The Sony Xperia XZ2 is the world's first smartphone that's capable of recording 4K HDR footage, allowing you to capture more impressive-looking videos.
It's great news for budding videographers, providing an easy way of capturing high-quality footage which looks great on 4K HDR TVs and monitors.
The 5.7-inch Full HD display on the Sony Xperia XZ2 feels a little out of place on a top-end handset, where QHD resolutions are the norm. It does, however, feature the now-popular 18:9 aspect ratio, giving you a wider display in landscape orientation which is better suited to movie playback, as well as more vertical space for scrolling apps.
This means the height of the handset has grown compared to the Xperia XZ1 and its 5.2-inch, 16:9 display, although Sony has reduced the size of the bezels to stop it getting too gargantuan.
The Sony Xperia XZ2 runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. Despite the latest Android OS, don't expect a radical change in the UI of the device compared to its siblings, like the XA2, XA2 Ultra, or most of its recent predecessors, like the XZ1, for that matter. Like many other manufacturers, the Japanese giant has mostly decoupled its signature UX from the Android underneath at this point, so as to deliver a familiar experience across its lineup.
Powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, the Xperia XZ2 is fast and zippy. You'll find gaming on this phone a breeze, especially with the powerful speakers turned up. I was totally impressed with how powerful the sound was, at full volume you'll have no issue hearing it in a crowded place, though you'll probably annoy the heck out of everyone around you. It's also great for watching YouTube videos.
The 19MP Motion Eye camera have been pretty consistent in quality across a few Sony devices now. Perhaps, with the exception of the XZs, which suffered from some notable corner softness issues.
The Sony Xperia XZ2 is a true flagship smartphone. It's rocking the latest and greatest Snapdragon 845 chipset, bundled with the best Sony currently has to offer in display and camera tech. Plenty of special sauce has gone into making the latter a unique proposition. The same can be said about the Triluminos, Bravia-tech LCD, too. Now taller than ever and complete with the visually stunning BT.2020 HDR color space support.
The Xperia XZ2's 3,180mAh battery lasted a full day of use, and in our video looping tests, managed to go on just shy of 12 hours, unlike the Galaxy S9, which clocked almost 17 hours. With the phone supports Qi fast wireless charging (9W), you can use any Qi charging pads to juice up, though you'll want the Sony wireless charger to get the maximum speed -- in our test, the phone was able to juice up to 36 percent from flat in one hour, though it was noticeably faster using the standard wired charging cord.
You’re unlikely to be disappointed by the Sony Xperia XZ2 (as long as you’re not someone who likes to compare their latest smartphone purchase with competitive friends), as it’s a great all-round smartphone that can tackle any task you throw at it.
It may not be the most eye-catching, but it is functional. If shooting 4K HDR video or Hi-Res audio (albeit via a slightly clunky adapter) is your thing then the XZ2 will be a winner – but if you’re looking for the best bang for your many bucks then it’s worth shopping around.
It's great news for budding videographers, providing an easy way of capturing high-quality footage which looks great on 4K HDR TVs and monitors.
The 5.7-inch Full HD display on the Sony Xperia XZ2 feels a little out of place on a top-end handset, where QHD resolutions are the norm. It does, however, feature the now-popular 18:9 aspect ratio, giving you a wider display in landscape orientation which is better suited to movie playback, as well as more vertical space for scrolling apps.
This means the height of the handset has grown compared to the Xperia XZ1 and its 5.2-inch, 16:9 display, although Sony has reduced the size of the bezels to stop it getting too gargantuan.
The Sony Xperia XZ2 runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. Despite the latest Android OS, don't expect a radical change in the UI of the device compared to its siblings, like the XA2, XA2 Ultra, or most of its recent predecessors, like the XZ1, for that matter. Like many other manufacturers, the Japanese giant has mostly decoupled its signature UX from the Android underneath at this point, so as to deliver a familiar experience across its lineup.
Powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, the Xperia XZ2 is fast and zippy. You'll find gaming on this phone a breeze, especially with the powerful speakers turned up. I was totally impressed with how powerful the sound was, at full volume you'll have no issue hearing it in a crowded place, though you'll probably annoy the heck out of everyone around you. It's also great for watching YouTube videos.
The 19MP Motion Eye camera have been pretty consistent in quality across a few Sony devices now. Perhaps, with the exception of the XZs, which suffered from some notable corner softness issues.
The Sony Xperia XZ2 is a true flagship smartphone. It's rocking the latest and greatest Snapdragon 845 chipset, bundled with the best Sony currently has to offer in display and camera tech. Plenty of special sauce has gone into making the latter a unique proposition. The same can be said about the Triluminos, Bravia-tech LCD, too. Now taller than ever and complete with the visually stunning BT.2020 HDR color space support.
The Xperia XZ2's 3,180mAh battery lasted a full day of use, and in our video looping tests, managed to go on just shy of 12 hours, unlike the Galaxy S9, which clocked almost 17 hours. With the phone supports Qi fast wireless charging (9W), you can use any Qi charging pads to juice up, though you'll want the Sony wireless charger to get the maximum speed -- in our test, the phone was able to juice up to 36 percent from flat in one hour, though it was noticeably faster using the standard wired charging cord.
You’re unlikely to be disappointed by the Sony Xperia XZ2 (as long as you’re not someone who likes to compare their latest smartphone purchase with competitive friends), as it’s a great all-round smartphone that can tackle any task you throw at it.
It may not be the most eye-catching, but it is functional. If shooting 4K HDR video or Hi-Res audio (albeit via a slightly clunky adapter) is your thing then the XZ2 will be a winner – but if you’re looking for the best bang for your many bucks then it’s worth shopping around.