- [Mr. Mobile] Do you care about a Sony smartphone in 2018?
Well, if you live in the United States,
where the brand has all but evaporated
when it comes to phones, the answer is probably no.
But, with the brand new XZ2,
Sony Mobile says it's trying
for a fresh start in the States.
And after a couple hours with it, I'd say it's got a chance.
I'm Mr. Mobile, and this is a quick look at the Sony XZ2.
(electronic music)
Okay, it doesn't have the most evocative name,
but the XZ2 does address almost
every other complaint I've had about recent Sony phones.
The hardware is more streamlined than previous designs,
with two panes of curved Gorilla Glass 5 and a metal frame,
offering a nice mix of rigidity and comfort.
Also modernized, the LCD, which has gotten a stretch
to the newer 18x9 aspect ratio.
The whole casing is IP65/IP68, dust and water-resistant.
There's Qi wireless charging,
and the fingerprint sensor has been moved
from Sony's typical side button to the back side.
It's a little low for my taste
and I think folks will confuse it
with the camera for a while,
but it's a working fingerprint sensor
on a Sony phone in North America,
which is an accomplishment in itself.
Sony's theme for the XZ2 is immersive entertainment,
and to that end, it's included a mix of practical
and preposterous upgrades.
On the practical side, a graphics engine
that boosts the color and clarity of videos
along with dual front-facing speakers that are 20% louder
than those on the XZ1.
And if that's not enough for you, how about a rumble pack?
Yeah, this is the preposterous thing.
There are these double-sized haptic motors in the phone
that make it vibrate and buzz along with the soundtrack of
whatever you're watching on YouTube
or listening to on Spotify.
If you've ever used a DualShock controller on a PlayStation
with force feedback, yeah, it feels like that.
Much more exciting to me is the return of a feature
from the XZ Premium from last summer,
super slow-mo video.
The XZ2 can shoot a tenth-of-a-second burst
at nearly a thousand frames a second,
and it's gotten a quality boost from 720p to full HD.
That should help sharpen up some of the fuzz you see
on the older footage.
It also carries the bonus of doing something
the Galaxy S9 can't.
Samsung's super slow-mo is still just 720p.
In standard filming mode,
you'll also be able to shoot in not just 4K,
but 4K HDR for more color, detail, and contrast.
It's made possible by the Snapdragon 845
at the heart of this thing,
the same Qualcomm silicon that'll power
most flagship phones this year.
Sadly, there's still no optical stabilization on the camera,
par for the course with Sony,
and with a battery size firmly in average territory,
hopefully, that processor brings
all the efficiency it promises.
What will really make or break the XZ2 in the States
is which carriers it launches on
and what price Sony will ask,
both questions left unanswered at press time.
The most Sony would say is that the phone will be available
in four colors.
Oh, there will also be a smaller XZ2 Compact available, but
given how many compromises are baked into it and, frankly,
what a downgrade it is in the looks department,
no one would blame you for keeping your eyes
on the main prize.
The full XZ2 review is coming later in the year.
Be sure you're subscribed to the Mr. Mobile
so you don't miss it.
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Until next time, thanks for watching,
and stay mobile, my friends.