Sony Xperia XZ Premium review

Sporting glass front and rear panels, metal tops and bottoms, and plastic sides, the materials used in the Xperia XZ Premium sound disjointed. However, reviewers had no complaints about build quality or grip. Sony even landed IP68 dust and water resistance.

Some reviewers noted that the large bezels on the 5.5-inch display made for a large phone. So one-handed users might have trouble. Reviews also mentioned issues with fingerprints and smudges.

Around front, reviewers raved about the 5.5-inch 4K IPS display. Pocket Lint noted, “The XZ Premium's IPS LCD panel is lovely to look at, delivering rich and vibrant colours, deep blacks and white whites.” TechRadar was also pleased, saying, “You won’t find a sharper screen on another smartphone.”

A 4K display requires plenty of processing power to run smoothly. Sony appears to have hit the mark with the 2.45Ghz octa-core Snapdragon 835 paired with 4GB of RAM. Reviews were solid. TechRadar praised the phone’s performance, saying, “With a heap of power under the hood, dual front-facing speakers, a 4K HDR display and high-resolution audio support, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium is a serious multimedia machine.”

We found no mention of stuttering or delays. But, many noted that the phone gets warm under heavy use. Pocket-Lint had the worst experience, noting, “We were on holiday and, even when hiding the device under a towel, experienced device overheating issues twice.”

The phone includes 64GB of internal storage for your apps, games and media. However, you can expand it up to 256GB using a microSD card as needed. The phone ships with Android 7.1 Nougat so you’ll enjoy an up-to-date Android experience out of the box.

Reviewers were happy with Sony’s interface choices. But many noted a handful of duplicated apps. Fortunately, you can disable these if you’d prefer.

One of the most touted features of the phone is its rear camera. While the 19MP camera might seem ordinary on paper, it’s capable of capturing video at 960 frames per second. Reviewers loved this feature though some noted that getting the timing right was difficult.

For day-to-day picture taking, reviewers had no complaints. Phone Arena summed up general opinions well, saying, “The shooter is quite impressive when it comes to medium and good lighting conditions. It takes pleasing photos with plenty of detail.”

If you’re a fan of selfies or video chat, the 13MP front-facing shooter is up to the task. However, many reviewers noted that you should disable the skin softening feature.

Powering all of this, you’ll find a 3230mAh battery with USB-C charging and Quick Charge 3.0 support. Reviewers were quick to note you will need to charge the phone daily. Despite this, no one had issues making it a full day on a single charge.

Overall, reviewers liked the phone. While some questioned the bulky design, they all agreed that it offers great performance and value. Recombu summed up overall opinions on the Xperia XZ Premium well saying, “If you’re already a Sony fan looking for a new high-end blower then there’s no real way in which the XZ Premium can disappoint and if not, Sony has ensured that there are countless reasons why the XZ Premium is the phone to go for.”