Sony Xperia XZ3 review: The new flagship’s 6-inch QHD OLED display is spectacular to behold
Think of Sony and you think of three things. The iconic “bwoarrrr” sound that PlayStations used to make when you switched them on, that weird little robot dog that would die if you didn’t feed it a constant supply of batteries, and the best televisions in the world.
That it’s taken Sony this long to ask the TV team to engineer a new OLED screen for its Xperia phones is a mystery. But it’s done just that with the Xperia XZ3, a completely redesigned device with a fantastic, Bravia-engineered 6-inch QHD HDR display. It’s vibrant, dynamic, both very very dark and very very bright at the same time, matching or beating every other screen out there including class-leaders the Galaxy S9 and iPhone XS.
Software ensures that the display is always looking its best during video playback. X-Reality upscales regular videos to HDR, and the Dynamic Contrast Enhancer and the Triluminos Display chug along in the background fine-tuning the screen’s output on the fly.
The Xperia range was never one to rock the boat in terms of aesthetics, and the XZ3 is no exception. Sony hasn’t gone the route of adding a notch, instead playing it safe with a sleek edge-to-edge screen and narrow, curved, top and bottom bezels. It looks great, dignified, and not too flashy, though the glass back feels toy-like, plasticky and collects grease like a chip pan. The camera placement is also too low down on the phone, and exactly where you think the fingerprint scanner will be, so you repeatedly smudge the lens.
When not smeared in your finger oils, the camera puts out decent shots. It can record in 4K and in HDR, as well as in slow-motion at 960 frames per second and Full HD resolution. The 19MP rear camera is the same as that of the old XZ2, but the selfie camera has been updated, and now packs a 13MP punch.
Sony also touts a new Side Sense functionality, allowing you to tap or swipe along the screen’s edge to trigger actions and shortcuts – my fat fingers set it off constantly.
A quality flagship, the Xperia XZ3 impresses with its Bravia-engineered screen. Though with a Premium model potentially just around the corner, fans might do well to wait.