Review: Sony Xperia Z2 holds its own

You would be forgiven for taking a passing glance at the Xperia Z2 and wondering exactly what the difference was between it and its predecessor. After all, they look remarkably similar, and slight differences such as the slightly slimmer frame and the shaved down weight aren’t immediately apparent.

But Sony has refined a few important things on the Z2. The chip is faster, and with the added RAM – the Z2 comes with 3GB built in – the phone is fairly zippy.

The Z2 is essentially aiming for the same market as the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8. As the third phone to launch, can it win over consumers? Or will it be an also-ran?

The good . . .
The Z2 continues where the Z1 left off: it's waterproof, it will resist a bit of dust and when you drop it (from a reasonable distance) it won't shatter. All round, it's pretty hardy. So far, it doesn't seem to pick up scratches or nicks as easily as the Z1. That means it stays looking that bit more pristine for longer.

Even though the screen has been increased in size to 5.2 inches, it’s still possible to use the phone one handed comfortably, even if you have relatively small paws. Speaking of displays, Sony has also changed the Z2 to IPS LCD, replacing the TFT display in the Z1. In practice, that means the screen looks better, and has improved viewing angles over its predecessor

The pixel density is slightly lower on the Z2, but it’s barely noticeable. Text is crisp and sharp, the colours are bright without being overly saturated. All in all, it’s a great looking phone.

The camera stays at 20.7 megapixels, but Sony has put some extra tech in there to make it perform better. The HD video of the Z1 has been upgraded to the new 4K standard, so you will be able to shoot in ultra high definition.

The front facing camera has been bumped up to 2.2 megapixels, a small improvement over the Z1.

It comes with KitKat installed too, which means you are up to date with Android.

. . . the bad
All that glass, while it looks good, makes it a magnet for fingerprints. And a little on the slippy side – on more than one occasion, a slight angle on a surface sent me scrabbling to catch the phone before it hit the ground.

It’s also a little taller than other phones of a similar screen size, with a rather thick bezel, which may not appeal to some.

There’s little else to criticise about the Z2, although the ability to uninstall some of the factory preset apps – Sony, of course – would be nice.

. . . & the rest
The problem with the Z2 is that it's competing in a very crowded field. it needs something to make it stand out above the rest, and while the ability to record 4K video is something Sony is heavily pushing, the truth is that many people will probably never bother with filming in that high a resolution, despite the improved quality.

There are are a couple of reasons for this. First off, while 4K is filtering its way into the market, the chances of you having a 4K TV set or monitor right now are considerably lower than HD. So if you have nothing that will play your masterpiece in all its glory, why bother filming it in 4K instead of HD?

Secondly, all that extra detail means bigger files. The Z2 comes with 16GB of built in storage, with a few GB already taken up by the OS. If you want to film in 4K, you’ll find that remaining space is rapidly eaten into. While you can add in a memory card with capacity of up to 128GB, it’s still not ideal for the average user. It’s unlikely that you’ll be emailing any of these files to friends and family either, given their size.

The 4K option, while impressive, seems more about future proofing the phone than having a compelling feature that users must have right now. But given that the Z2 followed so quickly after the Z1, will smartphone users still have this handset in a few years’ time?

Battery life also seems improved, so you should get at least a full day out of this handset. That will depend on your usage, of course, but preliminary test showed it stood up to a fair bit of handling throughout the day.

Digital noise cancelling headphones are included in the box, and the moving of the Z2’s speakers to the front means that the phone’s audio capabilities are improved.

The verdict
The Z2 isn't a major leap from the Z1 – especially if you are already using the Z1 – but it does help build Sony's credentials as a premium smartphone firm.

Star rating HHHH