Sony Xperia XZ2 Announcement and Owners Thread

Forums › Android › Sony Xperia XZ2 Announcement and Owners Thread

dafman

4054 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2652

Trusted

#230502 26-Feb-2018 21:54

Ok, I'm a long time Sony fan who was really looking forward to the new bezel-free 2018 Xperia XZ2.

What a major let down. I will not be getting this phone and, sadly, I have now officially given up on Sony mobile.

Pros:

1. Reduced bezels (finally).

Cons:

1. Reduced bezels still large when compared with most other 2018 flagships.

2. Out with the iconic Omnibalance design, in with the grossly shiny HTC U11 clone. Yuk!

3. Out with the 3.5mm headphone jack (and I thought Sony were the one company that cared about audio!)

4. Taller, wider and much thicker (over 11mm!!!) than the S9, yet has a smaller screen. Once you put a case on it to protect the fragile glass back, imagine how thick the phone will finish up.

5. A new tacky feature that sees the phone vibrate in sync with audio. Just what I have always wanted! That's even more gimmicky than HTC's squeezable phone. This, along with the 3D creator, tell me Sony have thrown in the towel when it comes to serious innovation.

So now I hold out hope for the Huawei P20.

1 | 2 | 3

4431 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1306
Inactive user

#1964815 26-Feb-2018 22:09

I'm a bit disappointed too.

No new phone for me.

NzBeagle

971 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 128

Trusted

#1964879 27-Feb-2018 08:26

Cons 2 & 3 are disappointing indeed, I liked the fact that the older design meant sitting on flat surfaces flush, now it'll be like a rocking horse, and the camera protrudes also?!

Worse still the Compact appears to have been shortchanged a bit too much compared with previous flagship Compacts, it'd be hard to imagine that plastic back being pleasant for the price.

tripp

3848 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1220

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1964889 27-Feb-2018 09:09

I feel it all went down hill for them during the z5 days.

I was disappointed by the 4gb of ram, would not take much to throw in 6

dafman

4054 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2652

Trusted

#1964905 27-Feb-2018 09:44

I watched the live stream and the lead presenter was uninspiring, not at all upbeat at all about the new phones. I thought it was quite telling that they didn't showcase or even talk about the new design at all, choosing instead to focus almost exclusively on the HDR functionality and tacky vibrating with audio feature. They also bought onto stage the Head of IT for the entertainment division and he looked positively depressed!

I give them another 18 months, then predict Xperia will join Vaio in the Sony now-extinct Hall of Fame.

Disappointing - I purchased Sony WH1000 XM2 headphones recently in preparation for some LDAC goodness with an upcoming 2018 Xperia handset. Not to be.

maoriboy

1034 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 562

Trusted

#1964963 27-Feb-2018 11:22

Disappointed Sony user right here. Not too worried about the lack of headphone jack as that seems to be where most phones are going these days (and I can't remember the last time I used the jack on my Z5) but that design is just....weird. I can get what they were trying to do by offering an edgy new design but the rounded back thing just does not work for me. If it can't lie flat on a table without rocking around it's a no from me. In saying that, I don't think I would've been happy with them using the same Omnibalance design. Either way there are too many negatives here for me to consider getting one at this point.

scottjpalmer

6032 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 790

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1965000 27-Feb-2018 11:43

I'll very likely get one #fanboi

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

maoriboy

1034 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 562

Trusted

#1973784 13-Mar-2018 09:48

Sony's adaptor that you need to buy separately if you want to listen to music and charge your phone at the same time, cannot even do fast charging!

https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-dongle-works-one-phone-breaks-quick-charging-845119/

To quote from the above linked website..

"To add insult to injury, the dongle also breaks quick-charging. According to the specifications of the unit, when using it to listen to music and charge your phone at the same time, it only has a charging speed of 5V/0.5A, which is not going to charge quickly. In fact, if you have the screen on while the phone is charging, that’s not even enough power to actively charge the device; you’ll either stay at the same battery level the whole time or actually lose power as you go."

Definitely a face palm moment, and an expensive one at that.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1973793 13-Mar-2018 09:54

Who is actually going to buy one of those adapters?

I don't know anybody who uses non BT headphones these days, and even looking around the gym these days it's actually pretty rare to see anybody with corded headphones. Getting rid of the 3.5mm connector on any phone is IMHO a complete non event.

The only time I've used a 3.5mm connector on a phone recently was ironically to test my 3.5mm to Bluetooth transmitter.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1973802 13-Mar-2018 10:11

It's also worth mentioning that Bluetooth adapters (to convert non BT headphones to Beluetooth) are easily purchased for under US$10 for those who don't want to buy new headphones.

maoriboy

1034 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 562

Trusted

#1973803 13-Mar-2018 10:12

I would need one for sure. Not having bluetooth running saves my battery when I'm out hiking/long distance running with a portable battery pack and most wireless running headphones have around 4 hours worth of charge time. Having a headphone jack was also useful when my Jabra Sports Coach headphones died and I had to rely on my old wired set.

dafman

4054 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2652

Trusted

#1973914 13-Mar-2018 12:20

maoriboy:

Sony's adaptor that you need to buy separately if you want to listen to music and charge your phone at the same time, cannot even do fast charging!

https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-dongle-works-one-phone-breaks-quick-charging-845119/

To quote from the above linked website..

"To add insult to injury, the dongle also breaks quick-charging. According to the specifications of the unit, when using it to listen to music and charge your phone at the same time, it only has a charging speed of 5V/0.5A, which is not going to charge quickly. In fact, if you have the screen on while the phone is charging, that’s not even enough power to actively charge the device; you’ll either stay at the same battery level the whole time or actually lose power as you go."

Definitely a face palm moment, and an expensive one at that.

From what I have read, some manufacturers have discovered a technological breakthrough that allows them to eliminate the need for a dongle for both listening and charging. Apparently, they have been able to install something called a 3.5mm headphone jack alongside the charging port, thus allowing their users to listen and charge at the same time without use of annoying dongles!!

The removal of the 3.5mm jack by Sony is just sheer laziness and a finger in the air to the long time Sony fans that have supported Sony mobile to date. In fact, everything about their new phone screams laziness as they have pretty much borrowed all their new design cues from existing phones released a year ago. Bye Sony mobile.

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

dafman

4054 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2652

Trusted

#1973917 13-Mar-2018 12:27

maoriboy:

I would need one for sure. Not having bluetooth running saves my battery when I'm out hiking/long distance running with a portable battery pack and most wireless running headphones have around 4 hours worth of charge time. Having a headphone jack was also useful when my Jabra Sports Coach headphones died and I had to rely on my old wired set.

Ditto, I use Bluetooth most of the time, but rely on the 3.5mm when:

- If I get caught short when Bluetooth battery runs out

- If I'm away from power for extended period for charging

- I'm at home and just want simple plug and play and better audio quality

- I have Bluetooth connectivity problems, esp. in the car from time to time

- I want to connect to a speaker system that does not have Bluetooth, but has aux input - eg, hotels, friends houses etc

chunkybeats

50 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#1980937 21-Mar-2018 11:16

Agree I'm highly disappointed to be honest.

The compact's back just looks like the Xperia SP in which I have in the drawer, uninspiring and really bland.

I think the one of the most flawed designs with the new phones is the position of the fingerprint reader too low and you would be touching the camera heaps!

Anyway I am about to give up on Sony and looking at Nokia 7 plus (if it ever arrives in NZ!)

I'm currently using a temporary phone at the moment a faulty XA which has ghost touch problems and cant be frustrating.

My old Z screen broke and its 5 years old and has been a trusty old mule.

Thanks but no thanks Sony you really have blown this one.......

maoriboy

1034 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 562

Trusted

#1980942 21-Mar-2018 11:34

So if you aren't looking at the new Sony XZ2, what would you consider as the next upgrade option? The Nokia range seems to be highly regarded for its clean OS and updates. There's also the Huawei P20 with tri-camera setup (one being possible 40 megapixel) and no doubt others that I can't think of off the top of my head. Thoughts?

tripp

3848 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1220

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1980980 21-Mar-2018 12:50

I would never go back to Huawei, they do funny things to the OS that create all kinds of interesting issues (i.e. mate 10 pro could not change the notification sound in twitter) etc.

I do miss the old days of sony (Z3 days) they had something great but they did not improve on it (in some cases removed things on the next model) and just kept the same look when others jumped out ahead.

1 | 2 | 3