Where to buy Sony's Xperia XZ in the UK
Sony's latest flagship has surprisingly attracted all the major carriers.
Sony's smartphone launch timetable has been pretty questionable of late. After bringing the Xperia X Compact to the UK the day after Apple's iPhone announce, the company is back with a poorly timed release of the Xperia XZ, just as the dust is settling after Google's big Pixel event. Nevertheless, the Xperia XZ is Sony's first smartphone of the year bearing all the hallmarks of a flagship. It may only pack slight improvements over the uninspiring Xperia X Performance, but between the handset's industrial design, powerful innards and laser-autofocus camera, there's still plenty to like. And as of today, it can now be yours.
Cheapest contract (with upfront) | £38.49 (£50) | £34 (£70) | £32 (£120) | £27 (£149) | £28.49 (£90) on EE | £18.49 (£325) on EE | £23 (£175) on O2 |
Cheapest contract (lowest upfront) | £51 (£10) | £37 (£0) | £42 (£20) | £36 (£49) | £36 (£0) on EE or O2 | £36 (£0) on EE | £42 (£0) on Vodafone |
Pay-as-you-go | -- | £552 | £550 | £640 | -- | -- | -- |
Unlocked (SIM-free) | -- | -- | -- | -- | £540 | £519 | -- |
Typically, Sony phones don't get this amount of traction among carriers and contract resellers, but it seems they're all ready to show the Xperia XZ some love. There aren't any particularly cheap options, though, so you're either looking at an upfront payment of some variety, a high contract cost or low monthly allowances, if not all three. Speaking of Three, the carrier will be offering the Xperia XZ but hasn't nailed down its pricing structure just yet. We'll be updating this post just as soon as Three adds the phone to its online store (Three's now in the table, as you can see).
It appears giffgaff is the only MVNO ranging the Xperia XZ, at least on launch day. The provider's pricing starts at £35 upfront on a £35.49 per month contract (this goes down if you pay more upfront), or you can buy the phone outright for £549 and bundle it with plans starting at £10 per month.
If unlocked is more your style, then Buymobiles.net has the best deal we can find currently at £519. Mobilephonesdirect.co.uk is pretty close with its £523 pricing, but right now there's no point looking elsewhere, with most other retailers charging between £540 and £550 for the device.
