Sony Xperia Z2 Best Of SONY In Smartphone

Sony Xperia Z2

Sony Xperia Z2 release date and price

In the UK the Xperia Z2 is up for pre-order for a whopping £599 SIM free on Sony's site, while in Australia it's about AU$899.95 , Rs.60999 in INDIA and in the US you're looking at around $600.

The Xperia Z2's global release date is April 2014 and the handset has been announced on UK networks O2, Three, Vodafone and EE as well as by retailers such as Carphone Warehouse.

Xperia Z2 specifications

The Sony Xperia Z2 includes Sony Digital Noise Cancelling – a first in a phone – and as is becoming the norm for Sony, it's dust- and waterproof as well.

The handset is one of the first (along with the One M8 and Galaxy S5) to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and it boasts four 2.3GHz Krait CPUs in addition to 4G LTE, 3GB of RAM and a high capacity 3,200mAh battery, which in combination with Sony's Battery STAMINA mode should keep it going for quite some time.

On the storage front there's 16GB built in along with a microSD card slot which supports cards of up to 64GB.

As you might expect from any worthwhile new flagship phone, it's also running Android KitKat with Sony's light interface skin placed on top.

That makes it a moderate upgrade over the Sony Xperia Z1, which has a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM.

Xperia Z2 camera and audio

The Z2's key technology sell is the ability to shoot 4K video, so that's four times the pixels of HD and twice the resolution at - 3,840 x 2,160 pixels at 30fps.

The camera is a 20.7MP unit, with the mobile version of the proven Exmor RS image sensor and Bionz processing engine alongside Sony's G Lens. Using built in apps, you can also shoot Timeshift video, while there's also an AR app, too.

The Timeshift video mode lets you shoot in 120 frames per second and select individual scenes to slow playback

Another new app enables you to defocus the background and adapt a shallow depth of field – you can capture two photos at different focus settings and blend them together.

Backing up the main camera there's a 2.2MP snapper on the front which can shoot 1080p video at 30fps.

Sadly there's no optical image stabilization, but the Xperia Z2 does have SteadyShot digital image stabilization, which similarly aims to counter camera shake.

You can also buy an additional STM10 stereo microphone should you need enhanced sound quality for shooting 4K video.

Speaking of sound, Sony's put the speakers on the front of the handset this time around, aiming to muscle in on the HTC One's territory with what it's calling S-Force Front Surround.

Sony's MDR NC31EM noise cancelling headset comes bundled with the handset and unfortunately you have to use this specific headset if you want to take advantage of the fancy noise cancelling features of the phone.

Xperia Z2 display

The 5.2-inch IPS LCD Triluminos display is Full HD 1080 x 1920 with a pixel density of 424 pixels per inch. The Xperia Z2 uses Sony's X-Reality technology, to optimize colors, contrast and sharpness while reducing noise.

Sony is also claiming it has the best color reproduction of any smartphone on the market with its Live Color LED tech.

Our full review will put that claim to the test, but it's certainly an impressive display, particularly in comparison to the Z1, which looks washed out and lacking in detail when put side by side with this.

Xperia Z2 design

At 8.2mm thick and 163g, the Z2 is 0.3mm thinner than the Sony Xperia Z1 and 7g lighter, despite having a larger screen and more powerful innards.

It's an evolution of the same aluminum design, which Sony calls OmniBalance.

In fact it looks almost identical to the Xperia Z1, with the same metal edging, glass back and large bezels above and below the screen.

Like the Z1 it's also dust resistant and waterproof to IP55 & IP58 standards, allowing it to be submerged for up to 30 minutes in water 1 meter deep.

Xperia Z2 interface and features

The Xperia Z2's interface is similar to that of the Z1, though it comes with Android 4.4.2 KitKat so it's bang up to date.

The handset also has a few new features hidden away in its menus. There's 'Smart Backlight Control' for one, which will keep the screen on while you're looking at it, just like Samsung does with Smart Stay.

Then there's the ability to double tap the screen to wake it up, much like LG's KnockON feature and it's also possible to answer or reject calls with hand gestures.

The Sony Xperia Z2 has also inherited Glove Mode from the Xperia Z1 Compact, allowing you to operate it while wearing gloves and there's a Simple Home option, which, well, simplifies the home screen and uses bigger icons, making it ideal for smartphone virgins and visually impaired users.

Read onto the next page for our earlier Sony Xperia Z2 rumors.

 either side of the screen.

Sony Xperia Z2 power

While a 2K screen would help the Sony Xperia Z2 stand out, when it comes to power things appear to be a little less exciting.

Reports are centering around the same 2.3GHz quad-core processor which you'll find in the Xperia Z1 and Z1 Compact.

That's not to say the Xperia Z2 will be under-powered - far from it in fact - but we were hoping to see perhaps an octa-core chip inside the next Sony powerhouse. Of course that is still possible, we'll just have to wait and see.

In terms of RAM inside the Sony Xperia Z2 it seems the handset is inline for a boost here, with 3GB apparently on the cards.