Gadgetory

back when Sony released the Xperia Z we all thought hey Sony still got it but we did stop just short of saying that Sony was back at the top of the mountain when it came to the smartphone game however with the release of their newest flagship device Sony is hoping that it won't just be called the one but it will actually be the one hey it's Josh regard from Android authority what's going on everybody and this is the Sony Xperia z1 Sony has put all its cards on the table for the Xperia z1 drawing not only from their design prowess their media acumen but also their pedigree and photography to create what could be one of the best phones available now in terms of design it's hard not to see shades of the original Xperia Z in this phone not only does it have the generally rigid rectangular shape with flat sides it also retains the black slate look with a strong metal frame encased almost entirely in glass the front and back of this phone is completely black leaving all of the action for the sides we do get the sony logo up front while the optics of the 20.7 megapixel camera are nestled in the top left corner on the back as has become a motif of many Xperia smartphones the button layout is all found on the right side and is centered around a large silver metal power button below it here are the volume rockers and a two-stage camera button while all of these buttons feel very sturdy and thankfully lacks squishiness especially in the very responsive camera button their positioning might not be optimal for some the main buttons fall perfectly where my thumb lands which i think is great but other people might accidentally trigger them from time to time above this over power button and also directly on the other side of it or a few covers that are also common for Xperia smartphones these cover up the SIM card slot the SD card slot and then the microUSB port for the purpose of water and dust resistance I always have some reservations regarding small plastic covers because they can break off but these seem pretty well constructed in the hand you realize that this phone isn't quite as rigid as the Xperia Z and this is because the sides of the phone have been given subtle curves Sony found the intersection when it comes to feel allowing the z1 to have a decisive shape while feeling pretty smooth it is also quite heavier than the original Z at about 30 more grams but this just gives the z1 a more feel overall the z1 has a look that is becoming more and more familiar to us but it is just unique enough this time around to be welcoming ly different sony has really been working hard to bring a better display experience after the Xperia Z which came with a pretty admittedly subpar screen what was once just called the Bravia Engine is now the ex reality engine underneath what is now called a triluminos display capable of 1080p resolution at 441 PPI we're starting to get spoiled by small bezels and current top-tier smartphones however so the thicker ones around the Xperia z1s display might be a little disappointing but only a little at least for me straight on this is a great screen complementing the darker tones of the Timescape UI very well when it comes to media I do still get shades of a small Sony television with this Xperia smartphone all in all it's a very enjoyable experience I certainly had a great time watching the colorful first episode of planet Earth I feel the need to explain that while viewing angles might not be a definitive feature of a screen having good viewing angles is still the mark of a good screen that being said the angles on the z1 while much better than the ones on the original Xperia Z could still use some improvement a grayish hue casts over everything when you get steep enough but this isn't the only thing I noticed the backlighting of the screen kind of shows up on the sides look at the screen at an angle and you can see a white line along the very edge of the screen it's far from distracting but it is one of those things that you can't stop noticing for a while after you do for the first time the Xperia z1 is one in a long line of new phones coming out with the next iteration of the Qualcomm processor the powerful Snapdragon 800 clocked in at 2.3 gigahertz this processor is backed by the also updated Adreno 330 and 2 gigabytes of RAM does anyone employees it quite well keeping its high-speed basically throughout from the home screens to within apps some smoother transitions in the updated Timescape UI helped further illustrate all of this to be fair Timescape is a less intensive version of Android than most so that helps a lot Gaming is a breeze as well with every game in my newly acquired Humble Bundle moving along very well and without stutter rest assured that the Sony Xperia z1 keeps up with the best in the smartphone game today in the hardware department the Xperia smartphones generally have water and dust resistance making them capable of braving the elements the z1 has IP 58 certification making it able to withstand up to 30 minutes in 1 meter of water if you're a little clumsy around your phone it will bounce right back after a spill or a dip while the battery might be non removable expandable storage is definitely a welcome addition allowing for more than just the 16 gigabytes built in call quality through the top speaker was adequate and clear but not particularly crisp what it did have was volume as at full blast the sound of the person on the other line was pretty loud and clear to others the main speaker on the bottom of the phone is much larger than was found in previous experience and actually translates to somewhat richer sound perhaps ironically however it does like some volume and can be drowned out rather easily by outside noise the z1 comes with a large 3000 milliamp hour battery that performs pretty well I was able to get the battery down to about 60% in 6 hours with my personal flavor of usage this included a couple episodes of planet Earth playing a couple games shooting pictures and video and performing benchmark tests the batteries should be able to get you through a standard workday just fine though really heavy power users might have to keep a charging cord handy arguably the biggest story with the Sony Xperia z1 is it's very beefed up camera offering it's as a right next to the actual unit underneath the large g4 G lens this is a custom-made Exmor RS sensor larger than most cell phone cameras and is capable of a whopping 20 point 7 megapixels the technical information will please fotox as this camera is a wide 27 millimeter shooter with a very good f 2.0 aperture that really helps with low-light shooting unfortunately all of this positivity doesn't really translate to the actual app the newest additions are some new functions made available by downloaded add-ons these do include augmented reality or even a social life that broadcast to Facebook it's a pretty simplistic and classic layout with the right-side housing the main buttons and the viewfinder taking up the appropriate amount of the screen depending on the aspect ratio speaking of which setting the right aspect ratio is something you have to do in the manual mode which also allows you to change the ISO exposure compensation and white balance if you hit for the superior auto mode it automatically picks the 16 by 9 ass which is preferred but unfortunately brings the picture size down to 8 megapixels which is kind of a really big bummer for that matter the 20 megapixel shooting is rather exclusive as the next step down from it is a steep drop to that an 8 megapixel count all of that aside the picture quality coming from the z1 s camera is really quite stellar all of these shots were taken at the 20 megapixel 4 by 3 ratio in manual mode with everything set to its normal setting sony proves its prowess once again with pictures that are incredibly detailed and have a great level of color vibrance the color reproduction is pretty accurate and though I would venture to say it is a little on the saturated side it is just enough to add an attractive vibrancy to pictures and not much else a high noise reduction makes some of the darker parts of the picture lose a little detail to keep the noise level low but it doesn't keep pictures from remaining really nice the video quality is also very good with full HD capturing available all in all this is a camera that many a user will enjoy and especially in the daylight it is one of the best camera phones I have ever used and now we come to software which actually isn't all that big a story as Sony hasn't changed a whole lot in the Timescape UI it takes many of the tenants from stock Android the simple homescreen AB drawer soft keys the drop-down with some power widgets at the top and the recent ABS functionality and overall it gives it a much darker tone the result is an operating system that is comparable as speedy especially as Sony's main additions are in the form of many more transitions that help make everything look even more buttery smooth Sony's own additions make a return here like the album movies and walkman apps that bring nice media experiences other than that however the only other real additions to this otherwise classical version of Android are the small apps these are small overlays that you can use for quick multitasking active clip has been added for quick editable screenshots along with Gmail ultimately it's a nice looking UI that sits pretty squarely in the middle there are just enough additions without going overboard and yet it is simplistic enough without getting boring finally we have the price while the Xperia z1 isn't quite available on US carriers just yet we wouldn't be surprised if it was priced at least at 199 dollars for two-year contracts however currently in online retailers it is at least $750 unlocked Sony typically offers premium pricing for their premium phones and this is no exception and so there you have it even if it does miss in a few small places it's hard not to like the Xperia z1 as a whole package the screen is still very enjoyable if not perfectly executed the performance really doesn't disappoint and the upgraded camera is a wonderful performer that should even please hobbyist shutter bugs whether or not this is Sony finally getting back to the top of the mountain remains to be seen but personally I think they've certainly done closer with the Xperia z1 everybody thank you so much for watching and I hope you enjoyed this full review just remember that this is not the end of our Xperia z1 coverage if you haven't seen the drop test already the link is right over there on the side along with future links to our future focus videos for it also don't forget to drop us a like on our videos and to subscribe if you haven't already and when you're done with all that head over to android authority comm because we're your source for all things Android