Sony announces Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact and Z3 Tablet Compact

Sony has announced two new smartphones at its press conference at IFA: the 5.2″ Xperia Z3 and the 4.6″ Xperia Z3 Compact. The company also comes with a small tablet in the Z series for the first time: the 8″ Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact

The Xperia Z3 is the successor to the Xperia Z2, a phone that has only been in the shops for a few months in the Benelux. The differences between the two models are therefore not very large; the Z3 is again a 5.2″ Android phone with a full-HD screen, a Snapdragon 801 soc and 3GB of RAM. The only changes on the hardware side are the clock speed of the soc, which has been increased to 2.5GHz, the capacity of the battery, which has been reduced by 100mAh to 3000mAh, and the brightness of the screen: it is now a maximum of 600 cd/m2.

The phone runs on Android 4.4.4, supplemented with Sony’s own skin, which has hardly changed since the previous version. Sony has, however, built in support for high-res audio, so that, for example, .flac files can be played. The camera sensor and software are the same as the Z2, while the lens is slightly wider. The outside of the Z3 is a bit rounder than the Z2 and the various flaps have been made smaller. The corners have been adjusted and now act as a kind of bumper if the phone falls to the floor, according to Sony, which should reduce the chance of damage. The case is still dust and water resistant, but the ip rating has been increased from ip58 to ip68, meaning it’s even more dustproof.

Sony also introduces the Xperia Z3 Compact, a phone that has many similarities with the Z3, but is a lot smaller. The Z3 Compact is the successor to the Z1 Compact from earlier this year; the name Z2 Compact is therefore skipped by Sony. Compared to that previous model, the screen has become larger – from 4.3″ to 4.6″ – but the housing is almost the same size, so that the bezels around the screen are a lot thinner. The resolution has remained the same at 1280×720 pixels.

The Snapdragon 800-soc from the Z1 Compact has been exchanged for the Snapdragon 801-soc and the battery capacity has been increased from 2300mAh to 2600mAh. The housing has also been adjusted: the speakers are now located on the front of the phone, above and below the screen, and the edge is also slightly convex, just like with the Z3. The corners of the Z3 Compact should also be able to absorb hard hits.

The Xperia Z3 gets a suggested retail price of 649 euros, while the Xperia Z3 Compact should cost 549 euros. Both smartphones will hit stores in the fall.

The latest addition to the Z series is the Z3 Tablet Compact, an 8″ tablet with a screen resolution of 1920×1200 pixels. This device is also equipped with a Snapdragon 801 soc. According to Sony, the tablet weighs 270 grams. the lightest in its class and on a full charge it should last 13 hours.The version with 16GB storage and WiFi will cost 399 euros, a version with 32GB and WiFi should fetch 449 euros and a 4g edition will have a price tag from 499 euros.