Sony Xperia Z3+ First Impressions

Despite the phone seeing its entry into the Malaysian market a good month or so ago, we finally get to try out the Sony Xperia Z3+ in the flesh. The phone is essentially an updated version of the waterproof Sony Xperia Z3 that’s skinnier, lighter than it’s counterpart and has a bare microUSB port.

On the surface the Xperia Z3+ shares a lot in common with its sibling, sharing a very similar styling complete with fingerprint magnet glossy finish. It is a fair bit lighter and thinner than its counterpart, being 6.9mm thin as opposed to the 7.3mm thickness of the Xperia Z3.  Its also just 8 grams lighter than its sibling but since both phones are already very light you don’t entirely feel the difference. However the battery has also been given the skinny treatment and has a slightly smaller capacity at 2,930mAh as opposed to the former’s 3,100mAh, but Sony claims that it will last for two entire days thanks to software tweaks. We won’t know for certain how long the battery will really last till we get to do some real world tests on the unit.

To recap the specs, the dual-SIM smartphone has a octa-core Snapdragon 810 under the hood that’s mated to 3GB RAM. It has the same 5.2 inch Full HD display as its sibling, alongside dual front stereo speakers and built in Hi-Res audio capabilities. As far as storage is concerned you get 32GB out of the box, but this can be bumped up to 128GB via the microSD slot. It will also similarly support PlayStation remote play with your PlayStation 4.

The cameras on the other hand are mostly as what’s on the Xperia Z3, namely a 20.7 megapixel snapper with a 5 megapixel front shooter for the selfie centric. So no changes here save for the front camera getting an upgrade from 2 megapixel. It will also run Android Lollipop out of the box skinned with Sony’s latest UI.

As far as looks are concerned, both phones have the same glass and metal design with the exception of the Xperia Z3+ having added plastic “bumpers” on the edges of the smartphone, possibly to prevent damage and dings that were common on the prior model. They still feature that glossy fingerprint magnet rear cover as well. For now Malaysia will only have the Black and Copper versions available, with the White and Aqua Green options to become available at a later date. Personally we’ve mostly liked Sony’s style direction but its about time they went for something other than the glossy glass backing for their premium smartphones.

The ports have been given some updates as well, with the biggest change being that the USB slot has been moved to the bottom of the device and is now capless to make charging a lot simpler. The SIM slot has been moved to the other side of the device but still remains capped, but since it is not something you will be regularly opening up it shouldn’t be an issue.

Overall, Sony’s update to their flagship Xperia Z3 is looking decent and if you happen to need a high end smartphone that you could take into the shower, this might be your ticket.  The device will retail for RM 2,599 and is already available in the market, which is RM 400 more than the Xperia Z3 which is currently priced at RM 2,199. So would you still go for the Sony Xperia Z3 or its more powerful sibling?