The Sony Xperia Z3 is official, with the high-end Android handset benefitting from a slimmer form factor and impressive battery enhancements.
Although featuring a largely unchanged specs sheet when compared with the Xperia Z2, the new Z3 has enough tweaks to get us excited.
“The Xperia Z3 is our flagship, premium smartphone. It is the successor to the Xperia Z2,” Calum MacDougall, Sony’s Director of Xperia Marketing said in unveiling the product.
Kunimasa, Suzuki, President and CEO of Sony Mobile added: “Consumers demand and deserve greatness from their smartphone – in design, camera and battery life.
“That’s precisely what we aim to deliver with Xperia Z3, at the same time as delivering leading innovations such as unique Sony camera experiences and, for the first time, PS4 Remote Play in this beautifully designed, fully waterproof smartphone.”
Sony Xperia Z3 Features
First, the similarities. Like Z2 before it, the Sony Xperia Z3 plays host to a 5.2-inch, 1080p Full HD display alongside a 20.7-megapixel rear-mounted camera, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
While that doesn’t leave much left on a specs front, fret not.
The Z3 offers a little more grunt, making the jump from a 2.3GHz to a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor.
What’s more, despite featuring a marginally smaller battery to its predecessor, the Z3’s 3100mAh Lithium-Ion energy supply is said to offer improved staying power. Sony has claimed its new flagship phone will last two full days on a single charge. In contrast, the Z2 offered a 1.4 days lifespan.
The camera has also been improved despite retaining the Z2’s 20.7-megapixel sensor. The snapper’s low light capabilities have been improved thanks to an expanded ISO range which now tops out at 12800. A new 25mm G lens and improved SteadyShot also enhance the phone’s shooting options.
With 4K video recording making another appearance, software enhancements have added Sound Photo, FaceIn and Live on YouTube camera modes.
Brining mobile gaming into the modern era, the Sony Xperia Z3 is being bestowed with Sony’s ‘Remote Play’ services, allowing the phone to be used to play PS4 games. Identical to the service found on the PS Vita, the Z3 – when connected to the same Wi-Fi network as a PS4 – will allow gamers to enjoy console-quality games on the fly. A new DualShock 4 controller mount is also inbound to allow for more comfortable mobile gaming.
Refining the company’s ‘Omnibalance’ design principle, the Z3 is both slimmer and lighter than its predecessor, lining up at just 7.2mm thick and 152g in weight. The phone will land in black, white, copper and ‘silver green’ colour schemes.
The handset is IP68 dust and water resistant.
Sony Xperia Z3 Release Date and Price
Although an exact Sony Xperia Z3 release date has yet to be confirmed, the handset isn’t too far away from hitting retailers. Promising the device will be handed an ‘autumn’ release, MacDougall suggested that the phone will ‘likely’ touch down in ‘early October’.
A Sony Xperia Z3 price is also still unclear, although expect the handset to demand a premium fee.
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