Introduction

The Sony Xperia Z3+ is the Japanese flagship we've all been anticipating, but is it really the one we've been hoping for? Or are the predictable chipset update and minor design touches simply a prelude to a proper upgrade later this year?


Starting with the original Xperia Z in February 2013, Sony's condensed update cycle for the high-end Z-series has meant a spring release was followed by another in the fall, enabling the company to adequately combat competition on either side of the Pacific. Inevitably, each new model carried few improvements over the predecessor, failing to truly wow customers.
Those are considerations for the marketing teams though, and there's obviously no way we could know Sony's precise reasoning. We can, however, work with what we've got, and at this point that's the Xperia Z3+.
A few months behind the obvious major competitors and Sony's own established schedule, the Xperia Z3+ doesn't surprise with hardware. The one major change is the Snapdragon 810 SoC, which brings a performance boost, alongside faster Cat.6 LTE.
Gone is the 16GB base storage option of the current model and the Xperia Z3+ only comes in 32GB flavor. The outdated 2MP front camera couldn't fly on a 2015 high-end smartphone, and it has made way for a new 5.1MP snapper.
A less welcome move has seen the battery capacity taken a notch down from 3,100mAh to 2,930mAh - enabling designers to achieve the highlight 6.9mm thickness and the weight has also been reduced. Points are due for the capless microUSB port too, which made the charging pogo pins redundant, while keeping the IP68 certification intact.

Key features

Also available as a Dual SIM version
5.2" IPS LCD, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 424ppi
Android 5.0 Lollipop with Xperia UI on top
IP68 certified - dust and water proof up to 1.5 meter and 30 minutes
Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset with 2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A57 plus 1.5 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, Adreno 430 GPU, 3GB of RAM
20.7MP camera, LED flash, 2160p video recording, dedicated hardware shutter key
5.1MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording (along with Superior Auto and Video stabilization)
32GB of built-in storage, expandable via the microSD card slot
Cat. 6 LTE (up to 300Mbps); Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; Wi-Fi Direct; Bluetooth 4.1 with apt-X and Sony LDAC wireless High-Res Audio codec, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou receiver, Stereo FM with RDS; USB On-The-Go
Active noise cancellation with a secondary microphone
Digital noise cancellation available with certain Sony headsets
Front-facing stereo speakers
2,930mAh battery; STAMINA Power Saving Mode
Stylish dual glass-panel design
Qualcomm Quick charge certified
Main disadvantages
Non user-replaceable battery
No wireless charging
Qualcomm Quick charger not included in the retail package
Screen has the same specs third generation in a row, when rivals have mostly moved to 1440p
Battery downgrade hardly justified
€700 introductory retail price is too steep
All by itself, the spec sheet is impressive, and you'd have to look hard to find glaring omissions other than the screen resolution. It's just that we've seen most of it a number of times already and we're no longer as impressed.
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Sony Xperia Z3+ press images
Still, the Sony Xperia Z3+ is the company's answer to this season's flagships. But if even Sony doesn't think it's worthy of the Z4 badge, can

we really call it a true flagship?
We set out to determine just that, and we kick off with a look at the hardware.
Disclaimer: This review is based in a pre-production Xperia Z3+ unit, but we were informed it uses the latest available firmware version. It's nevertheless possible that parts of our test observations may not reflect the performance and qualities of the retail product. We'll revisit this review and we'll update the test findings as soon as a retail unit becomes available to us.

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