Sony Xperia Z2 unboxed, initial review

Sony Philippines finally released the Xperia Z2 in the country during the first week of June with a suggested retail price of Php33,990.

Last week, we finally got a review unit to test out. We unboxed and immediately used it on the gym, even bringing it to the swimming pool for a few laps.

The Xperia Z2 followed the same design philosophy that Sony used in the Xperia Z, Xperia Z1 and the Z1 Compact so at first look, there’s not much difference to easily differentiate them from each other (unless of course you look closer).

Of course, the Xperi Z2 is larger than its predecessor, thinner and more powerful. With a quad-core Snapdragon 801 chip running at 2.3GHz paired with 3GB of RAM, the Xperia Z2 competes with the likes of the Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and the upcoming LG G3.

With three generations of the Xperia design, starting with the Xperia Z, the Z2 refined a number of features including a slimmer form factor, more robust water-proofing and larger battery capacity.

The unibody design that uses two glass panels that sandwiches the handset has that same premium feel but is also quite risky/prone to scratches (we recommend immediately getting a case or cover).

The monolithic structure is still a bit unwieldy on the hands but Sony has somehow smoothen out the corners which makes that bite on the palm less uncomfortable.

With a 5.2-inch display, the Sony made the Z2 a little taller than the Z1 but with thinner width. Sony also managed to shave off the thinness of the Z2 to 8.2mm from the 8.5mm of the Z1. The bezels are also narrower compared to the Z1.

It seems pretty obvious that Sony has either perfected the design and construction of the Z2 based on the original Xperia Z or perhaps have not thought of anything else to improve on the existing blueprint.

That means any consideration to switch to the Xperia Z2 will mostly rely on the hardware upgrades and the software improvements that Sony has introduced into the new flagship.

The scores that we got from our suite of benchmark tools showed impressive results.

Antutu Benchmark: 32,310
Quadrant Standard: 18,113
Nenamark 2: 59.9fps
Vellamo: 1,704 (Multicore), 2,350 (Chrome), 1,426 (Metal)
3DMark: 17,728 (Ice Storm Unlimited)

With the dust-proof and water-proof (IP58 Certified), Sony has made the Z2 a more all-around, all-weather phone that even Samsung followed suit with the Galaxy S5.

Sony Xperia Z2 specs:
5.2-inch Triluminous display @ 1080×1920 pixels, 424ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.3GHz quad-core processor
Adreno 330 Graphics
3GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD
LTE 100Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
GPS with aGPS support
20.7MP rear camera, f/2.0, 1/2.3-type Exmor RS
IP58 Certified
Li-Ion 3,200mAh battery
Android 4.4 Kitkat
146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2mm

The large-capacity battery and Stamina Mode of the Z2 will remain to bee proven in our battery bench. So is the camera performance but that will have to wait in our full review of the handset.

With a suggested retail price of Php33,990, the Xperia Z2 is positioned as a top-notch, premium flagship smartphone. More on this once we complete our test and review next week.