Sony Xperia XZ2 the comeback kid?

I’VE LONG had a soft spot for Sony smartphones. They introduced premium build quality and cutting-edge camera technology when competitors were still flogging flagship phones with plastic bodies and mediocre snappers.

They were also leaders in the field of “life-proof” phones, bringing water resistance to their premium devices and several mid-range handsets years before the likes of Samsung and Apple. But somehow they never achieved the popularity of these brands and have since been hauled in and overtaken by newcomers like Huawei.

One of the factors contributing to Sony’s stagnation in the smartphone rankings may have been its insistence on sticking to an unashamedly slab-like design ethic long after the competition embraced the trend towards narrower and taller phones with ever-receding bezels.

The result was devices that continued to deliver innovative tech, like under-button fingerprint readers, but that grew increasingly outdated in appearance with every passing year.

That’s no longer the case. With the release of the Xperia XZ2 at the Mobile World Congress in February, Sony decisively ditched what it called its Omnibalance design philosophy in favour of a device that’s fresh and modern to look at as well as packed with powerful features and technology.

Will it be enough to change Sony’s flagging fortunes? I can’t say, but after spending the past couple of weeks with the XZ2, I believe it’s the company’s best shot yet.

The new look and feel is apparent the moment you remove it from its box and place it in your hand. Unlike its slate-like predecessors, this Xperia nestles into the palm rather than awkwardly straddling it. This is thanks to its 18:9 aspect ratio display and ergonomically curved glass back as well as the almost complete absence of side bezels – although it still sports a pronounced, if noticeably smaller, forehead and chin.

This makes for a 5.7-inch highdynamic range display that’s some 13% bigger than on previous devices of similar size. While it’s just full HD rather than the quad HD that’s now customary on high end smartphones, it’s bright and responsive, making for a pleasant video watching and game playing experience in landscape mode.

This is enhanced further by the addition of stereo speakers – which Sony claims are the loudest ever included in an Xperia smartphone – and a “dynamic vibration system”, which “lets you feel the action in your hands, bringing your movies, games and videos to life”.

I found the latter a bit of a hitand-miss affair, with the system sometimes failing to register onscreen explosions or car crashes but rumbling away merrily to an offscreen train. I was pretty impressed with the speakers, though, which I found to be as good as, if not a tad better than, those on Samsung’s Galaxy S9.

One audio innovation I’m less thrilled about is the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack but with the likes of Apple and Huawei having already blazed this sorry trail, Sony is in good company in this regard.

Another gripe is the placement of the fingerprint reader puzzlingly low down on the back of the device. This meant I repeatedly touched my finger to the camera, itself a third of the way down the back of the phone and right in the spot you’d expect the fingerprint scanner to be. You’ll eventually get used to it but, until you do, expect some blurry pictures.

With a clean lens, the 19-megapixel single rear camera – no dual or triple lens snapper here – takes some excellent images, although its low light performance isn’t on par with latest Samsung and Huawei flagships.

There’s also a distinct scarcity of built-in camera functions, like bokeh, compared to competitors. Granted, a lot of them are available by downloading free Sony apps but with competitors increasingly building these into their core camera functionality and beefing them up with sophisticated AI smarts, I can’t help feeling Sony – once a leader in the mobile photography field – is falling behind.

When it comes to videography, the Xperia XZ2 fares better. It’s the first smartphone to come with 4K HDR video capture, although you’ll need an Hdr-compatible TV or phone to get the most out of this.

Sony has also improved its 960fps slow-motion camera, with Full HD capture now possible, giving it a slight edge over the Huawei P20 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S9 in this respect.

It’s easy to use and produces some impressive footage, provided you stick to bright conditions. As is the case with its competitors, attempts to use super slow-mo in less than optimal lighting will produce more grain than a bowl of breakfast muesli.

In keeping with its Xperia lineage, the XZ2 boasts an IP68 water resistance rating, which translates into safe submersion up to 1.5 metres of water for 30 minutes. I used a pool step to put this to the test and it passed without any issues.

I found battery life to be pretty good, with the 3 180mah cell consistently yielding a full day’s juice under medium to heavy use, although nowhere near the 36 hours Sony claims a recent study found the phone to deliver. Wireless charging via an aftermarket pad is a welcome addition to the Xperia repertoire.

All in all, the Xperia XZ2 is an appealing proposition, especially for Sony fans who may have grown disillusioned with the brand of late. Will it succeed in recapturing a sizeable slice of the premium smartphone market?

Given the quality of the competition, I think Sony is going to have to offer it at a really competitive price if the XZ2 is to be the comeback kid it’s banking on.

Look out for it in cellular stores over the coming weeks.

Follow Alan Cooper on Twitter @alanqcooper.