Sony Xperia Z2

The Sony Xperia Z2 is an Android smartphone manufactured by Sony and released in April 2014. Under the codename "Sirius", Xperia Z2 serves as the successor to the Sony Xperia Z1. Like its predecessor, the Xperia Z2 is water and dust proof with an IP rating of IP55 and IP58. The phone features a new IPS LED display, a Snapdragon 801 processor and the ability to record 4K videos.^[4] The Xperia Z2 also allows removable microSD storage.

It was unveiled alongside the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet and the Sony Xperia M2 during the 2014 Mobile World Congressin Barcelona, Spain, on February 24, 2014,^[5][6] and was first released in Taiwan on March 24, 2014,^[7] in Singapore on April 5, 2014,^[8] and entered more markets between April and May 2014. In the United States, the Xperia Z2 was released unlocked through the Sony Store on July 21, 2014.^[9]

Many reviewers praised the phone's screen, camera and waterproof design, but criticized its size and some camera software issues

Hardware[edit]

The Sony Xperia Z2 features a 5.2 inch BRAVIA IPS LCD Triluminos display with a resolution of 1080 by 1920 pixels (Full HD) with a pixel density of 424 ppi.^[11] Additionally, display features such as Live Color LED technology reproduces richer colours and more uniform backlighting as compared to the Sony Xperia Z1.^[12] It has a large 1/2.3" 20.7megapixel camera with Sony's in-house G lens with Sony BIONZ for mobile image processor and Exmor RS for mobile image sensor. The camera is capable of HDR and 4K video recording. It also supports 4K video output via MHL 3.0.^[13]It also features a front-facing camera of 2.2 megapixels. The phone is available in three different colors, black, purple and white.^[14]

On the inside, the Xperia Z2 features a slightly tweaked Snapdragon 800 processor (known as Snapdragon 801) clocked at 2.3 GHz sealed with a high capacity 3200mAh battery, 3GB of RAM with 16GB (11.57GB user accessible, as shown on the device) internal storage and has microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC support up to 128GB (note that SD card can be used for app storage under android Lollipop v5.0.2 and later). The Xperia Z2 is lighter and also thinner than its predecessor weighing at 163g and measuring 146.8mm by 73.3mm by 8.2mm. For connectivity, the phone supports NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA and FM radio.^[15] The ability to connect an external USB device is a feature otherwise known as USB OTG which the Xperia Z2 also supports.^[16] Digital noise cancellation technology is also built into the phone which works by using the headsets included with the phone

Software[edit]

The Xperia Z2 runs the Android 4.4.2 "KitKat" operating system with Sony's custom launcher with some notable applications additions, such as Sony's media applications (Walkman(currently updated to music), Album and Videos). With NFC on the Xperia Z2, it allows 'screen mirroring' to mirror what is on the smartphone screen to compatible TVs or play music on a NFC wireless speaker. Additionally, the device also includes Sony's battery stamina mode, which extends the phone's standby up to 4 times. Several Google applications (such as Google Chrome, Google Play, Google Search and Voice, Google Maps and Google Talk) are also preloaded onto the phone. New features added to the software includes 'Smart Backlight' - which keeps the phone display on for as long as the user is looking at it and 'Glove Mode'.^[12]

Sony announced on their blog that the whole Xperia Z series will be getting the Android 5.0 "Lollipop" update. The update will be carried out at the start of 2015.^[17]

Android 5.0 Lollipop started rolling out on 7 April 2015. The update in the United Kingdom rolled out on 16 April 2015.

Sony announced on their blog that the Xperia Z2 will get Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow after the release of Xperia Z5

Marketing[edit]

In June 2014, the Xperia Z2 was announced as the "official smartphone" of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.^[18] In Sweden, customers who purchased the phone also received one of Sony's wearable devices, the Sony SmartBand SWR10