The Sony Xperia XZ2.
With smartphone names getting longer and more complicated nowadays, it's getting tough to
keep track of them all.
This most recent flagship from Sony just got a hefty all-glass redesign, and well, it's
time to see if it can survive the stress of everyday life.
This is the Ash Pink color, which describes itself pretty well.
Kind of has a 'Jigglypuff walk through a forest fire' kind of vibe.
Let's get started.
[Intro]
Sony historically has never been a super high performer when it comes to solid build quality
or rigidity.
The Z5 Premium, and Xperia XZ from last year both flexed like soggy bananas.
And while they didn't fail or break, it was a little unnerving.
Out of the box, this heavy, all-glass rectangle feels like it might be telling a more durable
story this time around.
We'll start with the glass scratch test.
Sony has advertised Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and back, so it's pretty safe to
assume that we'll get scratches at a level 6.
This means coins, keys, and razor blades won't do any damage to the surface because they
are all softer materials than a level 6.
We get deeper grooves at a level 7, but since this is Gorilla Glass, it should still hold
together to avoid shattering.
Even with those abrasions introduced into the glass.
The Sony branding at the bottom of the phone is under the surface and won't scratch off.
Things start to get interesting up here at the top of the phone.
The front-facing camera is 5 megapixels, but it's advertised as having gyro electronic
image stabilization.
It'll be interesting to see if that gyro is hardware related during the teardown.
The earpiece is color matched to the phone...kind of looks like Double Bubble, after it's been
on the bottom of your shoe all day.
The earpiece won't come out.
It's very solidly attached to the inside of the phone, which is good for the aesthetics
of your phone in the long term.
Ideally we want smartphones to last longer than 2 years.
Moving to the Gorilla Glass 5 back glass panel on the phone, it's got a subtle curve throughout
the whole surface.
It's definitely not as flat as the previous Sony phones.
It is packed with features though, like wireless charging, and NFC.
The single colored LED flash is also tucked up underneath the glass.
The rear 19 megapixel camera is protected with glass so it won't scratch easy.
And it has that same gyro EIS that the front camera has.
The fingerprint scanner is very flush with the back glass surface, which leaves it pretty
unprotected in your pocket or purse.
I'll scratch it up a little bit with my razor blade to mimic a few years worth of abuse.
Luckily though, it can still sense my fingerprint and unlock the phone.
The sides are made from anodized aluminum, which match the same watered down grape Kool-Aid
aesthetic as the rest of the phone.
[Scratching sounds.]
The color can be scraped off revealing the silver metal underneath.
Same with the volume, power, and dedicated camera button.
The top of the phone has the SIM and SD card memory expansion slot – up to 400 gigabytes.
So thumbs up for that.
I'll tap that back in here, and there's plenty of metal up here too.
The other side of the phone is gloriously free from Bixby.
But the bottom with the USB-C is annoyingly void of a headphone jack.
Just something to keep in mind if you plan on buying the Xperia XZ2.
The burn test is next, which I guarantee has probably happened to someone somewhere at
some point.
So for that one person, it's good to know that the 5.7 IPS LCD of the XZ2 can last 13
seconds under direct flame from a lighter.
The screen went black and the pixels turned off completely, but did end up recovering.
Try to avoid doing this though.
To test the structural integrity of the redesign, we commence the bend test.
Very much unlike it's flexible predecessors, this new XZ2 is as rigid as smartphones get.
Zero flex, and zero kinks done to the frame of the phone.
Also no cracks in the glass.
Huge thumbs up to Sony for the build quality on this one.
The Xperia XZ2 passes my durability test and is more than capable of handling every day
abuse.
Hit that subscribe button, it's free, and come hang out with me on Twitter and Instagram.
It's where all the cool kids are.
Thanks a ton for watching, and I'll see you around.