There haven't really been sparks flying between Sony and HTC. It
doesn't look like a rivalry capable of producing the kind of ripples one
would expect of a clash involving Samsung and Apple, or LG and Samsung.
Yet, HTC and Sony have been contributing to the platform no less - and
are the two brands that make Android look its best, both on the inside
and the outside.
You do know better than take this as a beauty pageant, don't you?
These two have bigger things on their mind - and we don't mean world
peace. Standard-setting build and finish are matched by just as premium
internals. The very first flagships to break cover this year, these two
still have what it takes to be season-shapers: connectivity, screen
resolution, audio, imaging and processing power.
There seem to be the right dose of respect each way but not without a
dash of envy in those looks they throw at each other. After all, what
we have here is probably the best Android has to offer in terms of
industrial design. Two unibody smartphones by makers that have taken the
skill of molding aluminum and metal and glass to an art form. Both have
quality stereo speakers, great displays and both are powered by the
cutting edge in chipset technology. The very latest Android experience
is available right out of the box.
Sounds like a level field, but let's look at what may tip the scales one way or the other.
HTC One (M8) over the Sony Xperia Z2
Metal unibody
Built-in amps for the stereo speakers
5MP front-facing camera
Dual LED dual-tone flash
Dual rear camera setup for depth-of-field effects
IR port and remote functionality
Sony Xperia Z2 over the HTC One (M8)
Water resistant and dust proof glass-coated unibody
Bigger display - 5.2" over 5.0"
Higher still image resolution- 20.7 MP over 4 MP
Higher resolution video - 2160p over 1080p
More RAM - 3GB over 2GB
Bigger battery - 3200mAh over 2600mAh
OK, even those pretty evenly composed lists seem to give the Sony
Xperia Z2 the upper hand. A bigger screen (at pretty much the same body
size overall), bigger battery, higher-res stills and videos and more RAM
carry more value perhaps than a higher resolution selfie cam and an IR
blaster. And even if the HTC One (M8) should turn on the offensive, the
water-resistant Sony Xperia Z2 can always take it where the enemy
wouldn't venture.
The lack of IP certification and the questionable choice of camera
are potentially HTC's biggest disadvantages. On the other hand, 4K
videos spell storage trouble while stereo speakers in a water-proofed
body are no match for an identical setup where each has its own
amplifier. There're a lot of things to consider - is it raw image
quality that matters the most or is it image sharing and creative
effects? Is it audio you care the most about or protection against the
elements? HTC One (M8) and Sony Xperia Z2
If you're looking to get the very best Android has to offer, these
two are definitely in the running. In terms of style and feel, Sony and
HTC are not making it easier on anyone. But hey, we would be
disappointed if they did. Yet, there's nothing more subjective than good
looks - we'll try to get them out of the equation (but not out of the
story) and hope it's still going to be a tight game.
User interfaces
It's a story as old as the platform itself - we have two handsets
powered by Android but looking nothing like each other. Both the HTC One
(M8) and the Sony Xperia Z2 run on Android 4.4.2 KitKat but while the
first comes with the Sense 6 launcher, the second one uses the latest
Xperia UI, resulting in a rather different user interface.
To give you an idea we have short videos showing both in action.
The Sense 6 lockscreen has the usual functionality - there's a clock,
weather info, lockscreen widgets and four shortcut slots that mirror
the four docked apps you have on the homescreen. The unlock button gives
you three options - a swipe up for the last opened app, swipe to the
left for the homescreen and a swipe to the right to BlinkFeed.
As a cool bonus you can unlock the One (M8) without the assistance of
the power button. A double tap will show you the lockscreen, a swipe up
will unlock the device, a swipe down will prompt voice call and finally
you get swipe left for the homescreen and a swipe right for BlinkFeed.
The flagship Android segment has always been a battlefield but you
wouldn't want to be around when these two are in their most violent
mood. The Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 are two of the most
advanced smartphones to ever sit on a store shelf. Both make big claims
regarding screens and cameras (staples for both companies) and brag
about practically each of their features. And to say that it's a long
list would be a massive understatement.
Samsung is in its prime, in large part due to the enormous commercial
success of its phones. Sony is ailing and cutting off businesses to
focus more tightly on its core competencies, especially smartphones. The
outcome of this matchup will have a great impact on the fates of the
two tech giants.
Here's a quick blow by blow of where each phone bests its opponent.
Keep in mind those differences are on paper only and the advantage might
shift from one side to the other in the actual tests.
Galaxy S5 over Xperia Z2
Screen with great color accuracy, better sunlight legibility
Higher CPU clockspeed - 2.5GHz vs. 2.3GHz
More compact, lighter
Faster phase-detection autofocus (just 0.3s to lock)
Fingerprint scanner, PayPal certified
Heart rate sensor
IR blaster
Better ingress protection - IP67, dust tight
Faster USB - v3.0 vs. v2.0
32GB of built-in storage is an option
Xperia Z2 over Galaxy S5
Bigger, higher resolution camera sensor - 1/2.3" 20.7MP vs. 1/2.6" 16MP
Higher water resistance level - IP58, immersion beyond 1m
More RAM - 3GB vs. 2GB
Stereo speakers
Slightly bigger screen - 5.2" vs. 5.1"
Bigger battery - 3,200mAh vs. 2,800mAh
Newer MHL version - 3.0 vs. 2.1
Sony and Samsung are competing in the camera market - from
point-and-shoot through mirrorless to DSLR - so of course they put their
own sensors in their flagship phones. Smartphones have been outselling
traditional cameras for years now.
The two companies are also among the biggest TV makers and some of
the biggest display makers for screens big and small. You can bet your
bottom dollar their flagship phones are going to serve as a promotion of
the two respective screen business.
Sony made water resistance a trademark for the flagship Xperia
devices, but this year Samsung jumped on it too after dabbling with
Xcover and Active devices. Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2, ready to face off
One way or another, flagship smartphones have become the calling
cards, pocket-sized posters of the companies that make them. With good
reason too, no other digital segment sells in the hundreds of millions
units and keeps growing year after year. In fact, cameras, TVs even
computers are in decline.
So it should come as no surprise that the two tech giants are putting
on their Sunday best for the two flagships - that means the best
screen, camera, chipset and other goodies they could get their hands on,
plus the best design they could dream up.
User interface
The Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 both launch with Android
4.4.2 KitKat out of the box with a number of software tweaks by each
parent company. As usual, Sony's skin is lighter while Samsung is
typically modding stock Android head to toe.
Samsung is into biometric sensors this generation and the fingerprint
sensor on the Home key is a highlight. This enables a secure lockscreen
that isn't based on passwords or patterns, instead you swipe a finger
down the key. In case it fails (it happens when your fingers are wet,
for example), then it falls back to a passcode so there's no danger of
getting locked out. The TouchWiz lockscreen is enhanced by the fingerprint scanner
Sony stayed closer to the vanilla lockscreen, the only real change is
the camera shortcut at the bottom. The Xperia Z2 lockscreen supports
widgets (one per pane), while the Samsung screen only shows
notifications. Near-stock lockscreen on the Xperia Z2
The Sony home screen is also very vanilla - you start with 5 panes
and you can add or remove panes. One Sony addition is Themes, which pack
a wallpaper and matching color highlights for UI elements. Themes make for quick and easy customization
Samsung's homescreen looks fairly standard except the My Magazine
feature replaces one of the homescreen panes. It's a news reader that
will pull news and content from multiple sources in several categories
and your social networking accounts. My Magazine melds social networking with news reading
Sony has Socialife, which is an app instead. It merges Facebook and
Twitter accounts with news sources, but doesn't take up an entire
homescreen pane. What's new is Sony's answer to Samsung's My Magazine and HTC's Blinkfeed
In contrast with the minimalist lockscreen, Samsung stuffed the
notification area with features. Some of them we like - the quick
toggles and brightness slider are used often enough to warrant a place
here. The S Finder and Quick Connect buttons are debatable.
Another like that pops up here is Recommended apps. It's a response
to certain events, e.g. plugging in a pair of headphones brings out
shortcuts for multimedia apps. A somewhat cluttered TouchWiz notification area • Recommended apps
Sony's notification area looks more stock but Sony did put tabs on it
to separate the notifications from the toggles. The toggles themselves
include some Sony additions like the Stamina mode. Xperia's cleaner notification area differs only slightly from vanilla Android
The fingerprint sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S5 isn't limited to the
lockscreen - in the co-called Private mode, it secures files (photos,
videos, documents) in an encrypted part of the phone's storage. They are
only visible when Private mode is on, which takes a swipe of a finger.
The sensor can also secure payments with PayPal. You can set up to
three fingers to be recognized, so you can share the phone with someone
and let them access Private mode and PayPal payments or keep those to
yourself. Activating private mode • moving photos to the secure storage
For multitasking, Samsung pushes its Multi Window feature that puts
two apps side by side. You can copy and paste text between them or snap a
screenshot in one and use it in the other. Apps that go well together
can be grouped into a single shortcut for added convenience. Multi Window runs two apps side by side
Sony has its own multitasking feature, Small Apps. Instead of
splitting the screen, Small apps live in small windows that can be moved
around or minimized to a tiny icon. Like Multi Window, you need an app
that specifically supports the multitasking feature, but Sony's solution
can turn widgets into Small apps. Small apps put helpful tools in floating windows
The two approaches are not really compatible. Samsung's approach
assumes both apps are equal, while Sony's has one main app and one
utility app. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S5. We know TouchWiz has its vocal
detractors, but no one can deny its wealth of features and a good deal
of those are pretty helpful in your day-to-day operations. The Xperia Z2
is right up there with it, but the fingerprint scanner enables an extra
lockscreen option and secure storage. Multi Window is more elaborate
than Small apps too.
While Apple is prepping to announce its iOS 8, and maybe its iPhone 6
too, Sony released a teaser about its next flagship device.
The teaser shows a picture of an incredibly thin Xperia smartphone or a phablet, while the text of the tweet says "Shh… do you want to know a secret? Stay tuned for the next big thing this season".
So, the next big thing is either referring to the next flagship, or
it literally says the next announcement will be of a big screen device.
In case Sony means the latter, then we are most probably going to get an
Xperia Z2 Ultra phablet.
We guess we'll know soon, the first Xperia Z Ultra went official in June last year, so a successor would be a proper way to celebrate its anniversary. Thanks to everyone, who sent this in!
Quite a few people were getting impatient at one point but a Sony flagship is well worth waiting
for. But then, wasn't it clear well before the impatience started to
kick in that owners of the original Xperia Z had a lot more to look
forward to than those holding the - still relatively new - Z1?
One can easily blame it on the shorter upgrade cycle that the Sony
Xperia Z2 is in many ways an incremental upgrade - like most of the
competing flagships of late. A tad bigger screen, a bump in processing
power, camera upgrades and the latest software. Sony Xperia Z2 official photos
Flip that over though - and you'll notice a much-improved screen,
actually a brand new IPS LCD. Plus, a bigger screen diagonal of 5.2"
hasn't blown the size out of proportion - the Sony Xperia Z2 has managed
to keep virtually the same footprint by just slimming down the screen
bezel. Sony Xperia Z2 official photos
And there is more. You get 3GB RAM up from 2GB, a more robust Adreno
330 graphics chip, 4x the video recording resolution, there are now
stereo front speakers, and the latest Android 4.4 KitKat.
Key features
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with 42Mbps HSPA; 150Mbps LTE
20.7MP autofocus camera with a 1/2.3" Exmor RS sensor and F/2.0 Sony G Lens; Info-eye, AR effects
2160p video recording @ 30fps, 1080p@ 60fps, 720p@ 120fps,
continuous autofocus and stereo sound; live video streaming to Facebook
2.2MP front camera, 1080p video recording
IP 58 certification - dust and water resistant
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV out
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
16GB of built-in storage; microSD card slot up to 128GB
MHL-enabled microUSB port
Bluetooth v4.0
NFC
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Accelerometer and proximity sensor
Stereo front speakers (with improved loudness over Z1)
Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic, noise-cancelling headset bundled
Ample 3,200mAh battery
Main disadvantage
Non-user-replaceable battery
No proper video playback decoders (XviD, DivX) out of the box
No wireless charging options
Could the Sony Xperia Z2 have been better? Other recent flagships
have failed to make a big splash - as in bringing anything quite
impressive or unexpected. But those comparisons have yet to come. The Z2
is in fact better than Z1 - in terms of screen quality and battery
life. Not as much better perhaps as some may've hoped? Or maybe the
thing is it's just better - when it could've been mind-blowing. Says
who? Sony Xperia Z2 at ours
Alright, it depends on where you're coming from. We're only about to
start discovering just how good the Sony Xperia Z2 is. We can't help but
wonder as well what kind of impact a likely Z2 compact and a possible
new flagship six months from now may have on the sales of the Xperia Z2,
which is already some time behind major rivals like the Samsung Galaxy
S5 and the HTC One (M8).
Hardware overview
There are the usual sensors above the 5.2" display, next to a 2.2MP
front-facing camera. What's new is the stereo speakers, a nice addition
to the flagship spec sheet, helping an immersive experience when
watching videos or listening to music.
Each speaker is hidden underneath a very thin but elongated grille
carved out of the front glass. The top speaker doubles as an earpiece
and the LED notification light is integrated therein too. The font of the Xperia Z2 and the notification light in action
The right side of the Xperia Z2 is very busy. In the upper corner is
the microSIM compartment under its protective flap. Just below it is the
signature power key, followed by a volume rocker. Finally, there is the
two-stage shutter key. Right side: microSIM card slot, aluminum power key, shutter key
The left side has the microSD card slot and the microUSB port under a
protective plastic lid as well. Naturally, it should be properly closed
if you want your Xperia Z2 to be dust and water proof. The lanyard
eyelet is also around. Left side: microSD card slot and microUSB port, plus the lanyard eyelet
The top of the phone holds the exposed but waterproofed 3.5mm audio
jack and the secondary microphone allowing stereo sound in videos and
keeping ambient noise out of calls. The primary mic is at the bottom of
the Sony Xperia Z2. The water-resistant 3.5mm audio jack is left exposed • same goes for the loudspeaker on the bottom
The entire back is covered by a scratch-resistant glass of
undisclosed origin. One of the key features of the Sony Xperia Z2 - the
20.7MP camera lens - is in the top left corner. It's a 27mm wide Sony G
lens with a fast F/2.0 aperture and the Sony Exmor RS backside
illuminated (BSI) sensor. The back of the Xperia Z2
If you were hoping for a more powerful LED flash, dual or a true-tone
LED, you'll be disappointed. The Xperia Z2 uses the same tiny singe-LED
flash we saw on the Xperia Z1.
Battery life
The Sony Xperia Z2 is powered by a 3,200mAh Li-Ion battery - sealed
under the sheet of glass, it's non-user-replaceable as usual. It's a
bigger battery, the one in the Z1 was only 3000 mAh. We couldn't wait to
do our battery test and find out whether the new Xperia Z2 can do
better than its predecessor.
So, we did what we usually do and the Sony Xperia Z2 turned out an
amazing performer. An overall rating of 89 hours was mostly down to
vastly improved video playback and web browsing times. This means your
Xperia Z2 will last just shy of four days if used for an hour each of
video playback, calls over a 3G network and web browsing a day.
Don't miss to see how these results compare to other phones we've tested in our Battery life table.
User interface
The Sony Xperia Z2 is the company's first smartphone to come with
Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box. The software package looks very much
the same whatever the Android version though and that's why everything
feels and seems so familiar compared to the Z1. Sony has managed to
sneak a few improvements along the way, but nothing major.
There goes our usual demo video to get you started.
The lockscreen is the usual affair - it supports widgets (one per
pane), plus there is a shortcut to the camera at the bottom courtesy of
Android KitKat. There are a few available default widgets, but you can
always get more from the Play Store.
Naturally, you can protect your lockscreen by Face, Pattern, PIN or Password unlock, in ascending order of security. The lockscreen and its options
The Xperia Z2 lets you add or remove homescreen panes (you start with
five) and set any of them as default. You can't have more than seven
panes at any given time though, nor can you change the order they're in. Adding stuff to the homescreens is very easy
Adding stuff on the homescreen is easy, as it is the customization.
You can set various live and static wallpapers, add widgets and
shortcut, or change the UI theme. Available UI themes
The notification area loses the quick toggles, but don't you worry,
they've been just moved on a separate tab. You can gain quick access to
the Quick Settings tab with a two-finger swipe from the top. The
toggles are customizable and you can choose between 20+ different
toggles and have up to 12 of them visible in their dedicated page. The notification area • Settings
The app drawer is laid out across multiple pages and you can sort the
apps manually, alphabetically, by the most used or most recently
installed. The menu with those settings is accessible via a swipe from
the left edge of the screen and you can also search and even uninstall
apps from there. The app drawer
The Xperia Z2 uses the stock Android task manager that lets you
switch between recently opened apps, as well as terminate them with a
side-swipe.
The so-called "small apps" are also available in the Xperia Z2 and
are accessible via the task manager. They are similar to Samsung's Mini
Apps, and pop up tiny widget-like applications on your homescreen, which
you can move around and use without having to open the full-fledged
app. So far, there's a default set of nine: Active Clip, Chrome
Bookmarks, Browser, Calculator, Calendar, Gmail, Timer, Notes, and Touch
Lock. You can launch only one instance of a Small App, but you can open
multiple Small Apps simultaneously. The task switcher • Small Apps list • Small apps in action
You can download more Small Apps off the Play Store or use the option
to turn your favorite widgets into Small Apps. Just hit the Plus key at
the top of the list and choose a widget.
Naturally, you can access Google Now by swiping from the bottom of
the UI. We noticed a new shortcut right next to the Google Now launch
key called What's new. This app has very beautiful UI and will show you
the hottest apps and multimedia today, but it isn't limited to the Play
Store only. It'll display content from Sony's PlayStation store too. Sony What's New UI
Finally, Google Now integrates with your Google account and can
access your daily routine, internet searches, email, etc. and give you
information relevant to your interests and daily needs. Google Now
It provides traffic information to your work or home, knows the
scores of sports teams you follow and gives you the weather forecast for
your location. It's great for at-a-glance info, but can handle voice
input as well. It also has a dedicated homescreen/lockscreen widget.
You bet the user interface is buttery smooth, there is no lag and
everything happens lightning-fast. The Sony launcher is lightweight and,
combined with the snappy chipset and the fastest available Android OS,
you'll get an amazing UI experience.
Same 20.7 MP shooter, smarter software
Sony's Xperia Z2 comes with legacy imaging hardware but adds some
useful software advancements coupled with the superior chipset. The
camera is the same 20.7 MP unit we've seen in the Xperia Z1 and Z1
Compact.
It sports an above average for mobile Exmor RS backside illuminated
1/2.3" sensor (70% bigger than the standard 1/3"), uses the same wide
angle 27 mm Sony G Lens with f/2.0 aperture and BIONZ image processor.
It delivers photos with a maximum resolution of 5248 х 3936 in 4:3
aspect ratio and gives you a wide selection of other resolutions to
shoot it, the most common being 8 MP in 16:9 aspect.
Here are our findings about the Xperia Z2 camera in short. What we like:
Excellent quality photos in Superior Auto mode
The convenience of the Clear Image Zoom
You can live-stream a video feed onto your Facebook page
HDR mode effect is not exaggerated and it's quite useful; it activates automatically in Superior Auto mode
Video quality is traditionally excellent and the 4K video mode builds on that
What we don't like:
Superior Auto delivers noticeably better image quality but it's only 8MP
The preset Scenes shooting modes (including the HDR mode) work only in 8MP Manual mode
You have to manually set the orientation of the phone when shooting a Panorama (and it's only 5MP in size)
The flash light output is underwhelming
Images have high noise levels, especially in 20MP mode and in low light
There is no change in the still camera, compared to the Xperia Z1
HDR videos are nothing to write home about
Sony has implemented features such as Background Defocus, which blurs
the backgrounds leaving objects in the foreground nicely in focus. This
functionality is available for download on other Xperia smartphones
running Android Jelly Bean 4.3 and above. Camera app
Turning the camera on will immediately impress - Sony has utilized a
very high framerate for the viewfinder and the on-screen image is
extremely fluid.
There are other shooting modes as well, but we've already seen them on older Xperias.
The camera interface is a little old-fashioned and even confusing at
times. It consists of two columns, the right one holds four virtual
buttons - a shortcut to the gallery, shutter keys for the camcorder and
the still camera, and a shooting mode button. Depending on the shooting
mode you're in, the video shutter key may be replaced by a still/video
mode toggle. Manual shooting
The column on the left hosts a flash mode toggle, front/back camera
toggle and the settings button, which brings out a panel with some
settings. These settings will change for the different shooting modes,
allowing you to tune more or fewer stuff.
For starters the camera would encourage you to snap predominantly in
Superior Auto mode. It automatically choses out of the many shooting
modes to determine the best one for you. This includes color saturation,
contrast, metering mode. The downside is it limits photos to 8MP
resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. We guess this is Sony's answer to
Nokia's super sampling (a.k.a. PureView mode), but from a user's
perspective it doesn't feel that good to give away the proudly inscribed
on the back 20.7MP resolution. On the positive side, we've seen that in
the previous 20MP Sony smartphones, the image quality in Superior Auto
is substantially better so the trade-off might actually be worth it.
Then, there is the Manual mode, where you get to use the "Manual
controls", though these sound more impressive than they really are.
There's an exposure compensation slider, a white balance selector, and
also ISO, metering and some focus modes appear buried in the settings
menu. And that's all - with a name like that we were hoping for some
manual focus, or at least a way to tune contrast, saturation, sharpness
and so on. Those are, you know, the settings normal Android phones get
even without buzz words like "manual mode."
The virtual shutter keys are nice, but the Xperia Z2 also has a
hardware shutter key. When the phone is locked, pressing it can unlock
the phone and start the camera in still or video mode. It can also snap a
photo or start capturing video immediately. This might come in handy
for those occasions when you just can't afford to miss a shot.
The available focus modes include Face detection, Smile shutter,
Touch capture (with Burst option) and Tracking auto-focus. In Manual
mode you can also choose from a selection of Scene modes, but keep in
mind that those only work if you move down from 20.7 MP resolution - at
maximum resolution the phone cannot use scenes. Camera shooting modes
There's Sweep panorama - it allows you to shoot panoramas by sweeping
with the phone sideways in either portrait or landscape orientation.
Sadly, the mode doesn't utilize the built-in accelerometer and you have
to set your chosen orientation manually. Panorama mode doesn't work very
good as it can't quite match what Apple has with their variable
exposure panoramas where the phone would adjust excellently to high
contrast scenes. Instead, here the phone locks the exposure in
accordance to the first fame of the panorama and more often than not,
you end up with a blown up sky like we did. Secondly, the stitching of
individual images isn't very good. You can see stitching artefacts
throughout the scene. Sony Xperia Z2 panorama sample
Then there are the Augmented Reality effects, which stamp one of
several virtual worlds over your scene and you can even move around in
this world thanks to some intriguing motion tracking effect (note that
it needs visual cues to track your motion).
Children will love this mode, but us bitter adults are unimpressed -
the resolution drops to 1080p and the graphics are unbecoming of the
potent Snapdragon chipset inside the Xperia Z2. Especially since it
doesn't have to render them at 60fps in real time, for the final image
it just needs one static frame. The AR effect shooting mode in action
The Info-eye feature is similar to Goggle's Goggles app. It can
recognize text, business cards, QR and barcodes, landmarks, bottles of
wine and even book covers, too. Sony has partnered with leading
companies in their respective fields to provide the necessary product
info (e.g. Amazon for books, Vino for wines, etc.).
It works quite well and provides nice at-a-glance info. Even more
information is available if you scroll down. Sony has utilized the
Google Now card design, which helps organize the information in an easy
to digest manner. Info-Eye shooting mode works like a charm
Other available camera modes include the regular Picture effect mode,
which creates a 3 x 3 grid that shows all the available effects in real
time.
Sony has also included a mode called Social streaming, which can
live-stream the video feed from your camera directly on your Facebook
profile. That's certainly not something you see every day.
Timeshift replaces the regular burst mode, it captures 61 shots in
just 2 seconds. The intriguing thing is it starts shooting even before
you've pressed the shutter button. Image quality
The photos taken with the Sony Xperia Z2 look really good -
especially under good light. Superior Auto mode posts a great amount of
detail in each scene we shot. Noise was kept under control and fine
textures and objects came out very good. Colors look pleasing but not
exaggerated and dynamic range looks defined.
Superior Auto mode looks to add quite a bit of sharpening to images,
which may not be everyone's cup of tea. There also appears to be some
work done on noise reduction, but it's more than welcome when we look at
the results. Sony Xperia Z2 Superior Auto 8 MP samples
If you want less processed images you'd best go for manual shooting
at the full 20.7 MP. These images come out in 4:3 so they are taller and
they actually include more information top and bottom. Detail remains
very good but there's quite a bit of noise compared to the oversampled 8
MP Superior Auto images. At times noise will be exhibited in well-lit
areas even below ISO 200 and we noticed that the corners of the 20.7 MP
images tend to be softer compared to the center.
Similarly to the 20MP images from the Xperia Z1 and Z1 Compact, the
Xperia Z2 images exhibit out of focus areas randomly splattered here and
there across the image. We can't really say why they appear but they
look as if the camera has a lens issue. Upon some testing we found out
they are not - we shot a Superior Auto 8 MP shot and a manual 8 MP shot -
the latter had the smudging while the SA one didn't. We hoped Sony
would have resolved the issue by now - it's their third consecutive
model to have it. Sony Xperia Z2 20.7 MP samples
The macro shots with the Xperia Z2 come out very good, just as with
the Z1. We took this close up in both SA mode and in manual. As you can
see the level of detail is very nice even at this close distance
(slightly under 10 cm) and there's nice separation between the object
and the background. Macro sample - 8 MP and 20.7 MP
HDR mode captures a couple images in different exposures and combines
them for a better exposure throughout the scene. Sony's HDR mode is
very moderate, compared to some rivals like HTC and Samsung and
resembles that of the LG flagships. It enhances the detail in the sky
and in the shadows but leaves the highlights and well exposed bits of
the scene intact.
You can see the difference in the images below. Normal 8 MP images HDR 8 MP Manual
Moving on to low light where the camera gets really noisy. Images
come out very bright with a good level of detail, but also exhibit a lot
of grainy noise. Perhaps they would have been better with a little more
aggressive noise reduction. The sample on the right comes with flash on
auto. The flash isn't the best we've seen on a smartphone - we had a
tough time seeing the advantages of it. In this low-light setting the
ISO was kept below 400 but the noise levels were still quite high. Superior Auto low light - normal and flash
Manual mode at 20.7 MP tells the same story but at a bigger
resolution. ISO is again pretty low for the amount of light in the room
and noise is very noticeable, especially towards the darker edges of the
scene. There's still enough detail, though. The flash seems to help get
some detail back compared to the non-flash image. 20.7 MP low light - normal and flash
Background Defocus shoots an image and then blurs out the parts of
the image it considers background. The effect tries to emulate the much
sought-after bokeh effect of using a higher-end camera with a
wide-aperture lens and lets you adjust where you want the focus to be
after taking the shot. However the blur outline isn't perfect as you can
see in the image below. Background defocus sample
Finally, there is the Clear Image Zoom, which Sony claims will let
you zoom in on the scene and still get a 20MP image. We tested this
claim by shooting one 20.7 MP image zoomed in and another zoomed out and
later cropped the second image to match the zoom level of the former.
To reach the same level of magnification as the maximum zoom, we had
to interpolate the normal image up to 80MP and then crop the central
area with a coverage of 20MP. We did this using Photoshop, but it's
still nice to have it done in camera in an instant.
Check out the 100% crop below.
Photo quality comparison
Here goes our in-depth image comparison tool where you can compare
the Xperia Z2 to the huge list of other smartphones in our database at
100% zoom level. The first tool shows the 20.7 MP performance. Sony Xperia Z2 in our photo quality comparison tool
And this second one goes to examine the 8 MP performance from the Superior Auto mode. Sony Xperia Z2 with Superior Auto mode Still camera conclusion
The Sony Xperia Z2 is a very capable shooter, especially in good
light. Sony still hasn't found the post-processing formula and it still
exhibits high noise levels in low light. Unfortunately, there don't seem
to be any changes in the still camera department, compared to the
Xperia Z1 as our test on the next page shows.
