Sony Announces the Xperia Z4
by Brandon Chester on April 20, 2015 4:38 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Sony
- Mobile
- Xperia Z4
Today Sony Mobile officially announced the Xperia Z4 on their Japanese website. The Xperia Z4 will be the company's flagship smartphone for 2015, sitting alongside Sony's flagship tablet which is called the Xperia Z4 Tablet. Based on the specifications provided by Sony, it certainly looks like they've done everything possible to make it fit that role with regards to its hardware. Thankfully, Sony's launch page gives pretty much every specification one could be interested in, and I've organized them in the chart below.
| Sony Xperia Z4 | ||||||
| SoC | MSM8994 2/1.5 GHz A57/A53 Snapdragon 810 | |||||
| Memory and Storage | 32GB NAND + MicroSDXC, 3GB RAM | |||||
| Display | 5.2" 1920x1080 IPS LCD | |||||
| Cellular Connectivity | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Qualcomm UE Category 7/9 LTE) | |||||
| Dimensions | 146 x 72 x 6.9 mm, 144g | |||||
| Camera |
20.7 MP Sony Exmor, 1/2.3" Rear Facing, 25mm focal length |
|||||
| Battery | 2930 mAh | |||||
| Other Connectivity | 2x2 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, microUSB2.0, NFC, GPS/GNSS | |||||
| SIM Size | NanoSIM | |||||
| Operating System | Android 5.0 Lollipop | |||||
The specifications for the Z4 are certainly appealing. Potential speed and thermal issues relating to Snapdragon 810 aside, the Z4 packs what is basically the best internal hardware available for smartphone manufacturers at the moment. Snapdragon 820 won't be available until the second half of this year at the absolute earliest, and so MSM8994 paired with 3GB of RAM is the fastest you'll see in an Android smartphone that isn't the Galaxy S6.
What may be notable for some is the decision to stay with a 1920x1080 LCD. Given the issues with power consumption and brightness with current 2560x1440 LCD panels, and the relatively limited improvement to sharpness at this display size, I think that staying with a 1080p display was the right decision to make with the Z4.
The Xperia Z4 comes in White, Black, Copper, and Aqua Green
Design wise, the Xperia Z4 bears a great deal of similarity to its predecessor, the Xperia Z3. While it's not a full metal unibody design, it does have a metal frame surrounding the outside of the device. At 6.9mm it is as thin as the iPhone 6 which is impressive. Sony has also been able to include one of their 20.7MP sensors without introducing a camera hump, although the compromise is its 25mm focal length. Like most of Sony's recent products, the Xperia Z4 has an IP65 / IP68 rating for dust and water protection, which is something that now differentiates it from the flagship devices offered by other manufacturers.
At the moment, Sony hasn't provided any information about when an international release of the Xperia Z4 can be expected. It follows that the price is also unknown, although one can guess that it will be around the same price as this year's other flagship devices.
Source: Sony Mobile Japan
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fokka - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
well that was fast. i like that they kept the 1080p screen, but the sd810 in combination with a smaller battery slightly worries me. but t least we could shave off another .4mm i guess.generally i'd rather have seen a thicker device so they have enough room for OIS and an even bigger battery, but as long as battery life stays the same and they improve image processing with help of sony's camera department i'd say it's alright.
how about wireless charging though?
Laxaa - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
There's no Qi on board, but I've read somewhere that it works with some sort for dock.Cinnabuns - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
If it's anything like the Z3 and previous Sony phones, there will be a magnetic charging connection on the side. It can connect to magnetic charging cables or cradles. The main reason for this seems to be that Sony has covered the USB port with a flap for the water/dust resistance certification. As a Z3 owner, I can say that having to open up that flap every time I want to charge is a royal pain, which is why I have a magnetic cradle. Also, I don't want to wear out the flap and have it come loose or fall out at some point.Also as a previous owner of an N4 with a Qi charger, I can say that I much prefer the magnetic charging cradle solution to Qi charging. It is just as convenient and doesn't cause the battery to heat up during charging compared to normal USB charge. In my experience, Qi charging dramatically reduced the battery life of my N4 over a long time frame (~2 years) on my N4 compared to my wife's N4 which did not use a Qi charger due to the extra heat buildup associated with Qi charging.
Laxaa - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
They've removed the magnetic connection for this model, and the USB is now exposed.khanikun - Monday, April 27, 2015 - link
No they haven't. It's the same as the Z3. Magenetic connection and covered usb port. Just like the Z2 before it. Also the Z1 before that.soccerballtux - Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - link
I purchased one for my LG G2. Make sure you get the right one-- hold the phone screen-up in front of you and look at the microUSB port: is the narrow side of the microUSB port up or down? LG G2 it's up.http://www.amazon.com/BLUBOON-Universal-Wireless-M...
Then, get a TPU case to cover this Qi attachment and keep it from coming off. Of the 5 I have purchased, I like this one the most, and I don't like the black version: http://www.amazon.com/Mercury-Goospery-Flexible-Pr...
with a larger battery like the G2, it's less of a problem that it charges more slowly than plugging in. Somewhat inconvenient to remove for USB-OTG support (for Titanium Backup and TWRP backups). I use FolderSync to keep phone synced with wifi.
Xajel - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Xperia Z3 is already the best modern smartphone in battery life, so I expect that Z4 will still be competitive even with lower capacity battery.satai - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Let's see, the Snapdragon 810 is expected to be pretty power hungry...przemo_li - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Yet, it's display and LTE networking that contribute most to daily battery drain! (Apart from playing resource hungry games that is)810 may be bad, but it can not be as bad as big display and LTE chip.
MrSpadge - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
It's only power hungry if all cores are under sustained load. They are fast, and that's the price for that. The power efficiency is still pretty good, and temperatures no issue under bursty real world loads.