Review: Sony’s Xperia ZL struggles to stand out from the crowd

One not-bad 1080p Android phone among a sea of not-bad 1080p Android phones.

Read the whole story

 

[JPan]

I don't get the ZL at all. Even if its effectively better than the Z ( more durable better to hold are some of the comments I have heard ) why does it exist?

The Z is cooler in every way and instead of making as much of them as possible and distributing them as widely as possible they make this ZL bullshit. Which feels like the cheap little brother. Which is something that normally sells so well. (not) Sony really tries to snatch defeat out of the jaws of success.

 

[chris0101]

It's a decent phone, but as you have noted, it isn't remarkable. Not much to recommend this design from a hardware standpoint. Battery, camera, and screen are somewhat below average, and it comes with the same SOC that other phones in this range have. That and you cannot remove the battery, which is an annoying trend these days.

What's desirable I suppose is that Sony has been using closer to stock Android and that they've been interacting well with the dev community.

 

[uhuznaa]

Sony really should make one phone right (or maybe two or three in clearly different classes).

And to the design: There's not *one* picture in which everything is right. There's always an awkwardly positioned port or some crooked "it didn't fit with the engineering, so we left it where engineering put it anyway" feature.

Sorry for nitpicking, but I like a visible "we put a lot of thought into this phone" if something wants to woo me. Apart from everything else, of course.

 

[jeffrey_jeff_de]

So when all is said and done, this phone symbolizes everything that is wrong with Sony since..... well.....since quite a long time now.

Somewhat nice-looking, but ultimately lackluster pieces of technology with "what were they actually thinking??" kind of weaknesses in some key areas (screen, performance).

I still maintain that Sony could be the counterpart to Apple if they concentrated on their old strengths of yore -- selling something that is truly different and extraordinary, with great thought given even to tiny details, and design that isn't just good-looking on the outside but ground-breaking.

Sony used to be like that before they decided to participate in the race to the price bottom. The latter point is obvious when looking at their laptops, and it also seems obvious with their phones.

Sigh. To think that I was once a Sony fanboi...........

 

[Deleted member 174040]

Unlocked price?

Any news on a HTC One review?

 

[ngativ]

Those hardware specs are overkill for a handheld. Bloated software i guess.

"SCREEN 1920x1080 5" (441 ppi) TFT"

Why?

 

[harteman]

Hey I know in the review the viewing angle is counted as a negative, but I would consider that a bonus since I am never in a situation to not look dead-on at the screen, and most importantly it is extra privacy, is it not?

Yeah, three people sitting on a couch will have a hard time watching a movie, but who does that?

However, the people sitting next to you and behind you on the bus will have a much poorer view of what you are viewing.

I thought it was worth bringing up.

 

[Vi0cT]

Just a comment about the battery life.

While it's average/below average at normal settings, something I see missing here is a mention to Sony's STAMINA mode (Power management mode). It helps a lot to get through the day and I believe it's worth something (not that it will change the overall impressions about the device itself).



More info here:

http://developer.sonymobile.com/2013/04 ... ode-works/

 

[spartak]

Is ARS only catering to the US audience?

The Xperia Z is already out two months, yet this review has it as if Sony is behind the curve with the ZL yet again.

Its higher profile brother was decidedly ahead of the curve and offers an altogether superior design. The only thing I'd wish the Xperia Z had shared with its 'little brother' would be the hardware shutter.

 

[thomsirveaux]

spartak[/url]":hyijtky0]Is ARS only catering to the US audience?

The Xperia Z is already out two months, yet this review has it as if Sony is behind the curve with the ZL yet again.

Its higher profile brother was decidedly ahead of the curve and offers an altogether superior design. The only thing I'd wish the Xperia Z had shared with its 'little brother' would be the hardware shutter.

Since most of our writers are US-based, it's often difficult to get the international versions of handsets for reviews, so we're sadly stuck with the US release schedule for most things. In any case, the Optimus G, Nexus 4, and a few others were already a few months old when the Z was released internationally. We're still waiting on a review unit, but we'll be doing a review as soon as we can.

Also, to answer a question from a couple of posts up, Florence has an HTC One and our review should be up sometime soon.

 

[spartak]

thomsirveaux[/url]":39pyahlq]

spartak[/url]":39pyahlq]Is ARS only catering to the US audience?

The Xperia Z is already out two months, yet this review has it as if Sony is behind the curve with the ZL yet again.

Its higher profile brother was decidedly ahead of the curve and offers an altogether superior design. The only thing I'd wish the Xperia Z had shared with its 'little brother' would be the hardware shutter.

Since most of our writers are US-based, it's often difficult to get the international versions of handsets for reviews, so we're sadly stuck with the US release schedule for most things. In any case, the Optimus G, Nexus 4, and a few others were already a few months old when the Z was released internationally. We're still waiting on a review unit, but we'll be doing a review as soon as we can.

Also, to answer a question from a couple of posts up, Florence has an HTC One and our review should be up sometime soon.

Maybe the Optimus G / Nexus 4 has the same CPU, but the Xperia Z has a next-gen 1080p screen. If anything, it should be compared with the HTC Butterfly i guess which was the first to sport a 1080p screen.

Anyhow, I feel you arent treating the review section really serious. Either you review the major phones, or you shouldnt bother. It's just highly erratic right now which phones get reviewed, and which dont. It's not exactly hard to find a european reviewer if that's the issue at hand.

Finally, the reviews are a bit superficial compared to most reviews from other tech news outlets. Not what one would expect from ARS IMHO.

 

[carcharoth]

sony NEEDS to make a nexus.

their stuff looks so slick

 

[fuxxx]

Can we have Ericsson back now.

Edit: You know, I think I have to disagree with the tone of this article (especially the headline). This phone has a lot of character, and it's a Sony sort of character.

I don't know how many people that appeals to these days, but this phone is very much in the spirit of classy, understated and reliable 1990s Sony.

The reason I say "can we have Ericsson back now", is because this phone is so truly Sony, that we are without Ericsson any more. They are gone from the consumer space.

For reference, this is what Sony phones looked like before Sony-Ericsson http://image.ffmobile.com/product/photo ... c0885a.jpg

 

[fuxxx]

harteman[/url]":1no73s2a]

Yeah, three people sitting on a couch will have a hard time watching a movie, but who does that?

No, it's more having the phone next to you on the desk. I love how clear the iPhone 5 is away from you, with the screen on. And because it's not as big as a small television, there aren't privacy concerns using it on the bus.

 

[Vi0cT]

spartak[/url]":1ge7kaks]

thomsirveaux[/url]":1ge7kaks]

spartak[/url]":1ge7kaks]Is ARS only catering to the US audience?

The Xperia Z is already out two months, yet this review has it as if Sony is behind the curve with the ZL yet again.

Its higher profile brother was decidedly ahead of the curve and offers an altogether superior design. The only thing I'd wish the Xperia Z had shared with its 'little brother' would be the hardware shutter.

Since most of our writers are US-based, it's often difficult to get the international versions of handsets for reviews, so we're sadly stuck with the US release schedule for most things. In any case, the Optimus G, Nexus 4, and a few others were already a few months old when the Z was released internationally. We're still waiting on a review unit, but we'll be doing a review as soon as we can.

Also, to answer a question from a couple of posts up, Florence has an HTC One and our review should be up sometime soon.

Maybe the Optimus G / Nexus 4 has the same CPU, but the Xperia Z has a next-gen 1080p screen. If anything, it should be compared with the HTC Butterfly i guess which was the first to sport a 1080p screen.

Anyhow, I feel you arent treating the review section really serious. Either you review the major phones, or you shouldnt bother. It's just highly erratic right now which phones get reviewed, and which dont. It's not exactly hard to find a european reviewer if that's the issue at hand.

Finally, the reviews are a bit superficial compared to most reviews from other tech news outlets. Not what one would expect from ARS IMHO.

I agree and disagree with you here.

I agree in the sense that the reviews are a bit superficial (actually not just a bit). I don't expect a review like the HTC One review in Anandtech, however Ars is a high-profile site and I believe they can do better than this.

To be honest, in the mobile space, here in Ars, the best reviews are from Andrew (however Florence can give some great overview about general usability for the devices).

However I disagree in the sense that they can't do anything about the fact that they aren't getting an international version of the device or getting the device at all, yeah they may be Ars technica but that is all, it's kinda complex. However I believe they can do better to inform the readers (specially international readers) about the fact that the device was available sometime ago in other countries.

If you read the review it gives you the impression that the device was released after the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 with this hardware when in fact the Xperia Z and ZL were the first devices from this “generation” from a top-tier vendor and that is a pretty important information to understand the context in which those devices were released.

Sony actually got another device for this year and I believe they released the Z and ZL first as a way to get as many contracts as possible in UK, Europe (Remember that in these markets Sony is the 2nd Android vendor) and Japan(Sony is trying to get market from both Sharp and Fujitsu in the Android space) before the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 were released, and at the moment of launch the device filled that goal I believe.

However right now the device (or both devices) may very well fit the review title.

A plus for the Xperia Z is that it hits a sweet spot between features (like support for SD cards), design and build quality (right in the middle of the HTC One and the Galaxy S4) but it loses specification-wise

 

[christopher.wilkes]

$759 for a device with no guarantees of updates, no thanks, will stick to Nexus devices. If Sony updates it within reasonable time when Key Lime ships I will consider Sony after that. A quick search to buy an unlocked version doesn't bring up any major retailers, hmmmm, no thanks.

 

[Mitlov]

I'm a Sony fan, particularly of the Vaio and Bravia and Playstation lines, which have served me very well. I want to love this phone. I do love how it looks. But I just can't be excited about it. The poor viewing angles and tinny speakers are inexcusable for a company known for its multimedia products. And it's hard to come up with an argument why it's better than either a GS4 or a One. The GS4 is lighter and has a removable battery; the One offers forward-facing Beats Audio stereo speakers for watching media. Add in Sony's traditionally poor carrier support in the US, and I just can't fall in love with this phone, despite my high regard for Sony overall.

 

[bernstein]

One of the worst review summaries i have ever read. certainly not worth of ars. but then the whole review seems shallow...

This phone's raison d'être is it's compactness. apart from that its exactly equal to the xperia z (which came out a few month's back) while that may not amount to anything by you, it certainly does for a lot of people (it makes a lot of difference in my trousers & hands...). heck this phone specifically targets those who want a big screen in the smallest case.

oh and while the majority may file shallow viewing angles under ugly, there are enough people filing it under feature...

 

[kbar1]

christopher.wilkes[/url]":15lfo54s]$759 for a device with no guarantees of updates, no thanks, will stick to Nexus devices. If Sony updates it within reasonable time when Key Lime ships I will consider Sony after that. A quick search to buy an unlocked version doesn't bring up any major retailers, hmmmm, no thanks.

Sony is proving to be far more reliable when it comes to updating their phones than some other companies I could mention. In fact, apart from the Nexii, Sony phones are the best best if you want reliable updates (outside the U.S. that is). They also release the required sources regularly. Even if they drop support out of the blue, the good dev community will keep you happy for some time. Contrast that with Samsung phones (Exynos version), whose sources are widely considered to be "broken".

And yes, I agree with the comments a few page-up keys above: Sony was the first to introduce a 1080p quad-core phone in most markets. HTC Butterfly doesn't count, as it didn't get a very wide release.

 

[Mitlov]

bernstein[/url]":23tq188f]One of the worst review summaries i have ever read. certainly not worth of ars. but then the whole review seems shallow...

This phone's raison d'être is it's compactness. apart from that its exactly equal to the xperia z (which came out a few month's back) while that may not amount to anything by you, it certainly does for a lot of people (it makes a lot of difference in my trousers & hands...). heck this phone specifically targets those who want a big screen in the smallest case.

Compared to a Galaxy S4, it's 4% shorter top-to-bottom, 2% thinner side-to-side, 23% thicker front-to-back, and it weighs 31% more. The Galaxy wins on the compactness contest.

 

[nibb]

Sony makes great hardware, but how the company is handling Android phones is awful.

Go to the Sony mobile forums to see what I say. I rooted my Sony phone, because Sony promised an update on purchase, it never came. Supposed 2 years updates were promised. When ICS came, it was so buggy that most people wanted to go back to Gingerbread, my phone came with that and it while ICS was almost 1 year on the wild. Then they said Jelly Bean would not be shipped to this phones anymore citing hardware specs, while their new low specs phone where getting it.

I rooted the phone, and put Jelly Bean on it. It works fine, much better than any official ICS Sony version which even today after 2 years does not work, they still could not manage the LED working on some phones, SMS problems, etc.

Did I mentioned that I run a beta Jelly Bean? Sony said this phone cannot run Jelly Bean but it does, and Jelly Bean is smoother than ICS which they shipped and is awful. Not to mention they do not let you remove Facebook and other crapware in their official app.

The point is that while Sony is making great hardware, nothing out of another world, but nice at least, their software approach on Android is destroying them. It seems they have one single Android developer.

The other problem with Sony is that they are launching to many phones which makes things even worst, instead of focusing on some line that works. In particular the Sony phones now are huge.

Why in the planet earth can´t any phone manufacturer make small Android phones? I just absolutely hate big phones. For women that have a bag around its ok, but for men? Really? You cannot use this phone on a real world unless you want to carry them around in your hand or have a huge thing inconfortable in your pocket.

The perfect phone size is the one that fits in one hand. The Motorola Startac was the perfect size for me. I currently have several Xperia Mini Pro, both International and American version, this phone has also the perfect size, its EXACTLY the size of a credit card and it does absolutely everything other phones do. I don´t play games so that is not an issue in my case. I use my phone for communication and work, and it does its job just fine.

Im impressed how companies are making phones bigger and bigger, years back it was exactly the opposite, it was who made the smallest phone.

 

[JPan]

spartak[/url]"zvzmd1a]Is ARS only catering to the US audience?

The Xperia Z is already out two months, yet this review has it as if Sony is behind the curve with the ZL yet again.

Its higher profile brother was decidedly ahead of the curve and offers an altogether superior design. The only thing I'd wish the Xperia Z had shared with its 'little brother' would be the hardware shutter.

Canadians as well. I think here you will not even get the z. Which hurts because it seems to be the best phone of the big android ones. Releasing a watered down version adds insult to injury.

I think one reason for the success of the s3 was simply "you got it EVERYWHERE. With every carrier in every country on every net etc. Just adds mind share. People want to go with the winner. Sony should just go all in with something for once. That is what Samsung does. They are technically not better their design is worse but if they enter a market they give it everything. Which creates it's own drive.

 

[bhuddimaan]

Sony assumes itself to be apple of the non-apple world.

 

[habermas]

...

 

[paul5ra]

I agree with others on the shallowness of this review. It seems that sites like Ars aren't going to get excited about any brand that doesn't primarily exist to keep the extortion racket that is pricing model operated by the the US carriers continuing indefinitely, and cannot seem to see that the world of technology goes beyond the politics dictated by the US carriers. This sort of attitude is one which means that Americans will be paying through the nose for many years to come.

 

[Deleted member 250988]

I've had the Xperia Z (not ZL) for a bit now and I have to say it's a nice phone to have.

Yes it's not as fast as the S4 or HTC One. But does it need to be? I had an S2 with CM10 on it clocked down and everything was running smoothly. With JB it's just not that much of an issue. It runs everything smoothly!

Battery life was my biggest worry. Compared to my old S2 pure standby time is slightly worse. I get just over two days of standby with light use from my S2. I get just under two days with the Z. The 'problem' is energy consumption on use. It's much higher, mostly due to the screen. It's bigger and amoled screens use less energy by definition in the mainly black theme that stock android gives.

As for the screen, yes it does have a bad viewing angle. On the other hand in my experience it's mainly false colors, I've been able to quickly see who is calling or whether I have messages at an angle, so it does not bother me much.

One advantage of the thicker design and the narrow bezel: It's only slightly larger than my S2 even with the 5" screen and only slightly thicker. I went to a store to check this before ordering online because I was afraid it was going to be huge. Don't get me wrong 5" is big for a phone, but this phone is about the max size I'm still comfortable with.

But the convincing argument for me to buy this instead of a HTC or Samsung phone is Sony actually releasing and working on AOSP for this phone. Considering the similar hardware that should work to the advantage of the ZL as well. OTH US carriers are known to be *ssh*l*s and lock the hardware. And they will keep doing it as long as people keep buying from them, so no guarantees.

 

[Wheaty73]

habermas[/url]":vu9vetec]

thomsirveaux[/url]":vu9vetec]Since most of our writers are US-based, it's often difficult to get the international versions of handsets for reviews, so we're sadly stuck with the US release schedule for most things.

Nice to hear back from Ars staff about the perspective I also sometimes perceive in articles on here.

Sony's often have a nice heft to them, a hard-to-define feeling suggestive of a well-built consumer electronic device.

Being a Sony user for more than a decade I naturally agree with this sentiment. However, my current problem preventing me from upgrading is that Sony seems to have decided to not offer a smartphone in the mid-range segment that combines these attributes:
- 8 megapixel camera or better
- Android 4.1 or newer
- A screen no larger than 4 inches

If any Ars reader is aware of a Sony model in the mid-range that fulfills these criteria I'd be excited to know about it. So far the Huawei Ascend P1 seems to come the closest to meet these expectations.

I'm therefore still on my old non-smartphone the Elm, which was incredible value in its day offering built-in wifi, internet browser, 3G, A-GPS, Google Maps navigation and 5 megapixel camera with video recording. Of course it doesn't have touch screen or a modern app platform, but the far better battery life outweighs this downside to a certain extent.

Xperia P.
I now have one in Aluminium, and it is a very nice phone to hold. It actually looks very much like the Macbook Pro when placed next to it!
There is a 4.1 update scheduled for release this month (apparently - but indications are good), and it comes in at under £200 direct from Sony themselves.
Fits in a suit, is almost exactly the same size as an iPhone 4, but with a 4" screen.
Battery life with the Sony energy saving (STAMINA?) switched on is ~2 days.
GPS gets a lock quickly.
Has NFC, which is nice, but not useful at the moment.
Only Bluetooth 3, but this isn't a massive issue. It connects to my car and headset fine.
802.11N wireless (only 2.4GHz).
An exceptional screen - I haven't seen any phone with a better one for viewing in daylight. Very bright, thanks to the addition of an extra white pixel.
A really good camera (8MP), however some phones, mine included, have a flash bug where the flash fires fractionally before the photo is taken. Sony say this is fixed in JB. The camera takes good low light pictures though so I leave the flash off. Not really taken many videos with it but it does 1080p
DLNA

I have even swallowed my dislike for touchscreen keyboards. The built-in one is perfectly usable.

No idea if it is available in the US though, sorry!

EDIT: Has a side-facing speaker as well. Not stereo, but loud enough when the phone is on a sofa!

 

[habermas]

...

 

[Wheaty73]

habermas[/url]":1z7vxhv7]

Wheaty73[/url]":1z7vxhv7]
Xperia P.

EDIT: The Xperia P only comes with the positively ancient Android 2.3 thus confirming my observation about the failure of Sony to offer a decent phone in this segment. I will believe the rumours of an Android 4.1 upgrade when I see it. The CPU is probably too slow to run it properly..

EDIT: Well here's a blog entry from Sony saying they started rolling out the 4.1.2 update last week: http://blogs.sonymobile.com/2013/04/24/ ... ia-e-dual/

My P came with ICS from the factory - good news about the rollout to JB though!

 

[ThrillHill]

harteman[/url]":7gpa75c2]Hey I know in the review the viewing angle is counted as a negative, but I would consider that a bonus since I am never in a situation to not look dead-on at the screen, and most importantly it is extra privacy, is it not?

Yeah, three people sitting on a couch will have a hard time watching a movie, but who does that?

However, the people sitting next to you and behind you on the bus will have a much poorer view of what you are viewing.

I thought it was worth bringing up.

I've never understood this complaint either. It's a fair criticism for 60" LCD in your living room, but smartphones are not designed with that dynamic in mind. I actually prefer watching Game of Thrones with friends at home, but not the guy behind me poking his head over the seat on the train in the morning.

 

[thegeneral]

spartak[/url]":u6f72jsn]Is ARS only catering to the US audience?

Considering the plethora of Android phones it makes sense for ARS to only review a phone once it's available worldwide to include the USA.

Besides, I suspect the majority of ARS readers are in the US and Canada. Does anyone know?

 

[Vi0cT]

Just for those wondering about the rumors about the next-flagship devices from Sony you can get some info here:

- http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-to-use ... 19819.html

- http://www.xperiablog.net/2013/05/01/so ... ecosystem/

- http://www.xperiablog.net/2013/04/28/so ... nd-honami/

While those specs are kinda impressive the only part that I believe for now is the vertical integration thing.

Everything else seems questionable.

It'll be good to have Sony to make such a device for this year though.