Rugged flagship, slightly upgraded and more comprehensive, Sony Z3 review

IT168 Review The fierce smartphone environment in China has obviously brought more severe pressure to manufacturers. In this game of competition, international brands are facing unprecedented pressure, facing Xiaomi, Huawei, Lenovo, etc. The frontal impact of domestic brands, whether it is Apple, Samsung, Sony, etc., have to adjust their strategies to cope with the rise of domestic domestic brands. Sony has always been unique among many international brands. It has also launched products in multiple price ranges in China. Among them, the high-end Xperia Z series shoulders the important mission of promoting the Sony brand and increasing market share.

As Sony’s most high-end series, the Xperia Z series flagship products stand out from many rival products with their design, craftsmanship, three-proof and other features. Sony’s recently launched Sony Z3 continues the original features while , further improved related features, including the use of a stronger Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, further upgrades in three-proof features, continuous optimization of camera functions, etc. Although there is no obvious product difference from the previous generation product, the comprehensive improvement of functions still makes Sony Z3 Becoming Sony Mobile's most comprehensive flagship product currently.

Affected by the continuous competition of domestic mobile phone hardware, price has become the most sensitive and concerned part for users, and has even become the core factor affecting product purchase. According to Sony's consistent pricing in Greater China, the Sony Z3 is likely to be priced around 4,000 yuan, and this price range will usher in competition from HTC One M9, LG G4, Moto X Pro and other products. So what exactly is the Sony Z3? How does it perform? For users who already have Sony Z series products, is it worth upgrading? We might as well take a look.

Before that, we need to explain the product naming issue of Sony Z3. Why is it not Sony Z4, but Sony Z3?

In fact, Sony Z3 was originally used as a supplement to the Xperia Z3 series, and its name was determined very early. However, due to the needs of Japanese market operations, it was In Japan, the name was changed to Sony Z4. However, taking into account the particularity of the international market and the planning cycle of next-generation products, Sony will return to the original Xperia Z3 naming in regions outside Japan. It will still cover the global market, and some regions will There are relevant changes (for example, Bank of China is a dual-card version). So in fact Z3 and Z4 are completely the same (there are differences in regional software), the difference is that the latter is only sold in the Japanese market.

When it comes to Sony mobile phones, in fact, the biggest selling point is not the configuration or the three defenses, but Sony’s advantages in design and workmanship. The "Omni Balance" (concise fully balanced) design previously promoted by Sony has become a model in the industry. The new generation of Sony Z3 continues to strengthen on the original basis and further improves the style of the series. When we affirm Sony's approach, we also feel a little regretful about it. The biggest reason is that Z3 has no substantial changes compared to the previous generation product Z3.

First, let’s take a look at the configuration of the Sony Z3. It has a 5.2-inch 1080p display and achieves a display brightness of up to 700 nits. In addition, the processor is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 platform, with built-in 3GB of running memory and 32GB of body storage. It is equipped with a 20.7-megapixel and 5.1-megapixel camera combination and uses a 2930 mAh non-removable battery. In terms of software, it is a customized system based on Android 5.0. It has dual-SIM attributes and is available in black, white, gold, and green. Green is the new main color this year.

If you have been a Sony Z3 user before, then we will also list the main differences between the two. There are roughly ten points of improvement. I believe this part should also be useful to you. help.

1. The body size is increased from 146x72x7.3mm, 152g of Sony Z3 to 6.9mm, 144g, and other dimensions remain unchanged.

2. The processing technology of the metal frame has been slightly changed, and the hard ester plastic material at the four corners of the fuselage has been improved.

3. Use an integrated card tray design, containing MicroSD card (TF card) and NanoSIM micro card slot.

4. Cancel the adsorption magnetic charging port and change the original USB interface to an exposed waterproof design.

5. The screen brightness is increased by 20, with an ultra-high display brightness of about 700 nits.

6. The processor is upgraded to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 platform, and the initial capacity of the body storage is 32GB (the running memory is still 3GB).

7. The front camera has been upgraded to 5.1 million pixels, with a 25mm wide-angle feature, and the main camera software has been further optimized (night scenes have been improved).

8. The camera software adds an AR mask, which supports composite photos of people and adds multiple photo effects.

9. New LDAC Bluetooth transmission technology, the headset has new call attributes, and can achieve audio transmission up to 990kbps.

10. The battery has been reduced from the 3100 mAh of the Z3 to 2930 mAh, with a new green color and no purple option.

For users who have not bought the Sony Z3 before, the Sony Z3 still has very good highlights. It can be said to be the most comprehensive product under Sony's new design, even compared to other international brands. To put it bluntly, let’s take a look at our product appearance reviews first.

In terms of appearance, taking into account everyone’s existing impression of Sony’s “one appearance for 4 generations”, and also in order to fully introduce to everyone the author’s experience during the two days of use, today’s appearance The review will focus on these “not too big” changes in Sony Z3.

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The body of Sony Z3 is thinner and lighter

The most intuitive feeling after getting the Sony Z3 is that it is thinner and lighter than the previous generation. The thickness has been reduced to 6.9mm, and the weight of the body has also reached 144g. But because it still uses a glass panel and metal frame design, the quality has not been reduced.

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Sony Z3 adopts a new speaker opening design

The biggest change on the front of the fuselage is the return of dual front-facing speakers, which are also re-adopted The speaker opening design on the Sony Z2 has finally eliminated the much criticized "coin opening" on the Z3. Unlike the Z2, Sony chose to cut a notch out of the glass panel this time and retain the complete metal frame, making the overall design more concise and beautiful.

Compared with the movement of the speaker position on the front, the changes on the back of the phone are indeed small enough to be ignored. If you look closely, you will find that the independent lens protection sheet that has been used in the Z series has been canceled and replaced by an integrated scratch-resistant glass back plate. Regarding this design, I still like it very much. After all, the resin lens and chrome-plated ring decoration are too easy to retain stains, and the resin material is also easier to be scratched, affecting the image clarity. The design of integrated scratch-resistant glass easily solves the above problems.

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Sony Z3 cancels the independent lens protective cover

After taking stock of the detailed changes on the front and back of the fuselage, it’s time to talk about the metal frame in the middle . Sony Z3 has made drastic changes to the metal frame of the previous generation Z3. It may seem insignificant, but they are all real improvements and optimizations.

First of all, the most intuitive thing is that the magnetic charging interface is gone, and the exposed MicroUSB interface is placed at the bottom of the fuselage, while still supporting waterproof and dustproof functions up to IP65/68 level. Regarding these two points, the author believes that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Although there is no magnetic charging interface, which requires plugging and unplugging the data cable every time it is charged, the exposed MicroUSB interface makes this operation much simpler than before. This is mainly due to the improvement of Sony's three-proof technology.

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The frame of Sony Z3 is more beautiful

As for the benefits brought by the cancellation of the magnetic interface, it is obvious, first of all, it is brought by the complete side frame The look and feel have been greatly improved, and the most important thing is that the overall rigidity of the frame, which was originally prone to bending, has been strengthened.

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Sony Z3 has two card slots integrated into one

In addition, the card slots on the left and right sides of the fuselage are combined into one. A relatively big change, at the same time, the opening direction of the dustproof rubber plug has also changed from horizontal to vertical. The direct impact of this change is the reduction of the frame opening, which further improves the rigidity of the metal frame and makes the frame look simpler and purer. The change in the opening direction of the dust-proof rubber plug has also improved the criticized wide seams on the Z3.

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Sony Z3 exposed MicroUSB interface

Of course, Sony Z3 is not perfect. During the experience, the author found that the metal frame would There is a feeling of cutting hands. Considering that the author has rough skin and thick flesh, it may feel okay, but for many people, this feeling may be amplified. Of course, the author also understands the manufacturer's considerations behind this - making the frame higher than the screen to avoid direct contact between the screen and objects such as the desktop is a good starting point, but the effect can be better.

Overall, apart from the new Jianhu Green color scheme, there is nothing about the appearance of the Sony Z3 that can suddenly catch your eye. After all, we are already familiar with it; however, it is definitely eye-catching. Yes, the manufacturer’s intentions can only be discovered after users experience it for themselves. It is indeed the same appearance that has been used for four generations, but at the same time it is undeniable that this appearance is indeed becoming perfect little by little.

In terms of system, domestic users have never been very interested in Sony's traditional UI and functional experience, and Sony has always been unsatisfactory in these two aspects. Since the arrival of the Android 5.0 era, the systems of mobile phones of all major brands have undergone great changes, and the ease of use of the system and the appreciation of the UI have been improved to a certain extent. So, for the Sony Z3, as Sony's first flagship model with a new version of the system built directly into it, how is its system performance? Let's take a look.

As mentioned earlier, Sony Z3 is equipped with Sony’s latest system based on Android 5.0.2. The UI of the whole machine can still see many shadows of the native Android 5.0 system, such as the lock screen interface, drop-down menus and Settings menu and more.

Of course, this is not the unified style of the system. The system still retains the Xperia desktop manager and uses larger system icons. When many third-party applications are installed, the menu bar will become crowded. I personally recommend creating folders to solve this problem. In addition, what is confusing is that the style of the system icons has both the flattened tendency of Android 5.0 and the skeuomorphic style left over from the previous Sony system. Maybe this is Sony’s Android 5.0 style.

After talking about the system UI interface, let’s talk about some commonly used functions and settings. For Sony mobile phones, music is one of its main functions, and this Sony Z3 also has the latest Walkman music program built-in. In addition, Sony Z3 can also "automatically optimize" sound effects according to the type of music, and supports LDAC Bluetooth audio technology. The addition of these two makes the music function of the machine more comprehensive. Since the author is not a professional in audio, I won’t comment too much on the sound quality. I can only say that it sounds pretty good and is sufficient for daily use.

As we all know, the Bank of China released the dual-SIM version of the international Z3 this time, so the author specially tested the dual-SIM function of the machine. First of all, it needs to be explained that this machine is compatible with China Unicom’s 2G/3G/4G network, and there is no distinction between primary and secondary cards. And the machine has a built-in data network switching option. According to the author's actual test, after inserting China Unicom and China Mobile cards at the same time, you can switch to different operator networks with one click. For dual-SIM users, this saves the trouble of removing the card, which is commendable.

In general, the Sony Z3 system has made a lot of progress compared to the Android 4.4 era, including the addition of T9 pinyin dialing and one-click closing of the multitasking background, which is worthy of recognition; it is just the UI aspect. , the author feels that Sony still has room for optimization. As an international brand, it can have its own characteristics, but it must also conform to the public's aesthetics.

Taking photos, as the main function of Sony Z series models, has always been one of the functions that users are most looking forward to for Sony flagship models. Before starting today's evaluation of the camera function, let's take a look at what improvements this Sony Z3 has made in terms of imaging equipment compared to the previous generation.

The improvement in imaging of Sony Z3 mainly comes from the front camera. The front camera of the Z3 has been upgraded to 5 million pixels, using a 1/5-type Exmor R sensor and a 25mm wide angle (Samsung S6 is 23mm, iPhone 6/6 Plus is 30mm). As for the rear camera, there is no obvious hardware upgrade between the machine and the previous generation Z3. It still uses the IMX220 photosensitive element used on the previous Z3. In addition, the high sensitivity of 12800 is also retained.

After seeing these upgrades to the front camera, the author specially asked a colleague to try it (the author’s appearance is not worthy of the audience). It can be seen that first of all, the 25mm wide angle has indeed become very practical for selfie lovers, as it can accommodate more content at a very close distance; at the same time, the increase in pixels also ensures the quality of selfies. The addition of a variety of special effects also makes taking photos fun and interesting.

▲Selfie sample

After looking at the performance of the front camera, let’s take a look at the performance of the Sony Z3’s main camera. Although the main camera has not been improved in terms of hardware, the author believes that for a flagship, it is still necessary to bring its complete performance to everyone. First, let’s take a look at the camera interface of this Sony Z3.

▲Sony Z3 camera interface

▲Sony Z3 camera mode selection

It can be seen that although there is no exposure time control and metering focus separation function, Sony Z3 The camera setting options are still very rich, including focus mode, metering mode, ISO control and scene selection, etc. So is it practical? Let’s take a look at the sample and you will know.

▲Take a sample photo, (Shutter: 1/500s, ISO: 50)

▲Take a sample photo, (Shutter: 1/250s, ISO: 50)

▲Photo sample, (Shutter: 1/250s, ISO: 50)

It is not difficult to see that under sufficient light, the imaging performance of Sony Z3 is satisfactory enough, including white balance control and color The latitude, especially the sharpness and brightness of the image, are at a very high level. This is mainly due to the high pixel count of 20.7 million and the large aperture of F2.0. In addition, the Sony Z3's nighttime photography performance can basically meet the user's "what you see is what you get" requirements. This is quite obvious in the following set of proofs.

▲The flash is turned on in total darkness

, (Shutter: 1/32s, ISO: 640)

▲Sample photos, (Shutter: 1/32s , ISO: 100)

▲Photo proofs, (Shutter: 0.77s, ISO: 250)

Please note that all proofs were taken in automatic mode. Considering that the automatic mode imaging of Sony's previous flagship models is not as good as the manual mode when taking pictures, the author specially tested the automatic and manual modes during the photo taking process to see how the Sony Z3 optimizes the automatic mode. It turns out that I was overly worried. Unless the lighting is more complicated, users can completely rely on the automatic mode to complete the photo taking. This is also one of the important optimizations made by Sony Z3 compared to previous models.

If the Sony Z3 has any shortcomings in taking pictures, it is undoubtedly the lack of optical image stabilization and phase focusing functions. While flagships of other brands have come standard with optical image stabilization, it is really puzzling that Sony has failed to use this feature for two consecutive generations of flagships. The lack of phase focusing function means that there is still a significant gap between the Sony Z3 and iPhone 6 Plus and other models in terms of focusing speed and accuracy.

In general, despite the shortcomings of the hardware, the Sony Z3 has still improved in terms of photography, especially the imaging performance in automatic mode, which makes up for the shortcomings of the machine's lack of ease of use. This makes the camera capable of shooting almost all scenes in life, and "throwing away the card camera" is no longer just a joke.

It is actually a commonplace topic about Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor. This is the latest mobile processing chip. Almost 95% of high-end flagship mobile phones use this chip, including HTC One M9 and LG G4. , Nubia Z9, Xiaomi Note top version, etc., and more products will be added in the future, so we don’t need to worry about processor performance. Terminal manufacturers have a far better perspective than us in the selection of chips.

To briefly review the characteristics of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chip in a few sentences, it has 4 high-performance Cortex-A57 (clocked at 2.0GHz) and 4 low-power Cortex-A53 ( Mainly clocked at 1.5GHz), the eight cores can enter an active running state through the global task scheduling function, which is commonly known as "all eight cores". Graphics is still Qualcomm's strength, integrating the new Adreno 430 and supporting OpenGL ES 3.1/AEP features.

In addition, it has dual-channel 32-bit LPDDR4 with a bandwidth of 24.88GB/s, supports H.265/HEVC format hardware decoding, and can support up to 4K resolution and 30fps frame rate. In terms of network, the integrated baseband still supports LTE Cat.9 300Mbps, but the new RF360 radio frequency solution has been used, and it also supports 802.11n/ac WiFi and Quick Charge 2.0 fast charging technology.

Having paved the way for so much processor information, we first acknowledge the powerful processing capabilities of Qualcomm Snapdragon 810. However, regarding this processor, the biggest problem actually comes from the heating problem. Although Qualcomm has been working on many The occasion clarified the temperature situation of Snapdragon 810 and stated that its performance was normal. However, there are too many criticisms on the Internet about the temperature performance of Qualcomm Snapdragon 810. The temperature performance of many products from rival manufacturers is above 45 degrees, which is really worrying. Will Sony Z3 face the same problem? We have also tested this.

We conducted tests from the four most common life perspectives of users, namely daily use (calls, messages, emails), simple operations (online chat, music playback), and camera photography (photography, video recording) Test the main scenarios of large-scale games (software testing, benchmarking).

▲Sony Z3 body temperature under daily basic use (average temperature 35 degrees, maximum 38.5 degrees)

▲Sony Z3 body temperature under simple scene operation (average temperature 35 degrees, the highest is 39.8 degrees)

▲The body temperature of Sony Z3 when taking photos with special effects (the lowest area is 28.6 degrees, the highest is 48.8 degrees)

▲Sony Z3 large game/running score body temperature (the lowest area is 27.9 degrees, the highest is 45.8 degrees)

From our test results, we can see that in daily use, including several basic functions such as calls, emails, memos, etc., Sony The temperature of Z3 is between 25 degrees and 30 degrees, which is a normal temperature value. At this time, the temperature is basically not felt; in terms of simple operations, such as WeChat chat, Weibo browsing, music playback, etc., the phone temperature is 30 to 32 degrees, almost consistent with daily use.

In terms of camera photography, the Sony Z3 shows different temperature conditions. If it is taken casually, the temperature does not rise significantly. But if the photo taking time is about 10 minutes, or the special effects camera is turned on, or the video is recorded for a long time, the temperature of the Sony Z3 climbs to about 42 degrees, and the maximum temperature can even reach 49 degrees. At this time, the phone can feel a higher temperature The heat is among the highest performing in the temperature test. As for the large game and software benchmark tests, the average temperature was 36 degrees, which is not much different from other Snapdragon 810 chip phones.

So in summary, the heating situation of Sony Z3 is similar to that of other products using this chip. That is, in ordinary daily application scenarios, the temperature control is quite reasonable and is basically maintained at 30 degree or so. But when it comes to taking photos with special effects and large-scale game scenes, it is indeed easy to have higher temperatures. This is still a problem that Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chip cannot avoid. It is even one of its shortcomings and will affect the entire series of products using this chip. As for how to solve it, perhaps Qualcomm is better than us. So urgent.

According to Sony’s market pricing in Greater China, the price of Sony Z3 will be around 4,000 yuan, and this price is actually the concentrated price area for flagships of major international brands. Sony Z3 will face HTC We might as well briefly analyze the positive impact of One M9, LG G4, Moto X Pro, Samsung S6, iPhone 6 and other products. Whether it has relevant price advantages.

It is easy to see from the table that among several major international brands, although the Sony Z3 is not the cheapest, it has a rugged body, 6.9mm ultra-thin, 20.7 million pixels, and a four-color body. Still got a lot of highlights. Of course, the core advantage of the Sony Z3 is obviously the body workmanship and design, which are also the consistent strengths of the Sony brand.

"Inventory of flagship models in the first half of 2015 (in no particular order, in order of price)

Product name

Main product features

The lowest price on e-commerce

HTC One M9

All-metal body, dual-lens camera

3568 yuan View

Sony Z3

IP68 three-proof, 20.7 million pixels

Estimated price: 3,999 yuan

LG G4

Curved surface Body, negative LCD screen

View for 3999 yuan

Moto X Pro

6-inch large screen, native Android system

4299 Yuan View

Samsung S6

Metallic glass appearance, 14nm strongest processor

4588 Yuan View

iPhone 6

4.7-inch screen, fingerprint technology, iOS8 system

4746 yuan to view

Overall, as a product that Sony Mobile has been brewing for half a year, Sony Z3 continues to While having the characteristics of a series of products, the detailed performance has been further improved. Whether it is software optimization or hardware improvement, it can be said that it is the most refined and comprehensive product of Sony's Z series. However, we must also be honest about its shortcomings. The continuation of the appearance is obviously unable to meet the aesthetic requirements of users. How to innovate again in appearance and function is obviously something Sony Mobile needs to reflect on.

Sony Z3 is expected to be released in mid-June, and it will be implemented in practice. At the purchasing level, should you buy it or not? If you are already a Sony user and hold a Sony Z2 or Z3, you don’t have to rush to replace the slightly upgraded Z3. But if you plan to buy a new international brand flagship phone, then Sony. The Z3 is certainly a good choice.