Competition in the upper reaches of the smartphone market has never been steeper, with Apple having unveiled new iPhone hardware and the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One maintaining a stranglehold on the Android sector.

Sony has always lagged behind the pacesetters in the arms race, but that could be about to change with the release of its latest flagship handset, the Sony Xperia Z1.

With a 5-inch HD display, a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, and a 20.7-megapixel camera on board, the device ticks all of the right boxes on the specs sheet, but are state-of-the-art internals enough to dethrone the market leaders?

Hardware and Design

The Xperia Z1 takes many of its design cues from the original Xperia Z smartphone, with curved edges and other shrewd refinements making it an all-round sleeker offering.

It comes decked in a glossy glass-coated casing set atop of an aluminium frame that oozes premium quality, putting the plastic shell of the Galaxy S4 to shame.

While the Xperia Z1 will turn a few heads on the street, its form factor comes with drawbacks.

This slab of glass isn't the most comfortable phone to grip, and the glossy surface is prone to fingerprints, not to mention scratches should it sustain punishment.

Measuring in at 144.4 x 73.9 x 8.5mm and tipping the scales at 170g, the Xperia Z1 is a bulkier offering than many of its rivals and isn't quite as comfortable to pocket as the Galaxy S4 or the HTC One.

It's also bigger than it should be, with a wasteful amount of bezel at the top and bottom of the screen needlessly elongating the handset.

There a few other minor design-related niggles, such as the fiddly cap the user has to pop out to connect the mini USB charger, yet on the whole it's an aesthetically pleasing and generally functional piece of kit.

Bonus features such as resistance to water and dust aren't exactly smartphone essentials, but we'd rather have them and never need them, than need and not have them.

Under the hood, the Xperia Z1 boasts one of the most impressive chipsets around, with a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset and 2GB of RAM running the show.

Qualcomm's high-end hardware ensures that the handset carries out basic commands at a zippy pace and runs the latest apps without compromise in a glorious 1080x1920 resolution.

Cutting-edge display tech has long been a selling point of flagship Sony hardware, and the Xperia Z1 continues this trend thanks to the X-Reality and Triluminos technology behind it.

The device's 5-inch screen has an impressive pixel density of 441ppi, meaning that colours appear crisp and vibrant, and imagery is solid under close scrutiny.

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However, viewing angles are disappointingly limited, with colours appearing washed out unless the user is looking at the device head on. This complaint dates back to the original Xperia Z, so its recurrence is somewhat disappointing.

That said, when viewed from the right angle, the Xperia Z1 is capable of holding its own against Apple's Retina display tech as well as that of its Android rivals.

With a power-hungry processor and a large display on board, it's just as well that Sony has fitted the device with a 3000mAh battery, which stores enough juice to see you through a full day of general usage.

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Camera

Sony has been keen to draw attention to the 20.7-megapixel camera on the rear of the Xperia Z1, but megapixels aren't the only factor we need to take into account here.

The platform holder is well aware of this, as it has also included a 1/2.3-inch sensor and a 27mm f/2.0 lens on the back of the device, making it well-equipped for shooting in most environments.

While it is possible to produce some beautiful photography in well-lit conditions, there's little to suggest that the Xperia Z1's camera yields significantly better results than existing Android hardware.

Unless users manually select the rear camera's highest resolution, it defaults to 8 megapixels, which is more than sufficient and will help save storage space.

The differences between imagery captured in the full and default resolutions is subtle unless you zoom in close. Only then is there a perceivable difference in the level of pixelation.

Generally speaking, the Xperia Z1's camera produces similar results to its 13-megapixel counterpart on the Galaxy S4 in bright conditions, but won't win any awards for its performance under low lighting.

Expect image noise and reduced sharpness in these situations, not that the competition fares much better, with the exception of the HTC One's UltraPixel shooter.

The Xperia Z1 also includes a physical camera button, which is a useful inclusion since it allows users to grip the handset more naturally when shooting.

HD video recording is among the smartphone's highlights, with users able to capture crisp HD footage free of motion blur, courtesy of a nifty software feature dubbed SteadyShot.

The Xperia Z1 is also a cut about most of the competition in the video conferencing stakes thanks to its 2-megapixel camera on the front, which is ideal for use with Skype and similar services.

User Interface and Software

The Xperia Z1 comes with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on board with Sony's own skin layer atop of it.

It's less bogged down with bloatware than the original Xperia Z, and Sony has made some noteworthy additions to make the software more user friendly, such as customisable apps trays and power shortcuts via the notifications bar.

The Android operating system glides along smoothly thanks to the 2.2GHz quad-core processor running the show, and this flawless performance extends to running apps.

Even the most demanding 3D games such as N.O.V.A. 3 and Real Racing 3 have minimal loading times and run to their full potential without compromise.

Although there are some first-party services preloaded that most users will sweep into a separate folder unused, the Xperia Z1 comes with a host of useful software features, such as a Stamina mode for maximising battery life and a camera app with dozens of shooting options.

The default virtual keyboard is passable, although it feels slightly bigger than it should be as it's too easy to hit keys accidentally when reaching reaching across with your thumb. However, this issue is easily solved by downloading one of the many third-party replacements from Google Play.

Movies and Music

Sony has put a lot of effort into making the Xperia Z1 one of the best handsets around for media consumption, with its 5-inch 1080x1920 display just large enough for watching HD movies in all of their glory.

Even standard definition footage looks nicely polished thanks to the upscaling X Reality engine brought to the table.

The default movies app comes with an intuitive user interface and a neat layout, displaying your last film in the background while you are flicking through your library to give the software that personalised touch.

The built-in speaker is of average quality, though this won't be a deal-breaker considering that many users will probably take in music and video content with the headphones of their choice connected.

Sony's Walkman app is one of the best default music players around, with the latest version coming with the same transparent interface as before, with plenty of options for sound enhancement.

ClearAudio+ optimises the track you are listening to for playback on the Xperia Z1, while xLOUD beefs up the volume of the internal speaker and Surround mode is exactly what the name suggests.

There is also an FM Radio player on board replete with RDS support, Facebook integration and TrackID for identifying the music that is currently playing.

The Competition

With a price starting at around £550, the Sony Xperia Z1 enters the market at the top end of the spectrum, challenging the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.

Its build quality is significantly higher than the Galaxy S4, but the Samsung handset is lighter and slimmer, making it more pocketable.

While the Xperia Z1 has a superior chipset, the performance difference is as significant as you might expect, and this is even true when the cameras are compared.

Both the Galaxy S4 and HTC One can be bought outright for around £100 less than the Xperia Z1, and the latter comes with advantages of its own such as superior built-in speakers and a camera that performs better in low-light conditions.

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Then there's the LG G2, which feature very similar internals, a larger screen size and a more compact bezel. The Xperia Z1 has the edge in terms of premium form factor, but the G2 is more comfortable to grip.

Those attracted to the Xperia Z1 for its powerful camera might want to hang fire until the end of the month to check out the 41-megapixel snapper on the Nokia Lumia 1020 before choosing their next smartphone.

Whether you should choose this handset over Apple's iPhone 5S largely comes down to whether you prefer the iOS or Android operating systems, since both devices are similarly powerful and come with their own pros and cons.

Verdict

Sony's Xperia Z1 is a stunning smartphone, with its luxury design, powerful chipset and advanced camera hardware.

It is capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with all of its rivals at the high end of the market, and might have achieved perfection with a more comfortable form factor and wider viewing angles.

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Sony Xperia Z1

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