Sony Xperia xl specifications. Official deputy flag officer. Review of the Sony Xperia ZL smartphone. reasons to buy Sony Xperia ZL

3G, Android 4.4, 5", 1920x1080, 16GB, 151g, 13MP camera, Bluetooth

MAIN TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Nutrition

Battery capacity: 2370 mAh Talk time: 10 hours Standby time: 500 hours Music listening time: 40 hours

Additional Information

Features: HDR video camera Date of announcement: 2013-01-08 Equipment: phone, power supply, headset, documentation

General characteristics

Type: smartphone Weight: 151 g Controls: on-screen buttons Operating system: Android 4.4 Housing type: classic Number of SIM cards: 1 Dimensions (WxHxT): 69.3x131.6x9.8 mm SIM card type: micro SIM

Screen

Screen type: color TFT, 16.78 million colors, touch Touch screen type: multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal: 5 inches. Image size: 1920x1080 Pixels per inch (PPI): 441 Automatic screen rotation: yes Scratch-resistant glass: yes

Multimedia capabilities

Camera: 13 million pixels, LED flash Camera functions: autofocus, digital Zoom 16x Video recording: yes Max. video resolution: 1920x1080 Front camera: yes, 2.1 million pixels. Audio: MP3, FM radio Headphone jack: 3.5 mm Recognition: faces, smiles Geo Tagging: yes Video output: MHL

Connection

Interfaces: Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, IRDA, USB, NFC Standard: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE DLNA support: yes Satellite navigation: GPS/GLONASS A-GPS system: yes USB-host : yes Support for LTE bands: model C6503 - 800, 850, 900, 1800, 2100, 2600 MHz; model C6506 - 700, 850, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz

Memory and processor

Processor: Qualcomm APQ8064, 1500 MHz Number of processor cores: 4 Built-in memory: 16 GB RAM capacity: 2 GB Memory card support: microSD (TransFlash), up to 32 GB Video processor: Adreno 320 Memory card slot: yes, up to 32 GB

Other features

Controls: voice dialing, voice control Sensors: light, compass Flight mode: yes A2DP profile: yes

In January 2013, at the CES 2013 exhibition in Las Vegas, the Japanese company Sony presented two premium smartphones. The Sony Xperia Z smartphone, enclosed in a thin, glass and waterproof case, received more attention. Another model, called Xperia ZL, is very similar to the Xperia Z in terms of technical characteristics, but still different. The Zet El model cannot boast of dust and moisture resistance, but it has the largest ratio of display area to front side area of ​​all existing phones, i.e. it is the smallest 5-inch screen phone on earth (at the date of announcement).

Smartphone review

Technical specifications Sony Xperia ZL

• Dimensions: 131.7 x 69.8 x 9.8 mm
• Weight: 151 g
• Available colors: black, white
• Networks: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, LTE
• Processor: Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) 1.5 GHz
• GPU: Adreno 320
• RAM: 2 GB
• Built-in memory: 16 GB
• Memory card slot: microSD up to 32 GB
• Operating system: Google Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• Display: 5-inch LCD, 1920x1080 pixels, multi-touch up to 10 touches
• Rear camera: 13 MP with Exmor RS sensor
• Front camera: 2 MP with Exmor R sensor
• Battery capacity: 2370 mAh
• Interfaces: IrDA, USB, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth, TV-out, MHL
• Navigation: GPS (A-GPS) and GLONASS
• Other: accelerometer, proximity sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, magnetometer

Appearance

As the manufacturer itself notes, when creating the Xperia ZL smartphone, engineers tried to remove all unnecessary details in order to concentrate users’ attention on the 5-inch display. Apparently, the engineers succeeded in this, because the phone stands out with its compact size compared to other 5-inch devices, while the device’s display itself occupies a record 76 percent of the front panel. True, the thickness of the “ZL” model is almost 2 millimeters thicker than the “Z” model - 9.8 mm versus 7.9 mm. Although, what is a difference of less than 2 millimeters? The dimensions of the smartphone are as follows: 131.6 x 69.3 x 9.8. Weight 151 grams.

In 2013, the company decided to move to a new design concept. Previously, this was the Iconic Identity concept (NXT series) - many remember those models by the transparent insert at the bottom of the case. Then there was a series of devices in the “arc” style with a slight bend in the form of an arch, which first appeared at Sony Ericsson in the “Xperia arc” model.

Now on your smartphone Xperia Zeth El a new balanced design was implemented OmniBalance. The new concept makes the device symmetrical. The back panel is made of plastic, which has a corrugated surface. It is noteworthy that the corrugated surface is used only in the black device. In the white version of the device, the back wall is made of soft-touch plastic. The frame around the perimeter of the device is made of wear-resistant glass-filled polyamide. The device lies comfortably in the hand and does not slip.

On the right side of the device there is a “branded” aluminum power button in an ideal place, which fits perfectly right under the thumb of the right hand; slightly higher is the volume rocker, also made of aluminum. It’s nice that the power button was not placed on top, since reaching it while holding the phone in one hand would be very problematic. Below the power button is a mechanical button to start the camera. On the top edge there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack; On the left side there is a place for a microUSB connector (with MHL), with which the smartphone charges and communicates with the computer.

The device is available in two colors: black and white.

Screen

The basis of the front panel of the “ZL” model is a new display with a diagonal of 5 inches and Full HD resolution. Pixel density – 443 ppi, i.e. more than the famous Retina of the iPhone 4/4S/5. Please note that each pixel of this device has 3 subpixels, unlike the PenTile pixels of Samsung, where there are only 2 subpixels. The pixel of the Xperia ZL is an independent unit, and a pixel, for example, of the Samsung Galaxy S4, can only fully work in conjunction with neighboring pixels that complement each other (they are different).

The company's own technology was used in the production of the screen Reality Display without an air gap, so the touch panel is located closer to the display.

1. Glass
2. Removed layer of air
3. Touch layer
4. Display

The OptiContrast panel improves image clarity in bright sunlight and reduces glare. Thanks to this panel, the borders of the screen when the black phone is turned off are practically invisible.

Other technology Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2, is mainly relevant when viewing photos and videos. It increases contrast, making the image on the screen brighter and clearer.

The white color here is bright, and the black is deep and almost as rich as Super AMOLED displays. Color saturation changes slightly as the viewing angle changes. But even such a small flaw does not spoil the overall positive impression of the display.

Camera

Main Sony Xperia ZL camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels. The smartphone has the world's first sensor for mobile devices Exmor RS, which supports shooting HDR video, thanks to which excellent pictures and videos are obtained in difficult conditions, when the frame contains both very bright areas and, on the contrary, too dark ones. HDR allows you to expand the dynamic range, and when shooting you will not lose details either in the shadows or in the sun.

There are many different modes in the camera settings, among which it is worth noting Superior Auto mode. It automatically recognizes shooting conditions, lighting levels, etc. If necessary, HDR and noise reduction modes can be automatically turned on.

But that’s not all... The camera was also equipped with all sorts of other features. There is shooting of panoramic photos (technology Sweep Panorama), the ability to shoot photo in video mode, as well as a burst mode that allows you to take as many photos as you want at 10 frames per second (photos taken in this mode have a resolution of 9 megapixels).

The camera in this device is one of the main advantages over its competitors. The pictures come out decent, with almost no noise. We can’t say that the ZL’s camera is the best on the phone market (after all, it doesn’t reach the Nokia 808 PureView), but it is undoubtedly one of the best.

In the lower right corner of the front panel, which is somewhat unusual, there is a front camera with a resolution of 2 megapixels with an Exmor R sensor. Basically, front cameras are installed at the top, although such a “bottom” arrangement has been seen before. The front camera, like the rear camera, can record video with Full HD resolution and take pictures in HDR.

Filling

Xperia ZL/Z are the company's first smartphones that are built on the platform of a still top-end, but already inferior chipset - a quad-core processor Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) with a clock frequency of 1.5 GHz. This processor works asynchronously, i.e. its cores start and shut down depending on the load, which allows you to significantly save battery power. The same processor also has another important function - it has a built-in LTE/4G modem that supports frequencies of Russian operators.

Helping the processor handle 3D graphics is the Adreno 320 GPU.

The device has a module with 2 GB of RAM. The built-in flash memory is a fixed amount – 16 GB. Fortunately, the smartphone provides support for microSD memory cards (officially up to 32 GB, but the device recognizes 64 GB flash drives perfectly).

There was a time when large phones were called inconvenient and outdated. Time has replaced large devices with small, thin ones that fit into the smallest pocket. These small, ergonomic devices sold out like children going to school. It got to the point that phones “thinned out” to the size of Swiss knives. But then time played the other way. Buttons from phones disappeared, the concept of “telephone” began to become obsolete, and the devices themselves began to grow by leaps and bounds. Just 3 years ago I had buttons on my smartphone, but the display did not recognize fingerprints and was only 2 inches diagonal.

That's it, let's get over the nostalgia. Now smartphones can easily “make” what we used to call a computer, and at the same time they will be much more convenient for many simple tasks such as Twitter and talking on Skype. Thus, at the beginning of the year, new flagships from Sony were presented at CES 2013. The Xperia Z is slightly more expensive than the ZL and is not afraid of water. At the same time, the ZL has a number of its own differences. I suggest you look at one of the largest Sony smartphones – the Xperia ZL.

First impressions

The smartphone comes in a medium-sized box. On the black and white cardboard there are pictures of the device itself and logos of all sorts of bells and whistles. Inside is the smartphone itself, a charger with a removable cable, pieces of paper and a vacuum headset with replaceable rubber tips for different ears. Everything is packed in two layers, and fans of unpacking can enjoy the process of turning a new device into a used one for a couple of minutes. As usual, there are a lot of manuals and in two languages ​​(Russian / Ukrainian).

The first switch-on goes quickly and smoothly, with the exception of one point: for some reason, the device at point-blank range could not understand where it was and what time should be automatically set. After changing the time zone, things didn’t change much, and I set the time manually, which I haven’t done on technology for a very long time.

After turning it on and making the first settings, the new UI immediately catches your eye. What I had previously seen from Sony on Android simply upset me. I didn’t want to use the old interface options, although to undemanding users everything seemed less sad. I already liked the new look of the OS in Sony better, although it is not so radically different from the “naked” Android. Externally, the Xperia ZL is very similar to the Xperia Z - the only differences are in the back and the fear of water in the ZL. We will start talking in more detail with design.

Design, buttons, display...

Nowadays it is very difficult to call the design of a smartphone unique. They are all the same, the only difference is in the size and materials of the case. Of course, you can say for a long time: “This strip here is longer, and the corner is smoother - that’s it, it’s original and unique!”, but there’s nothing conceptually new. There are similarities with the Z-coy on the front and sides, but the rear parts are different. Thus, the front panel is completely covered with glass with a very thin frame around the perimeter. The side faces received the same glossy, almost mirror-like inserts with a slight grayish tint and fingerprints. It is worth noting right away that the device will be clean only for the first few seconds after the box, then it will magnetize all the dust, lint, etc. to itself. Personally, I wiped my smartphone right after my pocket, then after my T-shirt, then after a cloth for wiping smartphones, then I stopped trying to clean it of dust and resigned myself to it. Actually, this is why all the photos show a lot of dust - this is exactly what the smartphone looks like in daily use.

The back panel is no longer glass, like the older Xperia Z, but plastic. The shape also turned out to be different, slightly convex, which gives a difference in the thickness of the case by almost 2 mm. This plastic is covered with a textured mesh. In practice, such a “butt” gives the smartphone a touch of cheapness without being cheap. Yes, it’s not so scary to cynically throw it on the table, but holding it is not as pleasant as the Xperia Z, precisely because of the plastic back. Neither the silver Xperia lettering nor the speaker help the situation. The best solution would be to purchase the white version of the smartphone - its back surface is smooth and glossy, but, alas, it is also not without fault. There is also a 13 megapixel main camera and a flash on the back. At the bottom there is an unusual plug, under which the Sim and memory card are hidden. It will be difficult to lose the plug - it closes tightly and is additionally held in place by a rubber thread.

Of the side parts, the right one is the busiest. It houses the volume rocker, power button and camera button. The movement of the buttons is pleasant, I didn’t have any accidental presses, and the camera button pleased me with two “levels” of pressing: without pressing the button all the way, you can focus, and by pressing it all the way, you can take a photo; everything is like on adult cameras. On the left side there is a high Micro USB connector without a plug. The lower left corner has a hole for a wrist cord. The top side of the device received a headset jack, while the bottom side remained empty.

The front panel is covered with mineral glass, which is likely to be damaged in the same way as any other glass, even ten times tempered. They weren’t too greedy with the oleophobic coating, and as a result, prints will not often be wiped off on T-shirts, then with a cloth, and so on, dust will interfere more... On top under the earpiece there is a small Sony logo, at the bottom in the center there is a multi-colored notifier, a non-standard solution was the front camera in in the lower right corner, and next to it is a microphone. At first it seemed to me that they were too hasty with the front camera, but no, they stupidly missed the mark. We'll talk about this further, now about the front side. More precisely, its most important component is the display.

5 inches, TFT, Full HD, Mobile Bravia Engine 2, 440 ppi... And such lousy viewing angles. Logically, a device of this class should not even raise thoughts about it, but, unfortunately, it did not work out. Everything with the display is good, I had enough backlight to spare, the colors are beautiful and rich. But as soon as you change the angle of the display, the magic disappears, the colors fade, and the world no longer seems so colorful and cheerful. And this is from the company that produces quite cool TVs. In practice, problems with this are extremely rare, but for this money I would like not to argue for half an hour with the person sitting next to me that the picture could have been richer, but to finish this holivar with viewing angles.

Finishing talking about the design, I would like to note that the device turned out well, the assembly did not disappoint, almost everything is in its place (a subtle hint at the front camera). But there are a few little things left that I would not like. Regarding the case, it would be better if the engineers did not hide the SIM card with the memory card on the “back”, but did it like in the Xperia Z; the same goes for the rear plastic, the texture of which only reminds of cheap dialers. Personally, it’s not very convenient for me to use a device of such a diagonal, but I don’t experience any severe discomfort either. The fact that it is not always possible to perform the required actions with one hand is more than compensated for when browsing and watching movies; In games and applications, due to very high resolutions and unoptimized programs, some elements may be too small. Of course, the viewing angles turned out to be awkward, but for those who rarely move their smartphone in front of their noses, there will be no problems.

Cameras, photos and videos

With cameras in the Sony Xperia ZL, history repeats itself with TVs and displays. Previously, I met with Sony cameras a couple of times and was pleased with them, which is difficult to say about what turned out to be in our today's hero of the review. Let's start with the front camera. The resolution of this webcam was 2.2 megapixels, its quality is good enough for video calls, but its location means that on the other end your interlocutor will look not into your penetrating eyes, but into your nose. Alternatively, the interlocutor will look at his chin, depending on the usual position of the phone in his hand. Many, of course, will say that I’m looking in the wrong direction and that I need to do this into the camera, but let’s face it - everyone is looking at the interlocutor, and the problem will remain. There is only one way out - to turn the device horizontally, but by inertia everyone communicates in a vertical orientation - the way it is more common to hold a smartphone.

The main camera is located in the usual place and looks good on paper: 13.1 megapixels, autofocus, geo-tagging, face recognition, Exmor RS and all the other bells and whistles. Let's take a photo. It looks good from a smartphone, but if you look at it on a computer monitor, it’s so-so. The photos are not very sharp. The same can be said about night photography, and when you are still in the process of setting up the desired shot, there is as much noise on the display as there was snow in Kyiv in March. After you take a photo, the noise disappears, and with it the remaining sharpness. I suspect that the built-in noise-killing utility is always active, which would explain the weak sharpness. There is also a “Super Auto Mode”, but it is worse than the standard one, and if the situation allows, you can try tinkering with the settings - there is a lot of interesting and useful stuff there. As for video recording, you don’t have to try to shoot something fast and sharp - the shutter speed won’t be enough. But it records Full HD at 30 frames per second.

But in general, everything is tolerable with the camera. For those who do not focus on the camera in their smartphone, this will be enough. Personally, I don’t often shoot anything important with a smartphone and am more worried about the other side of the coin – performance.

Hardware, software and battery

The internals of the Sony Xperia ZL are the same as the Xperia Z, there are almost no differences. There is a standard flagship set - a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 processor with a clock frequency of 1.5 GHz, 2 GB of RAM, Adreno 320 video accelerator, 16 GB storage expandable with Micro SD memory cards up to 64 GB. In short, the same LG Nexus 4, for example, only with memory cards. This is sufficient for normal operation of the device; I did not notice any brakes. It happens that applications crash, but here everything is not so dependent on the hardware. In tests, the results are quite good: AnTuTu gave 20524 points, and NenaMark2 gave a tight 59.8 frames per second. The device heats up accordingly, but does not cause any significant discomfort.

The smartphone runs Android 4.1.2; there are no newer updates yet. The OS is supplemented with Sony's own shell, which looks quite good, but in practice you can find some minor inconveniences. But the lock screen looks much more interesting than its competitors. There are not hundreds of additional widgets for the lock screen, but only a quick launch of the camera (which is a little more convenient to launch with a button) and a music player widget. Unlocking occurs by swiping up or down on the screen, which is accompanied by an animation in the style of blinds. In general, everything works, the animations are pleasant, the menu is quite logical and convenient. A nice bonus was the ability to control the TV via the infrared port (located near the power button). Personally, I had no problems connecting to my LG TV, which surprised everyone around me.

The hardware's biggest problem is the 2370 mAh battery, which runs out in half a day. As soon as the device reached me, the battery charge was 2%. Towards evening, I charged my smartphone and went to meet with friends, it was around 19:00. Returning home close to midnight, I looked at the battery charge, it was 48% (and that's without playing for hours or serious pain). And it was like this all the time I was using it – the smartphone couldn’t last a full day. There are proprietary power saving modes that turn off mobile data transmission when the display is turned off, but then the smartphone function is lost. In general, after lying on the table for a day, even without a SIM card, the smartphone will lose at least half of its charge per day, and this is the biggest disadvantage of the device.

"Grey Cardinal" at the King's Court

Most readers who follow our publications certainly already know that Sony Mobile, the division of the Japanese corporation responsible for the production of mobile devices, “opened the season” this year by being one of the first to release its new top-end smartphone model called Sony Xperia Z .

The new product turned out to be very noticeable, although it acquired a somewhat scandalous status, thanks to its display, which seemed to many, to put it mildly, not the best solution on the modern market. But no matter how the Xperia Z model is criticized for its “overexposed” screen, we must give Sony its due: the company really did a good job presenting the market with a top-end smartphone that absorbed all the best developments of the Japanese company in recent years in many areas of its activities.

At one time we wrote a lot about the new product and even managed to do a detailed review of the model. Now it’s her “little sister’s” turn to undergo our “examination.” Not everyone knows that, along with the top-end Xperia Z, Sony demonstrated another new product in January called Sony Xperia ZL.

The model is also very noticeable; in terms of its hardware characteristics, it is practically no different from the flagship, and their screens, apparently, are the same. The differences lie primarily in the design. If the Sony Xperia Z was made in a “glamorous” style - all made of glass and with mirror surfaces - then its younger sister in this sense looks a little simpler. Not only is there not such a mass of glass surfaces, but also the case does not have certified protection against dust and water. In all other respects, however, the smartphone also turned out to be quite worthy of the title of top-end, and its price is not much lower than that of a flagship. In any case, this smartphone is quite worthy of its own separate review. So, let's start in order.

	Sony Xperia ZL	Sony Xperia Z	HTC One	Sharp SH930W	LG Optimus G
Screen	5″, IPS	5″, IPS	4.7″, S-LCD3	5″, S-CGS (VA)	4.7″, IPS Plus
Permission	1920×1080, 440 ppi	1920×1080, 440 ppi	1920×1080, 469 ppi	1920×1080, 440 ppi	1280×768, 317 ppi
SoC		Qualcomm APQ8064 @1.5 GHz (4 cores, ARMv7 Krait)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 @1.7 GHz (4 Krait 300 cores)	Qualcomm MSM8260A @1.5 GHz (2 cores, ARMv7 Krait)	Qualcomm APQ8064 @1.5 GHz (4 cores, ARMv7 Krait)
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB
Flash memory	16 GB	16 GB	32/64 GB	32 GB	32 GB
Memory card support	microSD	microSD	No	No	No
operating system	Google Android 4.1	Google Android 4.1	Google Android 4.1	Google Android 4.1	Google Android 4.1
SIM format*	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM	Micro-SIM
Battery	non-removable, 2300 mAh	non-removable, 2330 mAh	non-removable, 2300 mAh	removable, 2100 mAh	non-removable, 2100 mAh
Cameras		rear (13 MP; video - 1080p), front (2 MP)	rear (4 MP; video - 1080p), front (2 MP)	rear (8 MP; video - 1080p), front (2 MP)	rear (13 MP; video - 1080p), front (1.3 MP)
Dimensions	132×69×9.8 mm, 151 g	139×71×7.9 mm, 146 g	137×68×9.3 mm, 143 g	139×72×9.1 mm, 156 g	132×69×8.5 mm, 145 g

* The most common SIM card formats are described in a separate material.

Key Features of Sony Xperia ZL

• SoC Qualcomm APQ8064, 1.5 GHz, 4 cores
• GPU Adreno 320
• Operating system Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• Touch display IPS, 5″, 1920×1080
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 16 GB
• MicroSD card slot up to 32 GB
• Communication GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communication 3G UMTS HSPA+ 850, 900, 2100 MHz
• LTE Band I, III, V, VII, VIII, XX (2600/800 FDD are used in the Russian Federation)
• HSPA+ 21 Mbps
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Infrared
• Support DLNA, MHL, OTG, Media Go, MTP
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n (2 bands)
• GPS/Glonass
• Exmor RS 13 MP camera with HDR video support
• Exmor R camera, 2 MP (front)
• Lithium-ion battery 2300 mAh
• Dimensions 131.6 x 69.3 x 9.8 mm
• Weight 151 g

Equipment

The smartphone comes with in-ear headphones that are interesting in all respects (MH-EX300AP), naturally coming with a set of additional ear pads. The set also includes an advanced charger (1.5 A) and a USB cable for charging and connecting to a computer. All this is packed into a very small flat box made of soft cardboard, which clearly hints at the environmental friendliness of the packaging.

The waterproof Sony Xperia Z also comes with a charging dock, designed to avoid loosening the rubber waterproof plugs during each charging. Since the Sony Xperia ZL is not a protected model, the company didn’t bother with an additional docking station this time, which is a pity.

Appearance and ease of use

The design of the Sony Xperia ZL is quite unusual and distinctive. The front part, along with the protective glass of the display and mirrored side inserts on the edges, was inherited from the smartphone by its “big brother”. According to Sony representatives, the older model, Xperia Z, is the first of the new design concepts called OmniBalance. Its essence is the complete symmetry of all parts, rounded edges and smooth reflective surfaces on all sides. The same rounded edges, absence of sharp corners and edges, and the presence of mirror polyamide inserts on the side edges characterize the Sony Xperia ZL model.

However, when it comes to the rear, things are completely different. The back surface is made in the style of a “practical” design, in which the surfaces do not have gloss, but, on the contrary, are equipped with a soft-touch rubberized coating. Thus, the plastic ribbed matte back cover of the Sony Xperia ZL looks as if it is “not from here.” Matte practical plastic does not fit well in appearance with sophisticated mirrored side inserts, in which you can even see your reflection. These two parts are from different worlds, and it is obvious that ordinary plastic sides made of the same material as the back cover would suit the Sony Xperia ZL model more than these glamorous mirrors that came here from a completely different model.

As for the dimensions, the smartphone is slightly smaller in size than the flagship, but at the same time thicker and heavier. To tell the truth, the thin glass “plate” of the Sony Xperia Z, for all its external beauty and glamor, was not very comfortable to hold in your hands. Slippery and cold glass surfaces, thin edges and thin body thickness did their job. Things are completely different with the Sony Xperia ZL: a solid thick body comfortably fills the entire palm, the edges do not cut into the fingers, the rubberized plastic fits perfectly in the hand, does not reflect in the sun and does not get dirty at all. All this suggests that the Sony Xperia ZL smartphone is more convenient in its ergonomics than the flagship model, and this is its undoubted advantage.

• Sony Xperia ZL: 131.6 x 69.3 x 9.8 mm, 151 g
• Sony Xperia Z: 139×71×7.9 mm, 146 g

What else catches your eye when you first look at the Sony Xperia ZL is the extremely thin bezels around the screen. From a distance it seems as if they are not there at all, and there is only one display in your hand. The screen, by the way, is rather large - five inches, but due to these thin frames the smartphone does not look like a “shovel”, as large phones are now commonly called.

There are now no dedicated buttons on the front panel at all - they have moved to the screen in the form of soft buttons, and this makes the frames around the screen even smaller. By the way, a study was even conducted on this topic. Thus, according to Strategy Analytics, the display of the new product occupies 76% of the front panel, which is a record figure and makes the Xperia ZL the most compact smartphone with a five-inch display.

Another interesting thing: the front camera module on the front panel is not located on top, like everyone else, but on the bottom - in the lower right corner under the screen. Here, half a centimeter from the camera eye, is the microphone hole. Obviously, the developers, after thinking carefully, finally decided that these two elements should still be nearby during a video call, which is very logical.

The other module - the main, rear camera - is located, as it should be, on the rear surface, in its upper part. Its organization is also quite well thought out: although the module itself protrudes slightly from the body, the glass covering the lens is, however, protected from contact with other surfaces by a small rim. Because of this, wiping the glass may not be so convenient, but it will not be scratched. By the way, due to the camera module protruding from the back cover, the surface of the smartphone is raised above the table, which allows sound to freely exit the external speaker hole. This way, the sound is not muffled by the table surface if the phone is lying face up. Here, next to the camera and speaker grille, the camera’s LED flash and an additional second microphone are located. In other words, all the elements on the back surface are clustered this time at the top of the back surface of the smartphone.

However, not all. At the bottom there is a barely noticeable hatch - a lid cut directly into the plastic and closing in the manner of ordinary side plugs. But, unfortunately, this plug is not waterproof, which automatically deprives the Sony Xperia ZL of the status of a protected device. It's a pity. However, many of our regular readers note that it is much more tiring for them to tinker every day with opening and closing these rubber plugs that cover the side connectors of the device from water and dust, rather than occasionally taking advantage of such an additional advantage as the waterproof properties of the device. Well, we cannot but agree with this. Thus, it turns out that the lack of dust/moisture resistance on the Sony Xperia ZL smartphone also results in a certain advantage: there is no need to regularly open and close various side and end caps on the smartphone. The Sony Xperia ZL doesn't have any of them.

Returning to the cover on the rear surface: under this hatch there are only two standard slots: Micro-SIM SIM cards and microSD memory cards. In their organization, these elements resemble the legendary line of HTC smartphones: Hero/Legend. For those, too, not the entire back cover was removed, but only the lower part, which provided access to the card slots. True, unlike them, there is no way to remove the battery. The battery here is non-removable, and this is a definite minus. Whatever they say, a removable battery allows you to revive a frozen device, and sometimes these elements swell. Then you can’t do without a trip to the service center. However, this is what manufacturers are trying to achieve, isn’t it?

As for the rest of the interface elements, they are all located along the edges of the device, and, as mentioned above, they are all open. Everything is in order with the connectors: Micro-USB is embedded in the upper part of the left side, and the 3.5 mm audio output for headphones is traditionally located at the top.

The location of the two-position volume rocker is a little unusual: it is located on the right side, just above the round metal power button. It is impossible to see anything negative in this, only advantages: the user is deprived of the opportunity to get into a situation where, by pressing one button, he automatically runs into another one - on the opposite edge. Unfortunately, most smartphones bristling with an excessive number of buttons are guilty of this.

The Sony Xperia ZL is fine with this. The keys are large, soft, have a smooth deep stroke and a clear response. They feel great to the touch - everything is fine with that. As for the round power button emblem on the side, it has already been seen this year on at least four devices, so we can consider it a kind of metal emblem of the new generation of Sony smartphones. The generation that replaced devices with a green circle from Sony Ericsson.

And the last element that I would like to note are the nice holes in the lower left corner of the case. This is nothing more than a hook for attaching a cord to your hand or a bauble-keychain. An elegant and sometimes very useful solution.

On this, in principle, we can finish the description of the appearance of the Sony Xperia ZL smartphone. Of course, the smartphone turned out to be very, very high quality; there is practically nothing to complain about in its technical performance. The materials are expensive, all the details fit neatly, no cracks or flaws were noticed, as well as awkward and ugly parts and protruding elements. This is an expensive, high-quality smartphone from the top category, and it will cost accordingly. However, it is still very different from its older brother Xperia Z - precisely in the absence of a touch of expensive glamor. In other words, this phone is not for those who like to show off and show off their high social status - for those, the “mirror” Xperia Z is more likely to be suitable.

By the way, this is confirmed by the choice of colors of the new product. Unlike the Xperia Z, which has, among others, an unusual purple color, everything here is much more prosaic: only black or white options are available to the user who wants to purchase the Sony Xperia ZL.

Screen

The screen of the Sony Xperia ZL is just as strange as that of the Xperia Z. With any, even slight deviation of the view from the normal, the screen instantly turns gray and fades. Perhaps this is its main drawback. Otherwise, the Sony Xperia ZL display is good: no grain is visible, the pixel density is high, the colors are calm, and the responsiveness is excellent.

In numbers, the physical parameters of the Sony Xperia ZL screen are as follows: screen dimensions - 62x110 mm, diagonal - 127 mm (5 inches), resolution - Full HD 1080p (1920x1080 pixels), PPI pixel density is more than 440 ppi, which is now an outstanding, although not a record, figure. The latest “loner” from Taiwanese HTC set a record in this sense - the HTC One model has a pixel density of 469 ppi. Brightness has both manual and automatic adjustment, the latter based on the operation of the light sensor. Multi-touch technology allows you to simultaneously process up to ten touches, which is confirmed by tests. There is also a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. By the way, in this particular model I would like to note one irritating point: it is quite unpleasant, and sometimes even painful, to press the sharp upper edge of the smartphone with a very hard rim protruding above the glass to your ear. Feeling this, I immediately tried all the test smartphones available in the editorial office, but did not receive similar unpleasant sensations from any other model.

Sony representatives themselves in official sources call the Sony Xperia ZL display “Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine 2,” thus not forgetting to emphasize the presence of the Mobile Bravia Engine technology used in the smartphone. However, this name has no direct relation to the matrix itself: this technology is software, and it only works when viewing photos and videos in media players and photo galleries. In other words, software improves any photo and video images in terms of sharpness, contrast and color saturation. Well, the number 2 in the name is, rather, a purely marketing ploy: for an ordinary person, the difference when using the first or second version of the Mobile Bravia Engine is almost invisible. As for the physical properties of the display, it is not always known for certain what technology is used to produce the screen of a particular Sony smartphone model. Representatives of the company, answering this question, tactfully but firmly avoid this topic, mentioning only that suppliers of screens in different deliveries may be different, and therefore, screen production technologies may also differ slightly. Yes, all of these screens are manufactured using technologies developed by Sony, but the manufacturing factories themselves are owned by several different manufacturing companies.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion about the Sony Xperia ZL screen.

The smartphone screen is covered with a glass plate, onto which a plastic mirror-smooth protective film is factory-glued, which is relatively scratch-resistant, but still less hard than inorganic glass. The protective film has oleophobic (grease-repellent) properties, so fingerprints are removed more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass. Judging by the reflection of bright light sources, there is a very effective anti-glare filter that reduces the brightness of reflected objects.

When manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was 540 cd/m², the minimum was 36 cd/m². As a result, at maximum brightness in bright daylight you can use your smartphone without any inconvenience, and at minimum brightness you will be able to comfortably work with this mobile device even in complete darkness. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (apparently it is located in the upper right corner). The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider: if it is 100%, then in complete darkness the automatic brightness adjustment function reduces the brightness to at least 30 cd/m² (normal), in an office illuminated by artificial light it sets it to 90 cd/m² (acceptable ), in a very bright environment increases to a maximum of 540 cd/m² (as it should be). If the brightness slider is set to 50%, the values ​​are as follows: 20, 55 and 540 cd/m², if at 0% - 15, 25 and 540 cd/m². In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. At lower brightness, there is no backlight modulation at all, so there is no backlight flickering.

In the technical specifications, Sony, like many other manufacturers, indicates that a TFT type matrix is ​​used, without specifying its specific type. Apparently, if necessary, change the matrix to at least TN. It's a joke. Based on external features - viewing angles, behavior of the black field and color changes when viewed at an angle - the matrix here is either IPS, or something very similar. However, microphotographs of the matrix tend to suggest that it’s just “something.” For example, this is what the pixels of a typical IPS matrix of a mobile device look like:

And this is the pixels of the Sony Xperia ZL screen:

These photographs are arranged in order of decreasing brightness of the output hue, from white to dark gray. It can be seen that the ZL subpixels differ in outline from the IPS subpixels. You can also notice that as the hue brightness decreases, the dark spot in the center of each subpixel increases in size. Perhaps this smartphone has a matrix installed like:

But we will not insist on this version. The dark rectangle with a tail present on some of the blue sub-pixels may be part of the capacitive sensor integrated into the LCD panel. Interestingly, to compensate for the decrease in brightness, the area of ​​​​such subpixels is slightly increased. The photo below shows how these subpixels alternate:

However, from a practical point of view, it makes absolutely no difference what pixels the screen has. The main thing is how it shows. Let's return to this issue.

The screen of this smartphone has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large deviations of the view from perpendicular to the screen. When deviated diagonally, the black field becomes much lighter, but remains close to a neutral gray color. When viewed strictly perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is very good. The black-white-black response time is 10.4 ms (5.9 ms on + 4.5 ms off). The transition between halftones 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 21 ms. The matrix of this smartphone is clearly faster than is usually the case with similar devices. The contrast is quite high - 900:1. The gamma curve constructed using 32 points did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is 1.97, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates slightly from the power-law dependence:

The color gamut is slightly wider than sRGB:

Apparently, the components are well separated, and the spectra confirm this:

Note that color saturation is moderate, visually the colors are a little more vibrant, but not yet so oversaturated that color images appear distorted. On the significant part of the gray scale (dark areas can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the measurement error at low brightness is large), delta E is less than 4 and the color temperature is not much higher than the standard 6500 K:

In general, there are no special complaints about the color balance, but you can try to improve it, since this smartphone has the ability to adjust the balance of shades of gray using two sliders that change the color of the additional hue and its saturation:

The result of this correction is shown on the gray scale on the left side of the screen, and by touching this area with your finger, you can see the original version of the shades without correction. The change in shades is visible visually, but it is not visible in the “software” screenshots above, since the original color values ​​are read from the buffer.

We looked at what the proprietary Mobile Bravia Engine 2 function does with colors in a previous article about Sony Xperia Z. Comparing the screens of the Sony Xperia Z and ZL, we can come to the conclusion that the second screen is even slightly better, since it is brighter, more contrasty and initially has a slightly better balance of gray shades.

Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it, we used an LG IPS237L monitor that supports direct MHL connection using a passive adapter cable from Micro-USB to HDMI. In this case, output via MHL is carried out in a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels with a frequency of 30 frames/s. With an active MHL connection, regardless of the actual orientation of the smartphone, the image is displayed on the smartphone and monitor screens only in landscape orientation. The actual resolution is equal to the smartphone screen resolution - 1920 by 1080 pixels. Sound is output via MHL (in this case, the sounds were heard through headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of good quality. At the same time, at least multimedia sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume is not adjusted using the buttons on the smartphone body, but the sound is turned off at the minimum position of the volume slider. The smartphone connected via MHL is charging.

Video output using the standard player deserves a special description. To begin with, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”), we checked how video is displayed on the screen of the smartphone itself. Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 frames/ With). The results of this test (block entitled “Screen”) and subsequent ones are summarized in the table:

File	Uniformity	Passes
Screen
watch-1920×1080-60p.mp4	did not play
watch-1920×1080-50p.mp4	did not play
watch-1920×1080-30p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1920×1080-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1920×1080-24p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280×720-60p.mp4	Fine	few
watch-1280×720-50p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280×720-30p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280×720-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280×720-24p.mp4	Fine	No
MHL (monitor)
watch-1920×1080-60p.mp4	did not play
watch-1920×1080-50p.mp4	did not play
watch-1920×1080-30p.mp4	Great	No
watch-1920×1080-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1920×1080-24p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280×720-60p.mp4	Badly	a lot of
watch-1280×720-50p.mp4	Badly	a lot of
watch-1280×720-30p.mp4	Great	No
watch-1280×720-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280×720-24p.mp4	Fine	No
MHL (adapter)
watch-1280×720-60p.mp4	Badly	a lot of
watch-1280×720-50p.mp4	Fine	few
watch-1280×720-30p.mp4	Great	No
watch-1280×720-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280×720-24p.mp4	Fine	No

Note: If both the Uniformity and Dropout columns are rated green, this means that when watching movies, there will most likely be no or no amount of artifacts caused by frame spacing or dropouts visible. will not affect viewing comfort. “Red” marks indicate possible problems associated with the playback of the corresponding files.

It turns out that none of the files play back perfectly - the intervals between frames alternate unevenly, in one case a small part of the frames is skipped, and 1080p files at 50 and 60 fps actually do not play back. However, except for these two cases, it is quite difficult to visually notice artifacts.

With a monitor connected via MHL, when playing video with a standard player, an exact copy of the smartphone screen is displayed on the connected monitor. When playing video files with Full HD resolution (1920 by 1080 pixels) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed one-on-one, exactly along the border of the screen in true Full HD resolution. The brightness range displayed on the monitor slightly does not correspond to the original one - in the shadows the range is 14 shades, in the highlights - by 16, while on the smartphone screen all gradations of shades are displayed in the highlights and shadows (for video in the range of 16-235). The results of monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the “ MHL (monitor)" It can be seen that only files with a frame rate of 30 fps are ideally reproduced, which corresponds to the monitor output mode - 1080p at 30 fps. 1080p files at 50 and 60 fps are not actually played back, all other file types are at least played back with uneven alternating intervals between frames. However, the remark is the same as when discussing the display of the smartphone itself - with the exception of video files with 50 and 60 fps, artifacts may not be visible on fragments of other real films.

Additionally, video output (with a standard player) via MHL using an MHL adapter was tested. When using this adapter, output to the monitor was carried out in 720p mode at 60 fps, which determined the maximum actual image resolution. With the exception of resolution and frame rate, everything else - the nature of the interface output, charging, audio output and gray scale - did not differ from a direct connection via MHL. The test results are shown in the table above in the “ MHL (adapter)" It can be seen that up to 720p files at 50 fps, the output quality is quite good.

In general, despite the discovered “peculiarities”, an MHL connection can be used for games, watching movies, displaying web pages and other activities that benefit from multiplying the screen size.

Note that this smartphone implements several more functions related to working together with a TV, for example, the screen “duplicating” function, implemented using NFC and Wi-Fi technologies, as well as remote control. Apparently, these functions only work in conjunction with Sony Bravia TVs (and even then not with all models), so we did not have the opportunity to test or at least check their functionality.

Sound

There are no complaints at all about the sound of the Sony Xperia ZL speakers. It even seemed to me that the smartphone sounds better in some ways than its older brother. By the way, there may be objective reasons for this, related to the different materials used to make the cases. In other words, even if the built-in speakers of both models are the same, the sound can still be affected by the materials from which smartphones are made, just as, for example, wood or plastic can affect the sound of sound speakers. The glass Xperia Z has a more ringing sound than the Xperia ZL. There is also an opinion that the Xperia Z's speakers, protected from moisture, sound muffled than the Xperia ZL's uncovered speakers. Here, the sound of the external speaker is simply excellent: clear, smooth throughout the entire volume range, fully saturated with low frequencies, and there is enough volume for any environment. The speaker hole here, by the way, is not on the side, like the Xperia Z, but on the back. However, the rim around the camera glass, which raises the body above the surface, does not allow the speaker grille to overlap, and the sound, accordingly, is practically not muffled. The sound of the external speaker is additionally processed using proprietary xLoud technology. This technology, developed by Sony, enhances the volume of the main speaker without introducing (if possible) distortion into the sound. The speech of the interlocutor is easily recognized, the auditory speaker clearly conveys all the intonations and timbre of the voice, the auditory speaker also provides a wide range of frequencies, including low ones.

The standard audio player, traditionally called a Walkman, is rich in settings and additional software sound improvements, such as a built-in equalizer with ten preset values ​​to choose from (you can set your own), ClearBass, Clear Phase, xLoud technologies or virtual surround sound. Control of most settings is available if the ClearAudio+ function is turned off, otherwise all settings are left to the machine. By the way, the visualization of Sony players is excellent: everything is very beautifully drawn, there are many tabs, settings, improvements, it is not only convenient to use, but also aesthetically pleasing. Here you can edit tags and work with covers.

There is an FM radio in the smartphone, but traditionally it only works when you connect headphones that act as an external antenna. There are many radio settings. The Sony Xperia ZL has a voice recorder as standard software, but it is not called up in the usual way. You can find it not in the list of installed applications, but in the so-called small applications menu, which can be called up at any time by pressing the rightmost on-screen button. If you start the voice recorder during a telephone conversation, it will only record your voice - the voice of the interlocutor will not be heard. The resulting voice files are saved in the notes section; you should look for recordings from the voice recorder there.

The main, rear 13-megapixel camera is even more unusual. The developers say that the Sony Xperia ZL is the first to use the new Exmor RS sensor, based on BSI matrix back-illumination technology. Most of all, the developers praise the HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology here, which is used to create photographs in brightly lit environments. An HDR camera takes multiple shots of the same image at different shutter speeds and then overlays them to create the best quality photo. But the most amazing thing is that the HDR technology in the Xperia ZL smartphone can also be used when recording videos.

By default, the camera operates in the so-called super auto mode (iauto), and the maximum resolution that can be set is 12 megapixels with an aspect ratio of 4:3, then the photos are 3920x2940 in size. The maximum resolution of camera images is 13 megapixels, but this can only be achieved if you independently switch the shooting mode to normal. Then the resulting photos will have a size of 4128 × 3096, that is, in terms of those same 13 megapixels. Both the camera and the resulting photos are all exactly the same as the Xperia Z. Therefore, we will not repeat ourselves, we will only present comparative test images taken directly with the Sony Xperia ZL camera.

Photos taken in Normal mode with 4:3 (13 MP) and 16:9 (9 MP) aspect ratios:

Thanks to the built-in auto focus function, close objects, as well as text from paper or the monitor screen, can be captured on camera.

And a few more pictures taken with default settings, that is, those that the user will receive immediately after purchase “out of the box” (9 MP, 3920x2204, “super auto” mode).

The camera can shoot video in Full HD resolution 1080p, the quality is excellent, it can be used for home recording. Below are several videos shot at maximum settings at 30 frames per second. Videos are saved in MP4 (video - MPEG-4 AVC ( [email protected]), sound - AAC LC, 128 Kbps, 48 ​​kHz, 2 channels) and have a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels (16:9). For visual comparison, we shot another video in a resolution of 1280x720 (720p).

• Video No. 1 (45.7 MB, 1920×1080)
• Video No. 2 (28.8 MB, 1920×1080)
• Video No. 3 (19.4 MB, 1280×720)

The camera control settings are quite standard, most of them are familiar from other Android smartphones: it is possible to link geotags, add graphic effects, enable smile detection, panoramic shooting, and, of course, software enhancement can be used here using HDR technology (High Dynamic Range), including in relation to video shooting. There is image stabilization, and the shutter sound can be turned off.

In modern smartphones, the shutter can usually be released using the volume key - this is now implemented by many manufacturers, but not by Sony. At Sony, this key, in the old fashioned way, is responsible for digital zoom, which most people do not use. Therefore, a rather important point is the fact that the Xperia ZL model has a separate hardware key for controlling the camera. Let us remind you that the flagship model Sony Xperia Z does not have such a key. On the positive side, we can also note the ability to take photos while recording video; this function is already becoming familiar to most new smartphones.

Software

Sony Xperia ZL currently runs on the Google Android software platform version 4.1.2. As usual, the company installed its own shell on top of the standard OS interface, which has already become classic for modern Sony phones. The shell significantly changes the interface and adds several applications of its own. The desktop consists of five horizontally scrolling screens and a fixed panel of five icons at the bottom. The application menu also has several horizontal screens with a 4x5 matrix of icons, but the management of these icons is moved to the top - a convenient menu appears there for selecting, redistributing, deleting and various sorting. You can even organize your own order of distribution of program icons, which is convenient. It is also possible to create folders - both on desktops and inside the application menu.

In general, in terms of the internal arrangement of the interface and pre-installed applications in the Xperia ZL, everything is exactly the same as in the Xperia Z. Therefore, we will not repeat ourselves, we will only note that the model we are considering today has one noticeable difference - the IR port. Using an infrared transmitter, you can control various devices, from a TV to a set-top box, and all profiles are already included in the smartphone software; all you have to do is choose your model.

Telephone and communications

Sony Xperia ZL works not only in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, but also has support for fourth generation networks (LTE) in the bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20. Traditionally, this characteristic is marked as “This function is not available in all regions." For domestic users, band 7 is of interest, on which the operators Yota and Megafon operate. Thus, the Sony Xperia ZL is one of the few devices that officially supports Russian 4G networks, which can be a significant competitive advantage for some categories of users. On the other hand, we must understand that compatibility alone is not enough. The real effect of increasing data access speed depends on many external factors, including the quality of reception, cell load and operator channels. However, it should be noted that in the months that have passed since the first testing, the situation has improved: new devices are appearing, coverage is improving, and speed and quality remain at a high level.

The radio part of the tested Sony Xperia ZL smartphone is stable; no spontaneous signal losses or dropouts from the telecom operator’s network were noticed. The screen is huge, drawing keys, numbers and letters for dialing and the virtual keyboard for typing SMS messages is very convenient. In addition, the virtual keyboard of the Sony Xperia ZL has several options for keyboard layouts, as well as visual shells for them, so that everyone can choose the most convenient and attractive arrangement of keys from the presented options to suit their taste. It is also possible to enter text using sliding gestures from letter to letter.

No freezes or spontaneous reboots/shutdowns were observed during testing. When you bring it to your ear, the screen is blocked by the proximity sensor. The light sensor controls the screen brightness level automatically. The extraordinary LED indicator at the bottom of the case under the screen is very interesting: it can glow red during charging, as well as in many other colors during various events. A nice and unconventional solution is another plus in the balance for Sony for its constant search for innovation.

The device is equipped with the majority of modern network interfaces and wireless controllers: Bluetooth version 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n with support for both frequency bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), NFC, there is support for DLNA, MHL and OTG. It is possible to communicate directly with other devices via Wi-Fi Direct, as well as organize a Wi-Fi access point. To ensure fast wireless data transfer in mobile networks, the smartphone supports the HSPA+ standard.

The GPS module is assisted in determining the location by A-GPS technology; with its help, orientation on the terrain is carried out almost instantly. The phone also claims to support the Russian Glonass service. The cold start with the search for satellites took less than a minute.

Sony Xperia ZL easily mounts and recognizes any USB flash drive when connected via the Micro-USB connector. At least the experiment with the 32 GB flash drive was successful. The phone effortlessly reproduced all the file formats familiar to it directly from the flash drive - played videos, music, opened various documents.

The Sony Xperia ZL has support for NFC, a short-range high-frequency wireless communication technology that allows data exchange between devices located at a distance of about 10 centimeters. This technology is aimed primarily at use in mobile phones and payment terminals, and in some countries it is already being widely used for contactless payments, paying for public transport, or even personal identification. In our country, NFC has not yet become widespread, but already now the user of a smartphone that supports this technology can try it out in action. All you need to do is download and install the Yandex.Metro application, which, when you hold a travel ticket to your phone, can show the expiration dates and the number of trips remaining. Another application is offered by the domestic cellular operator MTS, which has organized NFC support for making contactless payments. The Mobile Wallet kit includes a special MTS SIM card with MasterCard PayPass technology, linked to an MTS Money bank card. In addition, the kit comes with an NFC antenna, which must be placed in the SIM card slot. That is, for such contactless payments, in any case, just a smartphone is not enough - you also need to obtain and insert a new special SIM card into it, and also open a corresponding account at MTS Bank. But in the case of a phone that supports NFC technology, you won’t also have to install an antenna - but this is not so simple, and in the iPhone, where the SIM card is pushed into the body through a slot, it simply won’t be possible to install it.

Sony has organized advanced support for NFC in its smartphones, setting up the production of NFC accessories and equipping its smartphones with software for working with these accessories. We are talking about so-called SmartTags. Such programmed tags-sensors are hung or pasted in any place in the house or car and serve to control the smartphone when brought to them. To exchange information between devices, short-distance communication technology - NFC - is used. When you bring your smartphone to such a mark, a certain mode or profile is activated, using a set of functions needed at the moment - turning on navigation while driving a car, for example.

Performance

The hardware platform of the Sony Xperia ZL is exactly the same as that of the flagship Xperia Z. The platform is based on the powerful SoC Qualcomm APQ8064 (Snapdragon S4 Pro), with a central quad-core Krait processor (ARMv7) operating at 1.5 GHz. It is supported in graphics processing by a powerful modern Adreno 320 chip. The device has 2 GB of RAM. The storage available to the user for uploading their own files is about 11 GB. Nominally, the system memory in the smartphone is 16 GB, but the remaining volume is used only for the system and pre-installed programs.

When you connect your smartphone to your computer, both storage devices are mounted as independent removable drives - provided, of course, that the memory card is inserted into its slot. MicroSD memory cards up to 32 GB are supported, but 64 GB are certainly recognized here.

We compared the hardware performance of the new product in various popular tests with the performance of other top modern smartphones we have previously tested. The Sony Xperia ZL, as expected, was in the top ranks, demonstrating very high performance results, but it cannot compete with the most powerful new product - the Samsung Galaxy S4. But the Japanese device can easily compete with another popular model among users, LG Optimus G, and is even ahead of it in some ways. Here are comparative tables made by the AnTuTu program. Our own results differ slightly from these, but the general balance of power is clear.

It remains to be noted that the results obtained when testing the Sony Xperia ZL model were similar to the results of the Xperia Z - the difference is within the margin of error. This is quite logical, because both devices are built on identical platforms.

In the Epic Citadel gaming test, in High Performance mode, the test subject gave an excellent result of 56.7 fps.

In the tougher Epic Citadel, High Quality mode, the Sony Xperia ZL showed an equally outstanding result of 55.6 fps - screenshots of both screens are in front of you.

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3	The video plays normally, the sound is only software¹	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3	The video plays normally, the sound is only software¹	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹

¹ sound in MX Video Player was played only after switching to software decoding; The standard player does not have this setting

Battery life

The capacity of the lithium-ion battery installed in the Sony Xperia ZL is 2300 mAh. The battery is non-removable, so you won’t be able to remove it and replace it with a new one yourself.

To save energy, the Sony Xperia ZL has a new battery mode - Stamina. It provides better battery management and increases the phone's standby time. If your phone has this mode enabled, when the screen turns off, the phone automatically closes unused applications that use a lot of energy, and launches them only when the screen turns on again. Wi-Fi by location also serves to save money: in this mode, the smartphone activates the wireless module only when it recognizes the presence of a familiar network, rather than keeping it turned on all the time.

We carefully measured the battery life in reading, gaming and video modes twice: with stamina enabled and without. The results, as expected, showed that the energy-saving mode does not have any effect on the duration of continuous operation in such artificially created conditions. Which is understandable: the system turns off some modules and applications when the screen goes dark, but in our tests it is always on, so the results were absolutely identical.

The Sony Xperia ZL is fully charged in exactly 2 hours.

Prices

The average retail price of the device in rubles in Moscow at the time of reading the article can be found by moving the mouse to the price tag.

Bottom line

The Sony Xperia ZL turned out to be very interesting due to the combination of its advanced characteristics, a strong hardware platform and some unique features. The differences from the flagship are minimal, and it’s not a fact that all of them are negative: for example, the presence of an IR transmitter or more compact dimensions with a similar screen cannot be listed as disadvantages. At the same time, the price for the Xperia ZL is several thousand lower than the flagship: our stores are now asking about 27 thousand for a certified device, and even less for an uncertified one. But even at this price, the Sony Xperia ZL has very powerful competitors. The closest of them seems to be HTC One, a new device from a Taiwanese company, the pre-order price for which is 27,990 rubles, which may not work in Sony’s favor. After all, the HTC device has a lot of interesting additional “goodies”, for example, an all-metal body and an unusual camera with a large matrix. Perhaps, in the price fight against HTC in our market, Sony will have to make room a little, because at the same price, the HTC model looks preferable.

How long can modern smartphones remain relevant? Usually, it depends on the manufacturer, who continues to support the smartphone, releasing new firmware and supporting it to the last.

The relevance depends very much on the component base of the phone. Flagship devices receive the best components, which are often ahead of their time, when budget smartphones are content with outdated technologies.

You can use flagship devices from well-known manufacturers (A-brands) for as long as possible, having the latest spare parts and receiving software updates for several years. I wanted to tell you about just one such device.

Specifications Sony Xperia ZL C6503/C6502:

• Display - TFT matrix, 5 inches, resolution 1980×1080 pixels, density 441 ppi, screen-to-front ratio 76%
• Chipset - Qualcomm APQ8064 (S4 Pro) 4 cores, frequency 1.5 GHz. Video accelerator Adreno 320, frequency 533 MHz
• Memory - 2 GB RAM, 16 GB ROM, microSD card slot up to 32 GB
• Main camera - 13 MP, Exmor R
• Front camera - 2.1 MP
• Battery - 2370 mAh, STAMINA support
• Dimensions - 131.6 x 69.3 x 9.8 mm with a weight of 151 grams
• Interfaces - micro-USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC
• OS - Android 4.1 with update to Android 5.1 and proprietary Xperia Home shell
• Colors - white, black and red

Experience using Sony Xperia ZL for 3 years

It so happened that more than three years ago I became the proud owner of a Sony Xperia ZL smartphone, which I continue to use to this day. By the way, I consider it one of the most successful Xperia devices in recent years.

This model was announced in January 2013 at the CES 2013 electronics exhibition along with the first smartphone under the letter Z.

Then, Sony decided to rethink its line by introducing the OmniBalance design concept, some ideas of which are still used today (for example, the round power button in budget smartphones).

The flagship was the Sony Xperia Z, which had water protection, powerful hardware and an attractive design. Before this, a rugged smartphone was considered to be a simple device in a massive case, but Sony showed that this may not be the case.

Its younger brother was the Xperia ZL - the same “Zetka”, but without moisture protection and in a different case. At the same time, the ZL had at that time the maximum amount of screen space on the front panel - 76% screen/front panel ratio! This made it the smallest smartphone with a 5-inch screen.

3 years in one hand

Let me start with why there was no desire to change it to newer Sony Xreria models. The fact is that Sony supported this smartphone with new firmware for a very long time. The initial version was Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Subsequently, the phone received Android 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.0 and the last official version was Android 5.1 Lollipop.

This allowed us to use the latest applications today. Also, with each firmware, the number of system bugs decreased, and the speed of operation increased.

Wear resistance

The body of the smartphone turned out to be very strong. He survived many falls on the floor (linoleum, tiles, asphalt), was exposed to moisture and dust, low and high temperatures. In my white version of Xperia ZL, after 2 years, the paint on various elements began to peel off. Otherwise, everything is very good: nothing is loose, nothing is wobbly, the camera window and screen are not worn out, it’s still not a shame to hold it in your hand. I would like to note that my friend, the black version of this smartphone does not have such problems with paint.

Camera

The Xperia ZL is equipped with two cameras: a front 2.1 megapixel and a rear 13 megapixel Exmor R. As for the front camera, its capabilities were enough for a long time. When the phone first came out, selfies were not yet so popular, so something better was rare in 2013. Of course, now even budget devices have 5 MP modules, so in this regard the device looks outdated.

However, the quality is enough for video calls through any services. The location of the camera in the lower right corner of the smartphone was not very convenient, as it did not allow talking while holding the phone vertically.

The rear camera of the Xperia ZL has shown its best side over the years. The quality is acceptable even now. In good weather, decent shots are obtained, and video is also taken well. However, due to lack of performance, we had to abandon AR modes, as they work very slowly and heat up the phone a lot.

I bring to your attention a selection of some, in my opinion, successful shots taken over the years:

Screen

The strength of the Xperia ZL when it was launched was its screen. The FHD matrix provides a pixel density of 441 ppi, which gives maximum clarity even now. The screen is made using TFT TN technology, so the picture is inferior to any modern IPS and AMOLED matrices, and has poor viewing angles, which is one of the main disadvantages of the device. I consider the main advantage to be high brightness and readability in direct sunlight.

Performance and battery life

The platform used is Qualcomm APQ8064, 1500 MHz, also known as S4 Pro, Adreno 320 video accelerator and 2 GB of RAM. At the time of its release it was one of the most powerful platforms. The smartphone simply flew on it, and any toys went without problems.

Now the device’s performance is not enough and only thanks to the optimized firmware the device can be used, although many applications, such as 2GIS, take a very long time to load.

What is there to be surprised about, because even the budget smartphone Xperia XA 2016 on the Mediatek P10 platform is more productive. The device heats up noticeably, and when the phone is used for a long time, it literally begins to burn your hands.

From left to right: Antutu, Geekbench and 3dmark.

Battery life was not the device's strong point. A 2370 mAh battery coupled with a power-hungry platform and a TFT screen is clearly not enough for long-term operation.

However, the STAMINA mode helped a lot, as it saved precious percentages of charge. I would like to note that after three years of use, with approximately one charge per day, the device does not yet require battery replacement. The capacity, of course, has dropped, but the percentages do not “jump”, although there is a noticeable reduction in battery life.

Software

The latest firmware version runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop, which can already be considered outdated. At the same time, you can bring your phone to a modern look using various programs.

For example, I became a member of the Xperia Home Beta program, which allowed me to get a new version of the shell. Application icons from the Xperia X line can be obtained by installing the appropriate themes from the store. Also, I really liked the new official Sony themes in the spirit of PlayStation.

The system speed is decent, everything works quite quickly.

Communication and sound

There were no complaints about the quality of communication. The sound of the speaker is loud, but it only became so on the latest firmware versions. Before this it was much quieter, which was quite annoying. The vibration is strong, but very strange in sound, rattling. The sound in the headphones is decent for its time.

Xperia ZL had two versions with differences in 4G support; there is no dual-SIM version. I got the C6502 model, which differed from the basic one in the absence of 4G. For a long time this did not pose a problem, since 4G coverage in 2013 was worse than it is now.

A very unusual compartment for SIM and MicroSD cards. There is also an insert with information and a forced reboot button.

***

As a result, I can say that the Xperia ZL has faithfully served its intended purpose and continues to function properly.

What advantages can I give to this gadget after such a long use?

Pros:

Stylish design

Powerful platform for its time

Long-term software support for the device from Sony

Not bad cameras

Excellent screen behavior in the sun and its high resolution

Small size for 5″ screen

Minuses:

— Small screen viewing angles

— The phone case in the white version is prone to paint peeling

— Inconvenient placement of the front camera

The Xperia ZL is a worthy representative of the Sony smartphone line, created in an era when the company showed very interesting, competitive and desirable devices. Sony Mobile tried their best to support this device, which evokes respect and a desire to continue using the products of the Japanese company.

The only logical question arises: what can you take as a replacement? For a long time, Sony produced beautiful phones, but inferior in key parameters, which significantly crippled the mobile business.

The Z1, Z2, Z3 and Z3+ (Z4) lines are no longer relevant, since they do not have a fingerprint scanner, the front cameras are weak, some of the models have problems with defects and overheating, and so on.

The Xperia Z5 series costs almost the same as the Xperia X and XZ, but the shell is outdated, the scanner is not the most sensitive and the cameras are worse. The situation was slightly aggravated by the industry's transition to the USB-C connector, which seems to me more convenient and modern, which immediately made many good smartphones with old micro-USB obsolete.

The situation changed in the spring of 2017, when the stunning and balanced Xperia XZs was presented at MWC. Finally, smartphones have appeared that are more modern in all respects than the old ZL, and this difference is already felt very strongly.

At first glance, the new products do not have any weaknesses and are filled to capacity with the spirit of Sony Style. If their prices are competitive, then good sales are guaranteed.

If you still use old Xperia devices, then tell us about them in the comments. What do you want to change them to and why?