I respect your needs. However I'm with @hojnikb with this one - I prefer smaller screen sizes that fit in my hand too. A 5" screen still won't comfortably let my thumb reach any part of the screen while I lie down and hold it above my head with one hand, but at least it's better than 5.5" .
"Of course, for those that aren’t familiar with display testing, this may seem a bit out of expectation as in general most reviews will generally state that the Xperia phones have had generally acceptable or excellent displays, but our testing here attempts to avoid relying upon subjective color preferences and rather holds all mobile displays to the same industry-wide standard for content creation on the web."
I second this. I've done reviews of Sony phones on the largest Dutch website about technology, Tweakers, and howerver I've liked the battery life and feature set of Xperia smartphones of the last years a lot, the display has been a let down. Up until the Xperia Z3 it looked like Sony didn't use ips panels at all, resulting in horrible contrast when viewed under even a small angle. And the color calibration has been consistently horrible (for example, http://tweakers.net/reviews/4228/5/sony-xperia-z5-...
This was the case on all high end Xperia smartphones without exception. All. Of. Them. The camera is the same thing. Sony is making kick ass camera sensors which power all high end phones, but camera samples from Xperia's are always noisy. It's improving, but it's not nowhere near the competition even now.
It's a shame, because we all know Sony could do so much better, but for some reason have been failing for years.
If it is does well a plastic body removes the need for a case and significantly reduces the final size of a phone so I would consider it a positive rather than negative.
I like the screen size but it's larger and heavier than phones with similar screens like Galaxy S7 while also having a smaller battery. And I hate on-screen buttons. Look at that last pic. bottom 20% of phone is wasted space with on-screen buttons and bezel. With the galaxy S7 (or S6 or Mi5) you get more screen real estate at lower weight and with a larger battery.
While benchmarking is nice way to measure a phone's performance. I would like to learn how it performs in the real world scenario. I saw couple of videos where I saw Xperia X outperform HTC 10 and LG G5 in opening apps. Joshua please focus on the real world performs as well. Thanks in advance.
Yes. I understand how it is "preliminary", but I think it's quite weird to see a focus on sequential performance. When is that a bottleneck in an Android phone? I honestly don't know. Is random 4 KB access still important in day-to-day use? Is that Windows only? What queue depths are important?
In a Windows SSD environment, I understand: in real-world use, every SSD under consumer applications will perform nearly identically. The only noticeable differentiator is with large file transfers: TLC vs TLC w/ caching vs MLC vs SLC (and then PCIe vs SATA protocol limitations on top of all that).
But, at QD1-4, pretty much every SSD gives similar enough numbers where normal users won't notice a difference.
---
But, with Android? I've absolutely no idea. Is random performance more or less important than sequential?
Just please don't judge the overall performance of a phone solely based on how fast it opens apps. I have seen plenty of phones that open apps super fast, but bog down and drop frames while scrolling like crazy. I would rather have a phone that takes a split second longer to open apps and is able to maintain a consistent 60 fps when scrolling.
I gave up on Sony phones several years ago. Used to be a fan but with the coming of alternatives from young & aggressive Chinese manufacturers, Sony's handsets specs and prices don't make sense anymore. They just priced themselves out of the market, they initially ask a high price but because not enough idiots buy at that price, it drops like a rock several months later. If Sony keeps doing this, losing money is what they gonna get.
I think the market for $400+ phones is going to drastically shrink over the next few years, as even basic/midrange phones are more than adequate for 98% of the population's use cases. With increased competition in the low/mid range I expect we will start seeing a lower premium for additional storage, which will be a game changer. This phone appears to be terrific, but at a price that is more 2012 than 2016.
Sony said they where going to make a 4K display with supposedly a large screen. Turned out it's a iPhone clone that runs android. I'm fine with people who use/want small screens, but historically Sony has always made large displays. This is why I am stuck buying every samsung note rendition, nobody gets that we want a phablet, not a tiny little iphone toy.
Switching their lineup from Z to X just made it more confusing... Now there's an "X Performance" with an 820? Way to destroy the current model scheme right off the bat. And if the normal X is priced like a flagship what's the X Perf gonna cost?
I almost bought the Z3/5 Compact a few times, in large part because of their small size and battery life... But I would've had to switch carriers to do so and they had no Qi or OIS for video, unlike my Nexus.
I'm not sure the X will be as alluring if they're trying to ramp prices up while at the same time cutting corners on the build and storage. The HTC 10 remains the most attractive upgrade choice for me, prolly holding out for Moto or this year's N5 refresh tho.
"Switching their lineup from Z to X just made it more confusing... Now there's an "X Performance" with an 820? Way to destroy the current model scheme right off the bat. And if the normal X is priced like a flagship what's the X Perf gonna cost?"
+1. Had a Z3 international for nearly 2 years and it's been an amazing phone. Converted many people to Z3 compact's and Z5 compacts and considering a Z5 myself to replace my Z3.
But I am a bit lost on what Sony are doing at the moment. I think killing the Z line and replacing it with something with lots of X's and silly names like "performance" doesn't make a heap of sense. I did see an X in a shop the other day and it was a nice phone. I don't think the X Performance is the replacement for the Z5, I think something else will be announced at IFA in September, Heaven knows what it'll cost though..
Yep. As someone who prefers LCDs, it pains me that Android phones almost never have high quality, well calibrated LCDs. I bought the Nexus 5X and liked it, but it was decidedly midrange and just didn't excite me. Now I have an S7 Edge, which is good, but I prefer LCD to AMOLED. Might have to bite the bullet and go iPhone 7 Plus if they stick to LCD, but then I'll probably hate iOS still. Arg.
I looked at the 5X, but not enough storage, not enough RAM, and IMO a poor SOC choice. I ended up buying a lightly used N5 off Swappa, couldn't be happier.
Man, I can't believe Android OEMs still haven't figured out how to put high quality, well calibrated LCDs into phones in 2016. They're usually either high quality and poorly calibrated or mediocre quality and well calibrated. The Nexus 5X is the best LCD I've seen in an Android phone, and it's a $350 midrange phone! Apple is putting great, well calibrated LCDs in the Plus iPhones. Why can't Android manufacturers do it?
"our testing here attempts to avoid relying upon subjective color preferences and rather holds all mobile displays to the same industry-wide standard" Why I love reading AT's reviews.
Also, side note, hopefully we're able to see Z2 and/or Axon 7 reviews as well.
Vibrant, oversaturated colors aren't too much of an issue on phones IMHO, I doubt anyone does critical video o photo editing on their phones, only app devs need some degree of accuracy.
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hojnikb - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
5" screen and 820 snappy ?Sony, you just made a sale.
greyhulk - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Funny. I would never buy it because 5" is too small for me to even consider it. I'd rather they had updated the Z5 Premium to newer specs.ayqazi - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
I respect your needs. However I'm with @hojnikb with this one - I prefer smaller screen sizes that fit in my hand too. A 5" screen still won't comfortably let my thumb reach any part of the screen while I lie down and hold it above my head with one hand, but at least it's better than 5.5" .piroroadkill - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Funny, 5" is too large for me to consider it :DI'd go for a Z5 Compact any day...
wffurr - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Same here- WTB Xperia X compact...Samus - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
5" too small? Man I can't even imagine what you think of Apple making a 4" iPhone again ;)CoreyWat - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
What about the HTC M10Arch_Fiend - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
He's reviewing the X not the X Performance so it has the SD650 not SD820.kspirit - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
An article about a Sony Xperia on AT!? :o Is this real life?Keep it up! Very happy to see this.
Barilla - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
I'm happy to finally see AT covering Xperia phones.Less happy that Sony seems to be on a downward slope ever since Z2 :(
RichieHH - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
You're joking, right? The Z3 was top of the heap in many ways. I still use mine. The Z5 is also a superb phone.Eden-K121D - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Most OEM's except for Apple or Samsung cut corners on storage , build Quality or industrial design or all of thosearnoudw - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
"Of course, for those that aren’t familiar with display testing, this may seem a bit out of expectation as in general most reviews will generally state that the Xperia phones have had generally acceptable or excellent displays, but our testing here attempts to avoid relying upon subjective color preferences and rather holds all mobile displays to the same industry-wide standard for content creation on the web."I second this. I've done reviews of Sony phones on the largest Dutch website about technology, Tweakers, and howerver I've liked the battery life and feature set of Xperia smartphones of the last years a lot, the display has been a let down.
Up until the Xperia Z3 it looked like Sony didn't use ips panels at all, resulting in horrible contrast when viewed under even a small angle. And the color calibration has been consistently horrible (for example, http://tweakers.net/reviews/4228/5/sony-xperia-z5-...
This was the case on all high end Xperia smartphones without exception. All. Of. Them. The camera is the same thing. Sony is making kick ass camera sensors which power all high end phones, but camera samples from Xperia's are always noisy. It's improving, but it's not nowhere near the competition even now.
It's a shame, because we all know Sony could do so much better, but for some reason have been failing for years.
BedfordTim - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
If it is does well a plastic body removes the need for a case and significantly reduces the final size of a phone so I would consider it a positive rather than negative.BedfordTim - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Sorry no edit function. I meant "If it is done well"Spectrophobic - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
I was excited when they announced the X Performance, being SD820 and 1080p. But Sony still can't get screens right. Oh well...Looking forward to the OnePlus 3. Or perhaps a Nexus 5X refresh with a 820?
beginner99 - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
I like the screen size but it's larger and heavier than phones with similar screens like Galaxy S7 while also having a smaller battery. And I hate on-screen buttons. Look at that last pic. bottom 20% of phone is wasted space with on-screen buttons and bezel. With the galaxy S7 (or S6 or Mi5) you get more screen real estate at lower weight and with a larger battery.techcrazy - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
While benchmarking is nice way to measure a phone's performance. I would like to learn how it performs in the real world scenario. I saw couple of videos where I saw Xperia X outperform HTC 10 and LG G5 in opening apps. Joshua please focus on the real world performs as well. Thanks in advance.ikjadoon - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Yes. I understand how it is "preliminary", but I think it's quite weird to see a focus on sequential performance. When is that a bottleneck in an Android phone? I honestly don't know. Is random 4 KB access still important in day-to-day use? Is that Windows only? What queue depths are important?In a Windows SSD environment, I understand: in real-world use, every SSD under consumer applications will perform nearly identically. The only noticeable differentiator is with large file transfers: TLC vs TLC w/ caching vs MLC vs SLC (and then PCIe vs SATA protocol limitations on top of all that).
But, at QD1-4, pretty much every SSD gives similar enough numbers where normal users won't notice a difference.
---
But, with Android? I've absolutely no idea. Is random performance more or less important than sequential?
JoshHo - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
The issue here is mostly that AndroBench 3.6 and 4.0 random read/write results aren't comparable so we have to retest these things.grayson_carr - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Just please don't judge the overall performance of a phone solely based on how fast it opens apps. I have seen plenty of phones that open apps super fast, but bog down and drop frames while scrolling like crazy. I would rather have a phone that takes a split second longer to open apps and is able to maintain a consistent 60 fps when scrolling.techcrazy - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link
Its really good at maintaining frames while scrolling too. You can see multiple videos on youtube how good their performance is.DanD85 - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
I gave up on Sony phones several years ago. Used to be a fan but with the coming of alternatives from young & aggressive Chinese manufacturers, Sony's handsets specs and prices don't make sense anymore. They just priced themselves out of the market, they initially ask a high price but because not enough idiots buy at that price, it drops like a rock several months later. If Sony keeps doing this, losing money is what they gonna get.fanofanand - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
I think the market for $400+ phones is going to drastically shrink over the next few years, as even basic/midrange phones are more than adequate for 98% of the population's use cases. With increased competition in the low/mid range I expect we will start seeing a lower premium for additional storage, which will be a game changer. This phone appears to be terrific, but at a price that is more 2012 than 2016.FastCarsLike - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Sony said they where going to make a 4K display with supposedly a large screen. Turned out it's a iPhone clone that runs android. I'm fine with people who use/want small screens, but historically Sony has always made large displays. This is why I am stuck buying every samsung note rendition, nobody gets that we want a phablet, not a tiny little iphone toy.ToTTenTranz - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Are we still getting a full review of the HTC 10?JoshHo - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Yes.Impulses - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Switching their lineup from Z to X just made it more confusing... Now there's an "X Performance" with an 820? Way to destroy the current model scheme right off the bat. And if the normal X is priced like a flagship what's the X Perf gonna cost?I almost bought the Z3/5 Compact a few times, in large part because of their small size and battery life... But I would've had to switch carriers to do so and they had no Qi or OIS for video, unlike my Nexus.
I'm not sure the X will be as alluring if they're trying to ramp prices up while at the same time cutting corners on the build and storage. The HTC 10 remains the most attractive upgrade choice for me, prolly holding out for Moto or this year's N5 refresh tho.
Coup27 - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
"Switching their lineup from Z to X just made it more confusing... Now there's an "X Performance" with an 820? Way to destroy the current model scheme right off the bat. And if the normal X is priced like a flagship what's the X Perf gonna cost?"+1. Had a Z3 international for nearly 2 years and it's been an amazing phone. Converted many people to Z3 compact's and Z5 compacts and considering a Z5 myself to replace my Z3.
But I am a bit lost on what Sony are doing at the moment. I think killing the Z line and replacing it with something with lots of X's and silly names like "performance" doesn't make a heap of sense. I did see an X in a shop the other day and it was a nice phone. I don't think the X Performance is the replacement for the Z5, I think something else will be announced at IFA in September, Heaven knows what it'll cost though..
NtAbs2000 - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
Why get confused, Sony and Moto just agreed to swap lol.Sony X, Moto Z
Lolimaster - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Yes another high end phone destroyed by pathetic image qualit.@Editor
Fix the 1st tables, your putting the z3v where the X shouldve been.
Lolimaster - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
So if you care for screen image quality you basically got 2 options:Apple for IPS
Samsung for OLED
Nothing else.
Spectrophobic - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Or the Nexus 5X. Too bad the SoC is garbage.zodiacfml - Saturday, June 4, 2016 - link
The Nexus 5X's SoC is the best option during its time as the Snapdragon 810 and 6P just results to expensive hardware with little benefit.grayson_carr - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Yep. As someone who prefers LCDs, it pains me that Android phones almost never have high quality, well calibrated LCDs. I bought the Nexus 5X and liked it, but it was decidedly midrange and just didn't excite me. Now I have an S7 Edge, which is good, but I prefer LCD to AMOLED. Might have to bite the bullet and go iPhone 7 Plus if they stick to LCD, but then I'll probably hate iOS still. Arg.fanofanand - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
I looked at the 5X, but not enough storage, not enough RAM, and IMO a poor SOC choice. I ended up buying a lightly used N5 off Swappa, couldn't be happier.Spectrophobic - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
So you were happy with an even more inferior product?Meteor2 - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
5X is a great phone. Screen is A1; SoC is not in benchmarks but it's fast in real life.Lolimaster - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
And for me thats the most importante thing, if you fail at that you just failed you whole launch.grayson_carr - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
Man, I can't believe Android OEMs still haven't figured out how to put high quality, well calibrated LCDs into phones in 2016. They're usually either high quality and poorly calibrated or mediocre quality and well calibrated. The Nexus 5X is the best LCD I've seen in an Android phone, and it's a $350 midrange phone! Apple is putting great, well calibrated LCDs in the Plus iPhones. Why can't Android manufacturers do it?aryonoco - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - link
OMG OMG OMG.Let me see...
Duke Nukem forever was finally released.
Windows now runs Linux binaries.
And now, we have a (p)review of a Sony smartphone on Anandtech?!
Is this confirmation that hell has finally frozen over?!
beginner99 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link
Maybe the screen uses less power with the bad calibration. How where the battery life tests run? With stock screen settings?zodiacfml - Saturday, June 4, 2016 - link
Fail.mortimerr - Sunday, June 5, 2016 - link
"our testing here attempts to avoid relying upon subjective color preferences and rather holds all mobile displays to the same industry-wide standard"Why I love reading AT's reviews.
Also, side note, hopefully we're able to see Z2 and/or Axon 7 reviews as well.
Fidelator - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
Vibrant, oversaturated colors aren't too much of an issue on phones IMHO, I doubt anyone does critical video o photo editing on their phones, only app devs need some degree of accuracy.