Sony Announces the Xperia Z4

[tsk]

 

Today Sony Mobile officially announced the Xperia Z4 on their Japanese website. The Xperia Z4 will be the company's flagship smartphone for 2015, sitting alongside Sony's flagship tablet which is called the Xperia Z4 Tablet. Based on the specifications provided by Sony, it certainly looks like they've done everything possible to make it fit that role with regards to its hardware.

So pretty much what everyone already expected, here's hoping Z4 compact will soon follow.

It differs from the Z3 physically in that it's thinner and lighter(6.9mm vs 7.3mm and 144g vs 152g), gone is also the micro-usb flap with the port having been moved to the bottom and made waterproof.


Source

[Norman_the_Owl]

Announced in Asia*

No details for us Americans who want one

[the jolly roger]

xperia z4 compact here i come

[Thorium19]

And I've only got my Z3 in the last month as well... Not that bothered really, the only change is internal storage and the chip used, and even then the snapdragon 801 is still a damn strong unit.

[Homicidium]

I mean sure, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

 

However I do have the feeling that Sony is taking it a little too far. To really have a competitive flagship phone, there needs to be more than just internal changes. 

Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful phone and it sits well in the hand, but it just seems that Sony is taking the "easy way", even more so than HTC and Apple.

[Homicidium]

xperia z4 compact here i come

 

No Compact has been confirmed, not even for the Asian market.

[the jolly roger]

No Compact has been confirmed, not even for the Asian market.

i will wait patiently

[Ruostunut kokis]

mfw I just received Xperia Z1 under a month ago...

 

Meh, not really bothered by it. The battery life is not quite long enough for my liking (well... My Xperia Z1 was 1,5 years old already at the time of purchase, so...), but other than that it's fast enough and doesn't freeze often like the Galaxy S2 I used before this. I just wish the battery could be changed, then everything would be great.

[PillowSmoke]

I feel like sony needs to do some more work on their z lineup. Like generation after generation, same design better specs. I think that they need to change up some things up, spice it up a bit. Because it's basically the same ol' design every go around. 

[jaggysnake57]

sorry but it looks just like a z3 and there meh......

[Sors]

I'm glad is almost the same as the Z3.  No reason to change my Z2 yet.

[Inkz]

Anyone know if the camera is any better? OIS? Larger Sensor? ( I know the Z3 does not have a bad camera, I just really like to see cameras improve.)

[MonkeyFace]

I feel like sony needs to do some more work on their z lineup. Like generation after generation, same design better specs. I think that they need to change up some things up, spice it up a bit. Because it's basically the same ol' design every go around. 

 

This is definitely a problem with smartphone industry as a whole and not exclusive to Sony. But considering the poor performance of Sony's mobile division, I highly doubt they're going back to the drawing boards on any of their Xperia line of products anytime soon. 

[Lazmarr]

And I've only got my Z3 in the last month as well... Not that bothered really, the only change is internal storage and the chip used, and even then the snapdragon 801 is still a damn strong unit.

Haha I too just got mine in the last month...I'm glad sony's one of the few companies to make a flagship phone and only change it slightly rather than a complete change

It probably makes it easier to port new android versions over to similar devices, so I wouldn't be surprised if we continued to get the latest android version; wouldn't even mind if it took a few months to come out, like this lollipop update ....and now it's ungodly battery life with a screen on time of like 8.5 hours

 

If it looks great and performs great then why change it?

[tsk]

People are reporting that the magnetic charge is gone, and that the phone only has one flap covering the sim and SD card, the micro-usb is now on the bottom and waterproof.
Looking for sources to confirm this.

[WelshDdraig]

Since I own a Z3 I can say, I will not be upgrading. The Z3 has everything I need and is still a very capable device. The only benefit i can see from the Z4 being announced.released is the Z3 and heck, the Z2, which is still a very capable phone, prices will drop massively. 

 

I'm welcome for people to prove me wrong, just don't be an arse about it, but I feel smartphones have hit a particular limit in the features available. Sure bigger batteries and faster devices are nice, but ignoring them, most smart phones offer the same functionality in one form or another. I feel they just don't offer that much benefit to warrant people to upgrade every year or two.

[tsk]

People are reporting that the magnetic charge is gone, and that the phone only has one flap covering the sim and SD card, the micro-usb is now on the bottom and waterproof.

Looking for sources to confirm this.

Sony is confirming the flap-less USB on bottom on their announcement page here.

[MrRavens]

I never had a Sony smartphone, is their flavor on top of android pretty good; do you use their stuff? Or is it really just in the way. 

[tsk]

I never had a Sony smartphone, is their flavor on top of android pretty good; do you use their stuff? Or is it really just in the way. 

Using the Nexus 5 as my daily driver I will say stock android is always best. The Sony skin annoys me on the Z3 compact, I'd put it in the same league as touchwiz. 

[MrRavens]

Using the Nexus 5 as my daily driver I will say stock android is always best. The Sony skin annoys me on the Z3 compact, I'd put it in the same league as touchwiz. 

 

Ah ok, I'm using the Nexus 5 as well. Love it to death. I was always wondering what Sony's was like. I've only ever used LG as another. 

[notenoughtv]

This is great, now I can get a Z3 for less money

[snowComet]

Announced in Asia*

No details for us Americans who want one

 

PocketNow quoted from a Russian source, claiming this phone may well be a Japanese-only phone, and the rest of the world will get a different flagship by the end of May......

 

http://pocketnow.com/2015/04/20/sony-announces-the-xperia-z4

[TroubleKlef]

This is the last of the 6-month cycle phones correct? I remember hearing Sony say they would switch to a 12-month refresh cycle. Would be best for both the company and consumers imo. 

[dizmo]

Apparently most of the world will get a different Z series flagship, and this one is only releasing in Japan. Which makes sense otherwise they would have had a more global launch.
Personally I'm pretty excited to see what they do with their next true flagship. Sony's products in the mobile space have been really solid, it's a shame they haven't taken off more.

I'm hoping for a full metal body, ditch the glass on the back, and OIS for the camera. Other than that not much needs to change.

It does disappoint me to see them giving up battery capacity in the name of thinness. Bad move, Sony.

 

 

Announced in Asia*

No details for us Americans who want one

 

This is definitely a problem with smartphone industry as a whole and not exclusive to Sony. But considering the poor performance of Sony's mobile division, I highly doubt they're going back to the drawing boards on any of their Xperia line of products anytime soon. 

Different flagship is supposed to come out later on. This is more of a Japan only device.

 

Since I own a Z3 I can say, I will not be upgrading. The Z3 has everything I need and is still a very capable device. The only benefit i can see from the Z4 being announced.released is the Z3 and heck, the Z2, which is still a very capable phone, prices will drop massively. 

 

I'm welcome for people to prove me wrong, just don't be an arse about it, but I feel smartphones have hit a particular limit in the features available. Sure bigger batteries and faster devices are nice, but ignoring them, most smart phones offer the same functionality in one form or another. I feel they just don't offer that much benefit to warrant people to upgrade every year or two.

You're not wrong, but honestly, what do you really want out of your phone? There's only so many things it can do, and it can do an awful lot currently.

In fact they've replaced PC's for many, many people.

Thinner, lighter, etc while maintaining the same performance are pretty amazing feats.

I upgrade my phone once a year. Do I have to? No. But let's face it, this is a tech forum and most of us like the newest things.

I upgrade because that extra battery life, even if it's an hour or two on screen time is huge to me. I use my phones for work a lot, and it helps to have every little speed and battery advantage. If apps perform better on newer hardware (certain ones) then I'm all for spending some more cash. I still want someone to make a proper, balls out Dual SIM, Dual Active phone.

I know tons of people that don't upgrade for years. In fact, people that upgrade every year or two are really quite rare.

I feel a lot of people on this forum are younger and don't truly appreciate the advances like that for what they are.

 

 

Using the Nexus 5 as my daily driver I will say stock android is always best. The Sony skin annoys me on the Z3 compact, I'd put it in the same league as touchwiz. 

Really? It's not nearly as bad as TouchWiz. At all.

[WelshDdraig]

You're not wrong, but honestly, what do you really want out of your phone? There's only so many things it can do, and it can do an awful lot currently.

In fact they've replaced PC's for many, many people.

Thinner, lighter, etc while maintaining the same performance are pretty amazing feats.

I upgrade my phone once a year. Do I have to? No. But let's face it, this is a tech forum and most of us like the newest things.

I upgrade because that extra battery life, even if it's an hour or two on screen time is huge to me. I use my phones for work a lot, and it helps to have every little speed and battery advantage. If apps perform better on newer hardware (certain ones) then I'm all for spending some more cash. I still want someone to make a proper, balls out Dual SIM, Dual Active phone.

I know tons of people that don't upgrade for years. In fact, people that upgrade every year or two are really quite rare.

I feel a lot of people on this forum are younger and don't truly appreciate the advances like that for what they are.

I agree, most people on this forum want the best since it is a tech forum and while you made some excellent points, so that would "justify" an upgrade to them, but to me, my phone already does what i want at the moment. compared to the Z4 there are not many changes that warrant an upgrade to users from a Z2 or a Z3.