MWC: Moto G5

Premium for All’ is Lenovo’s new motto for
its G5 phones, the Moto G5 and Moto G5
Plus, which aim to o er the build quality and
feel of a fl agship device at decidedly non-fl agship
prices. That’s especially true of the G5, which
o ers a metal body, rapid charging, and fi ngerprint
sensor controls – all at a sub-£200 price.
Price
The Moto G5’s best feature is arguably its price:
the handset will retail in the UK for just £169 for the
2GB RAM model, and £179 for a version with 3GB.
That puts it fi rmly at the low end of the mid-range
MWC: Moto G5 Drastic ds emulator apk
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ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 53
smartphone market, and right in line with the usual
pricing for the Moto G range.
The G5 will release in the UK some time in March
2017, and the 2GB model will be available from
Carphone Warehouse, Tesco, Argos, and John
Lewis – O2 will also sell the 2GB G5 in an exclusive
blue colour. Meanwhile the 3GB version will be sold
by Amazon and the Motorola online store.
Design
Design is where the G5 has seen the biggest
overhaul from its predecessor, the Moto G4. The
G5 features an aluminium body – instead of the
G4’s plastic – which means it immediately feels like
a more expensive phone than it is. The 5in display
stretches most of the way to the sides of the body,
though there’s still plenty of bezel at the top and
bottom – it’s not quite that premium.
The rear of the phone is dominated by the large
camera aperture, which sits above a brushed metal
Motorola ‘M’. At 144.5g, it’s a comfortable weight
(though has that reassuring heft of any metalbodied
device), while it measures 144.3x73x9.5mm
- small enough to very comfortably use in one hand.
It’s available in grey or gold (and that O2-exclusive
blue model) – we spent our hands-on time with the
Lunar Grey model, which is attractively understated.
The G5 doesn’t boast the sort of striking design
that’s likely to turn heads - at least not until you
tell someone how little you paid for it. It’s mostly
straightforward, unassuming stu , but it’s the feel
of the phone, and its build quality, that really sells
it. This is a phone that feels and looks well-made
– ‘cheap’ never once sprang to mind. It’s simple,
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54 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36
it’s elegant, and there aren’t many better looking
phones that will cost you this little.
Hardware
O ering that sort of design and build quality at
less than £200 comes at a price of course, and
the Moto G5’s internal specs aren’t going to blow
anyone’s mind. Still, it should o er very solid
performance – and it has a few bells and whistles
that can still impress.
It’s powered by a Snapdragon 430 with a 1.4GHz
octa-core CPU and 450MHz Adreno 505 GPU.
That’s the same processor that’s in the new Nokia
6, which costs about £50 more than the G5, though
it’s also in the Lenovo K6 and some Xiaomi Redmi
models around the same price. It’s not going to
blow away any benchmarks, but in our time with
the G5 it felt snappy and responsive, and o ers
plenty of power for the average user.
The 5in display is full 1080p and 441ppi,
with crisp, bright colours. Below that you’ll fi nd
the fi ngerprint sensor, which doubles up as a
replacement for Android’s on-screen buttons.
In the UK, the G5 comes with 16GB of on-board
storage, along with support for microSD cards up
to 128GB. You’ll also get a choice between 2- or
3GB of RAM – with only a £10 price di erence,
we’d fi nd it hard not to recommend opting for
the higher-specifi ed model, as it’s likely to o er
a noticeable performance improvement for a
pretty negligible extra cost.
The rear camera is 13Mp with LED fl ash and
phase detection autofocus, while the front camera
is 5Mp. Taking photos with the autofocus was
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almost instantaneous, and it held up well even in
the challenging lighting of a trade show like MWC.
There’s a 2800mAh battery, which should
provide a full day’s usage pretty comfortably,
and it also boasts rapid charging via Micro-USB
– another luxury for this price range. It should
provide four hours of battery life after just 15
minutes of charging, though we didn’t get a
chance to test that out in our hands-on time.
There’s also Bluetooth 4.2, 5GHz Wi-Fi, and
a water-repellent coating. What you don’t get is
NFC, so you won’t be able to use Android Pay or
its equivalents. Don’t worry though – you do get
a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Software
The G5 comes loaded with Android 7.0 Nougat,
and runs a version that’s close to stock, with
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a few ‘Moto experiences’ added on. What that
means is that if you’re looking for something not
far from the pure Android experience, but don’t
want to splash out on the Google Pixel, the G5
could be a good option.
It’s also one of the fi rst phones included in
Google’s new expansion of the Google Assistant
services, previously limited to only a handful of
handsets. Eventually you can probably expect the
new AI assistant to be ubiquitous across Android,
but for now this will be one of the cheapest ways
to get your hands on it.
Finally, one welcome addition to the Moto G5
is the way it makes use of the fi ngerprint sensor.
Lenovo has already experimented with using the
sensor to replace Android’s on-screen controls
– the Lenovo P2 is a good example – but the G5
and G5 Plus take it one step further. You can now
swipe left across the sensor to go back, tap it for
home, and swipe right to open the list of apps for
multi-tasking. It’s a much more intuitive system
than the P2’s, which relies on combinations of
tapping, holding, and pressing the sensor button,
and within seconds we were comfortably swiping
away. It’s an especially welcome addition given
the G5’s relatively petite 5in screen – the extra
screen real estate gained by removing the onscreen
buttons makes the display feel much more
expansive than it really is.
Verdict
There’s fi erce competition in Android’s mid-range
market, but the Moto G5 looks like a clear standout.
The build quality, and battery all feel like they
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belong on a much more expensive phone, while the
fi ngerprint gesture controls genuinely improve the
Android experience, while making the most of the
smaller screen size. And with all that at £169, you
just can’t argue with the price. Dominic Preston
Specifi cations
• 5in (1920x1080, 441ppi) touchscreen, 441ppi
• Android 7.0 Nougat
• 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 CPU
• Adreno 505 GPU
• 2- or 3GB RAM
• 16GB storage
• 13Mp main camera, LED fl ash, support for
1080p video at 30fps
• 5Mp front camera
• 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5GHz)
• Bluetooth 4.2
• 4G LTE
• Nano-SIM
• 2800mAh removable battery
• Micro-USB rapid charging
• MicroSD support up to 128GB
• Water-repellent nano-coating
• 73x144.3x9.5mm
• 144.5g
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£259 • motorola.co.uk
L
enovo’s Motorola Mobility used MW

MWC: BlackBerry KEYone

KEYone is going to be the best BlackBerry
phone on the market when it comes out in
April. It just should have existed about three
years ago instead of the Passport.
Or, the Passport should have run Android. But
after we took the KEYone for a spin at MWC in
Barcelona, maybe we can forgive BlackBerry
for its tardiness. The KEYone was just about
worth the wait, and is a strong Android device
regardless of the brand.
Price
The KEYone will be available in the UK ‘during April’
according to BlackBerry and we will report the
MWC: BlackBerry KEYone Drastic ds emulator apk
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ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 47
o cial sale date as soon as possible. It will retail
for £499 in the UK.
Design
It’s no secret anymore that BlackBerry phones are
now designed and manufactured by its hardware
partner TCL. Thankfully, as soon as you hold the
KEYone, it doesn’t matter. Quality has not been
lost; this is pure BlackBerry.
The device has a pleasing weight to it, unlike
the light, slippy DTEK60, which was BlackBerry
in spirit but not in practice.
The KEYone brings the physical keyboard
back and is the fi rst BlackBerry handset to do
since 2015’s Priv. This one is called a Smart
Keyboard and, to be fair, it can also claim to be
just that. The keys are small and square like
the Priv’s, with an attractive see-through tone
and the familiar metal rim between the keys
like the classic Bold handsets circa 2010. They
click pleasingly unlike the comparatively soft
response found on 2014’s Passport.
The KEYone may have a clunky name, but the
build quality on show is far from shoddy. It is truly
premium, something we couldn’t say of either the
DTEK50 or even DTEK60. The silver metal frame
recalls the Passport while framing the unusual
4.5in display and black keyboard.
The back of the phone has a rubbery grip
material that hardcore BlackBerry keyboard
fans will approve of – the handset never feels
like it’s going to slide out of your hands, plus
the slim form means you can use it one-handed
with relative ease.
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This rubber grip is interrupted only by the
familiar BlackBerry logo and the camera with
fl ash. The right edge houses the volume rocker
and familiar convenience key for opening an app
of your choice, while the left is clean metal save
for the power/lock switch. The bottom has two
speakers and USB-C port. The look is rounded
o with the nice touches of permanent capacitive
navigation buttons and a fi ngerprint sensor in the
spacebar key.
Hardware
The KEYone measures 149.1x72.4x9.4mm, an
odd shape at fi rst at 3:2, but the 4.5in screen is
actually perfect for a device of this size. Having
the physical keyboard means the touchscreen
isn’t ever obstructed by a software keyboard
(though you can interestingly turn on an on-screen
keyboard if you want).
That touchscreen is an IPS LCD with a resolution
of 1620x1080 and 434ppi and uses Gorilla Glass 4.
Just above it is the 8Mp front-facing camera, while
the lens on the rear is a 12Mp with the same sensor
as the Google Pixel. We’ll have to wait and see if it
produces similar quality images in our full review. It
can at least record in full 4K at 30fps.
TCL has made some interesting spec decisions,
but they make sense to us. The octa-core 2GHz
Snapdragon 625 may not be cutting-edge highend,
but it needn’t be for a phone whose intended
target market are more concerned with battery life
and power e ciency than processing speeds.
The 3505mAh battery is the largest ever for
a BlackBerry, so hopefully paired with the 625
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processor we should see a phone that can last
well into a second day o a single charge. It
will certainly charge quickly with the Qualcomm
Quick Charge 3 support.
All regions will get the KEYone with 32GB
storage and 3GB RAM, with a microSD slot for
expansion up to 2TB.
So far, so ordinary for an Android device in
2017. But that’s the thing – Android has turned
this BlackBerry into a genuinely viable choice for
consumers again, pairing good quality hardware
(and a touch of nostalgia) with Nougat 7.1.
Software
It’s great that the KEYone will ship with Android
Nougat 7.1, but it’s the tweaks that the company
makes to the software that work excellently with
the hardware on o er. BlackBerry Hub remains an
excellent centre for all your worldly notifi cations,
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50 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36
with the excellent ‘pinch to see unread’ feature one
our favourite ever, not just on a BlackBerry.
The DTEK software is here, as it was since the
Priv, and for the average consumer there might
be a touch too many BlackBerry apps preloaded.
No matter; it relies on preloaded Google apps too
such as Gmail and Messenger for SMS to avoid
doubling up on apps.
Another great feature is the widgets available
right from an app icon. If there’s three dots
underneath an app, you simply swipe up and
a mini widget window to view info quickly
(particularly with the calendar app). There’s also
the ability to assign things specifi c as composing
a new email to a particular person using a one
button keyboard shortcut from the home screen.
Once you’ve used the KEYone for a time, you’ll
defi nitely benefi t from these little perks.
The software remains oddly unremarkable on
the DTEK60 – but with the physical keyboard of
the KEYone it makes so much more sense. You can
swipe up on the capacitive keyboard to autofi ll a
suggested word. This just doesn’t work intuitively
on a touchscreen and we’re excited to see
BlackBerry refi ne hardware to work with software
better on the KEYone.
Verdict
The KEYone isn’t perfect, and it may well struggle
to sell. However we are excited by the time we’ve
had with it. It marries BlackBerry’s (and TCL’s)
undoubtedly stellar design tastes with software
that helps you get stu done. Maybe it’ll even be
enough for people who want to use Instagram as
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ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 51
well as Gmail to pick one up. The company still
has a way to go but the KEYone is a confi dent
step in the right direction. Henry Burrell
Specifi cations
• 4.5in 1620 x 1080 IPS touchscreen, 434ppi
• Android Nougat 7.1
• 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 CPU
• Adreno 506 GPU
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB storage
• 12Mp main camera with LED fl ash, support for 4K
video at 30fps
• 8Mp front camera
• 802.11ac Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 4.2
• 4G LTE
• Nano-SIM
• GPS
• NFC
• 3505mAh non-removable battery
• 149.1x72.4x9.4mm
• 180g

MWC: Huawei P10

Huawei took to the stage at MWC 2017 to
show o its’ 2017 fl agship, the P10. It has a
focus on portrait photography and design,
but does it perform as well as Huawei claims?
Price
Despite announcing a €649 price tag during the
event, we’re not sure about a specifi c UK price or
release date on the upcoming P10 just yet.
Design

Huawei has a reputation for o ering high-end

design and materials in its smartphones, and the
Huawei P10 is no di erent. Featuring a refi ned
MWC: Huawei P10
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ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 39
design reminiscent of the Huawei P9, there are
subtle changes to the design of the smartphone
that make it stand out from the crowd, following
an ‘organic minimalism’ design philosophy.
Everything’s a little bit ‘neater’ on the P10, and
the curved but slightly elongated edges of the
smartphone give it a distinctive look, while also
being comfortable to hold in the hand (vital for a
5.1in/5.5in smartphone) and less slippery to hold.
The most obvious change, compared to the
Huawei P9? The staggering number of colour
options available. Huawei wanted to o er
consumers more than just the standard black, silver
or gold colour options, and o ers the Huawei P10
in colours including dazzling blue and greenery.
In fact, the P10 comes in eight di erent colours:
graphite black, dazzling blue, dazzling gold, rose
gold, greenery, white ceramic, mystic silver and
prestige gold, although not all colours will be
headed to the UK. Huawei worked alongside
Pantone to produce the vibrant and eye-catching
dazzling blue and greenery colour options, which
are noticeable even in low-light conditions – you
just can’t miss that colourful shimmer.
It’s not just the colours that are new, as Huawei
has also introduced a new fi nish: the hyperdiamond
cut, available on the dazzling blue and
dazzling gold colour options. It’s di erent to the
standard sandblasted fi nish, creating tiny ridges
along the length of the rear of the P10. It’s a unique
look when compared to other 2017 fl agships so far,
and provides an interesting (in a good way) texture
to run your fi ngers across when holding the phone.
Huawei also claims that the fi nish should reduce
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40 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36
the smudges and fi ngerprints that appear on the
rear of the device, but we’re unable to confi rm
this until we use it for extended periods.
Huawei has also moved the fi ngerprint scanner
from the rear of the device to the front, and in
doing so removed the ability to easily take selfi es
without needing to awkwardly tap the screen – but
we’ll come to that in more detail below, as there’s
reasoning behind the move. Huawei claims that the
fi ngerprint scanner is beneath the glass, and while
it’s technically true as there’s no split lines between
the scanner and the glass, there’s still a dent on the
front of the device for users to place their fi ngers
and isn’t like what upcoming smartphones like the
iPhone 8 are rumoured to feature.
Hardware
Huawei put a huge focus on the design and
software capabilities of the Huawei P10 during
its MWC 2017 announcement, but there’s a good
reason behind that: the internals of the smartphone
are almost identical to that of the Huawei Mate 9,
which was released back in November 2016.
Just like the Huawei Mate 9, the Huawei P10
features the latest Kirin 960 2.4GHz octa-core
processor coupled with a Mali G71 GPU, 4GB
of RAM and 64GB storage. Those looking for a
little more oomph can opt for the P10 Plus, which
features 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Of
course, as with all Huawei devices, the P10 also
features a microSD card slot that’ll allow you to
expand the storage by up to 256GB.
That’s not a bad thing though, as in our Huawei
Mate 9 review we described the processing power
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of the smartphone as stunning, and it’s a similar
story with the P10: it’s blisteringly fast, with not
even the slightest sign of lag at any point during
our time with the smartphone. That’s due in part
to the hardware, but also the software, as Huawei
o ers additional machine learning algorithms when
compared to the Mate 9 to make it perform even
better. Despite the high-end internals, Huawei has
confi rmed that the P10 isn’t DayDream compatible,
although it wouldn’t go into detail about the reason.
In terms of the display, the Huawei P10 packs
a Full HD 5.1in IPS display with a resolution of
1920x1080, compared to the 5.5in WQHD IPS
display with a resolution of 2560x1440. However,
due to slim bezels and smart design from Huawei,
the phone isn’t overly bulky and is relatively easy
to use one-handed. As with most Huawei displays,
it’s bright, colourful and crisp, although a little
heavy on the contrast for our personal taste.
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Cameras
Of course, apart from design, the biggest draw of
the Huawei P10 is the cameras. Huawei has made a
few changes that it claims will make the rear-facing
dual-lens setup perform better than ever, and there’s
a few notable changes to the selfi e camera, too.
Let’s start with the rear-facing camera. It’s a similar
setup to that of the Huawei Mate 9, featuring one
12Mp colour sensor and one 20Mp black and white
sensor, which should help it to capture more light
and perform better in dark environments. The lenses
have also been improved when compared to the
Huawei P9, which should help to capture clearer
images, although the real improvements are to the
P10 Plus. The larger variant features “dual camera
2.0,” according to Huawei, with Leica Sumulux
H lenses and f1.8 aperture for better low-light
photography, compared to f2.2 on the standard P10.
Alongside the improved camera, Huawei
introduces Portrait mode with the Huawei P10. As
the name suggests, the mode is designed for use
when taking photos of people. Huawei claims that it
features advanced facial recognition, thanks to the
dual-lens setup, and that the phone can identify and
track 190 di erent facial points in a 3D space for
snaps that are always in shot. It doesn’t stop there
either, as it tracks your face, o ers automatic portrait
enhancements (varying levels from 0-10, much like
the Beauty mode on some Androids), and even
tweaks the lighting for the best possible outcome.
It should highlight the contours and facial features,
while fading the background with the bokeh e ect.
That sounds amazing, right? While in theory it
could spell the end of bad selfi es, we weren’t blown
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ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 43
away with the new photo mode during our time with
the phone. In fact, at one point the phone focused
on the wall behind us, rather than our faces, blurring
out everything else in the shot apart from a pattern
on the wallpaper. In Huawei’s defence, the room
wasn’t lit very well so it might have struggled to
recognise our faces, so we’ll be testing this out in
more depth once we get a sample back to Android
Advisor. General photography was decent, though,
but again, the lighting conditions were not ideal so
we’d rather withhold our judgement for now.
As mentioned, the front-facing camera has also
had an upgrade: it’s not Leica-branded, just like the
rear-facing cameras, although not a dual-lens setup
like rumours suggested. Nor is there any kind of iris
scanning technology, sorry guys. What it does have
is a new sensor that Huawei claims lets in double
the amount of brightness compared to older Huawei
phones, and features a wider dynamic range. That’s
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44 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36
not all though, as it’s smart enough to identify
whether you’re taking a selfi e or a group photo,
and will adjust the angle accordingly (wide-angle
for group, standard for selfi e).
Software
Let’s talk a little bit about the software on
the upcoming Huawei P10. Like many other
2017 fl agships, the P10 is due to ship with
Android: 7.0 Nougat. However, it’s not a vanilla
implementation as Huawei is also throwing in EMUI
5.1, the latest version of the fi rm’s Emotion UI. It
brings with it many of the improvements o ered
with EMUI 5.1, like machine learning for better
performance and an overhauled design, along
with a few new features too.
Let’s talk about One Button Control, as it was
briefl y mentioned when talking about the fi ngerprint
scanner of the smartphone. While Huawei used to
use the rear-facing fi ngerprint scanner of the likes
of the Huawei P9 and Mate S to activate the camera
shutter, and provide access to the notifi cation shade
with a single swipe, these options are now gone
(much to our disappointment). Now the scanner lives
on the front of the device, it o ers standard Home
button capabilities, and then some.
Rather than just using it to return to the home
screen, the scanner has all three function buttons
that Android users need within a single button. To
go back a step, tap it. If you want to go home, tap
and hold it. If you want to access the multitasking
menu, simply swipe from left to right. It’s that
simple, and works really well, but does take a little
bit of getting used to – we still found ourselves
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ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 45
reaching for the non-existent buttons during our
limited time with the phone.
Huawei also o ers integration with Quik, the
GoPro owned app that takes photos and videos
and automatically edits them, on the P10. Just
head into the Gallery app and you’ll fi nd options
to select media from an event or day, then Quik
analyses everything and edits it together in a short,
punchy video ready for sharing on social media.
Verdict
It’s too early to give a verdict on the Huawei P10
– we’ll get it back to Android Advisor labs, put it
through its paces and provide a full review in a
future issue. Lewis Painter
Specifi cations
• 5.1in (1920x1080, 432ppi) display
• Android 7.0 Nougat
• HiSilicon Kirin 960 CPU
• Mali-G71 MP8 GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 32/64GB storage (region dependent)
• 20- and 12Mp dual-rear cameras
• 8Mp front camera
• 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 4.2
• 4G LTE
• Nano-SIM (Dual-SIM in some regions)
• GPS
• NFC
• 3200mAh non-removable battery
• 145.3x69.3x7mm
• 145g

MWC: Sony Xperia XZ Premium

MWC means new fl agship phones and Sony
is no exception. You might still be waiting
for the Xperia Z6 but you might want to let
that go and get to know the Xperia XZ Premium.
It might be less than six months since Sony
launched the original XZ but we have a new one
already. Whether you want to call it the secondgeneration
model or not is up to you, but the XZ
Premium is the fi rm’s new fl agship smartphone for
2017. The fi rm also announced the XZs in Barcelona
though this smaller and more mid-range model
won’t be coming to Europe.
MWC: Sony
Xperia XZ Premium
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34 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36
A key thing we don’t know at the moment is the
Xperia XZ Premium price but we can tell you that it
will arrive in ‘Spring’. The XZ launched at £539 so
you can expect this phone to be more expensive,
quite possibly over £600.
Note: The Xperia XZ Premium we saw ahead
of MWC didn’t have fi nal working software, so
we’re limited on what we can say.
Design
Like the Z5 range, the XZ Premium is a bigger
version of the XZ which some higher specs (see
below). It uses a similar ‘Loop Surface’ design
which aims to mimic a seamless tube of glass. The
main thing is the very rounded side which feel nice
and we also like the bevelled metal top and bottom.
As if it makes any di erence, the phone is a
tiny 0.2mm thinner at 7.9mm but is a fair amount
heavier at 195g – this is mainly due to a larger
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screen and bigger battery which might be a
trade-o you’re fi ne with.
The XZ Premium is IP68 rated like many previous
Sony phones which is necessary to compete
with rival fl agships and does include a 3.5mm
headphone jack which is becoming less common.
Sony has decided, quite literally to mirror, the
style of the Z5 Premium. Both colour options,
Deepsea Black and Luminous Chrome, are
highly refl ective and get grubby as soon as you
pick the device up. It’s shame there isn’t a matt
version for those who aren’t keen on this look
– in our experience with the Z5 Premium, that’s
a lot of people.
Hardware
One of the main things the XZ Premium borrows
from the Z5 Premium is the large 5.5in screen
with a 4K resolution. That means the device is
bigger than the original as mentioned earlier. In
our review of the Z5 Premium we concluded that
you don’t really need a 4K screen on a phone,
but the XZ Premium has an additional feature
that might tempt you.
It supports 4K HDR like many TVs and lends
technology from Sony’s Bravia range. Sony says
HDR provides better colour, contrast and detail.
However, you’ll only be able to take advantage of
this with selected titles on Amazon Prime Video like
The Grand Tour and The Man in the High Castle.
While the screen is certainly brighter and
more colourful compared to the Z5 Premium,
the display when utilising HDR can look a little
bit over the top because of the intense colours.
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36 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36
(Note that it’s di cult to capture the di erence in
a photography). Despite rumours of Qualcomm’s
latest chip being reserved for the Samsung Galaxy
S8, Sony has put it inside the Xperia XZ Premium.
The Snapdragon 835 uses a 10nm process and
should o er better performance and battery life.
We haven’t been able to use the phone enough
to comment on either yet but Sony only goes as
far as to say ‘reliable all day battery life’.
It’s good to 64GB of storage as standard and
Sony continues to o er a microSD card slot so
you can add more. The XZ Premium comes with
a healthy 4GB of RAM.
Plenty of specs from its predecessor remain
including the fi ngerprint scanner, USB-C (now v3.1),
NFC, Bluetooth 4.2. The larger device means the
battery capacity is higher at 3230mAh – not quite
as big as the Z5 Premium though.
It’s the camera that Sony is really pushing here,
aside from the 4K HDR screen. The resolution
has dropped to 19Mp but the fi rm has some
interesting innovations here in what it calls the
‘Motion Eye’ camera.
You might be surprised that the resolution
has dropped but pixels are 19 percent larger
compared to the XZ so that will help in low light.
The XZ Premium is the world’s fi rst phone to o er
super slow motion video at a whopping 960fps.
We tried this on the XZs and the e ect is pretty
spectacular, but it can’t record for long so timing
it right is extremely di cult.
Another handy feature is predictive capture
where the phone detects motion and takes four
photos before you’ve even hit the shutter button.
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ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 37
We haven’t been able to try this yet and while
it sounds great, we wonder how quickly it will
fi ll the storage because of things like people
getting into position for a photo, and so on.
We’ll put it through its paces when we get
a fi nal sample. The front camera remains at
13Mp with an f/2 aperture and 22mm lens.
There’s not much we can say about software
at the moment but the entire 2017 range
including the XZ Premium will come with
Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with Sony’s
usual interface. We do know it will support PS4
Remote Play like previous smartphones.
Verdict
We’ve not had enough time with the XZ Premium
to give a verdict yet. We also need the price so
come back soon. Chris Martin
Specifi cations
• 5.5in 4K HDR Triluminous display
• Android 7.01 Nougat
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 CPU
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB storage, expandable via microSD
• USB-C
• Bluetooth 4.2
• NFC
• Dual-band 11ac Wi-Fi
• 3230mAh battery
• 19Mp Motion Eye rear-facing camera
• 13Mp front-facing camera
• 156x77x7.9mm
• 195g