Sony Xperia Z

This article is about the 1st generation Xperia Z smartphone. For the smartphone lineup of which this was the first, see Xperia Z series.

Sony Xperia Z

Brand	Sony
Manufacturer	Sony Mobile Communications
Type	Touchscreen smartphone
Slogan	Experience The Best Of Sony In A Smartphone
Series	Xperia Z Series
First released	9 February 2013; 11 years ago (2013-02-09)
Availability by region	List of dates 9 February 2013; 11 years ago (2013-02-09) (Japan, SO-02E variant exclusively for NTT DoCoMo) 1 March 2013; 11 years ago (2013-03-01) (Singapore, UK) 12 March 2013; 11 years ago (2013-03-12) (India) 13 March 2013; 11 years ago (2013-03-13) (Australia) 14 March 2013; 11 years ago (2013-03-14) (New Zealand) 15 March 2013; 11 years ago (2013-03-15) (Malaysia)
Predecessor	Xperia T Xperia TX
Successor	Xperia Z1
Related	Xperia ZL Xperia ZR
Compatible networks	GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 HSPA+ 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100 LTE 800/850/900/1500/1800/2100/2600 (Network specifications varies across models)
Form factor	Slate, Omni-balance
Dimensions	139 mm (5.5 in) H 71 mm (2.8 in) W 7.9 mm (0.31 in)[1]
Weight	152 g (5.36 oz)
Operating system	Android: 4.1.2 Jelly Bean (initial)[1] 4.2.2 Jelly Bean[2] 4.3 Jelly Bean[3] 4.4.2 KitKat 4.4.4 KitKat[4] 5.0.2 Lollipop[5] 5.1.1 Lollipop (current)[6] Unofficial Android 12L
System-on-chip	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064
CPU	1.5 GHz quad-core Krait 300 (1.5 GHz Qualcomm APQ8064+MDM9215M Quad Core)[7]
GPU	Adreno 320
Memory	2 GB RAM[1]
Storage	16 GB
Removable storage	up to 32 GB microSDHC (officially)[8] up to 128 GB microSDXC (unofficially)[9]
Battery	Non-user removable li-ion 2330 mAh[10]
Rear camera	13.1 MP Exmor RS IMX 135, backside illuminated sensor with LED flash and HDR 1080p video recording @ 30 fps and 16x digital zoom
Front camera	2.2 MP[8] Exmor R sensor (1080p video recording)
Display	5.0 in (130 mm) Full HD TFT multitouch capacitive touch screen with 441 ppi, 16 million colours, Bravia Engine 2 and scratch resistant glass protection
Sound	WALKMAN Music Player with Clear Audio+, Clear Stereo, Clear Phase, XLoud
Connectivity	Wi-Fi DLNA Miracast GPS/GLONASS NFC Bluetooth 4.0 MHL HDMI (via MHL) IR Blaster (SO-02E variant only) Screen Mirroring DualShock 3
Data inputs	Multi-touch, capacitive touchscreen, accelerometer, proximity sensor, gyroscope, compass[8]
Codename	Yuga
Hearing aid compatibility	Support
Other	Available in White, Black, and Purple IP55 / IP57 (Dust protected, Water jet protected & Waterproof up to 1 meter in 30 minutes)[8] 1seg (SO-02E variant only) Osaifu-Keitai (SO-02E variant only) NOTTV (SO-02E variant only) POBox Touch 5.4 (SO-02E variant only) Charging With Dock Charger
References	[11]

The Sony Xperia Z is an Android-based smartphone by Sony. Announced at CES 2013 the phone was officially released on 9 February 2013 in Japan and 1 March 2013 in Singapore and the UK. It was released in the U.S months later.^[12] The Xperia Z was initially shipped with the Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system. The smartphone has Ingress Protection Ratings of IP55 and IP57. It also contains a 13.1 MP Exmor RS camera sensor, and the screen of the phone consists of a TFT 1920x1080 display, with 441 ppi. It would be the first smartphone in the Sony Xperia Z series, continuing all the way up to the Xperia Z5.

Alongside the Xperia Z, Sony unveiled a variant called the Sony Xperia ZL, which uses the same hardware as the Xperia Z, but sacrifices water resistance for a smaller frame, a physical camera button and an infrared blaster.

In June 2013, Sony unveiled a phablet version of the Xperia Z called the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

Its successor, the Sony Xperia Z1, was released on 20 September 2013.

Design

The body of the Xperia Z is a rectangular slab compared to Sony's more curved Xperia T and Xperia Arc S.^[13] This design is called "OmniBalance", which "is focused on creating balance and symmetry in all directions", according to Sony.^[14] The Xperia Z has subtly rounded edges and reflective surfaces on all sides, which are held together by a skeleton frame made from glass fiber polyamide. The aluminum power button is placed on the right-hand side of the device, which is said to make one-handed operation of the phone easier.^[15]

Hardware

Dimensions, design, and battery

The phone's dimensions are stated to be 139 x 71 x 7.9 mm, and its weight is 146 grams (including the battery). It has a non-user-replaceable lithium-ion battery, rated at 2330 mAh.

The phone is covered on the front and back by tempered glass, where the front is Dragontrail Glass from Asahi Glass Company resin-bonded to the LCD, and the back is Corning Gorilla Glass.^[16][17][18]

Camera

It includes a 13.1-megapixel rear camera with an Exmor RS IMX135^[19] image sensor, flash, image stabilization, HDR, face detection (with red-eye reduction), Sweep Panorama, scene recognition and 16x digital zoom, and a 2.2-megapixel front camera with a Sony Exmor R sensor. Both cameras record video at 1080p.

The rear camera is one of the first mobile phone cameras that can capture HDR video.^[20]

The camera software is equipped with a quick launch feature, also known as fast capture, allowing the optional automatic capture of a photo or record video immediately after launch from the lock screen.^[20][21]

The burst shot mode of the Xperia Z has three-speed settings: high speed (0.9 megapixels), middle (9.6 megapixels), and low (2.1 megapixels). For unknown reasons, the resolution at the lowest speed setting is lower than at the medium speed setting.^[22] At the highest speed setting, the device can capture 1000 photos within 68 seconds.^[23]

Tests suggest that poor image processing in the automatic (standard) camera mode leads to a quality loss that photos captured through burst mode appear higher in comparison.^[22][24]

Display

The smartphone has a capacitive touchscreen with a size of 5", and its resolution is 1920x1080 pixels (1080p) at 441 ppi, with 16 million colors. The screen uses Sony's Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 for picture and video enhancement.

Chipsets and storage

The smartphone ships with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB of internal storage flash memory (with approx. 11 GB available to the user) and a microSD card slot which accepts cards up to 128 GB.

Interfaces and connectivity

The smartphone has a built-in 3.5 mm audio jack for headphones, GPS and GLONASS support, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, HDMI (via MHL), MirrorLink 1.0, Miracast and NFC, in addition to being DLNA certified. In Japan, the smartphone features an infrared blaster.

NFC is a core feature of the device.^{[citation needed]} The device is certified to IP55 and IP57 standards to be dust-protected, low-pressure water jet-protected and waterproof, allowing immersion under 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes.^[25]

Software

The Xperia Z originally ran Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Sony's launcher and additional applications, including Sony's media applications (Walkman, Album, and Movies), as well as a battery stamina mode.^[8] The device received an update to Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) on 24 June 2013.^[26] In December 2013, the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean software update rolled out for Xperia Z devices.^[27] In May 2014, the Android 4.4.2 KitKat software update rolled out, followed by Android 4.4.4 in September 2014.^[28]

On 16 October 2014, Sony reported that it would be updating the entire Xperia Z lineup of devices to Android 5.0 Lollipop, beginning in early 2015, for the core Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z2 devices, with others following soon after. Later in CES 2015 at Sony's event, they announced that the Android 5.0 Lollipop would be rolled out to the Xperia Z series starting in February 2015.^[29]

On 29 May 2015, Sony released Android 5.0 Lollipop for the Xperia Z, followed by Android 5.0.2 on 23 May 2015. On 7 September 2015, Sony released Android 5.1 Lollipop for the Xperia Z.^[30] This was the final firmware update for the device, as Android 6.0 Marshmallow was released for the Xperia Z2 and later Xperia devices only.^[31]

Network compatibility

Further information: UMTS frequency bands, List of UMTS networks, LTE frequency bands, and List of LTE networks

The following table shows which UMTS and LTE bands are supported. See the list of UMTS networks and the list of LTE networks to find which bands are required to use a cell phone service provider.

Model	FCC id	UMTS bands	LTE bands	Carrier/region
C6602	PY7PM-0280[32]	1, 2, 4, 5, 8	None[33]	Worldwide
C6603	PY7PM-0270[34]	1, 5, 8	1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20[33]	Worldwide
C6606	PY7PM-05200[35]	1, 2, 4, 5, 8	4	T-Mobile USA
C6616	PY7PM-0520[36]	1, 2, 4, 5, 8	4	Bell Canada[37]
SO-02E	PY7PM-0220[38]	1, 5, 6, 19	1, 19, 21	NTT DoCoMo

All variants support four 2G GSM bands: 850/900/1800/1900.

Reception and sales

The Xperia Z has received mostly positive reviews from critics.^{[citation needed]} Damien McFerren of CNET gave the phone 4 and a half stars out of five and said "The Sony Xperia Z combines looks, power and connectivity to supply one of the most impressive Android experiences we've seen in quite some time. The lack of Android 4.2 at launch is unfortunate and that 5-inch screen isn't going to suit everyone, but there's little room for complaint elsewhere. This is easily Sony's best phone yet, and one of the best Android phones ever released".^[13]

Android Central gave the phone a positive review, saying "For Android fans, the Sony Xperia Z was one of the highlights of a fairly quiet CES. A 5-inch, 1080p phone with a bold new design language and fancy new camera technology, the Xperia Z was probably the most compelling phone of the show. And just a couple of months later, it's now available to buy in the UK. Without a doubt, Sony Mobile's new baby is one of the largest, with full specs Android phones around".^{[citation needed]}

Audience reactions to the phone have also been positive. At CES 2013, the Xperia Z won the ‘Best Smartphone' and ‘Best of Show' awards.^[39] According to Sony executive Calum McDougall, early Xperia Z sales have been strong. He states, "It [the Xperia smartphone] sold over 150,000 units in its first week in Japan, taking a 24 percent market share straight away." "It may be a bit too early to say but the first signs are very positive."^[40]

See also

• Xperia Z series
• LTE (telecommunication) (3GPP Long Term Evolution)
• LTE Advanced (next version of LTE)
• List of LTE networks
• UMTS frequency bands
• E-UTRA

References

1. Meet The 5-inch, Quad-Core Xperia Z: Sony’s Stunning Answer To The iPhone 5 And Galaxy S3. google.com. Retrieved on 7 January 2013.
2. Johnson, Luke. (25 June 2013) Android 4.2.2 Sony Xperia Z update starts rollout – News. Trusted Reviews.
3. "On Android Jelly Bean 4.3..." Sony Mobile Blog. 25 July 2013.
4. "On Jelly Bean 4.3 & Kit Kat 4.4…". Sony Mobile Blog. 7 November 2013.
5. "We're bringing Android 5.0; Lollipop to the entire Xperia Z Series". Sony Mobile Blog. 16 October 2014.
6. "Android 5.1, Lollipop rolls for the Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z2 Series". Sony Mobile Blog. 21 July 2015.
7. Sony, Website. "Sony official website". Sony Mobile. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
8. "Hands on: Sony Xperia Z review". TechRadar. Archived from the original on 26 July 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
9. Evidence that the Xperia Z supports 64 GB microSD cards. Forum.xda-developers.com.
10. Sony Xperia™ Z C6603 LTE White paper^{[permanent dead link‍]} 1 February 2013
11. "Xperia™ Z White paper" (PDF). Sony. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
12. McCracken, Harry (10 July 2013). "Review: Sony's Xperia Z Smartphone is Waterproof and (Mostly) Winning". Time.
13. "Sony Xperia Z Review". Cnet UK. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
14. "Xperia Z Design Highlights". Sony Mobile. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013.
15. "Sony Xperia Z Hands-on". JariPhone. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
16. @SonyMobileNews (10 January 2013). ".@mwuhani3609 we don't comment on supplier names but Xperia Z uses durable tempered glass that has equiv specs to Gorilla/Dragontrail ^SM" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
17. "Sony Xperia Z Press Conference". eprice.com.hk. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
18. "Does the Xperia Z use both Dragontrail and Gorilla Glass?". xperiablog.net. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
19. scorpus57 (30 March 2013). "Review: Sony Xperia Z". Neowin. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
20. "Sony Xperia Z review: Zero hour". GSMArena.com. 17 February 2013. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
21. Quick Launch; Shutter Sound - Sony T-Mobile XPERIA Z 1s C6916 User Manual, p. 73
22. "How to take better shots with your Sony Xperia Z? Use Burst mode!". blog.gsmarena.com. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
23. "Sony Xperia Z - Rund 1000 Bilder dank Burst Mode in 68 Sekunden". GIGA (in German). 11 February 2013. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
24. "Xperia Z: Burst Mode picture quality better than Normal Mode | Xperia Blog". www.xperiablog.net. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
25. "Xperia Z Specifications". Sony Mobile. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013.
26. "Sony updates the Xperia Z to Android 4.2.2 with an OTA update". GSMArena.com. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
27. "Android 4.3 rolling out to Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Xperia Tablet Z". GSMArena.com. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
28. "Sony Xperia Z is now getting Android 4.4.4 update". GSMArena.com. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
29. "We're bringing Android 5.0; Lollipop to the entire Xperia Z Series". Sony Mobile. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
30. Vlad (7 September 2015). "Sony pushes Android 5.1.1 update to Xperia Z, ZL, ZR, and Tablet Z". GSMArena.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
31. "Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) update for Xperia devices". Support. Sony. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
32. FCC ID PY7PM-0280. FCC ID.io
33. Sony Xperia Z – Full phone specifications. Gsmarena.com.
34. FCC ID PY7PM-0270. FCC ID.io
35. FCC ID PY7PM-05200. FCC ID.io
36. FCC ID PY7PM-0520. FCC ID.io
37. "User Guide - Xperia Z" (PDF). Sony. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013.
38. FCC ID PY7PM-0220. FCC ID.io
39. Sony flagship Xperia Z and Xperia ZL Android smartphones first look | IT Business. Itbusiness.ca (29 August 2013).
40. "Sony's Xperia Z Smartphone Off to a Good Start: Executive". CNBC. NBCUniversal News Group. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.

External links

• Official website

Preceded by Sony Xperia T & Sony Xperia TX

Sony Xperia Z 2013

Succeeded by Sony Xperia Z1