Posted on 29 Jan 2013 at 15:26
UPDATE: We've had some time to play with the Sony Xperia Z, and have updated the story with our hands-on impressions
Sony has finally made its Xperia Z smartphone official – the 5in, Full HD hero phone had been leaked several weeks before its scheduled launch, but we've now finally caught our first official glimpse of the device.
Sony has pulled out all the stops with the Xperia Z, and from our initial impressions it seems to have paid off. The simple yet elegant design is a thing of beauty, finished in black and made from water-resistant polycarbonate.
It's thin, light and fits comfortably in your hand, despite the massive 5in screen. It's roughly the same thickness as an Apple iPhone 5 but has the added benefit of being waterproof – it will shrug off a dunk in your pint, and you can even take it into the shower.
To seal the phone, Sony has used flaps to cover each of the ports – including the headphone socket. However, these are far sturdier than the ones we'd seen previously on the Xperia S, so we think they should survive a fair amount of punishment without breaking.
There's no physical camera button – possibly a casualty of the waterproof seal – but otherwise the Xperia Z looks like a smartphone snapper's dream. The 13.1-megapixel Exmor RS sensor has been in development for some time, and finally makes its debut here, becoming the world's first smartphone to support high dynamic range (HDR) video recording. Sony has added several of its signature camera features, including sweep panorama, burst mode up to 10 shots per second and the option to capture full resolution stills when shooting video. The few sample shots we took looked great, with very low noise.
The other reason photos looked so good was the stunning Full HD display. It has a massive 443ppi pixel density, which is significantly higher than the 'retina' iPhone, and the detail on show in photos is fantastic. Sony's Bravia Mobile Engine 2 also enhances colours, contrast and brightness in photos and videos for optimal playback; bright red hues certainly looked richer than our HTC One X when held side-by-side. This colour processing doesn't apply to the entire Android operating system, and there's an option to disable it if you prefer. Viewing angles were great and there was ample brightness. It's easily among the top few smartphone screens, and in terms of resolution it's tough to beat.
The phone will launch with Android 4.1, rather than the newer 4.2 Jelly Bean update seen on Google's own Nexus 4 smartphone, but new owners shouldn't have to wait very long for the latest version - Sony product manager Lego Svardsater confirmed 4.2 would be coming to the Xperia Z "shortly after launch" and that news would be announced on Sony's official blog over the coming weeks.
It will be a welcome update, adding features like lockscreen widgets and an improved notification bar that's integrated with the quick settings menu. Android 4.2 also includes a new camera app, with the new panoramic Photo Sphere mode, but we doubt it will make an appearance - Sony has put a lot of effort into its custom camera app, which already supports panoramic photos.
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