Sony Xperia XZ2 Review

The Sony Xperia XZ2 is proof that it's not enough to just make a good phone anymore. It's a phone that I like, and a phone I'd have no qualms with using for an extended period of time, but it's also a phone that I find hard to recommend.

It's a more than capable device, with a nice display, a decent camera, good battery life, and one of the fastest processors around under the hood. The problem is none of these features are amazing or enough to make it stand out from the increasingly competent flagship crowd. You can spend $1,099 and get the Xperia XZ2, which is fine. But you can also spend $1,099 and get a more exciting phone.

This is compounded by the fact that the Xperia XZ2 is launching alongside two more interesting phones: the Xperia XZ2 Compact and the Xperia XZ2 Premium. The Xperia XZ2 Compact is a genuinely unique phone in that it's tiny but doesn't compromise on power, while Sony diehards will want to wait for the company's actual flagship: the Xperia XZ2 Premium.

On the other hand, the Xperia XZ2 kinda just is.

There's some gimmicks though

It's not that the Xperia XZ2 doesn’t have any unique features, they're just not the kind of features that sell a phone.

The one that Sony's made the most noise about is the "Dynamic Vibration System". This analyses the audio from videos, music, and games (looking for bass frequencies), and provides haptic feedback to "bring them to life"; it's almost like the Dual Shock rumble pack found in a PlayStation 4 controller. In short, when the movie goes boom, the phone shakes.

It's a quirky, unique feature, but the Dynamic Vibration System mostly feels like a gimmick. It works, it's not excessive to the point where you'll worry about dropping your phone, but I haven't missed it when watching a video or playing a game on a different device.

The Xperia XZ2 also boasts the highest resolution super slow motion camera around; you get 960fps video in full HD, up from 720p on last year's Xperia XZ Premium and Samsung's Galaxy S9. This does come with some major caveats: you can only capture 0.1 second in super slow motion at 1080p, and 0.2 seconds at 720p. You can genuinely get some stunning shots, but you have to time it perfectly, especially if you're hoping to capture footage like a skateboard trick or someone popping a balloon.

Super slow motion video is another feature that's nice to have; it looks great as a marketing bullet point, but it's the kind of feature you'll rarely use. Unless slow motion video is a hobby of yours, it's not the kind of thing you'd necessarily buy a phone for.

A new look

One of the complaints I've leveled against Sony smartphones in recent years has related to their blocky brutalist design that's looked out of date for quite some time. Fortunately, the Xperia XZ2 has traded in bulky bezels for a more modern aesthetic.

Sony's moved to extra-tall displays, curvy bodies, and glass backs for these latest releases. It's not an entirely unique look, but it makes the Xperia XZ2 more on trend. The curvature is comfortable, there's a nice weight to the phone, and the black model we've had in for review is surprisingly resistant to fingerprints.

The redesign does however come with a couple quirks. The fingerprint reader is an awkward position, sitting in the middle of the phone. Instead, you'll find the camera where you'd normally expect the fingerprint reader to be; there's been too many times where I've tried to unlock the Xperia XZ2 but smudged the camera instead. You get used to eventually, but it does add a learning curve. In a similar vein, the Xperia XZ2's power button is a little lower than you'd expect.

While the move to curved glass makes the Xperia XZ2 fresher than its predecessors, it's surprisingly slippery. I never felt like the phone was going to fall out of my hand, but it puts it at risk on uneven surfaces; the Xperia XZ2 has slid off my couch a few too many times.

Sony has unfortunately adopted the worst modern smartphone trend: killing the headphone jack. Yes, everyone's doing it, but we're still not happy about it. If you don't want to go down the wireless path, you'll find 3.5mm buds inside the box and a USB Type-C adapter.

There's a couple of too many superfluous apps out of the box, with Sony adding in a whole suite of extra video, photo, and music apps on top of the core Android offering. There's also a whole range of apps from Amazon, as well as the "Xperia Lounge" which mostly serves as an advertisement for other Sony content. Most of these can be disabled or deleted though, thankfully.

Who's the Sony Xperia XZ2 for?

I genuinely don't know. The Xperia XZ2 is a capable phone missing a clear purpose. If you're a Sony fan, you're better off waiting for the XZ2 Premium. If you've got exactly $1,099 to spend on a phone, the Huawei P20 Pro is a better value proposition.

There's nothing that's overly bad about the Xperia XZ2, there's no red flags or deal breakers, but there's also nothing that elevates it from good to great. And if you want to compete against Apple and Samsung in 2018, you really need to shoot for exceptional.

Sony Xperia XZ2 camera samples

I don't want a Sony Xperia XZ2, what else can I buy?

Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact

The Xperia XZ2's sibling - the Xperia XZ2 Compact - is a much more interesting device. As the name might suggest, it's a smaller phone; by today's standards, we'd call it teeny tiny. Despite this, it shares the same high-end specs as the Xperia XZ2, which makes it a bit of a unicorn in the Android world: it's a small phone without compromises. Better yet, the fingerprint reader is in a more ergonomic spot, and you'll pay a little less: the Xperia XZ2 Compact is $949 outright.

Huawei P20 Pro

Priced at just $1,099, the Huawei P20 Pro is easily the best value flagship smartphone on the market. And it just so happens that it's got the best camera on any smartphone right now. If you're after a premium Android device, the P20 Pro is hard to go past.

Samsung Galaxy S9

If you want a flagship that still has a headphone jack, the Galaxy S9 is one of the few remaining high-end devices with a humble 3.5mm port. Thankfully, it's a pretty good phone, even if it's pretty similar to last year's S8.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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