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Sony Xperia XZ3 review: One flagship too many
This isn't a case of déjà vu -- Sony is indeed launching yet another high-end handset next month. The new Xperia XZ3 is the latest in Sony's rapid-fire approach to smartphones, first announced just a month after the XZ2 Premium went on sale. It's also been less than six months since the Xperia XZ2 hit retail, and in many ways, the XZ3 is a repackaged XZ2 with a bigger and better display. It's a unique device for Sony, though, being the company's first handset with an OLED screen. I'm just struggling to see why we, the consumer, should care.
Will 2018 be the year small phones die?
Sony is perhaps the last bastion of smaller smartphones. Or at least, it used to be. For years now, Sony has been making "Compact" versions of its top-tier handsets that are more or less flagships in their own right. Each generation of Sony's latest XZ series of phones hasn't deviated from this tradition until IFA 2018, where Sony announced the new Xperia XZ3, but no XZ3 Compact. Has the appetite for smaller phones finally vanished? Or are manufacturers content to let the hungry starve either way?
Watch Sony's IFA 2018 event in under 7 minutes
The new Xperia XZ3 smartphone and WH-1000XM3 high-end noise cancelling headphones are undoubtedly the highlights of Sony's presence here at IFA this year. But company execs including new-look CEO Kenichiro Yoshida weren't going to let the bright lights of the press conference stage dim without plugging Sony's other wares, including its Master series 4K TVs and a new high-res music player. But why listen to us when you can hear it all straight from the horse's mouth? And in less than seven minutes, no less!
The Sony Xperia XZ3 vs. the XZ2: What's changed?
If it feels like it hasn't been that long since Sony's last flagship phone, you're not wrong. It was only a hair over six months ago that we met the Xperia XZ2 at this year's Mobile World Congress. We liked it well enough, though the XZ2 still fell a bit shy of the competition in our review two months later. Today we're looking at the new Xperia XZ3 and if you're thinking that there hasn't been enough time for major changes, you'd be somewhat right: This new handset still boasts a Snapdragon 845 processor and a 19-megapixel rear camera. But the screen did get bigger, and there are a few more notable upgrades if you dig in, including a better resolution and a larger battery. Check out the chart below for the full rundown versus the XZ2, and stay tuned for our review later this fall.
Sony's Xperia XZ3 is basically the XZ2 with a pretty OLED screen
Sony has consistently failed to make money from smartphones for as long as we can remember, but it's not giving up. The immediate strategy is to focus on the heavyweight division, competing against other companies striving to make the very best phone around. But Sony's gotten into the habit of releasing new devices every few months, and it's getting tougher and tougher to tell them apart. Take the new Xperia XZ3 Sony announced today at IFA. The XZ2 and XZ2 Premium have both landed within the last six months, so it's no surprise the XZ3 doesn't have much we haven't seen already. Which begs the question: How many flagships is too many flagships?
