The new Sony Xperia XZ is out and available. Will this be Sony's final flagship of smartphones for this year to boost its sales? Sony is saying yes and is confident about it.
According to a written article at Tech Radar, the Xperia Z line is now dead. All future Sony phones will now be part of the Xperia X line, whether it's a budget, mid-range or high-end device, and will sit under the top-dog Xperia XZ.
In a PSNA two years ago, Sony has released four smartphones. But it has been a whole year since it released the Xperia Z5 to critical acclaim at IFA 2012. Now, Sony has released their latest phone and believes that the Xperia XZ will lead Sony's smartphone business to success.
But is it capable enough? An article written at Engadget points out the Sony's philosophy seems more focused on fixing oversights than pushing envelopes.
Considering the Xperia XZ, the camera is shaping up to be very impressive and the design looks great. But about the software, there were not many changes in its performance.
With the camera, Sony believes this is their latest flagship's selling point. Who can argue? Social media sites are pretty much a big part of our daily routine now. Taking pictures, selfies and recording videos with high-end cameras is a big deal for most people, both for business-minded people and people who just love to take pictures (of themselves).
Aside from its camera as its main key feature, there are also some other specs worth mentioning. Some of the other key features of the Sony Xperia XZ is the water-resistant feature, dust-resistant feature, great fingerprint scanner (but not for every market) and its capability to allow you to play PS4 games on your Xperia XZ screen.
About the water-resistant feature, that is an old feature. The feature was long marketed by Sony back in 2012. So this won't be much of a feature that will ensure Sony's smartphone business success.
About its dust-resistance feature, this feature somehow falls down into the same category of the water-resistant feature. So this is not something that could really make the public take notice of and talk bout it.
Next is the fingerprint scanner. Now, this is a feature that many smartphone manufacturers are implementing to their smartphones. But there is a report that Sony has included a fingerprint scanner on the side of the Xperia XZ to make it easier to unlock.
However, buyers in the US don't get the scanner. Critics point out that this decision could put Sony into a disadvantageous position against its competitors. Making things exclusive only for other countries will destroy the chances of Xperia XZ saving the company's smartphone business. When asked about it, Sony answered that this was their "strategy" in order to transition from the carrier market to the unlocked market. This is very confusing.
And lastly is the PS4 Remote Play Feature. No, the Xperia XZ is not a built in mini-PS4 (Yeah, everyone had their hopes up, especially the gamers). The feature works like this: if you have Sony's home gaming console, you will be able to play games on your Xperia XZ over the same Wi-Fi network your console in on. The downside, however (aside from the fact it's not a mini-PS4), is that the screen on the Xperia XZ is a little too small for playing PS4 games.
With all that's been said, the Sony Xperia XZ is said to be worth having according to critics. And somehow, it also just enough positive reviews to play a big role in pushing Sony's smartphones in the market.
