Sony Xperia XZ3: Is one camera enough?
2.9.2018
Translation: machine translated
Video: Stephanie Tresch
Just a few weeks after the launch of its latest flagship, the XZ2 Premium, Sony is making a name for itself with a new flagship. The Sony Xperia XZ3 is set to prove that the old still has a place on the market.
Sony does good things, basically. Video producer Stephanie Tresch swears by the brand when it comes to cameras for filming. I only shoot on a Sony a7sii and am learning the craft of filming on my own. The new WH-1000XM3 headphones are impressive.
The Sony XPeria XZ3, on the other hand, does not. Or not at first glance.
What appeals?
At first glance, the colours catch the eye. The XZ3 comes in four colours:
- Black, simply called "Black" by Sony
- White aka "Silver White"
- Red aka "Bordeaux Red"
- Green aka "Forest Green"
All four phones come with a glossy back plate, which readily accepts fingerprints. Black and white are common, but green and red look spectacular. Stephanie likes red better, I like green.
On the other hand, Sony has finally installed an OLED display with a six-inch screen diagonal. That makes a big difference, because who wants a phone without an OLED screen? All in all, the Sony shines on the outside. Inside is a Snapdragon 845 system-on-a-chip (SoC), which certainly delivers decent computing power. Plus 4 GB of RAM, which is sufficient for a phone, but will probably quickly become outdated.
Is Sony forgetting its old strengths?
The XZ3 only has one camera again. Why is that? Because Sony could have ironed out the teething troubles of the dual camera system, tweaked the AI to improve the images and possibly dialled back the automatic ISO a little.
At first glance, that's exactly what I don't buy about the XZ3. There is so much more to it. I'm convinced that the 19-megapixel rear camera and the 13-megapixel front camera in Sony quality can do more. Since this is hardly due to the hardware, because I have no doubts about that with Sony, I believe in a software problem. And that can be fixed via an update.
It would be a shame if Sony didn't work on the camera. Because if the company neglects the camera, then the biggest feature of the "camera they built a phone around" will be lost. That would not only be a shame for Sony fans, but also for the world of smartphones.
The XZ3 is also heavy. It weighs 193 grams. That doesn't sound like much, but when I hold it in my hands, I think: "What a brick". My current daily driver, the Huawei P20 Pro, feels much lighter, even though it only weighs 13 grams less. However, it is 3 millimetres shorter, 0.9 millimetres wider and 2.1 millimetres thinner. I think it's the latter measurement that makes me think it's a brick.
In short: The first impression of the XZ3 is mixed, but the excitement is there. Because the phone can hardly impress with looks, but could do so with raw performance and great pictures. Just two rather unusual and successful colours are not enough.
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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