Review and testing of Sony Xperia Z1. Review and testing of Sony Xperia Z1 Battery life

Even more sharpness. Clarity. And brightness. Sony compact digital cameras can offer you all this. However, we were able to combine almost the same components into the 8.5mm thin Xperia Z1 to create a smartphone with a better camera. This includes a large Exmor RS™ image matrix (size 1/2.3 inches? 20.7 megapixel resolution), and recognized Sony G Lens technology, as well as the BIONZ image processor for mobile devices. This unique combination gives you the ability to create sharper, brighter images—every time.

TRILUMINOS display

Xperia Z1 is powered by the latest Sony BRAVIA® technologies optimized for mobile devices for an amazing viewing experience. The large 5-inch TRILUMINOS™ display with Full HD and X-Reality for mobile features 1920 x 1080 progressive scan resolution for amazingly clear photos with no edges. Combined with a pixel density of 441 ppi, this gives your camera phone images incredible clarity and superb brightness. And thanks to its Full HD display, this smartphone can bring any photo to life.

World's fastest smartphone processor

We've paired the latest Sony software with the new, ultra-powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. This advanced quad-core processor is 75% faster than the S4 Pro processor, delivering maximum power and speed with incredible battery life - run multiple apps at once, search the web. with minimal loading time and stream videos without lag. The Snapdragon 800 processor is asynchronous, meaning its cores run independently of each other. This way, you get exactly the power you need at the moment without draining your battery unnecessarily.

Significantly extend battery life

Smartphones consume quite a lot of energy even when not in active use. All the apps on your smartphone can run in the background, draining your energy. STAMINA mode prevents wasted energy. It recognizes when you're not using the display and automatically turns off unnecessary features while keeping notifications that matter to you. As soon as you press the power button, everything is activated and working again.

Receive only important notifications

In STAMINA mode, Wi-Fi and data transfer stops working, but you can still receive incoming calls, text messages and alerts. And since everyone's needs are different, you can easily customize the apps you want to receive notifications from even in standby mode. Turn Facebook notifications on or off? The choice is yours.

Even more sharpness. Clarity. And brightness. Sony compact digital cameras can offer you all this. However, we were able to combine almost the same components into the 8.5mm thin Xperia Z1 to create a smartphone with a better camera. This includes a large Exmor RS™ image matrix (size 1/2.3 inches? 20.7 megapixel resolution), and recognized Sony G Lens technology, as well as the BIONZ image processor for mobile devices. This unique combination gives you the ability to create sharper, brighter images—every time.

TRILUMINOS display

Xperia Z1 is powered by the latest Sony BRAVIA® technologies optimized for mobile devices for an amazing viewing experience. The large 5-inch TRILUMINOS™ display with Full HD and X-Reality for mobile features 1920 x 1080 progressive scan resolution for amazingly clear photos with no edges. Combined with a pixel density of 441 ppi, this gives your camera phone images incredible clarity and superb brightness. And thanks to its Full HD display, this smartphone can bring any photo to life.

World's fastest smartphone processor

We've paired the latest Sony software with the new, ultra-powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. This advanced quad-core processor is 75% faster than the S4 Pro processor, delivering maximum power and speed with incredible battery life - run multiple apps at once, search the web. with minimal loading time and stream videos without lag. The Snapdragon 800 processor is asynchronous, meaning its cores run independently of each other. This way, you get exactly the power you need at the moment without draining your battery unnecessarily.

Significantly extend battery life

Smartphones consume quite a lot of energy even when not in active use. All the apps on your smartphone can run in the background, draining your energy. STAMINA mode prevents wasted energy. It recognizes when you're not using the display and automatically turns off unnecessary features while keeping notifications that matter to you. As soon as you press the power button, everything is activated and working again.

Receive only important notifications

In STAMINA mode, Wi-Fi and data transfer stops working, but you can still receive incoming calls, text messages and alerts. And since everyone's needs are different, you can easily customize the apps you want to receive notifications from even in standby mode. Turn Facebook notifications on or off? The choice is yours.

“Work on mistakes”, completed with an A plus

At the recent IFA 2013 exhibition of household appliances and electronics in Berlin, Sony Mobile, as expected, presented its updated flagship smartphone, which was included in the company’s series of top-end mobile devices, united under the general name Sony Xperia Z. The new product received the name Xperia Z1, which clearly makes it clear who exactly this device is replacing. At the beginning of the year, the Japanese gave the world a top smartphone Xperia Z, which instantly gained widespread fame due to its intricate design. “Xperia Z is constructed using premium materials and introduces for the first time the new OmniBalance design concept with slightly rounded edges and smooth reflective surfaces on all sides,” is how the developers described their “glass” brainchild. Today glass has been replaced by metal.

That’s right: the side edges of the new “zetka” are now not mirrored at all, but matte metal, and not flat, but convex and rounded - we came across this design quite recently when meeting our neighbor in the line - Xperia Z Ultra model. Thus, not even a year has passed since the “mirror” brothers were replaced by the Sony Xperia Z smartphone and Xperia Tablet Z came "metal" tablet Xperia Z Ultra and the hero of today's review, Xperia Z1.

By the way, the latest two new products are related not only by a very similar design, but also by the same hardware platform: the heart of both is the latest SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with 4 cores operating at a frequency of more than 2 GHz. Therefore, it is quite expected that the new flagship of the Japanese demonstrated such high performance that it could be the envy of any powerful smartphone of our time, including the Korean Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Taiwanese HTC One.

Main characteristics of Sony Xperia Z1 (C6903)

• SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974), 2.2 GHz, 4 Krait 400 cores
• GPU Adreno 330
• Operating system Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• Touch display TFT Triluminos, 5.0″, 1920×1080, 440 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 16 GB
• microSD card support (up to 64 GB, SDXC support)
• Communication GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communication 3G UMTS HSDPA 850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz
• Communications 4G (LTE) Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17, 20 (2600/800 FDD are used in the Russian Federation)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 + 5 GHz), Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
• DLNA, NFC, MHL, OTG
• GPS/Glonass
• Dust/moisture protection (IP55/IP58 standards)
• Camera 20.7 MP “Exmor RS for mobile”, autofocus
• Camera 2 MP (front)
• Battery 3000 mAh
• Dimensions 144.4 x 73.9 x 8.5 mm
• Weight 170 g

*if possible, the price is for a configuration with 16 GB of internal memory and LTE support

Appearance and ease of use

In principle, readers who follow what is happening in the mobile device market understand perfectly well what we are talking about when the conversation turns to the unusual design of the original Xperia Z smartphone. There, according to the OmniBalance design concept, the frame is made of a rough-to-the-touch composite of the material, flat panels were soldered on all sides, which actually had mirror properties, although some of them were not made of glass (we are talking about the side edges). Approximately the same image was recreated in the appearance of the new Xperia Z1 and Z Ultra, only now it is all completely molded from real metal, and, naturally, does not have mirror properties. That is, there is, as it were, both a frame and flat panels, but it is all cut out by milling from a single piece of aluminum. This metal rim, by the way, also doubles as an antenna. The stages of the processing of this metal part, which, by the way, included double anodizing of aluminum, were clearly demonstrated during the presentation at a separate stand.

The presentation, by the way, took place not on the territory of the IFA exhibition itself, but in a huge trade and exhibition complex built by the Japanese in the very center of Berlin, and received the sonorous, although not very modest name “Sony Center”. This complex is marked as such on all tourist maps, and any Berlin taxi driver will take you there without any navigator. This is a very visible and popular entertainment spot in the German capital, and it’s also quite beautiful. This is how it looks from the height of the floor where the presentation of the new product took place.

The photographs were taken using the camera of the test Xperia Z1; you can view the originals by clicking on the thumbnails below.

Talking about the design of the new Sony Xperia Z1, I would like to note that the smartphone, like its brother Xperia Z Ultra, began to look more advantageous due to its sides with a matte metallic sheen. The look turned out to be more serious, monumental, and the convex, rough rim became much more pleasant to the touch. This is all a matter of taste, of course, however, objectively, non-staining matte side edges are much more practical than mirrored glass ones. Here now you can’t even see fingerprints, and the case doesn’t slip so much in your fingers. Of course, there are still stainable glass panels in the front and back, but there’s nothing you can do about it, beauty requires sacrifice. Exactly the same front and rear panels made of tempered glass, encased in a matte metal rim, once won the hearts of Apple iPhone fans (we are talking about the 4th generation of the smartphone).

The smartphone turned out to be very large: due to its dimensions, it can rightfully be called a “shovel”, as it is now customary to call owners of a large diagonal. Here the screen diagonal is as much as five inches, while the frames around the screen are not thin: they are quite noticeable on the sides, but at the bottom, in general, almost two centimeters of empty space under the screen are left. And this despite the fact that all the buttons here are virtual, and they are located on the display itself in the form of software icons, which, in turn, also eat up a lot of usable space near the screen itself. In any case, we have already seen thinner frames (on the same ZTE Nubia Z5, for example), but here the body cannot really be called elegant - the smartphone is very large. In addition, it is also quite weighty: the mass of this structure made of glass and metal is as much as 170 grams.

In pictures: Sony Xperia Z1 compared to the ten-inch Sony Xperia Tablet Z

The body is monolithic: there are no removable parts here; the glass front and back panels form a single unit with the metal side frame. From this structure comes the corresponding method of installing cards: the SIM card and memory card are inserted into slot-like side slots on both side faces. As expected, the MicroSD card slot is equipped with a spring-loaded gripping mechanism that pushes the card out when pressed again; The SIM card slides into its slot on a flimsy plastic tray in the same way as other modern Sony models. All manipulations are carried out with the help of your own nails - you don’t have to use any key clips here.

The slots are covered from the outside with protective caps, externally made to match the rest of the metal rim - they are well camouflaged and not conspicuous. The covers perform not only decorative, but also protective functions: the Xperia Z1, like its predecessors, also has official certification for compliance with dust and moisture protection standards IP55 and IP58.

There are a lot of covers here, as many as three of them, but they do not cover all the connectors now: according to new fashion trends, and thanks to technical progress that does not stand still, the audio output is now not covered by anything from water - the hole gapes empty, however, water will no longer be able to damage the internal no damage to contacts.

There are also several other notable details on the side faces of the device. Firstly, it is on the lower side edge, and not on the rear panel, that the speaker grille is now located, which is good news. A large grille covers almost the entire lower end, so it is almost impossible to block the sound here.

Secondly, here on the side there is an open contact group for connection to the docking station connector - this element is found in many of the latest Sony mobile creations, and this is also great, because it saves the nerves of owners who do not want to open and close the Micro-cover every day. USB connector. True, you often have to buy such a stand separately - the docking station is most often not included in the package of the device. In addition, they are different for each model, so there is no interchangeability here and will not be.

And thirdly, it is worth noting that there is a separate dedicated hardware camera control key available here: a good help for those who like to shoot underwater, because there it is impossible to shoot by touching the screen with your fingers. The noticeable round metal plaque of the power button, located above the volume key, has already become the hallmark of the latest generation of Japanese mobile devices.

As for the front and rear panels, they, as mentioned above, are made of glass, but on top are traditionally covered with a protective film glued at the factory. This film is not intended to be removed: at least you can lose the front Sony logo if you decide to take such a step. The back surface is not particularly remarkable, except, in fact, for its glass essence. Here, only the camera windows and flashes are modestly hidden in the corner - everything else, including the speaker grille, has been moved from here to the side edges.

On the front panel, everything is still more familiar: the front camera window and sensor eyes are hidden under glass in the upper part above the screen, but the bottom is completely empty. It’s strange, by the way, that they didn’t include that nice elongated event light indicator that we saw in previous models of the Xperia Z series. Either we didn’t have a production model in our hands, or it was intended by the developers, but this is where the light indicator was hidden in the area of ​​the auditory speaker grille, and not at all in the lower part. The indicator does not shine brightly at all, but on the contrary, it emits a dull, barely noticeable orange light, and it all looks quite strange.

And in conclusion, I would like to note, as usual, the choice of color options for the Sony Xperia Z1 body. There are no revelations here: like its predecessors, the body of the new product is presented in three colors: black, white and purple. It is curious that the metal side edges here are painted in the general color of the body, that is, if the body is purple, then the edges are also purple. By the way, at the presentation, one of the speakers separately noted that the purple version of the previous Xperia Z was very much to the taste of users, so they gave it a start in life in the future. About such an unusual choice of color, the speaker said that this color was not chosen “out of the blue.” According to experts, there is a psychological background here: such a color is, as it were, “balanced,” that is, it is obtained by “mixing” exciting red and cold blue shades.

About security

According to IP55 and IP58 standards, Sony Xperia Z1 is protected from moisture and dust. When all ports and covers are securely sealed, this smartphone is protected against low pressure water jets from all directions to IP55 and/or can survive up to 30 minutes in 1.5 meters of fresh water to IP58.

Based on the results of our testing, it was confirmed that the smartphone is not only impervious to water, but is also perfectly controlled with wet fingers - until the screen is completely immersed in water. Plus, due to the presence of a dedicated hardware camera control key, the smartphone can be used as a camera for shooting underwater.

Equipment

The Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone is delivered to store shelves in a fairly simple-looking package made of thin, unvarnished cardboard with several compartments inside. The initial kit is not rich: a powerful charger (1.5 A), a connecting cable and some waste paper. By the way, this smartphone, like other top Sony predecessors, supports so-called “fast” charging, when literally in half an hour spent at a power outlet, the phone is charged so much that it can then last an entire hour in talk mode.

But for additional money, so many accessories are offered for the new model that they even had a separate booklet dedicated to them. In addition to the standard docking station, Bluetooth headset, portable power supply, wireless speaker and even a tripod, there are also several more interesting little things. For example, you can purchase an additional plastic case for your smartphone with clever fasteners for an even more unusual part - the camera. This device is a separately operating camera (not connected to the lenses of the smartphone itself), which, however, can work in conjunction with the device’s software, connecting to it via a wireless network. This curious device obviously requires separate testing, but we haven’t gotten our hands on it yet. This is how it all looks live, fully assembled: a hard plastic cover is put on the back of the smartphone itself, and the camera, in turn, is attached to it.

Screen

The Sony Xperia Z1 comes with a proprietary HD display called Triluminos. In numbers, the physical parameters of the smartphone screen are as follows: dimensions - 61x110 mm, diagonal - 127 mm (5 inches), resolution - Full HD 1080p (1920x1080 pixels), pixel density is 440 ppi.

The display brightness has both manual and automatic adjustment, the latter based on the operation of the light sensor. Multi-touch technology allows you to simultaneously process up to ten touches, which is confirmed by tests. There is also a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. The picture is further processed using image enhancement software technology called Sony X-Reality. A similar X-Reality Pro technology is now used in modern TVs from the Japanese company. In the production of the display itself, OptiContrast technology was also used, eliminating the air gap between the glasses.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the section editor “ Monitors" And " Projectors and TV» Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion about the screen.

The smartphone screen is covered with a glass plate, onto which a plastic mirror-smooth protective film is factory-glued, which is relatively scratch-resistant, but still less hard than inorganic glass. As a result, after some time of use, the screen is sure to become covered with scratches. However, with some effort, this film can be separated and replaced with a new, compatible one. Factory protective film has quite pronounced oleophobic (grease-repellent) properties, so fingerprints are removed more easily and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass. Judging by the decrease in the brightness of reflected objects, an anti-glare filter is present and its effectiveness is high. At the same time, the ghosting (apparently mainly due to the film) of these objects is weakly expressed, which indicates the absence of an air gap between the outer glass and the LCD matrix.

When manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was 460 cd/m², the minimum was 34 cd/m². As a result, at maximum brightness in bright daylight you can use your smartphone without any inconvenience, and at minimum brightness you will be able to comfortably work with this mobile device even in complete darkness. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the logo on the front panel), the operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider. If it is set to 100%, then in complete darkness the automatic brightness adjustment function reduces the brightness to 97 cd/m² (not excessively bright, but it could have been lower); in an office illuminated by artificial light, the brightness rises to 245 cd/m² (acceptable) , in a very bright environment it is set to 460 cd/m² (this is the maximum that is to be expected). If the brightness slider is set to 50%, the values ​​are as follows: 61, 170 and 460 cd/m²; at 0% - 19, 76 and 460 cd/m². In general, the automatic brightness adjustment function does not cause any complaints, everything is perfect. At lower brightness, there is no significant backlight modulation (up to 100 kHz inclusive), so there is no screen flickering.

In the technical specifications, Sony, like many other manufacturers, indicates that a TFT type matrix is ​​used, without specifying its specific type. Perhaps this smartphone has an ASV type matrix installed. This is what the screen pixels look like when displaying white and shades of gray in order of decreasing lightness of the hue:

100%
75%
50%
25%

You will notice that as the hue brightness decreases, the dark spot at the center of each subpixel increases in size, suggesting that the LCD is rotated toward the center of the subpixel, rather than in the horizontal plane as in the case of IPS, or in the vertical plane as in the case of *VA. In all external appearances, the screen of this smartphone is very similar to Sony Xperia Z screen. Let us remind you that the results of a detailed head-to-head comparison of the Sony Xperia Z screen with the screens of three other top smartphones are given in separate article.

The screen has good viewing angles, at least without significant color shift. However, when the gaze deviates from the perpendicular to the screen, the colors become noticeably lighter, the picture becomes whitish, and at very large deviation angles, the lightest shades are inverted. The black field, when deviated diagonally, also brightens greatly, but remains close to a neutral gray color. When viewed strictly perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is very good. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 10 ms (5.5 ms on + 4.5 ms off). The transition between gray halftones of 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 24 ms. The contrast is not very high - about 600:1. The gamma curve constructed using 32 points did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is 1.90, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates slightly from the power dependence:

The color gamut is slightly wider than sRGB. Note that color saturation is moderate, visually the colors are a little more vibrant, but not yet so oversaturated that color images appear distorted.

Apparently, the components are well separated, and the spectra confirm this:

Color balance is not ideal, since the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is not very large, but color temperature and delta E vary noticeably from hue to hue on the gray scale, which negatively affects the visual assessment of color balance. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

The screen is bright, with adequate automatic brightness adjustment, the colors are rich, but the picture becomes very bright when the gaze deviates from the perpendicular to the screen. However, whether this drawback will have a great impact on consumer properties depends, rather, on the characteristics of the subjective perception of the consumer himself.

Sound

In terms of sound, the smartphone is exactly the same as its rugged predecessors Xperia Z and Z Ultra. Both speakers do not sound too loud, especially the external one. Obviously, the general specific internal arrangement, organized to protect against moisture, has an effect. The speaker is additionally covered with a special protective membrane that does not allow water to pass through, so the sound of such devices is duller and quieter. There are no special distortions observed in the auditory dynamics; the voice of a familiar interlocutor, intonation and timbre are well recognizable, but it still sounds a bit muffled. The external speaker grille is located not at the back, but on the side - embedded directly into the bottom end. Accordingly, the sound will not be blocked by the surface when the phone is lying on the table.

In software terms, the sound subsystem of the Sony Xperia Z1 is equipped in the same way as that of any other modern Sony smartphone. The standard audio player, traditionally called a Walkman, is rich in settings and additional software sound improvements, such as a built-in equalizer with a lot of preset values ​​(you can set your own), Clear Phase, xLoud technologies or virtual surround sound. Control of most settings is available if the complex ClearAudio+ function is turned off, otherwise all settings are left to the machine. By the way, when you use the comprehensive ClearAudio+ enhancement package, the sound from the external speaker becomes noticeably louder, but it still lacks the volume and clarity that, say, the HTC One speakers have.

Camera

Sony Xperia Z1 is equipped, like most modern smartphones, with two digital camera modules. The front camera here is equipped with a 2-megapixel module and shoots with a resolution of 1920×1080; the quality of the resulting photographs can be judged by the test image below.

The main rear 20.7-megapixel camera is equipped with a G-series lens with a focal length of 27 mm and an aperture of F/2.0. The camera uses a 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS for mobile sensor and a Bionz for mobile processor.

By default, the cameras of all Sony devices operate as standard in the so-called super auto mode (iauto) with a wide aspect ratio. The resolution of pictures in automatic mode on the Sony Xperia Z1 camera cannot be changed; there is only one resolution here and it is approximately 8 megapixels (3840x2160). Examples of photos taken in automatic mode “out of the box”, with comments on quality, are below.

	Sharpness is excellent on all planes, but only in the center. Sharpness decreases towards the edges.
	Noise in the shadows is moderate. The exposition is well chosen. Sharpness is still excellent and still center-only.
	The camera copes well in low light conditions. Perhaps the picture is almost perfect if we talk about the center of the frame.
	A good demonstration of shooting in low light and demonstrating the capabilities of high resolution.
	Sometimes the camera manages to bring even such pictures to the level of good compact cameras.

The maximum resolution with which the Sony Xperia Z1 camera can shoot can be achieved by switching the mode from automatic to manual. Then the pictures will be obtained with a size of 5248 × 3936, which in conversion is the same 20.7 megapixels. An example of such a photo can be viewed by clicking on the thumbnail below.

In the laboratory we decided to test the camera at full resolution.

	In laboratory light, the camera copes very well, but the noise reduction is already beginning to show itself.
	With a slight deterioration in lighting, the situation remains almost unchanged.
After the next deterioration, the noise reduction becomes more aggressive, but the image is still readable. The flash reduces the shutter speed, but for some reason increases the light sensitivity, which is strange. The debate “which is better: 4 megapixels or 13 megapixels?” has not yet subsided, and Sony is already taking the next step, which forces competitors to accept the challenge or come up with their own “trick”, as HTC once did. However, before you are surprised by the huge resolution of the smartphone camera, it is worth looking at the situation from all sides. Firstly, Sony didn't just increase the resolution - they installed a matrix in the smartphone that matches the size of the matrices installed in most modern compact cameras. And this is already a very reasonable step, which sets the right direction of movement. Whether a smartphone or even a compact needs 20 megapixels is a secondary and ambiguous question. In addition, in auto mode the camera takes pictures with a maximum resolution of 8 megapixels, however, no functions similar to Nokia’s PureView were announced. Nevertheless, the pictures come out very decent. But even here there were some disappointments: it would seem that color noise from Sony is a thing of the past, but upon closer examination, the aggressive work of the noise reduction is noticeable. Of course, this is too detailed a look at his work, but it is still noticeable. The camera does not abuse sharpening, which means that the optics and matrix correspond to each other. Compared to the Sony Xperia Z camera, the noise has become much “quieter”; probably, the noise reduction has become just as “louder”. But overall, the camera began to shoot much better, although this is not surprising. At times, you get the feeling that the camera is a little damp, but it’s somehow impossible to formulate what this means. Photos in good light are almost indistinguishable from photos from a good compact camera, and photos in low light are from photos from a not-so-good but quite good compact camera. Perhaps this is how we can characterize the Sony Xperia Z1 camera based on field photographs. But according to laboratory tests, the camera does not live up to compacts. The blur at the edges of the frame also spoils the picture, which means there is something to strive for. You can, of course, disagree with loud statements that the Z1 is “the smartphone with the best camera” or “ISO 6400 sensitivity allows you to take incredibly clear pictures in great detail even in low light.” There is, of course, some truth in them, but it is small. However, Sony took a significant step by opening up a lot of scope for creativity, thereby raising competition to a new level. The camera can shoot video in Full HD resolution 1080p; below are several test videos shot with maximum settings in daylight, as well as in a darkened concert hall. Videos are saved in an MP4 container (video - MPEG-4 AVC [email protected], sound - AAC LC, 156 Kbps, 48 ​​kHz, 2 channels). Video No. 1(45.0 MB, 1920x1080) Video No. 2(56.0 MB, 1920x1080) Video No. 3(39.0 MB, 1920x1080) In addition to automatic and manual shooting modes, the Sony Xperia Z1 camera software has several interesting additional features. Info-Eye mode, for example, provides contextual information to an object in a frame using augmented reality technology. That is, in theory, if you photograph, for example, the Eiffel Tower, then some information about it should be displayed on the screen. In Time Shift Burst mode, the camera takes up to 61 shots in two seconds, from which you can then choose the best one. The Social live function allows you to upload footage directly to Facebook and view comments on it on your smartphone screen. The most unexpected thing was an entertainment application called AR effect, which makes it possible to combine pictures with animation using proprietary augmented reality technology SmartAR. The spectacle is truly unusual, and some particularly successful photographs can really make you smile. There are a lot of camera control settings, but most of them become available only when you switch to manual mode. We have already seen something similar with the ZTE Nubia Z5 camera, and, probably, all other manufacturers will soon come to this. Those who don’t want to bother with the settings get only one “take a picture” button, while others are asked to switch to manual mode, and only there will all the possibilities for configuring the shooting processes be available to their taste. Telephone and communications The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, supports the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, and can be used NFC technology, and there is also support for fourth generation networks (LTE) used in Russia - the most complete set of popular modern capabilities. With a SIM card from the domestic operator Megafon, the smartphone in practice confidently finds and works with the LTE network. The radio part of the tested smartphone is stable; no spontaneous signal losses or dropouts from the telecom operator’s network were noticed. When hot-swapping a SIM card, the device reboots itself. The screen of the smartphone is large, the display of virtual keys, numbers and letters of the number dialing and the keyboard for typing SMS is quite comfortable, no erroneous presses were noticed. Another interesting feature called “Slow Speech” has also appeared in telephone conversation mode. And it really works. That is, if your interlocutor’s speech seems too fast to you, and you do not grasp the essence of the story, just press the appropriate button during a conversation, and your interlocutor’s speech will noticeably change. It will become drawn-out and unhurried, as if a very tipsy interlocutor is talking to you on the other end. It is enough to check this function, at least on an electronic device that tells you the exact time, and you will be guaranteed a smile. OS and software Sony Xperia Z1 currently runs on the Google Android software platform version 4.2.2. On top of the standard OS interface, the company installed its own user interface, significantly modifying and complementing the standard one. The main distinguishing feature of the program menu is its wide possibilities for sorting, selecting and working with icons of installed applications. To work with them, there is now even a whole contextual panel that can be pulled out with a side swipe. In it you can search by category, set your own, arbitrary arrangement of icons, or sort in several preset ways. It’s convenient that you can delete any application right here without having to go to a special section of the main menu. Naturally, the ability to create folders is supported, but for this you need to keep the icons in the “own order” mode, otherwise all applications sorted into folders will again be distributed across desktops, in alphabetical order, for example. Another unique feature of the internal design of Sony smartphones is the so-called “small applications” menu. It can be found if you open the list of recently launched programs by clicking on the far right button. From this menu you can quickly access the voice recorder, calculator, stopwatch and notes, and you can also add other applications there yourself, which are becoming more and more numerous in the Google Play Store. Performance The Sony Xperia Z1 hardware platform is based on a single-chip system (SoC) Qualcomm Snapdragon 800. The central processor here has 4 Krait 400 cores operating at a frequency of 2.2 GHz (CPU-Z shows 2.15 GHz). The device has 2 GB of RAM, and the storage available to the user for uploading their own files is just over 11 GB out of the nominal 16 GB. There is support for microSD memory cards up to 64 GB, so the user will not feel a lack of memory. The processor is supported in graphics processing by the most modern video accelerator Adreno 330. For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone in popular benchmarks into tables. Details below. Since new versions of the AnTuTu 4.0 and GeekBench 3 benchmarks have now been released, we have started collecting statistics on the results for the new versions of the tests, these are the results for the Sony Xperia Z1. As for testing the graphics subsystem in the cross-platform 3DMark test, the test subject showed the same record results as the Xperia Z Ultra, demonstrating a better result in the maximum Extreme mode than the Samsung Galaxy S4 in normal mode. Well, in standard mode, according to 3DMark results, the latest Japanese new products simply have no equal - 17254 points, this is the result of the Xperia Z1. In the Epic Citadel gaming test in High Performance mode, the Sony Xperia Z1 produced almost the highest possible result of 59.7 fps. True, in this mode, almost all modern graphics processors in mobile SoCs have almost identical performance, but the Sony Xperia Z1 does not sag in the more stringent High Quality/Ultra High Quality modes (59.6 and 55.1 fps, respectively). None of the mobile devices we tested previously produced such high results in the most difficult Ultra High Quality mode, except for its own brother, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra tablet, built on exactly the same hardware platform. As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, the results in them significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be correct on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is not always available during testing. For devices running the latest Android operating system, we always try to use Google Chrome. Sony is one of those companies that simply “cuts out” the standard Android browser, leaving (pre-installing) only Chrome. Here, again, the Japanese new product has record performance, previously unseen even among the most advanced market leaders. Playing video To test omnivorousness when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table. Format Container, video, sound MX Video Player Standard video player DVDRip AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 plays normally plays normally Web-DL SD AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 plays normally plays normally Web-DL HD MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3 Hardware+ BDRip 720p MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3 plays fine with decoder Hardware+ The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ BDRip 1080p MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3 plays fine with decoder Hardware+ The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ ¹ MX Video Player only played sound after switching to software decoding or a new mode Hardware+; The standard player does not have this setting Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it we used LG IPS237L monitor, supporting direct MHL connection using a passive adapter cable from Micro-USB to HDMI. Output via MHL is carried out at a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels at a frequency of 30 frames/s. With an active MHL connection, regardless of the actual orientation of the smartphone, the image is displayed on the screens of the smartphone and monitor in landscape orientation (and the display on the screen of the smartphone itself is carried out only when the smartphone is oriented with the Micro-USB connector down), and the actual resolution is equal to the resolution of the smartphone screen - 1920 x 1080 pixels. We found only one exception: the lock screen is displayed in portrait orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in height (of course, with a reduced resolution), and black fields are displayed on the sides. In addition, if you do not set the scaling setting to 100%, the image on the monitor screen is slightly reduced, which also leads to a decrease in resolution, and black fields are displayed around the perimeter: The default value of this setting is 95% - it is not clear to us why this was done, since non-switchable image magnification (overscan) remains only in some models of extremely cheap TVs. When output via MHL is activated, a special program is automatically launched with shortcut icons for several applications, which, according to the developer, are most in need of a large screen: With an active MHL connection, it is possible to use the TV remote control to control your smartphone - the built-in help on three pages lists the remote control buttons and their functions: However, we suspect that to implement this functionality, a connection to exclusively Sony brand TVs is required. Sound is output via MHL (in this case, the sounds were heard through headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of good quality. At the same time, at least multimedia sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume cannot be adjusted or turned off using the buttons on the smartphone body. The smartphone connected via MHL is charging. Video output via MHL deserves special description. To begin, use a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see. Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1) we checked how the video is displayed on the screen of the smartphone itself. Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (3840 by 2160 (4K), 1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). The results of this (block entitled " Screen") and subsequent tests are summarized in the table: File Uniformity Passes Screen watch-4k-30p.mp4 Great No watch-4k-25p.mp4 Fine No watch-4k-24p.mp4 Fine No watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4 Fine few watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4 Fine few watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4 Great No watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4 Great No watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4 Great No watch-1280x720-60p.mp4 Great few watch-1280x720-50p.mp4 Fine No watch-1280x720-30p.mp4 Fine No watch-1280x720-25p.mp4 Great No watch-1280x720-24p.mp4 Great No MHL (monitor) watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4 Great a lot of watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4 Fine a lot of watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4 Great No watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4 Fine No watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4 Great No watch-1280x720-60p.mp4 Great a lot of watch-1280x720-50p.mp4 Fine a lot of watch-1280x720-30p.mp4 Great No watch-1280x720-25p.mp4 Fine No watch-1280x720-24p.mp4 Fine No MHL (adapter) watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4 Great No watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4 Fine few watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4 Fine No watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4 Great No watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4 Great No watch-1280x720-60p.mp4 Great No watch-1280x720-50p.mp4 Fine few watch-1280x720-30p.mp4 Great No watch-1280x720-25p.mp4 Fine No watch-1280x720-24p.mp4 Fine No Note: If both the Uniformity and Dropout columns are rated green, this means that when watching movies, there will most likely be no or no amount of artifacts caused by frame spacing or dropouts visible. will not affect viewing comfort. “Red” marks indicate possible problems associated with the playback of the corresponding files. In terms of frame output, the quality of video playback is very good; the smartphone can even handle displaying 4K video files (3840 by 2160 pixels). Note, however, that uniform alternation of frames is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes lead to periodic failure of the correct alternation of intervals between frames (or groups of frames) or even to the skipping of individual frames. When playing 1080p video files (with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels) on the smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed one-on-one, exactly along the edge of the screen in true 1080p resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard video range - all shade gradations are displayed in shadows and highlights (for video in the range 16-235). When playing video files with Full HD resolution (1920 by 1080 pixels) on the screen of a monitor connected via MHL, the image of the video file itself is displayed one-to-one, exactly along the border of the screen in true Full HD resolution. The brightness range displayed on the monitor exactly corresponds to the standard video range - all shade gradations are displayed in shadows and highlights (for video in the range 16-235). The results of tests for frame output uniformity are shown in the table above in the “ MHL (monitor)" With the exception of files with 50 and 60 fps, where some frames are naturally skipped, the output quality is very good. Additionally, video output (with a standard player) via MHL using an MHL adapter was tested. When using this adapter, output to the monitor was carried out in 720p mode at 60 fps, which determined the maximum actual image resolution. With the exception of resolution and frame rate, everything else - the nature of the interface and video output, charging, audio output and gray scale - did not differ from a direct connection via MHL. The test results are shown in the table above in the “ MHL (adapter)" Output quality is high, and the higher frame rate allowed 50 and 60 fps files to be displayed normally. Playing dynamic games is apparently better using such an adapter. As a result, an MHL connection can be used for gaming, watching movies, displaying web pages and other activities that benefit from multiplying the screen size. Battery life The capacity of the lithium-ion battery installed in the Sony Xperia Z1 is 3000 mAh. The battery is non-removable, so if the battery is swollen or otherwise damaged, you won’t be able to replace it with a new one yourself, and you won’t be able to buy a spare one. To save energy, modern Sony smartphones (and the Xperia Z1 is no exception) have a Stamina battery mode. It provides better battery management and increases the phone's standby time. If your phone has this mode enabled, when the screen turns off, the phone automatically closes unused applications that use a lot of energy, and launches them only when the screen turns on again. This mode does not affect operation when the screen is on. The “Wi-Fi by location” setting also serves to save money: in this mode, the smartphone activates the wireless module only when it recognizes the presence of a familiar network, rather than keeping it turned on all the time. The energy-saving mode does not have any effect on the duration of continuous operation in artificially created conditions. This is quite understandable: the system turns off modules and applications only when the screen goes out, and in our tests it is always on, so the results do not depend on the choice of mode. According to the results of testing in standard user modes of use, the Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone showed results that were not the most outstanding, but not disastrous. Such a “shovel recorder” will last approximately one eventful daylight hours, no more, without recharging. Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted 11 hours 45 minutes until the battery was completely discharged, and continuous viewing of YouTube videos in high quality (HQ) with the same brightness level over a home Wi-Fi network, the device spent eight hours. In gaming mode, the smartphone lasted more than four hours, and this is an extraordinary indicator, given the size and resolution of the screen (and outstanding performance in games), so once again we admire the graphics subsystem of the device. Bottom line As for the price, it has not yet been finally determined in our market. It is known that the smartphone will go on sale on the Russian market in September. Most likely, we will not see any revelations, and the Japanese will set the price for their new product in line with current trends - about 30 thousand rubles. But we won’t guess; we’ll wait for the official announcement of the price. In the meantime, you can weigh the main pros and cons of the new product in order to understand what, in fact, has changed in Sony’s top-end flagship smartphone with the appearance of the number 1 in the name. Firstly, this is, of course, a different, much more powerful hardware that produces record performance results. However, it’s probably worth putting in the first line the improvements that have occurred with the screen: the original Xperia Z suited almost everyone, but it was not easy to come to terms with the whitish screen. Here the screen, although not the best (the HTC One will still be better), but not everything is as bad as before. Improved camera: well, this is understandable, not everyone needs an outstanding camera on a phone, but no one will refuse improvements. There are also smaller but useful changes: the audio output connector no longer needs to be covered with a plug, the sound holes are placed at the end. Finally, the battery capacity has been increased, although this did not help the smartphone become a long-liver. Overall, the list of improvements and changes is impressive. As for the minuses, everyone at this point can think of them themselves, because nothing comes to our minds personally. The smartphone turned out to be almost ideal for those who are initially determined to buy a huge “shovel” and size does not play a decisive role for it. Otherwise, there are no complaints about the device, and an award from the editors for a perfectly balanced product would be very welcome here.

Sony Xperia Z1

Do you think that your sleeping child will not come out as cute and gentle in photographs as in real life? We've brought all of our camera technologies together to give you...

The device works with Micro-SIM cards from all GSM operators.

Sony Xperia Z1- All the power and elegance of Sony in a top-notch smartphone.

A camera that reflects reality as you see it. Even more sharpness. Clarity. And brightness. So compact digital cameras can offer you all this...

The device works with Micro-SIM cards from all GSM operators.

Sony Xperia Z1- All the power and elegance of Sony in a top-notch smartphone.

A camera that reflects reality as you see it. Even more sharpness. Clarity. And brightness. Sony compact digital cameras can offer you all this. However, we were able to combine almost the same components into the 8.5mm thin Xperia Z1 to create a smartphone with a better camera. This includes a large Exmor RS image matrix (size 1/2.3 inches; resolution 20.7 megapixels), and the recognized Sony G Lens technology, as well as the BIONZ image processor for mobile devices. This unique combination gives you the ability to create sharper, brighter images—every time.

Brilliant photos in low light. Do you think that your sleeping child will not come out as cute and gentle in photographs as in real life? We've brought all of our camera technologies together to ensure you always get vivid, detailed photos, even in low light. The Exmor RS mobile image sensor with the latest generation BSI light sensor is a new step in the development of Sony image processing technologies. Noise is reduced while maintaining high resolution thanks to the F2.0 Sony G Lens, high-sensitivity Exmor RS mobile sensor, BIONZ processor, pixel binning technology and ultra-high resolution with every pixel in mind. And with Superior Auto mode, everything happens automatically, so you don't have to waste time on complicated settings.

Only clear pictures. Are you a sports photographer? Or do you just prefer to live life at a fast pace? Keep moving - with a smartphone with the best camera at hand, you will always be able to take a high-quality photo. The F2.0 aperture lens and high-sensitivity sensor allow you to shoot with fast shutter speeds. The BIONZ image processor also includes motion detection, which selects a faster shutter speed when shooting a moving subject, resulting in sharper photos. And Superior Auto mode does all the hard work for you.

Close-up; Incredible clarity. Are you filming from afar? Clear Image's 3x zoom combines with the high-resolution sensor and ultra-high resolution of the BIONZ processor to take every pixel into account, giving you a telescopic 81mm optical zoom. The high resolution Exmor RS mobile sensor and the ultra-high resolution BIONZ processor do their job with every pixel taken into account. Zoom in and take clear, detailed photos.

Perfect video with SteadyShot technology. With HDR technology for photography and video, you can capture natural-looking images in any lighting. HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology is used to create clear photos even against bright light. An HDR camera takes multiple shots of the same image at different shutter speeds and then overlays them to create the best quality photo. Sony HDR technology is also used for video recording, so you can shoot video even in high contrast situations, such as when the subject is near a window or between the camera and the sun.