I’ve tested a few Sony phones in the past, and even though none of them have failed my
test yet, they have not been my favorite as far as build quality goes.
Sony’s had cracking plastic side rails, a plastic camera lens…so it will be interesting
to see how this new XZ Premium holds up.
Sony released the regular XZ in 2016, which I already tested.
I figured the XZ Premium would use the same body style and just spruce up the specs, but
it’s actually a completely different phone in size and in power – which makes it much
more interesting.
Let’s get started.
[Intro]
The biggest difference between the XZ and the XZ Premium is that the Premium has the
world’s first 4K HDR enabled display.
There aren’t many places that supply 4K HDR content yet, but for people who have an
Amazon Prime membership, they can access the Amazon Prime video library which does have
4K HDR content.
Even if your 4K isn’t HDR though, 4K is still 4K, and that’s impressive all by itself.
The Mohs scratch test on the Gorilla Glass 5 of the XZ Premium scores a level 6.
That sentence probably sounds weird to someone who’s never seen my videos, but the important
thing is that it’s perfectly in line with the Samsungs and the iPhones when it comes
to scratch resistance.
The most scratch resistance phone that I’ve ever tested is still the sapphire-screened
U Ultra that scored a level 8.
A screen protector is always a good idea, but coins, keys and razor blades won’t damage
this display.
There is no home button on the front of the screen but we do have dual front facing speakers.
Inside the speaker it does have a vinyl-like grill covering the top.
I usually prefer metal on phone, but at least these won’t fall out.
Even when I try to pull them, they stay in place.
The front camera is protected by the same Gorilla Glass 5 so no worries about that scratching.
Just like with the Samsung Galaxy S8, this phone does not hide fingerprints very well.
The back panel is made out of the same Gorilla Glass 5 which means that our class with Jerry
is canceled on this phone, but we might be able to turn the phone clear during the teardown
video – if, you know, this phone survives that long.
The flash is protected under that glass - solid design choice.
The rear camera lens is also made of glass and that’s good news because Sony was actually
one of the few companies using a plastic camera lens on their Z5 Premium back in 2015.
I’m glad to see that this XZ Premium is using a premium lens material.
Now here’s where we run into our first non-premium feature: the plastic side rails.
They do feel like plastic when holding the phone.
You can see the color difference between the top coating and the plastic underneath.
The buttons are a more premium feeling metal though, which is great.
The fingerprint scanner can scratch, but remains mostly intact.
I’ll test out the functionality here in a second.
One thing I do like about this phone is a dedicated camera button.
It’s nice when a phone company adds an extra button to your phone that’s actually functional.
The fingerprint scanner is still totally working even with the major scratches I did to it
with my razor blade.
It still registers my fingerprint and unlocks the phone every single time, so no worries
there.
One cool thing about the Xperia XZ Premium is that it is water-resistant.
You can see the rubber ring around the dual SIM card tray.
There’s room for an SD card in here too.
If you remember, the iPhone 7 is ip67.
This phone, the XZ Premium, takes it one step farther with an ip68 rating, which means it’s
more water resistant than the iPhone 7 is.
And what makes it more impressive is that this phone has more holes to worry about:
dual front facing speakers, an SD card slot, and a premium headphone jack.
So thumbs up to Sony for not removing features and still being able to score higher on a
water resistance test than Apple.
There is metal by the headphone jack, as well as down here by the bottom of the phone next
to the USB-C charging port.
Now one of the biggest selling points of this phone to me is the new screen.
It still is an IPS display that’s slightly larger than the original Xperia XZ, but instead
of a 1080p resolution, it comes in full 4K with the high dynamic range built in; pretty
impressive on a smartphone.
And if you light it on fire, it will last 10 seconds before the pixels turn off.
You know, I’m here answering the questions that nobody’s asking.
Maybe someday I’ll find a purpose to the burn test.
The pixels do recover though, which is convenient.
And now the ultimate test of structural integrity – the bend test.
If you’re the type of person who goes outside, you’ll eventually see a phone in someone’s
back pocket.
The good news with this phone is that the phone will remain in one piece if it ever
gets accidentally sat on.
No matter what direction it’s flexed from, it won’t snap in half like the Nextbit Robin.
Nor will the screen pop off like the Blackberry KEYOne.
And the best news is is that the plastic side rails will not crack on this phone like they
did on both of my other previous Sony phone tests.
The Z5 and the normal Sony XZ cracked.
This XZ Premium has a huge increase in the quality of plastic used for the sides.
This is definitely the most well built Sony phone that I have ever tested.
And it’s also one of the most requested international phones that I’ve ever had
on my channel.
I’m interested to know what country you are watching from.
Let me know in the comments and let me know if there are any phones you want to see durability
tested on my channel.
I’ll test them just like I did with this Xperia XZ premium.
It’ll be interesting to see what it looks like on the inside during the teardown video.
And interesting to see if we can make the back glass clear like I did on the Galaxy
S8.
Hit that subscribe button and make sure the notifications are turned on so you don’t
miss that video.
And come hang out with me on Twitter, I’ll be waiting for you.
Thanks for watching.
I’ll see you around.