Display

Sony took a rather practical approach to display upgrades for the Xperia XZ2. The new, extra-tall aspect ratio is quickly becoming an industry standard, so ignoring it wouldn't be a wise marketing decision in 2018. The extremely polarizing notch trend, as well as some other traits, like curved edges, are a lot less uniformly accepted at this point, so we are really glad Sony steered clear of those.

The 5.7-inch panel on the XZ2 is also, arguably sensible in other ways, like the FullHD+ native resolution. Even at that diagonal, that still adds up to a perfectly sharp 424ppi.

Plus, Sony's LCD science has come a long way. Loyal brand fans still swear by their proprietary tech like the Triluminos display and the X-Reality Engine.

Display test 100% brightness Black, cd/m2 White, cd/m2 Contrast ratio Nokia 8 0.382 703 1840 Samsung Galaxy S9 (Max Auto) 0 658 ∞ Samsung Galaxy S8+ Max auto 0 647 ∞ Samsung Galaxy Note8 (Max Auto) 0 647 ∞ Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra 0.404 631 1562 Huawei Mate 10 Pro (max auto vivid) 0 623 ∞ Sony Xperia XZ2 0.431 618 1434 LG V30 (Max Auto) 0.032 616 19250 Xiaomi Mi 6 0.462 603 1305 Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB) 0.48 576 1200 Sony Xperia XZ1 0.409 575 1406 Sony Xperia XZ Premium 0.463 573 1238 Sony Xperia XZs 0.461 564 1223 LG G6 max auto 0.277 564 2036 Motorola Moto Z2 Force (Max Auto) 0 559 ∞ Sony Xperia XA2 0.401 532 1327 Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 (Increased Contrast) 0.4 515 1287 Huawei Honor View 10 (Max Auto) 0.311 507 1629 LG G6 0.228 468 2053 Huawei Honor View 10 0.278 453 1629 Samsung Galaxy S8+ 0 442 ∞ Oppo R11s 0 441 ∞ Huawei Mate 10 Pro (vivid) 0 440 ∞ OnePlus 5T 0 437 ∞ Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal) 0 422 ∞ Google Pixel 2 XL 0 420 ∞ LG V30 0.002 414 207000 Samsung Galaxy Note8 0 412 ∞ Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 0.379 387 1020 Motorola Moto Z2 Force 0 376 ∞ Samsung Galaxy S9 0 370 ∞ HTC U11+ 0.19 309 1626

In keeping with Sony's strong display performance history, the Xperia XZ2 gets pretty bright, reaching a maximum of 618 nits. Blacks are still a bit brighter than we would like, which ultimately makes for a solid, but not impressive contrast ratio.

Sunlight legibility is nothing to phone home about either, but we never really felt like the XZ2 was struggling with outdoor light, so we guess it's fine as it is.

Sunlight contrast ratio

Apple iPhone X

5.013

OnePlus 5T

4.789

Samsung Galaxy S8

4.768

Samsung Galaxy S8+

4.658

Samsung Galaxy S9

4.63

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+

4.615

Motorola Moto Z2 Play

4.459

Oppo R11

4.454

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

4.439

OnePlus 3

4.424

Samsung Galaxy S7

4.376

HTC One A9

4.274

Samsung Galaxy Note7

4.247

Samsung Galaxy A3

4.241

Nokia 8

4.239

Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)

4.234

OnePlus 3T

4.232

Google Pixel XL

4.164

ZTE Axon 7

4.154

Samsung Galaxy Note8

4.148

Meizu Pro 7 Plus

4.147

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge

4.124

Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)

4.124

Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)

4.096

Samsung Galaxy Note5

4.09

Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)

4.023

LG V30

4.022

Huawei Nexus 6P

4.019

Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro

3.998

OnePlus X

3.983

Vivo Xplay5 Elite

3.983

Oppo R7s

3.964

Apple iPhone 7

3.964

Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)

3.957

Huawei P9 Plus

3.956

Meizu Pro 6 Plus

3.935

Lenovo Moto Z

3.931

Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)

3.918

OnePlus 5

3.914

Samsung Galaxy C5

3.911

Samsung Galaxy C7

3.896

Samsung Galaxy A5

3.895

Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor

3.879

Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor

3.873

Samsung Galaxy A8

3.859

Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)

3.842

Sony Xperia XZs

3.818

Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)

3.817

Motorola Moto X (2014)

3.816

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)

3.812

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

3.804

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode

3.802

Xiaomi Redmi Pro

3.798

LG V20 Max auto

3.798

Sony Xperia XZ

3.795

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)

3.789

Apple iPhone 6s

3.783

Meizu Pro 5

3.781

Microsoft Lumia 650

3.772

Xiaomi Mi 6

3.767

Sony Xperia XZ1

3.765

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)

3.756

Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact

3.729

Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)

3.725

Oppo F1 Plus

3.709

Vivo X5Pro

3.706

Sony Xperia X Compact

3.694

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)

3.688

Apple iPhone SE

3.681

Huawei Mate 9

3.68

Samsung Galaxy A7

3.679

Meizu PRO 6

3.659

BlackBerry Priv

3.645

Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra

3.597

Apple iPhone 7 Plus

3.588

Sony Xperia XZ2

3.58

LG G6

3.556

Apple iPhone 6s Plus

3.53

Motorola Moto Z Play

3.526

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)

3.523

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode

3.523

Acer Jade Primo

3.521

Microsoft Lumia 950

3.512

Oppo R7 Plus

3.499

nubia Z11

3.466

Huawei P10 Plus

3.456

HTC U Ultra

3.453

Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra

3.445

Samsung Galaxy J7

3.422

Meizu MX5

3.416

LG V20

3.402

Huawei P10

3.379

Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)

3.378

Oppo R9s

3.352

Honor 8 Pro

3.341

Oppo R7

3.32

Lenovo P2

3.316

Archos Diamond Omega

3.305

Honor 9

3.289

Xiaomi Mi 5s

3.276

Nokia 5

3.261

Nokia 6 (Chinese version)

3.244

Nokia 6 (Global version)

3.238

Samsung Galaxy J2

3.235

Sony Xperia X Performance

3.234

Xiaomi Mi Note 2

3.228

Motorola Moto X Play

3.222

Oppo F3 Plus

3.218

Huawei Mate 9 Pro

3.206

Huawei P9

3.195

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2

3.19

ZTE Nubia Z17

3.159

Oppo R11s

3.153

Lenovo Vibe Shot

3.113

HTC U11 Life

3.108

Motorola Moto X Force

3.105

LG Nexus 5X

3.092

HTC U11

3.089

Huawei Mate S

3.073

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL

3.065

Apple iPhone 6 Plus

3.023

Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL

3.019

Sony Xperia XA1

3.012

Motorola Moto X4

3.012

Sony Xperia L1

2.994

Sony Xperia X

2.989

LG Q6

2.987

Huawei P10 Lite

2.974

Samsung Galaxy Note

2.97

Xiaomi Redmi 5

2.951

Huawei Mate 8

2.949

Sony Xperia XA2

2.938

Xiaomi Redmi 4

2.92

Xiaomi Redmi 3S

2.913

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus

2.913

Sony Xperia XA Ultra

2.906

LG G5

2.905

Huawei Honor View 10

2.896

Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime

2.893

Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus

2.884

Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)

2.877

Sony Xperia XZ Premium

2.877

Sony Xperia Z5

2.876

Nokia 3

2.871

Microsoft Lumia 550

2.851

Lenovo Moto M

2.813

Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro

2.803

Sony Xperia Z5 compact

2.784

Nokia 2

2.752

Meizu MX6

2.751

LG V10

2.744

Huawei Mate 10 (normal)

2.742

Motorola Moto G5S Plus

2.737

Xiaomi Redmi 3

2.735

Huawei Honor 7X

2.734

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)

2.714

Meizu M5

2.71

Sony Xperia M5

2.69

Xiaomi Mi A1

2.689

Huawei P9 Lite

2.679

Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime

2.679

vivo V7+

2.671

Vivo V3Max

2.659

Xiaomi Mi Mix

2.658

Huawei Mate 10 Lite

2.654

Oppo F5

2.653

Doogee Mix

2.642

Xiaomi Mi 4i

2.641

Xiaomi Redmi 4a

2.635

Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)

2.616

Sony Xperia XA

2.609

Motorola Moto G4 Plus

2.582

Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)

2.582

Meizu M5s

2.58

Xiaomi Mi 4c

2.574

LeEco Le Max 2

2.567

Microsoft Lumia 640

2.563

Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL

2.563

Huawei P Smart

2.563

Xiaomi Mi Max 2

2.561

HTC U11+

2.556

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)

2.556

Lenovo Moto G4

2.544

Lenovo K6 Note

2.544

Oppo F1

2.528

Sony Xperia Z5 Premium

2.525

Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c

2.506

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua

2.503

BlackBerry Motion

2.494

Oppo F1s

2.481

Motorola Moto G

2.477

Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus

2.473

Huawei G8

2.471

Huawei nova

2.467

Sony Xperia Z

2.462

Lenovo Vibe K5

2.459

Meizu m3 max

2.447

Xiaomi Mi 4

2.424

Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)

2.417

HTC 10 evo

2.407

Huawei Honor 7

2.406

Vivo V7

2.404

Sony Xperia E5

2.386

ZUK Z1 by Lenovo

2.382

HTC 10

2.378

Oppo F3

2.376

vivo V5 Plus

2.371

Meizu m1 note

2.362

Huawei nova plus

2.329

Razer Phone

2.328

HTC One E9+

2.305

Alcatel One Touch Hero

2.272

Sony Xperia L2

2.266

Lenovo Vibe K4 Note

2.254

Sony Xperia C5 Ultra

2.253

HTC U11+ (EU)

2.253

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)

2.249

Sony Xperia C4 Dual

2.235

Xiaomi Mi Note

2.234

Motorola Moto G (2014)

2.233

LG Nexus 5

2.228

Huawei P8

2.196

Meizu M5 Note

2.189

Huawei Honor 6

2.169

Xiaomi Redmi Note 2

2.166

OnePlus Two

2.165

HTC One X

2.158

LG Aka

2.145

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)

2.145

Archos 50 Diamond

2.134

Xiaomi Redmi Note

2.119

Xiaomi Mi 4S

2.095

Acer Liquid X2

2.084

Huawei P8lite

2.078

vivo V5

2.059

Moto G 3rd gen max manual

2.026

Xiaomi Mi 3

2.001

But probably the biggest display upgrade on the XZ2 is the HDR support. The panel supports 10-bit colors and is certified for the BT.2020 standard. Frankly, determining how that correlates to other industry standards, like HDR10 video is a bit difficult and needlessly technical. In practical terms, all that really matters is whether content vendors, like Netflix, enable their HDR content for the XZ2. For now, the best way for early adopters to take advantage of the HDR panel is by watching the compatible 4K HDR clips captured by the phone itself.

Sony also offers an automatic upconversion system, as part of its "Advanced X-Reality for mobile" engine. It takes SDR video content and seamlessly tries to upconvert its colors to HDR levels during playback. If you've seen an HDR TV attempt to do the same, you probably already know that it looks great on cherry-picked demo videos. Real-world usefulness depends strongly on your content. You can probably expect to salvage some detail in shadows and fix some light smear in low-light shots, but it can't do miracles. If the data isn't there, it isn't there.

Since the SD to HDR system didn't trigger for our standard display test setup, we can't say how much colors would have improved as a result.

The LCD panel on the XZ2 is surprisingly well-calibrated against the DCI-P3 color space, which we typically test against.

The default Standard color mode gives an average deltaE of 4.4 and a maximum of 8.5. No matter how much we tried, whites and grays always retained a certain level of blue tint.

Switching to the professional color mode brings that down a bit, but it was only after fiddling with the custom white point adjustment that we managed to get an average deltaE of 2.9 and a maximum of 5.1. The settings we used are as follows.



Custom whitepoint calibration settings

Of course, not everybody strives for color accuracy on their phones. In fact, the vast majority of people seem to prefer punchy, vivid colors. If that is you too, go for the Super Vivid setting.

Battery Life

The Xperia XZ2 comes with a bigger battery than the Xperia XZ1. Still, we couldn't shake off the feeling they could have fitted an even bigger one.

After all, the recent Xperia XA2 measures 142 x 70 x 9.7 mm and gets a 3,300 mAh battery. The Xperia XZ2 is 153 x 72 x 11.1 mm and comes with a smaller 3,180 mAh battery in its belly (or rather under the hump on its back). And that's without even looking outside camp Sony. Sure, flagship internals come with their own size and heat design considerations. Still, all of here agreed that it's reasonable to expect a bigger battery from a chubby smartphone like the XZ2.

Still, like we've repeatedly said in the past, it's not about the amperes, but rather how well you make use of them. We have to hand it to Sony and the new, efficient, 10nm Snapdragon 845 chipset.

The combination of Android Oreo and the all-new 10nm Snapdragon 845 chipset has resulted in a great 88-hour endurance rating for the Xperia XZ2. This is especially impressive, considering the 3,180mAh battery capacity.

Breaking down the numbers a bit, we can see that screen-on tasks are the weakest link in the equation. Still, 11 hours or so for Web browsing and local video playback are solid scores. Plus, there is only so much software optimization can do when the sizeable 5.7-inch, LCD of the XZ2 is shining away. Talk time also falls within expectations for a battery pack of such size.

The real secret sauce, so to say, is in the excellent standby endurance. Sony has a solid track record in this department, and the XZ2 does not disappoint. If you are a light user and your phone spends most of its days in a pocket or on a desk, you can easily expect to go a couple of days without a top-up, if not more.

The phone supports Quick Charge 3.0 and even though it doesn't come bundled with a fast charger in every market, using the fast charger we had brought the battery from 0% to about 45% in half an hour.

Unlike its little sibling, the XZ2 also supports QI wireless charging. That won't be nearly as fast, though, even though it uses the fastest possible 9W charging.

As on all its other phones, Sony has equipped the XZ2 with Qnovo Adaptive Charging and Battery care to help prolong the life of the built-in power pack by carefully controlling charging parameters.

While on the subject of charging, Sony promised it would bundle the XZ2 with one of its EC270 Y-type adapters, so users can charge and listen to music at the same time. While we didn't get one of those with our review unit, we can only assume Sony will be sticking to that promise for end users. So, it's only fair we point out that the adapter comes with a caveat - it doesn't support Quick Charge. On a different note, it is also not compatible with some older Sony noise-canceling headphones, like the MDR-NC31EM and MDR-NC750.

Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Sony Xperia XZ2 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Loudspeaker

Like we already mentioned, Sony still managed to fit a good stereo setup inside the new XZ2 body design. In fact, it is one of the better ones we have seen.

Our tests can mostly confirm Sony's claim - the stereo speakers are about 20% louder than the XZ1.

The XZ2 isn't loud enough to get a last minute party going, but it is excellent for a shower sing-along (don't ask!)

Speakerphone test Voice, dB Pink noise/ Music, dB Ringing phone, dB Overall score Sony Xperia XZ Premium 62.9 65.2 71.6 Below Average Sony Xperia XZ1 (ClearAudio+) 64.5 67.6 67.7 Below Average Sony Xperia XZ1 65.4 68.0 69.1 Average Samsung Galaxy Note8 67.8 69.5 71.5 Good Sony Xperia XZ2 (ClearAudio+) 66.0 71.6 76.4 Good Google Pixel 2 XL 66.2 70.4 78.2 Good Sony Xperia XZ2 66.1 71.8 78.1 Good Nokia 6 (Global version) 63.1 70.9 82.5 Good Apple iPhone X 68.9 74.0 76.2 Very Good Sony Xperia XA2 68.7 72.7 78.3 Very Good Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra 68.8 73.9 80.8 Very Good Huawei Mate 10 Pro 70.1 73.8 84.2 Excellent Google Pixel 2 70.0 77.0 81.1 Excellent Razer Phone 69.3 75.0 90.5 Excellent HTC U11+ (retail) 91.2 75.4 90.7 Excellent

But volume alone does not make for a great multimedia experience. For that, you need clarity, which the XZ2 has plenty of as well. Sony's S-Force system unsurprisingly falls short of the magical and kind of self-contradicting PR promise of "Front Surround," but it does make for a vibrant soundstage.

Then there is Sony's new Dynamic Vibration System. The name is pretty self-explanatory, and on the surface, it seems like a very obvious thing to do - pick up the low-frequency sounds and vibrate the phone accordingly. Still, it makes you wonder why other manufacturers have not implemented such a system yet.

Digging deeper into the matter, revealed that quite a bit of engineering effort has gine into making this possible. To make the haptic feeling convincing enough to be regarded as an actual experience-upgrade, rather than a vibration nuisance, disrupting your multimedia, an advanced vibration engine had to be developed. The actuator in question is not only quite powerful and beefy (probably why it is absent from the XZ2 Compact), but it can also actuate at frequencies all the way down to 100Hz, while most phones only go to 160Hz or so.



Dynamic Vibration System

While we can't say with certainty that we can feel the extra Hz range in questing, what we can attest to is that the Dynamic Vibration System is no simple vibration.

The haptic feedback feels quite natural once you get used to the sensation. Bass-rich movie scenes become that little bit more exciting and your favorite tracks now cater to another sense.

The effect can be toggled on and off, as well as adjusted in intensity on a per-app basis, which is even better. Especially if you don't find it to your liking for multimedia. Then you can still leave it on for notifications, which Sony claims become more apparent.

Very good audio quality

The Xperia XZ2 represents a big step forward for Sony when it comes to audio output. In previous years the Japanese company’s flagships have been a step behind their rivals, but this time around we were treated to a performance worthy of a flagship. When hooked to an active external amplifier the XZ2 delivered above-average loudness and perfect clarity as befits its standing.

Plugging in a pair of headphones dropped the loudness to only average, but the accuracy of the output didn’t get damaged. The hike in stereo crosstalk was well contained and while some intermodulation distortion did creep in, it’s nothing you will notice without dedicated testing equipment. All in all, the Xperia XZ2 delivered a solid performance with no major weak points whatsoever.

Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk Sony Xperia XZ2 +0.02, -0.01 -90.6 91.2 0.0020 0.0096 -89.2 Sony Xperia XZ2 (headphones) +0.04, -0.26 -89.4 91.9 0.0050 0.219 -60.7 Samsung Galaxy S9 +0.01, -0.03 -93.4 93.5 0.0057 0.0074 -93.9 Samsung Galaxy S9 (headphones) +0.02, -0.03 -93.0 92.9 0.0038 0.048 -75.5 HTC U11 +0.05, -0.11 -94.1 94.1 0.0017 0.0067 -94.5 HTC U11 (headphones) +0.05, -0.02 -93.7 93.8 0.0018 0.105 -53.7 LG V30 +0.02, -0.01 -93.2 93.1 0.0008 0.0069 -94.2 LG V30 (headphones) +0.03, -0.02 -92.9 92.9 0.0057 0.051 -68.1

Sony Xperia XZ2 frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.