After disappointment of Samsung S5 (no LTE for India), another big announcement of week, from Sony, has disappointed me. Sony’s new flagship smartphone (launched in different versions & form factors globally including LTE, Wi-Fi & Tablet) Xperia Z2, has everything an Android smartphone owner love to have, but no LTE (4G) support for India at the moment.
Launched at price tag of Rs 49990 (Flipkart retail price), with Smartband (wearable device), the device boasts Qualcomm 801 Snapdragaon System of Chip (8974AB v3) which includes, a Quad Core Processor (CPU), hexagon DSP for playing music/video, 4G LTE Connectivity (4G LTE World Mode with Snapdragaon 410 chipset) & Qualcomm VIVE 802.11ac single stream MIMO support, to name a few. The device has 3 GB RAM (good enough) & internal storage of 16 GB (flash memory) which can be expanded up to 128 GB (micro SD). Xperia Z2 comes with Android 4.4 (Google Kitkat) & pre-loaded features like Google Hangout, MAPs with Street View, Voice Search to list a few.
If you own Sony’s Xperia Z1 device, there’re couple of up-gradations done by Sony, which are noticeable. The screen size is bigger by 2 inches in Z2 (5.2 inches) as compared to Z1 (5 inches), while display touch is HD IPS LCD against TFT with Z1.Xperia Z2 weighs little less, thinner but lengthier compared to its predecessor. In terms of other features, Sony has integrated its BRAVIA Engine 3 with Z2 for better picture quality.
In terms of front & rear camera, there’s not much difference between Z2 & Z1, except the fact that video resolution is 4 times (8MP) to that of Z1 (2MP). In terms of feature lists, Sony has well upgraded the camera with features like self-timer, white balance, continuous shooting, image stabilization, HD recording & it would be a real delight to use Z2 for photography purposes. I really feel, the way Nokia has integrated its PureView Camera technology with Lumia Series; Sony has indeed well integrated its Camera/DSLR features with Z2 series of Smartphone. The thin-line between a great camera & Smartphone with great camera has blurred with advance integration of camera technologies with Smartphone.
Now coming to connectivity, I’m really disappointed to see no LTE Band 40 Support (2.3 GHz) for Bharti Airtel. Although global specifications of the device has support for LTE Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17 & 20, in India you could only use it for your HSPA+ network at the moment. The device is LTE Category 4 device (Xperia Z1 & Samsung S5 are also LTE Cat 4 devices, thanks to Qualcomm Snapdragraon 801 SoC), with support to LTE Advanced (Carrier Aggregation), leading to DL speed of up to 150 Mbps & UL speed of 50 Mbps. Being Category 4 LTE device (3GPP R8) means only limited MU-MIMO support available on cellular network and no 256 QAM for UL.
One great thing about Z2 is Qualcomm’s VIVE 802.11ac (part of 801 Snapdragaon SoC), is availability of MU-MIMO 2×2 Single Stream, where DL speed can reach up to 433 Mbps on Wi-Fi (for only 802.11ac). Z2 can operate on both, crowded 2.4 GHz & less crowded 5 GHz band for 802.11n network, where max DL speed can go up to 150 Mbps for single stream downlink MIMO. Albeit very few in number, 802.11ac Hotspots are gaining momentum in India, where DL speed can reach up to 400+ Mbps. This feature has very limited use in India at moment, but going forward, where Opcos & third party operated secure/unsecure Wi-Fi Hotspot gain popularity, devices like Z2 (S5, Z1, M7, M8, Lumia High end, 5S/5C) would be used to max of their connectivity potential.
Z2 has in-built Li-ion (non-removable) 3200 mAh battery (Z1 has 3000 mAh) with increased talk-time on 2G & 3G. The device is boasted to have better battery life compared to Z1 & S5 devices.
Lastly, Z2 is capable of dust resistance (IP 5X), and waterproof (limited to IP5 & IP 8X) capability (while Samsung S5 is IP67). Only difference, I could spot is the build quality of both the devices. Z2 is built with metal frame (Al frame), leading to better signal quality/reception (due to external antenna mounting) & good thermal behavior of device, against plastic frame of Samsung S5.
Overall, Z2 is a great Android smartphone is terms of feature list & capability. But at price tag of Rs 50000 (or USD 900), there’s little motivation to buy/upgrade your existing smartphone to Z2, especially when there’s no India specific LTE/4G Support.
