Sony MWC 2018

[Mark316]

https://twitter.com/sonyxperia/status/965511954935803904?s=20

I think I'm more excited for this phone than anything else coming out just because there's such little info about it. Can Sony finally get it right?

What they need for success

1. A new design, get rid of the square corners, less bezel.

2. A better camera, they make great camera sensors yet they are wayyy behind the top competition.

3. A working fingerprint sensor in every country. If that means they have to put it on the back of the phone then so be it, but you can't keep disabling it in the US and expect it to sell.

4. Better availability. I'd like the option to buy the phone made for my country, not buy the Hong Kong version off Amazon. Things like VoLTE should work out of the box.

Even if they do all this they'll need to market the crap out of it because Samsung is dropping the S9 around the same time.

 

[Aneres11]

Oh I'm excited!
The XZ Premium was one of my favourite phones last year so I'm hoping to see some real progression as it is long overdue.

Sony often has amazing hardware and I even like their take on Android.

I love this time of year as an Android fan!

 

[co.ag.2005]

I wonder if this gets announced next week?. Looks a lot like the U11+ which isn't a bad thing. I definitely welcome a new Sony design and maybe some love for the US market.

You Now Have Our Attention, Sony

 

[Mark316]

Hmm so if that's the XZ successor I hope they announce the XZ Premium successor as well.

 

[Aneres11]

I'm not that keen on that picture.
However. I have done this with every Sony phone the last few years. Renders look rubbish but the phones are always so well made with good materials so they have to be seen / held to appreciate it.

Would also like to see an XZ2 Premium.

 

[Mark316]

Yeah that phone looks alright and all but if that's all they are offering this year instead of a proper flagship I'll probably just grab a Pixel 2.

 

[Aneres11]

Pixel 2 is an absolute winner.
I'd be interested to see if they've made some advacmenets with their camera, but doubt it.

Sony's cameras are generally pretty good, but low light performance leaves a little to be desired. The software is always on the heavy side too, and it often tries to do too much in post processing which makes the image worse.

Still, looking forward to learning more about it.

 

[Tsepz]

I wonder if this gets announced next week?. Looks a lot like the U11+ which isn't a bad thing. I definitely welcome a new Sony design and maybe some love for the US market.

You Now Have Our Attention, Sony

I have learnt the hard way not to set expectations high when it comes to Sony. When they separated from Ericsson the innovation really came to a crawl, which is such a shame as we all know Sony have the potential of being the best Mobile Manufacturer. Sony have all the ingredients to make the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note beater, but they choose to be so conservative, it is so annoying.

 

[mclld]

Yep, that is a rectangle

 

[Aneres11]

Kinda looking forward to this reveal.
I think it is 7:30am in my time (UK). I should be on my way to work then so by time I get in there should be some goodness for me to feast upon.

I am not in the market for another Android device, but I always like to keep an eye on Sony to see what they're up to with their phones.

Must admit, I am pretty gutted that they've removed the fingerprint scanner from the side of the phone. Absolute perfect placement IMO.

 

[rforno]

No headphone jack -- grr, but whatever.

Moving the fingerprint sensor from the side power button to the back -- show stopper for me. That was one of the nicest ergonomic things about the Xperias, and why I always bought them from overseas, where the FP scanner was enabled by default. I briefly had a Pixel but the FP on the rear just annoyed me no end.

I'm on an iPhone SE right now ... that and the Xperia compacts are the only decent sub-5" phones these days. :/

 

[Mark316]

If the XZ2 and compact are all they reveal this will be a huge flop. I'm still holding out hope that they'll surprise us with a dual camera 4k screened flagship beast.

 

[5105973]

It's hard for me to participate in this thread. It's just hard for me to think about Sony too much.

I was big into Sony products in the 80's and 90's. My first digital camera was a Sony Mavica. I only recently got rid of it. I have several AIBO robots. They even used me and one of my AIBO robots in one of their promotions. But their management could be so arrogant and that caused them to miss so many opportunities. And it kills me to hear their quality is anything less than the best. There was a time having a Sony was assurance you had the best. Anyway, I look forward to seeing what they have planned for this year.

 

[Mark316]

They've definitely had a large fall from grace since the 90s. I don't understand how they make lousy phone cameras, they make the damn sensors that everyone uses.

Their high end TVs are still the best money can buy though IMO.

 

[Aneres11]

Yeah I had a Sony TV before we moved into our bigger house end of last year and I bought the Lg OLED.

I mean, the LG is sublime for gaming (Xbox one x) but we have the Sony in our bedroom and I still marvel at how amazing the picture quality is.
And it was a low - mid tier TV too.

Re the XZ2.

I'm kinda disappointed. No camera updates from the XZ1 which is a huge bummer. Whilst they've said the software has been tweaked which will see a big improvement, I feel like we've heard it all before with Sony.
They've also now lost that side FPS which I understand for those in the US, but it's not as if the US are going to be there for them and buy this product in the bucket load.

I also don't really like the design all too much. However, Sony phones are often quite understated on the design side IMO, and they generally feel / look better in person than they do in pictures. That has been my experience of every one I've owned (XZ and XZ Premium) so I'm keen to get a hands on, but it's going to take something special to prize this Pixel 2 out my grasp.
[doublepost=1519646454][/doublepost]Some pics:

It's a bit U11 isn't it?!

 

[co.ag.2005]

Definitely has U11 vibes. I'm just excited we may actually get a proper Sony launch here. Maybe...

 

[Mark316]

Well Sony made it very easy to go ahead with the Pixel 2 purchase. Seriously, the same crap camera? They kind of deserve the crappy sales they get with their phones, they aren't doing a whole lot to sway people over.

I still want to buy their OLED TV though lol

 

[Aneres11]

Well Sony made it very easy to go ahead with the Pixel 2 purchase. Seriously, the same crap camera? They kind of deserve the crappy sales they get with their phones, they aren't doing a whole lot to sway people over.

I still want to buy their OLED TV though lol

I hear you.
It does always seem like they're behind the curve on virtually every front. Design, screen, materials, specs, camera.
They really shouldn't be either.

It almost feels like they've lost interest in the high end with the amount of mid - low tier devices that they continually seem to pump out.
I also think that the naming of these lower end devices being so similair to their high end also muddies the water for buyers too, as it's not really clear which phone is new or the flagship.

 

[Mark316]

Yeah I don't get it, they release pretty much the same phone every 6 months with no real meaningful improvements. They add stupid things no one cares about, like the 3D creator with the camera.

At least with the XZ Premium it had a great screen, this new version doesn't even have that. I think at the prices the XZ Premium are at now its a better pick up than this latest attempt.

 

[Aneres11]

Yeah I don't get it, they release pretty much the same phone every 6 months with no real meaningful improvements. They add stupid things no one cares about, like the 3D creator with the camera.

At least with the XZ Premium it had a great screen, this new version doesn't even have that. I think at the prices the XZ Premium are at now its a better pick up than this latest attempt.

The XZ Premium was amazing. I loved that phone and I agree - it's completely mind boggling that they would have that innovation almost a year ago and not then carry it over to their latest flagship.
Unless they're saving that for the XZ2 Premium but by that stage these latest devices will be old news and they'll likely be on the XZ4 and XZ5.

 

[vladi]

Sony camera is anything but crap. It's more of a myth especially in US where the last carrier sales were with Z3 model and after that very few had an experience with newer generation of Sonys. Here are some video comparisons

XZ2 completely exposes S9+ overprocessing

XZ2 vs iPhone X

 

[Aneres11]

Spwnt the evening watching some hands on videos for the XZ2. Definitely growing on me. I'd need to see one in the flesh I reckon but I like the looks of the phone the more I see.

One hundred percent would buy this over an S9 though.

 

[Mark316]

Sony is not up to par with the best right now. I can't speak about the XZ2 maybe they made some tweaks, but the XZ1 and XZ Premium over sharpened everything, and did poor in low light conditions.

Maybe if they cared more about pic quality instead of adding more megapixels they would do better. It's odd when everyone else is sticking with 12MP and Sony is using 19.
[doublepost=1519681129][/doublepost]

Spwnt the evening watching some hands on videos for the XZ2. Definitely growing on me. I'd need to see one in the flesh I reckon but I like the looks of the phone the more I see.

One hundred percent would buy this over an S9 though.

I agree about buying it over the S9 lol. I wish the screen was at least OLED though, that would have been more tempting.

 

[Aneres11]

Sony is not up to par with the best right now. I can't speak about the XZ2 maybe they made some tweaks, but the XZ1 and XZ Premium over sharpened everything, and did poor in low light conditions.

Maybe if they cared more about pic quality instead of adding more megapixels they would do better. It's odd when everyone else is sticking with 12MP and Sony is using 19.
[doublepost=1519681129][/doublepost]

I agree about buying it over the S9 lol. I wish the screen was at least OLED though, that would have been more tempting.

Yeah OLED would have been nice but Sony screens are always pretty good so that doesn't bother me too much.

Not sure on the colours though. Quite liking the blue one.

 

[Aneres11]

Spent some time this evening looking into the hands on mini 'reviews' of this phone tonight.

Oh Lord. I need to just accept it now.
I am going to buy it. It's just a case of what colour.