The Sony Xperia XZ1 is an Android smartphone manufactured and marketed by Sony. Part of the Xperia X series, the device was announced to the public along with the Xperia XZ1 Compact at the annual IFA 2017 on August 31, 2017. It is the direct successor to the Sony Xperia XZ according to Sony, and is the latest flagship after the Xperia XZ Premium.
The Xperia XZ1, along with the Xperia XZ1 Compact, were recognized as the first Android smartphones to come with the recently launched Android 8.0 Oreo operating system pre-installed. Its highlight features are the HDR-enabled 5.2" FHD IPS display and a new world's-first-in-a-smartphone 3D-modelling feature that doesn't need a dual camera setup.
Hardware
Design and Build
Sony refreshes the trademark Xperia Loop Surface design for the Xperia XZ1. But instead of using glass surfaces like the Xperia XZ Premium, the XZ1 is mostly consisted of a wraparound metal chassis, making up the back and sides of the device, with subtly-curved nylon top and bottom edges giving a more smoother approach to the overall design. The most defining change in the XZ1 as well as the XZ Premium is the placement of the image sensors at the back. It is now arranged across the camera lens, centered along the top, as opposed to being longitudinally placed below the lens like on the XZs. But unlike the XZ Premium which has a glass back panel, on the XZ1, the NFC antenna is housed alongside the image sensors, placed directly at the center of the glass window. A durable scratch-resistant glass panel made of Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 adorns the front of the device. Dual front-firing stereo speakers with Sony's new S-Force Front Surround stereo, producing 50% more sound pressure than previous Xperia models for a more immersive surround sound, along with a 13 MP front camera, ambient light and proximity sensor and a notification LED make up the Xperia XZ1's front panel.
The Xperia XZ1's dimensions are in height, with a width of and a depth of and weighs approximately . It has an IP rating of IP65/68, making it dust-proof and water resistant for over 1.5 meters and 30 minutes. The device also features a fingerprint sensor embedded into the power button that can be used to unlock the phone and secure it from unauthorized access. This feature, however, is disabled on units sold in the US.
Display and Performance
The Xperia XZ1 is one of the first smartphones with an HDR display. But unlike the Xperia XZ Premium, the Xperia XZ1 abandons the 4K UHD resolution, settling for a 1080p FHD display instead. It is HDR10 compliant just like the XZ Premium, but has no Dolby Vision support. The IPS LCD screen has a pixel density of 424 ppi and features Sony's TRILUMINOS display and X-Reality for mobile technology.
It is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (MSM8998) found in the Xperia XZ Premium, built on 10 nm process technology with 8 custom Kryo processors (4x 2.35 GHz and 4x 1.9 GHz), 4 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and uses the Adreno 540 for graphics rendering. The device also has an internal storage of 64 GB and comes in single-SIM and dual-SIM versions, with both featuring LTE Cat. 16 with Gigabit-class speeds, a 4x4 MIMO antenna design and a total of 10 antennas. It also has microSD card expansion of up to 256 GB (in a hybrid slot for the dual-SIM variant).
Camera
Sony debuted in the Xperia XZs and the XZ Premium the world's first three-layer stacked image sensor with DRAM for smartphones. Known as the Sony IMX400, the sensor features a RAM chip sandwiched in between the sensor and control circuitry layers which serves as a large and fast buffer to where the sensor can temporarily offload a significant amount of captured data before transferring it to the phone's internal memory for processing. This enables the camera to record super slow-motion videos at 960 fps, at a steady 720p resolution. Recording at super slow motion is limited to 0.18 seconds per buffer though, due to limitations.
The Xperia XZ1 borrows the Motion Eye Camera from the Xperia XZ Premium and XZs. It comprises a 19 MP 1/2.3” Exmor RS for mobile sensor with a 1.22 μm pixel pitch, f/2.0 aperture and 25 mm wide G Lens. It also features 4K video recording, which supports SteadyShot video stabilization alongside the standard 1080p/30 fps, a high-speed 1080p/60 fps and a 120 fps recording in 720p options. The front selfie camera has a 13-megapixel sensor (1/3.06") with 22 mm, f/2.0 lens, a 90-degree wide angle lens and SteadyShot with Intelligent Active Mode (5-axis stabilization).