Sony Xperia Z2 review: Plenty of tricks and pizzazz but wait for the Z3

Sony has developed an annoying strategy of launching a flagship phone every six months. So just as you get the hang of the latest Xperia and work your way up Candy Crush, the Japanese manufacturer launches a newer version, rendering the phone in your hands obsolete and stale.

The latest in the Xperia line-up is the unimaginatively named Z2. This hefty 163g smartphone with a 5.2-inch screen runs on Android’s KitKat.

It is a great phone and has all the tricks and pizzazz one would expect of a flagship smartphone – a brilliant screen, an absolutely marvellous 20.7mp camera (capable of shooting video in 4K) and ingenious apps to go with it as well as an incredible battery life. Amazingly, like its predecessor it is entirely waterproof.

The Z2 screams durability and high quality, both physically and application-ally. It has that “best of Sony” feel to it, with easy access to the entertainment empire’s movies and songs.

I admire the Xperia Z range of phones, they are in all honesty, quite brilliant. Sony was ahead of the curve when it launched a waterproof smartphone, it was also the first to launch a smart watch. Its foray into wearable technology has been the most chic with a demure-looking wristband, but it has failed to outdo Samsung, despite being a step ahead.

Its marketing strategy is partly to blame, as well launching two flagship phones a year. Instead of focusing time, effort and money on designing a true game-changer just once a year, it is splitting that energy. The result is customer fatigue and confusion in an increasingly cluttered smartphone market.

So, back to the Xperia Z2: if you’re looking to buy a reasonably priced smartphone, one that is durable, well designed and easy to use, then go ahead. But if you’re already a user of the Z1, it would probably be best to wait until the end of the year, when the company will most likely announce the Z3. That way you can enjoy playing with the “latest” smartphone, at least for another six months.

thamid@thenational.ae

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