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We’ve been wondering how long it would take for Sony to officially unwrap their flagship for 2015, but the company did so this morning as they announced the Sony Xperia Z4 in their home territory of Japan. So what’s on tap?
Nothing out of the ordinary, really. This is Sony as we’ve come to know and love them, with a familiar design that has graced many-a phone in the Xperia lineup over the past couple of years.
It isn’t identical to any previous designs, mind you, but the subtle tweaks to things like the outside corners of the chassis and speaker placement are sure to be under-appreciated by all but the most hardcore Sony fans. The Sony Xperia Z4 features a metal frame and doesn’t do anything to compromise its ability to be dust and water resistant, something that has become an important point of emphasis for Sony in recent times.
Under the hood is a different story: this phone is an absolute beast, and no Sony phone has yet to boast such an impressive set of specs. Take a look at what will have its motors running:
- 5.2-inch 1920 × 1080 display
- Snapdragon 810 chipset (64-bit)
- 20.7MP Exmor RS camera with 4K video recording
- 5.1-megapixel wide-angle selfie cam
- 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage w/ microSD slot
- 2930mAh battery
- 146 x 72 x 6.9mm, 144g
- Android 5.0 Lollipop
So when can you get it? That question is a bit more tricky to answer. Sony has only given a Summer release expectation as it pertains to Japan’s launch, and didn’t even mention plans to launch in other countries.
We’re sure they will bring it to other markets eventually — their previous flagships have launched for international markets — but there’s no official word or any further details right now. Let us know if you’ll be looking to grab Xperia Z4 should the opportunity to purchase one eventually arrive.
This is the first phone to get me excited to trade up from my M8.
“It isn’t identical to any previous designs,”
Looks identical to me, lol XD
This better be about 600 or less because it only looks like a refresh of CPU from the Z3…… but I know that’s not going to happen, probably $690 again or something in that range.
The z3 was like $520
Depends on where and when you buy it. Unlocked International unit directly from USA sony store online was $680 when it was first listed.
I’ll keep chugging along with my Z3.
I am waiting for the 2016 crop of phones…seems like everyone (except SS…and I am not a SS fan) has just made a few spec upgrades and calling it a flagship.
Nothing to get excited about…meh.
I can tell you I am 100% in your corner. Not a Samsung fan at ALL… however, as I type this on my s6, I can tel you I haven’t been this happy with a phone ever. Only major complaint is battery life but it’s not that bad, it’s just very average
Didn’t they offer an update to fix those battery woes? If so obviously its not working huh?
I respect the 1080p displays in the Z1-Z3, but can Sony take a chance with a QHD screen? I want to see how good their tech can b with the latest and greatest beyond RAM and processing power.
For what? So you can have a useless spec to tell people how much faster it drains your battery? 1080 is all that is needed. The amazing battery life has been on of the best features of the Z series.
Well, Sony could display their tech prowess even further. You people said the same thing from 720p to 1080p….
I never said 1080 wasn’t necessary, but I do believe 2k and 4k are a waste on phones. What does it improve is what I am getting at. I see higher pixel density displays a step backwards on phones beyond 1080p. Just my .02.
But if they put a nice battery in like the N4 or G4 will have, what’s the matter?
It’s more just for the purpose of more where it isn’t needed. I could walk around with a car battery in my one hand while I have an 8k display in the other, does that make sense? 2k and 4k displays on phones do nothing but make you believe you need it because it’s there. I don’t buy into marketing gimmicks that have no necessity, hence why I buy android and not apple..
Why are you making sense? People don’t want to hear that!! Bragging rights are far more important…. This is the race to space! Well, I guess Mars now…
Thank you! The whole tech world was crying about there’s no differences between 720p and1080p, seems like history’s repeating its self
I prefer longer battery life of the power hungry QHD screens. Especially since this is what makes the Sony so much better than the other high end units. The Z3 battery life is very good.
I have had the g3 and now a
The s6 with a qhd and I would give them up IF it actually made a big difference on battery life. But honestly I wouldn’t be upset at all if they were all 1080p. I dont shoot video in 2k, watch content or anything that requires a resolution over 1080p. It’s pointless really
They already have overheat issues, can you imagine with QHD?
THIS. My Z3 overheated when recording medium-long videos constantly. Biggest flaw of the phone.
Yeah I used my cousin’s Z3 to film and take pictures of her son on his birthday, the phone was seriously making my hand sweat. The picture app would crash every 15 seconds due to overheating. I used to want the Z4, not anymore. Read blogs about it, basically the response from Sony was ‘use the video app less’ to let it cool off. Totally unacceptable in my book.
I could barely tell a difference between the Z3 and the Z4. Looks like they removed the mag charging and didnt add qi? Well thats a bummer. Did they remove aptX bluetooth support? I havent seen it mentioned in any spec sheets.
Aptx is one of those things that I don’t know how it HASN’T become THE standard for audio. Makes a huge difference but not everyone supports it and I don’t understand why not! Lol
so.much.bezel.
Would you prefer to simply glue it to your hand? You need to hold it somehow
No… That’s too much bezel though. Ergonomics, which for me includes too much bezel, is the reason I haven’t owned a Sony til this point and will likely be the reason I don’t own the z4 as well. I haven’t used one that felt comfortable in my hand.
So, I hope you’re referring to the bezel on the top & bottom, because there’s almost none on the sides. I have a Z3v, and the space on top/bottom is smaller than the width of my thumb. so it’s already hard enough to hold it one handed while watching a video …
Definitely top and bottom. Sides are good. The width of my thumbs are pretty large for a smartphone bezel the s6 bezel is just over half my thumb, and that’s pushing the limits of what I think is acceptable these days for a bezel. I am gonna give this a look when it comes out for sure cause my jump upgrade should be ready about that time as long as I am willing to part with this s6. I just have never liked the usability of Sony phone when I have used them in store.
S6 not water proof
You must have the hands of a leprechaun woman.
definitely my next phone. need the waterproof/dustproof, micro sd card, and they kept the hd screen reasonable to maintain battery life. qhd screens are dumb on a phone that i will just get rid of next year. until battery tech grows leaps and bounds it’s unnecessary. one thing that is not mentioned is OIS. disappointing if it doesn’t have it but that’s how it goes i guess.
I also wonder about IR blaster and Qi wireless charging. If those are included with OIS on the camera, this phone would seriously rock!!!
what are you going to use the IR blaster for? to control your tv/satellite? the software remotes always seem so clunky to me. as for wireless charging, doesn’t it charge really slow in comparison to plugging it in?
I use my IR blaster all the time for the tv and stereo around the house. And yes, wireless charging is slow but really great if you have one at your desk or next to your bed so you set it down and let it do its thing.
I use the IR blaster at home and at church, where I can cut on the singing monitor TV’s without digging out the remote from the office. Also, slower charging is good when charging overnight because your phone won’t stop charging at 2am and dwindle down from there. And with wireless charging, there’s no screwed up phone ports or trying to plug the thing in 3 different ways in the dark.
Its not like a qhd just destroys battery life Bill nye.
can we agree on at least a 10% increase in power consumption? i’d rather have the extra 10% of usage.
Seriously? Let’s say you take a pic with your killer camera youll be able to zoom and get better details out of the thing. Honestly it seems that the only manufacturers (besides apple) that doesn’t do 2k are the ones whom don’t sell a lot of phones…
Darn, I just bought a 2nd M7 a couple months ago and, ouch! $680?!
What?! The Developer Edition or SIM Unlocked M9 is $649 from HTC right now! I have been going back and forth between choosing the M9, Nexus 6, or waiting for the Z4. The Z4 has almost identical specs as the M9 (almost certainly better camera quality) but the M9 software update for the camera put it back in front…at least for today. I order next Thursday
Mmmmeh. Still waiting on 5.0 for my TMO Z3. Also, this is hardly an upgrade :S
Keep on waiting brotha! I’m in the same boat. T-Mobile is working “really hard” to bring the update. At least that what I got on Twitter..
Does Sony use OLED or LCD screens?
I should add.. YAY for micro SD card slot!
Super LCD. Like the HTC m series
If I can’t get out from att I’m not getting it
Well it’s a Z2 with a new processor. And selfie cam. They’ve gotten worse than htc.
No its Not. This is a true upgrade for Z2 owners…not so much for Z3 owners albeit it is an upgrade regardless.
I am a Z2 owner, and this is the exact same phone except for the two things I mentioned. I would never pay $700 for an upgraded processor and selfie cam.
Hardware wise the Z2 and Z3 are all but identical so the upgrade ‘size’ is the same.
There is another major change, the only one that matters to geeks: a capless micro USB port. I had to spend quite a lot to get a back cover that has micro usb charging for the Z2. The 64bit processor is completely useless because they did not provide at least 4GB RAM. The Z2 runs fine capped to dual core 1 GHz. Lower battery capacity of Z4 is also a big concern. So far, Z2 has the highest battery capacity among all Z series phones, and we all know that ARM v8 is not yet optimized for battery life.
If Sony can put a Micro SD card slot in a Sub 7mm phone….then why not Samsung???
In their defense, Samsung offers up the Galaxy S6 with 128GB internal storage.
OK…..so..If Sony can put a Micro SD card slot in a Sub 7mm phone….then why not Samsung???
Where does it say they can’t?
I think they just decided not to. My only guess is that it probably saved a few bucks for them… while at the same time trying to force users to cloud services.
Who said they can’t?
Yeah but Sony has aluminum and glass and it’s fully waterproof. And has an SD card slot.
Even furthers my curiosity…and proves my point.. Thank you.
-> http://www.Posting4Pay.com/usa/position/home-tab=!jU7B..<-
Uh yeah, at a whopping premium price versus a simple $25 class 10 64gb SD card.
At a big price.
Agreed. Answer = they didn’t want to.
The LG G4 will be having one.
Because Samsung know all the fan boys will buy a galaxy phone no matter the hardware and pay up for it. Kind of like how things are with iPhones but a bit more watered down.
Bless them for continuing with Micro SD support. So that’s Sony and LG now that are continuing with Micro SD on their flagships. Guess this myth about Micro SD being only a “niche” feature is false.
Comparison from my Z3:
7.2mm to 6.9mm
3100mah to 2930mah
SD 801 to SD810
2.2MP front camera to 5MP
Please release with unlocked boot loader on T-Mobile!!!!
Where’d you get the battery size from?
The article.⬆⬆⬆⬆
Must’ve missed it. Stinks that they lowered the capacity again.
Smaller battery! No Z4 Max Phablet? Weak sauce Sony, weak sauce. If you want my money then give me a screen larger than 6 inches.
This is almost exactly the same as my Z3 that I traded for my new M9. Safe to say I made the right decision. I missed HTC and the Xperia was good but not as nice as my M8 or M9.
So IF Verizon even gets that – which they may not as I read the Z3v was not a good seller and that is likely due to the fact it was not a real Z3 – I wonder what it will be? The Z4v? Essentially a Z3 of leftover parts, but called a Z4v.
I love the look, feel, specs of Sony phones. But the Sony + Verizon marriage on the Z3v ended in a bastardized version that was not at all what I fell in love with when Z3 specs and photos were released. And then suddenly, it was like, “Oh hey, so for Verizon, it doesn’t look at all like that and we changed the body and specs”.
Gotta say though its a bastard child the z3v has been a great phone for my wife and I so far. Wish it had lollipop, but that’s on Verizon at this point.
Not much love from VZW or devs for a phone that just does not get much love in sales and ownership. I cannot have that. That is also 1 other reason I did not buy. I used it at the store when it came out and though it was not a true Z3, I liked it. But… it is just not a well supported phone. I need XDA devs and Verizon to be hyped on the phones and keep up on them. I fear with Sony they just kind of languish.
Too much bezel.
Does it have wireless charging?
I think a bump in screen resolution wouldn’t have gone astray otherwise a solid offering.
Hmmm, just when I think the rumors tell me something, they actually are not telling me anything at all. lol So what happened to the Xperia Z3 Neo rumor? With that said, do I wait for the end of year Z5 rumors? I want the next Xperia Compact….
Waiting for 1080p Xperia Z4 Compact *fingers crossed*
Finger crossed also!!!
Metal frame as in NOT aluminium? Actuall metal?
..and thank you Sony for keeping it 1080p yay!
-Article read aloud using Chrome Reader for Android-
Yes, not fake metals dug from the earth and smelted into alloys, it’s all organic, recycled and hand picked from the healthiest metal livestock, and then tempered in the blood of the unworthy. A true testament to a company-wide commitment to holistic practices and rituals…
I was really hoping for OIS and 64GB… oh yeah or that whole US release thing.
You can expand your storage.
Clearly you can, but I wouldn’t want to. I’ve had way too many name-brand SD cards fail. I want built-in storage.
I wonder where you are getting your SD cards? I use my phone constantly and I’ve never had any sandisk fail (always bought from big retailer, never eBay or the like)
810 in a waterproof chassis? We’ll probably get a phone with water cooling one of these days…
despite being ever so slightly bezelicious, make me a 5.9 or 6″ phablet with a huge battery and I will buy it yesterday.