Xperia XZ Is Now Available, Unlocked, In The US
Sony fans in the US have reason to celebrate. The company's "true" 2016 flagship is finally available for purchase. At least for those who don't mind paying full price to get an unlocked model, that is. After a short pre-order period, Sony Xperia XZ is finally shipping and ready for purchase for anyone rooting for the company's "re-invented" smartphone push. And,give or take one or two "minor" head-scratchers, the Xperia XZ does fit the bill as a flagship model. Finally.
Truth be told, the Xperia XZ and the older Xperia X Performance share a few things together when it comes to hardware specs. Both, for example run on the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. Both also seem to share the same disappointments, like a 1080p screen and 3 GB of RAM. One might even say that the two are nearly identical.
Where the Xperia XZ shines, however, is its camera, touted to be the best of the best in smartphones. While we still await the verdict from testers like DxOMark, on paper the Xperia XZ does sound rather enticing. The 23 megapixel camera features three types of AF, Phase Detect, Laser, and Contrast, and the software intelligently switches between those as the case may be needed. The Predictive Hybrid AF has also been shown to be smart at following its target. And the 13 megapixel front camera doesn't hurt either.
Where the Xperia XZ falls flat on its face, however, is something that strangely only US consumers will experience. For the same unfathomable reason as its previous flagships, Sony has again disabled the fingerprint scanner in the device. The sensor is still there allegedly, it's just disabled via firmware.
The Sony Xperia XZ, however, might also receive the same criticism as the Xperia X Performance before it. Both start at $699, before Sony eventually cut the price of the Xperia X Performance repeatedly. That said, the main complaint about that older model was that it was nowhere near worth that price. It remains to be seen whether the Xperia XZ's fancy new design and promise of a better camera would fare better.
SOURCE: Amazon (Platinum), (Mineral Black)