Hey guys I'm Tom the Tech Chap and this is the new Sony Xperia XZ3
It feels just like yesterday, well, April, that we were talking about the XZ2
but 6 months on, and here we are again. So what's new on the XZ3,
is it any good, and should you consider buying it?
So the Xperia XZ3 will set you back 700 pounds,
or a whopping 900 dollars in the U.S.
And for that you get a 6" quad-HD+ OLED screen that supports HDR,
a Snapdragon 845 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage with room for an SD-card
and it comes running the latest Android 9.0 Pie software.
It's also got a few tricks up its sleeve, like being able to record HDR video,
960fps super slow motion at full HD, dual-speakers and Sony's fancy dynamic vibration system
that gives you haptic feedback when watching videos and playing games.
Now that all sounds great, but it's not a huge upgrade over the XZ2,
which is about a 150 pounds less now.
The main differences are the bigger and higher resolution OLED screen, slightly thinner bezels,
an upgraded selfie camera, and the fact that it ships with Android 9.0 out of the box.
But if those things aren't that important to you, then the now-discounted XZ2 may be a better option.
But back to the XZ3, and while it's not perfect, I have to say I am really impressed by it.
In terms of design, I have kind of a love-hate relationship with it.
Picking it up, it does feel premium, it feels well-built and comfortable
thanks to the rounded corners.
But it's also incredibly slippery. Seriously, put a case on this thing to avoid dropping it.
The dedicated camera shutter button is a nice extra, but I can feel it dig into my right hand.
The fingerprint reader is fast, but it's still uncomfortably low-down.
I keep tapping the camera lens instead.
The good news though is it's IP68 water-resistant and it doesn't have a notch.
But then again on the flip side, the bezels are relatively chunky for a 2018 phone.
Plus, there's no headphone jack. Overall though, I think it looks good,
and it does definitely stand out from the notch crowd.
But it's that screen which is really a standout feature.
As I said, it's Quad-HD+, it supports HDR10, which is great for Netflix,
and it's Sony's first phone with and OLED screen,
which gets you infinite contrast, and really vibrant colors.
You still have the option to switch between accurate sRGB and vibrant display modes
in the settings though.
Pair that beautiful 6" screen with surprisingly good stereo speakers,
and it becomes a great device for watching movies and playing games.
But if you want to take it a step further, turn on Sony's Dynamic Vibration
to get some haptic feedback.
If I'm honest, I do think it's a bit gimmicky, but keeping it on low does add
a bit of 'oomph' to what you're watching or playing.
Even if it can be a little inconsistent with when it vibrates.
Now in terms of performance, it doesn't feel as nippy as say the latest Pixel
or OnePlus phones, which are closer to stock Android, but it's still extremely fast and responsive,
and I really do prefer Sony's software to Samsung's, LG's or Huawei's.
You get a few extras too, like Side Sense, which, to be honest
I found more annoying than useful.
It's basically the same as HTC's Edge Sense, tap or squeeze a side of the phone
to bring up some app or setting shortcuts.
But I kept accidentally opening it, which was frustrating,
so I turned this off pretty quickly.
Now in terms of battery life, the 3,330mAh cell is slightly bigger than the XZ2,
but then again, so is the screen. So I actually found battery life to be
about the same as before. But that's no bad thing.
1h of YouTube at 50% brightness used 11% of the battery
and after 1h of YouTube, 1h of Asphalt 9 and 1h of Instagram, I had 64% of my battery left.
Which is definitely above average, if you compare it to these phones, after the same test.
So you get a little over a day with the XZ3, but not much more.
Although it does support fast and wireless Qi charging.
Now let's talk about the camera. And unlike a lot of 2018 flagships,
there is just one lens here, so there is no wide angle or optical zoom options.
But it does have some fancy HDR and slow motion tricks, but we'll get to that.
The 19 MP F2.0 camera on the XZ3 takes fantastic photos.
They're detailed, vibrant, while retaining color accuracy,
and it handles dynamic range really well.
So photos look great in isolation, but how does it compare to, say, the Galaxy Note 9?
Well side by side, I think I actually prefer the XZ3.
It seems to offer better dynamic range, for example the menus in this picture,
and the flower in this one, aren't as blown out on the XZ3 as they are on the Note 9.
Although an upcoming camera update on the Samsung should improve this.
But one of the big upgrades this year, on the XZ3, is the front facing camera,
up from 5 MP to 13 MP, and now with a wider F1.9 aperture.
In good light, it takes a fantastic selfie, with impressive colors and exposure.
The selfie portrait mode though, is less impressive.
Which kept producing blurry, and slightly washed out shots.
The Note 9 does look overly smooth, but I prefer it to the XZ3's.
Moving on to video, and the XZ3 produces some really crisp and colourful footage.
And at 1080p it's super smooth, thanks to the intelligent stabilisation feature.
But unfortunately, you don't get this at 4K, so moving on to the higher resolution,
while it does definitely look more detailed, it's noticeably less smooth.
It's still good though, but most other flagships do offer smoother 4K video,
and give you the option of 4K 60fps, which is just something the XZ3 doesn't offer.
What you do get though, is HDR. Turning this on can cause some stuttering,
and next to regular 4K video it does look over-exposed and washed out,
but assuming you play it back on an HDR-compatible screen,
and maybe even colour-correct it in post production, it's an interesting option to have for content creators.
And finally we have super slow motion. The XZ3 can shoot 960fps slow-mo at Full HD.
But to be honest though, even in very good light, it still looks noisy and just a bit rubbish,
and is virtually unusable in low-light. You do still have the option of 120fps slow-mo,
which is much better quality, and just easier to use,
considering you only get 0.1s of actual footage at 960fps.
So it's a cool feature, but I don't know how often I'd use it, and it can be really hard
to capture the right moment.
So the big question then, should you buy the XZ3?
While I think it's a great phone, it's lovely to use, has a solid battery life
and more camera features than you can shake a stick at,
But it's not cheap, and there's a lot of strong competition
including the Galaxy S9+, the new LG V40, and of course the OnePlus 6, or even the upcoming OnePlus 6T,
which I think will be a better option for a lot less money.
Or maybe even wait for the XZ3 Premium, which will probably only cost 100 more.
But if you are a fan of Sony's software, you think HDR and slow-mo video will come in handy,
you like the design and you can't really wait for anything else,
then, yeah, I do recommend the XZ3, it is a great phone.
But what do you think? Would you consider buying it? Let me know in the comments below.
I have also put links in the description if you want to check it out,
and don't forget to click Like and Subscribe if you found this video helpful.
Thank you so much for watching guys, and I'll catch you next time,
right here, on The Tech Chap.