes, has become brighter. For color extremists, there is a “maximum brightness” mode, in which the mockery of the image (and common sense) exceeds all reasonable limits. This is what we got:

Of course, such a picture will find fans. We are all very different.

Let's summarize. The brightness adjustment range of this screen is simply wider than ever, and the anti-glare properties are all right, which allows you to comfortably use the smartphone both on a sunny day on the beach and in complete darkness. It is permissible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works absolutely adequately. The advantages also include a very effective oleophobic coating, no flicker and no air gap in the layers of the screen. The disadvantages are a strong highlighting of black color when the gaze deviates from perpendicular to the surface of the screen and aggressive dynamic brightness adjustment. Color rendering is not the best, colors are oversaturated (skin tones are especially affected), color balance differs from the standard. The presence of appropriate adjustments allows you to slightly correct the balance, but not completely and at the expense of reducing brightness. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices (and the most important thing is the visibility of information in a wide range of external conditions), the quality of the screen can be considered high.

Sound

For the first time, the sound of Sony's flagship smartphone was truly pleasing. During the behind-the-scenes first acquaintance with the prototypes of the Sony Xperia Z3 at the IFA exhibition in Berlin, the device did not impress with its sound. However, the production sample that was later sent to our editor pleasantly surprised us with the power of its sound and the depth of sound, especially considering that the speakers here are also covered with membranes that protect against water. The new Xperia Z3 sounds much louder and better than its predecessors, the sound remains clear at maximum volume, low frequencies not in excess, but quite enough, the maximum volume is high. Looking ahead, it is worth noting that the mini version of the Xperia Z3 Compact is not so rosy with this; the devices clearly have speakers of different quality.

To play music, the device traditionally uses a proprietary Walkman player. The standard audio player is rich in settings and additional software sound improvements, such as a built-in equalizer with a lot of preset values ​​(you can set your own), Clear Phase, xLoud or virtual surround sound. Control of most settings is available if the complex ClearAudio+ function is turned off, otherwise all settings are left to the machine.

FM radio is included as standard with the smartphone. Traditionally, it only works with connected headphones as an antenna; it does not have the ability to record programs. There was no voice recorder in the standard configuration of the flagship, just like the Xperia Z3 Compact, by the way.

Camera

Sony Xperia Z3 is equipped with two modules digital cameras with a resolution of 20.7 and 2.2 megapixels. The hardware here is exactly the same as in the Sony Xperia Z2, only software effects are added. The main 20.7-megapixel camera is equipped with a G Lens series lens with a focal length of 27 mm and an aperture of F2.0. The camera uses a 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS for mobile sensor and a Bionz for mobile processor.

By default, the cameras of all Sony devices operate as standard in the so-called super auto mode (iauto) with a wide aspect ratio, but you can switch the shooting mode manual settings. It is noteworthy that when you use the hardware button on the side of the device to quickly turn on the camera, it is always activated only in automatic shooting mode, even if manual mode was previously enabled. If you launch the camera application by touching the icon on the display, then everything goes as usual, and the camera leaves the previous settings intact, that is, it starts in manual mode, if one was set earlier. Note that there is a big difference between automatic and manual modes, because the maximum resolution of images can only be set in manual adjustment mode. When shooting in automatic mode, which is set by default, photos are obtained with a size of 3840 × 2160 (8 megapixels), and in manual mode the maximum possible resolution is exactly the same 20.7 megapixels (5248 × 3936).

In addition to automatic and manual, the Sony Xperia Z3 camera software has several interesting additional shooting modes. The Info-eye mode, for example, provides contextual information to an object in the frame using augmented reality technology. In Timeshift burst mode, the camera takes up to 61 shots two seconds before pressing the shutter button, from which you can then choose the best one. The Social live function allows you to upload footage directly to Facebook and view comments on it on your smartphone screen. AR effect makes it possible to combine pictures with animation using proprietary augmented reality technology SmartAR. In addition, the range of additional applications that increase the choice of different shooting modes can be expanded through downloadable applications, the number of which is constantly growing. To do this, simply turn on the camera, press the shooting mode icon and select “+Apps” to view additional options.

The camera can shoot video in 1080p and UHD (4K) resolution, but the main thing is that it also has the ability to shoot in the most interesting of modes - 1080p at 60 frames/second. An example of such a video is presented below.

• Video No. 1 (84 MB, 1920×1080, 60 fps)

	Good (but not excellent) sharpness on the left side of the frame, which cannot be said about the right side and edges.
	In mid-shots, sharpness drops noticeably. The camera adjusts the exposure too sensitively.
	There are problems with exposure, as well as noise in the shadows and object boundaries.
	The color of the sky is quite “even”, although for this reason the wires simply “drowned” in it.
	In this case, the exposure was chosen well and the shadows were worked out. But there are still problems with the noise reduction and the right side of the frame.
	Again, an unpleasant choice of exposure and a large area of ​​blur on the right.
	The foliage in the background is beautifully done in some places, and terrible in others. The number plate of the nearest car is visible.
	Some sharpening is noticeable on the wires, which still does not save them from drowning in the blue.

Trying to keep up with inexorable progress, manufacturers do not always present ready-made devices. It has happened more than once that the very first models turned out to be somewhat “damp”. Unfortunately, sometimes famous manufacturers also sin with this.

The smartphone came to us even before its official presentation in Russia, and therefore I remember the case of the Sony Z1 Compact, the camera of which we did not quite deservedly hack. The problem was that due to the “dampness” of the sample, good pictures were taken only once, or even three times. Most likely, the problem was in the camera firmware, which did not adequately process the signal from the image sensor, which is why there was a characteristic blur in the pictures. A similar effect occurs when the camera rotates around the optical axis at relatively long shutter speeds, with sharpness noticeably deteriorating from the center to the edges of the frame. As a result, it was probably possible to shoot with the camera only from a tripod. But in later copies of the smartphone the camera has become noticeably better.

A similar effect is present here: part of the image is blurred, as with a long exposure. Perhaps the reason is that the camera takes several pictures at too large an interval. In any case, we hope that everything will be fixed soon enough, and Sony, as we have already noticed, brings its products to a decent state.

	Lighting ≈3200 lux. The camera does a good job.
	Lighting ≈1400 lux. The situation remains virtually unchanged.
	Lighting ≈130 lux. The grain from the noise reduction becomes a little larger.
	Lighting ≈130 lux, flash. The outbreak does little to improve the situation.
	Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. Камера справляется немного хуже, чем в прошлый раз. Вспышка очень слабая.

As for this camera “here and now”, it is somewhat inconsistent with a flagship of this level. The software processing is not the worst, but it is clear that it was done in haste: there are barely noticeable traces of sharpening and “laddering” on straight lines, the exposure metering is overly sensitive, and the noise reduction works erratically and (not always and in places) roughly. The noise reduction doesn't handle shadows very well for a flagship, but it's acceptable. What’s worse is that it spoils mid- and long-range plans, although the sharpness of the optics and the resolution of the sensor are quite capable of working out such details, as confirmed by the graph, which in this case somewhat rehabilitates the camera and gives it the right to life. Ultimately, all the problems (I want to believe) rest on the program, which the manufacturer did not have time to bring to perfection. Another reason to believe this is the feeling that the camera contains a module very similar to the Z2 camera. At the same time, the Superior Auto mode produces pictures of a different size than in the case of the Z2. Therefore, if the assumption is correct, then the module is definitely good, and the program is completely redesigned and, apparently, (yet) unfinished. But Sony is unlikely to abandon its flagship to the mercy of fate, and this problem should be corrected in production samples. Well, in any case, the physical parameters of the camera are very decent, and after improvements it promises to be interesting. And even now, with some skill, it is suitable for various subjects.

Telephone and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth generation networks (LTE) used in Russia. In practice, with a SIM card from the domestic operator MTS, the smartphone confidently recognizes and works with 4G networks. The network capabilities of the smartphone are extensive and correspond to a truly top level: there is support for the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, and as a standard you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The mode for connecting external devices (USB Host, USB OTG) is supported, so you can connect flash drives and mice with keyboards to the Micro-USB port. The navigation module works with both GPS and the domestic Glonass system.

There were no spontaneous reboots/shutdowns observed during testing, as well as system slowdowns or freezes. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is blocked by the proximity sensor. The LED indicator at the top of the front panel provides notification of charging status and incoming events.

There is no dedicated top row with numbers on the standard keyboard by default; you need to switch the layout each time, or connect the number row yourself through the settings menu. The layout itself and the location of the keys are standard: to switch the language layout, just click on the button with the corresponding icon. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. There is a convenient option to move the keyboard closer to one side of the screen to make it easier to reach with the fingers of the hand holding the smartphone. Naturally, continuous writing (by sliding your finger from letter to letter) Swype is also supported.

OS and software

The operating system is the latest version of the Google Android 4.4.4 KitKat software platform, on top of which is traditionally installed its own proprietary graphical user interface. The internal structure of the shell, all menus, settings items and pop-up contextual submenus - everything remains exactly the same. However, the external shell has undergone significant changes. Previously, Sony's graphical interface elements were drawn quite finely. Now, unexpectedly, all the elements on the screen, and most importantly, the application icons themselves, began to look much larger and clearer. The fonts have increased; such sudden transformations have only benefited the smartphone. There are also less obvious, but in some ways more useful, improvements. Finally, for example, a function to reboot the device has appeared in the menu, because before this only Sony smartphones lacked such an option. If it was necessary to reboot the device, it was necessary to first turn off and then turn on the smartphone, which was annoying.

The most important innovation that has occurred in software terms with the new Sony mobile devices is the emergence of close integration with the Sony PlayStation 4 game console. If the house already has one, then the Xperia Z3 smartphone, or the Xperia Z3 Tablet, can serve as a “portable screen” , that is, everything that happens begins to be displayed not on the TV screen, but on the screen of a mobile device. This is, for example, convenient when you need to free up the TV if one of the family members suddenly wants to watch some other program on TV. For such use, Sony will produce a special mount that can connect a smartphone or tablet to the joystick of a game console. This service is called Remote Play.

Performance

Like the previous flagship, the Sony Xperia Z3 hardware platform is based on a single-chip quad-core system (SoC) Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with four Krait 400 cores. However, the Sony Xperia Z2 had a maximum processor core frequency of only 2.3 GHz, while the Sony Xperia Z3 it is increased to 2.5 GHz. This is explained by the fact that it uses a slightly more advanced version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC).

The processor here is supported in graphics processing by the same Adreno 330 video accelerator. About 11 GB of 16 GB of own memory are initially available in the device for the user’s needs. The smartphone's RAM capacity is 3 GB, and this makes the Sony Xperia Z3 stand out among its direct competitors - all the others received only 2 GB of RAM. MicroSD memory cards in this model are supported up to 128 GB; you can also connect external flash drives, keyboards and mice to the Micro-USB port using a special adapter in OTG mode.

To get an idea of ​​the performance of the platform of the smartphone under test, we will conduct a standard set of tests.

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing in MobileXPRT, as well as in the latest versions of AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

Based on benchmark testing results, the device proved to be one of the most powerful and productive modern mobile devices on the market. It is worth noting that all the figures practically coincided with the results of the previous Sony models Xperia Z2, which recently underwent exactly the same tests. As for the results in the AnTuTu test, they have increased significantly, but it is not yet entirely clear how the results of the two versions of the popular benchmark correlate with each other, because now the fourth version has been replaced by the fifth, and all new devices are now tested in it. It is unknown whether the developers have brought everything to a common denominator, so for now we will have to mark on the plates which versions of the benchmark this or that model was tested with. However, the difference is probably not that great; all the top smartphones, which are based on the Snapdragon 801, are, in any case, the most powerful mobile devices on the market today, the hardware capacity of which will be sufficient for a long time to complete any assigned tasks.

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

Results of testing the graphics subsystem in the Epic Citadel gaming test, as well as Basemark X and Bonsai Benchmark:

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.

According to testing results, the Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone was not equipped with all the decoders necessary for full playback of most of the most common files on the Internet. But the first smartphone in the series, the Xperia Z model, played all these same files without any problems without the need to resort to third-party solutions. Here, to successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, even in it you will first have to change the settings, switching from hardware decoding to software or to a new mode called Hardware+(not supported by all smartphones), only then will sound appear. All results are summarized in a table.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3	Hardware+
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3	plays fine with decoder Hardware+	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3	plays fine with decoder Hardware+	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹

¹ MX Video Player only played sound after switching to software decoding or a new mode Hardware+; The standard player does not have this setting

Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it, we used the LG IPS237L monitor, which supports direct MHL connection using a passive adapter cable from micro-USB to HDMI. In this case, output via MHL was carried out at a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels at a frequency of 30 frames/s. Regardless of the actual orientation of the smartphone, the image is displayed on the smartphone and monitor screens only in landscape orientation with the connector on the smartphone facing down. In this case, the image on the monitor fits exactly within the boundaries of the display area (if you remember to increase the setting Image Size up to 100%) and repeats the image on the smartphone screen one to one.

Sound is output via MHL (in this case, the sounds were heard through headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of good quality. In this case, sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume is not adjusted using the buttons on the smartphone body, but is turned off. In our case, the smartphone with the MHL adapter connected was charging, judging by the charge indicator.

Next, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”), we checked how the video is displayed on the screen of the smartphone itself. Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied: 1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels and frame rates of 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps. In the tests, we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware+” mode. The results of this (block entitled “Smartphone Screen”) and the next test are summarized in the table:

Fine No

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.

According to the frame output criterion, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since the frames (or groups of frames) can output with a more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. The displayed brightness range is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, all gradations of shades are displayed in shadows and highlights. When playing video files with a resolution of 1080p (1920 by 1080 pixels), the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly across the width of the screen, in the original Full HD resolution.

With a monitor connected via MHL, when playing video, the monitor displays an exact copy of the smartphone screen, that is, the output is in true Full HD resolution in the case of 1080p files.

The brightness range displayed on the monitor is equal to the standard range of 16-235 - all gradations of shades are displayed in shadows and highlights. The results of the monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the “MHL (monitor output)” block. The output quality is good. We do not show the results for files with 50 and 60 fps, since this does not make sense due to the output mode of 30 fps. For games where higher frame rates are desired, you can use available external adapters that provide 60 fps output at 720p, or you can try to find monitors/adapters that support MHL output at 1080p at 60 fps.

The conclusion is typical: an MHL connection can be used for gaming, watching movies, surfing the web and other activities that benefit from a larger screen size.

Battery life

The lithium-ion battery installed in the Sony Xperia Z3 turned out to be quite a bit smaller in volume than that of the Xperia Z2, but still has a capacity of 3100 mAh that is quite decent for a modern flagship. Sony's new flagship did not set a record in terms of battery life, but it showed itself to be no worse, and maybe even a little better, than its predecessor. Perhaps the new type of battery has an effect, or the optimization of energy consumption has become better, but in any case, a slight decrease in the battery capacity of the new product did not negatively affect the battery life of the device in test modes.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Sony Xperia Z3	3100 mAh	20:00	10:00 am	4 hours 50 minutes
Sony Xperia Z2	3200 mAh	15:20	11:00 am	3 hours 30 minutes
Oppo Find 7a	2800 mAh	16:40	8 a.m. 20 p.m.	3:00 am
HTC One M8	2600 mAh	22:10	13:20	3 hours 20 minutes
Samsung Galaxy S5	2800 mAh	17:20	12:30 pm	4 hours 30 minutes
TCL Idol X+	2500 mAh	12:30 pm	7:20 am	3:00 am
Lenovo Vibe Z	3050 mAh	11:45 am	8:00 am	3 hours 30 minutes
Acer Liquid S2	3300 mAh	16:40	7 hours 40 minutes	6:00 am
LG G Flex	3500 mAh	23:15	13:30	6 hours 40 minutes
LG G2	3000 mAh	20:00	12:30 pm	4 hours 45 minutes
Sony Xperia Z1	3000 mAh	11:45 am	8:00 am	4 hours 30 minutes

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted more than 20 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching videos from YouTube in high quality (HQ) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted 10 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone worked for almost 5 hours. The device charges quite quickly; a full charge takes less than 3 hours.

Bottom line

Once again, Sony Mobile has released an excellent top-end device of the highest quality and performance class. The Japanese flagship boasts an expensive, catchy and stylish design and, of course, premium materials. Among its strengths are also the presence of a high degree of protection from water and dust, the highest hardware performance and technical equipment to date, as well as a powerful battery and good sound quality. The screen and camera cannot certainly be called excellent, but they generally correspond to the high level of the smartphone. However, at this point I would like to state with a little sadness that we did not see any breakthroughs in the next update. The smartphone's hardware remains virtually the same; the changes are, albeit noticeable, but still mostly cosmetic. However, we did not see any special breakthroughs from other manufacturers in the new season either; the market froze in anticipation of new technical discoveries, and we are looking forward to them too.