Sony Xperia XZ2 / XZ2 Compact

[Aneres11]

Thought this deserved its own thread.

Especially, given the CRAZY bonus pre-orders here in the UK.

If you pre-order the phone (not the compact version), you get either a FREE PS4 with Grand Turismo Sport OR a PSVR Starter bundle.

Wowzers. That's a crazy good deal!!

Sill love the look of this phone.

 

[Dr.Ravencroft]

I sold my iPhone 8 Plus, and I'm quite torn between getting the XZ2 or the Pixel 2 XL... And the bonuses Sony threw for pre-ordering the phone do not make the choice easy

Any help/advice would be appreciated. On one hand, I like the day one updates, camera, and ambient/always on display on the Pixel 2 XL, but on the other hand, the Snapdragon 845, HDR 4k video, and HDR display on XZ2 are quite compelling...

 

[Aneres11]

I have an opportunity to pre-order the XZ2 right now.
But am a little torn.

I love this Pixel 2, but don't want to carry two phones. The last thing I want to do is to get the XZ2 and then want back in with the Pixel 2 and have to buy again.

The camera samples seem positive from very early reviews.
The over sharpening still seems to be there slightly, but it doesn't seem like it's anywhere near as prominent as it has been in previous devices.

https://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=4&idPhone1=9081&idPhone2=8858&idPhone3=8733

The pre-order bonuses are definitely another factor for wanting to pre-order. I am a big gamer, and sold my PS4 last year when I bought my Xbox One X.
There's still a lot of PS4 exclusives I want to play so always planned to pick another PS4 up again, but to get it free AND with a years free PS+ membership, it's mighty tempting.

I loved my XZ Premium, so I know I get along with Sony devices.
Just whether to pull the trigger or not...

 

[garymontague]

I have an opportunity to pre-order the XZ2 right now.
But am a little torn.

I love this Pixel 2, but don't want to carry two phones. The last thing I want to do is to get the XZ2 and then want back in with the Pixel 2 and have to buy again.

The camera samples seem positive from very early reviews.
The over sharpening still seems to be there slightly, but it doesn't seem like it's anywhere near as prominent as it has been in previous devices.

https://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=4&idPhone1=9081&idPhone2=8858&idPhone3=8733

The pre-order bonuses are definitely another factor for wanting to pre-order. I am a big gamer, and sold my PS4 last year when I bought my Xbox One X.
There's still a lot of PS4 exclusives I want to play so always planned to pick another PS4 up again, but to get it free AND with a years free PS+ membership, it's mighty tempting.

I loved my XZ Premium, so I know I get along with Sony devices.
Just whether to pull the trigger or not...

I believe you're in the UK like me.

I went to my local CPW and was quite surprised that they had a working XZ2 on display. It looked very nice but was tied down as usual with CPW so couldn't really see the back that well or get a feel for it in the hand.

I've always liked Sony stuff and their Xperia phones in the past and the salesperson tried to get me to pre-order there and then with the PS4 promotion but I waited until I got home to pre-order so that I'm covered under the distant selling act just in case I don't like it (unlikely) and can return within 14 days.

If you have a CPW near you it may be worth popping in to see if they have one on display as well. That way you'll get a better idea if it's for you.

Fingers crossed it's the Android phone that keeps me going back to the iPhone

 

[Mark316]

Damn if Sony brought those kind of deals to North America they would probably be a lot more popular lol

 

[Aneres11]

I believe you're in the UK like me.

I went to my local CPW and was quite surprised that they had a working XZ2 on display. It looked very nice but was tied down as usual with CPW so couldn't really see the back that well or get a feel for it in the hand.

I've always liked Sony stuff and their Xperia phones in the past and the salesperson tried to get me to pre-order there and then with the PS4 promotion but I waited until I got home to pre-order so that I'm covered under the distant selling act just in case I don't like it (unlikely) and can return within 14 days.

If you have a CPW near you it may be worth popping in to see if they have one on display as well. That way you'll get a better idea if it's for you.

Fingers crossed it's the Android phone that keeps me going back to the iPhone

I am in the UK yeah.
I did wonder if they would have one out on display so thats great to know. Might pop along and have a look at one some time this week. Cheers for the heads up.
I'd be the same as you of I ordered one, do it online.

 

[c0ppo]

I'm using XZ2 compact for a few days now. This little phone is phenomenal. With both sim occupied, I get around 2 days of usage. Feel in the hand is awesome, memory management is excellent, and the screen is pretty bright and good to look at.

Camera is great for me, but I'm not a camera enthusiast, so there is that

I wish more compact phones from others are available, but no one seems to be interested in that market. I'm glad that Sony is. This phone is a keeper

 

[nviz22]

Damn, not a single good pre-order promo with the XZ2 Compact. I am interested in this phone as a backup plan if my S9+ issues aren't resolved by Samsung. Clean software, good specs, but how's their software support with updates?

 

[TC_GoldRush]

how's their software support with updates?

day one updates,

Who the hell cares about updates? I've been running a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 for over 3 years now, NEVER updated it, no issues.
Updates only slow down your device, you don't want day one updates (as they're usually more buggy).
Edit: Xperia looks like better device, still sticking with my Note 4 though... Better luck next year competitor companies .

 

[c0ppo]

Who the hell cares about updates? I've been running a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 for over 3 years now, NEVER updated it, no issues.

I do. I use my phone for usual stuff, like whatsapp, browsing, email, music, audiobooks, etc.
But I also use it for banking, for work emails, etc. And because of those stuff, I really care about updates.

And it's not just a security issue. If I purchase a high end flagship phone, I really expect the company that produced that device to stand behind it and update it. That is the least they can do

 

[nviz22]

Who the hell cares about updates? I've been running a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 for over 3 years now, NEVER updated it, no issues.
Updates only slow down your device, you don't want day one updates (as they're usually more buggy).
Edit: Xperia looks like better device, still sticking with my Note 4 though... Better luck next year competitor companies .

Not everyone wants to risk using an old device that is outdated. Android monthly updates are important to many people because they're designed to combat things like Stage Fright or Heartbleed.

That's great you can get mileage over a device with a 32 bit processor, removable battery, etc.

If I didn't care about updates, I wouldn't have asked the question.

 

[Aneres11]

So I ended up picking up an XZ2 this weekend.

I was a little intrigued by the device having re-read some reviews recently and most of them being fairly positive - that this was Sony's best phone in years.

So, I got one.

And it's going straight back.



I wanted / want to like it, but boy is it a strange ol' device.

Firstly, I really like the build quality, but it feels like a phone from years ago. The thickness isn't too much of an issue because it's got a curved back, so it feels really nice but the weight almost seems a bit too much.
It reminds me of the iPhone 3 actually.

All of that aside though, after using it for 48 hours or so I have had some real issues with it.
Firstly, the launchers. I tried the stock launcher as I really liked that on my XZ Premium last year, and it was all present and correct again on this phone.

But the widget I added onto the home screen kept reloading itself whenever I went into an app and then came back out of it. Or if I rotated the phone to landscape in photos or the camera - the widget would stick on 'loading'.

Another annoyance - the notification dots would appear over certain apps - but then a number badge would come onto others. Zero consistency and it looked awful.

So I ended up finding the Pixel launcher (I do love this launcher) and found this to be a bit better.

But the widget problem remained.

So I just got rid of it and stuck a Sony clock on instead.

The camera seems decent enough actually. However I was snapping photos of the dogs yesterday and the phpne got really warm and then crashed on me. The camera wouldn't come back on until I restarted the device. Killing the camera app itself didn't do anything so I had to reboot the phone.

I've also seen the phone stutter around terribly compared to other devices with this same chipset. Adding widgets to the home screen would freeze the phone temporarily for around 5 seconds until it then booted back to life.
I thought this might be due to the Pixel launcher, but even with the Sony launcher I've seen it.

Battery life has been bad over the last 24 hours. Compared to the Huawei P20 and Pro, this is a terrible battery.

The XZ2 has also ran warm several times with little strain over the last 24 hours.

All in all I am so disappointed with this device. I want to like it as I like the look of it a lot. Particularly the squared off look and the lack of notch. And the flat, rectangle screen. Very nice. But it just lets itself down in so many areas.

I'm glad I gave it a go but it's going back unfortunately.

 

[sunking101]

Only 4GB of RAM killed my interest in the phone and to be fair I hate the new Sony styling. The phone looks and feels cheap. The XZ and XZ1 did not.
Hopefully the XZ3 will have better styling and more RAM.

 

[MarkX]

Only 4GB of RAM killed my interest in the phone and to be fair I hate the new Sony styling. The phone looks and feels cheap. The XZ and XZ1 did not.
Hopefully the XZ3 will have better styling and more RAM.

Looks aside, what exactly do you need more than 4GB RAM for?

 

[sunking101]

Looks aside, what exactly do you need more than 4GB RAM for?

Multitasking mate. I like apps and browser tabs to stay in memory and not refresh for as long as possible. 6GB or more of RAM was top of my requirements for my latest phone. 4GB is barely enough for me these days.