THE SCREEN IS A DREAM
PERHAPS the XZ3’s biggest selling point is its screen, which is absolutely magnificent.It’s easily on a par with the flagship phones from the nearest rivals, and it should be – it’s been built in collaboration with Sony’s in-house Bravia TV engineers, people who know a thing or two about making watchable screens.
IT SOUNDS GREAT
SMARTPHONES are as much about watching video as they are about all the other things these devices can do, so it makes sense to pack a decent punch audio-wise... and the XZ3 doesn’t let us down on that score, either. There is a new S-Force Front Surround speaker system, which makes watching without headphones a very workable solution (so long as you’re not on the train, you inconsiderate fool).
NOT THE FASTEST, BUT FAST ENOUGH
THERE’S a reasonably snappy processor in there, and for most uses that will do fine. Allied with the bare minimum of RAM (4GB) and storage (64GB), the stats on paper feel a little bit underwhelming, although I have to say it didn’t feel that slow in testing. So I suppose that means it’s fast enough.
THE CAMERA IS A VIDEO MASTER
THIS smartphone’s real Achilles heel, though, is its camera, which is no upgrade from the XZ2.
You get the same 19MP rear camera, which is good, but lags behind competitors with more sophisticated and versatile dual-lens units.
That said images are sharp enough, and if you’re the type that might ask how much better your simple snaps have to be, you might not feel let down.
You certainly won’t feel let down by the video this phone can capture, though – a class-leading 960-frames-per-second at 1080p resolution is possible. You don’t get that on any other device.
So, there you go. The highlights make a compelling case for consideration. There’s more, though – it runs the latest version of Android right out of the box (one of a small number of devices that do, weirdly), and it costs just £699 sim-free, with great deals available from carriers.
And did I mention the screen?
afternoon naps. But this app’s not for the likes of me, it’s for those who find it hard to make the journey to the land of nod in the first place.
It’s kind of a guided meditation app, but with the focus very much on getting you off to sleep with sounds, stories and guided
activities to slow your mind and render you unconscious.
I can’t test it, of course, but if you need the help, you can trial it for a week before you have to pay, and that should be enough time to find out if it does the job for you. After that, it’ll cost you £34.99 for 12 months of stories and sound sleep. It could be the best money you spend all year.