The Sony Xperia Z3 is an Android smartphone produced by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

. Part of the

Sony Xperia Z series Sony Xperia Z series is a line of flagship Android (operating system), Android smartphones and tablet computer, tablets in the Sony Xperia series manufactured by Sony Mobile. On February 25, 2016, Sony discontinued the Xperia Z series in favor o ...

, the Xperia Z3, at that point known by the project code name "Leo", was unveiled during a press conference at IFA 2014 on September 4, 2014. It was first released in Taiwan on September 19, 2014.

Specifications

Hardware

Like its predecessors, the Xperia Z3's design consists of a metal frame with a glass backing; the metal frame has been rounded, and the device itself is slightly slimmer than the Z2. The device carries slightly higher IP ratings for water and dust-proofing than the Z2. The device features a (marketed as 5.2-in)

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen ve ...

display with a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 424 ppi, featuring Sony's "Triluminos" technology. The device features a 2.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 system-on-chip with 3 GB of RAM. The Z3 includes a non-removable 3100 mAh battery. The Xperia Z3's rear-facing camera is 20.7

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...

s with a

Sony Exmor RS Exmor is the name of a technology Sony implemented on some of their CMOS image sensors. It performs on-chip analog/digital signal conversion and two-step noise reduction in parallel on each column of the CMOS sensor. Exmor RS is the world's ...

image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of c ...

, along with improvements to its "SteadyShot" and "Intelligent Active" modes.

Software

The Xperia Z3 ships with Android 4.4.4 "KitKat" with Sony's custom interface and software. New additions to the Z3's software include the Lifelog app, Sony Select, and support for Remote Play on the PlayStation 4 video game console. Android 5.0 "Lollipop" was first released for the Z3 in March 2015 in selected territories. Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" was first released in April 2016. Developer preview builds of Android 7.0 "Nougat" were released for the Z3, but Sony stated that it is unable to release the final version due to "unforeseen platform limitations"; Qualcomm stated that it will not provide support for Nougat on any device using the Snapdragon 801 or 800 chipsets. The

Adreno Adreno is a series of graphics processing unit (GPU) semiconductor intellectual property cores developed by Qualcomm and used in many of their SoCs. History Adreno (an anagram of AMD's graphic card brand ''Radeon''), was originally developed by ...

330 GPU does not support the

Vulkan Vulkan is a low- overhead, cross-platform API, open standard for 3D graphics and computing. Vulkan targets high-performance real-time 3D graphics applications, such as video games and interactive media. Vulkan is intended to offer higher perfor ...

or OpenGL ES 3.1 graphics APIs, which must be present in order to meet Google certification requirements for 7.0.

Release history

On October 23, 2014, Sony Mobile released the Japan-only SOL26 and SO-01G models for

au by KDDI au, or au by KDDI, is a Japanese mobile phone operator. au is a brand marketed by KDDI in the main islands of Japan and by Okinawa Cellular in Okinawa for their mobile cellular services. au is the second-largest wireless carrier in Japan, wit ...

and NTT DoCoMo respectively, as well as the Sony Xperia Z3v (D6708), a variant of the Xperia Z3 exclusively for

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...

in the United States. On October 29, 2014, the D6616 model was released exclusively for

T-Mobile US T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 pe ...

and on November 21, 2014, Sony Mobile released the 401SO model exclusively for

SoftBank Mobile is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the Vi ...

in Japan. The Xperia Z3 (D6616 model) was quietly discontinued by T-Mobile in April 2015, but returned to store shelves less than a month later with a price reduction. Verizon discontinued the Xperia Z3v (D6708) in August 2015.

Reception

Critical reception

The Xperia Z3 generally received positive reviews, with critics praising its durability, battery life and improved display. Although many critics argued that the Z3 is just a minor upgrade from the Z2 with not much differences. ''Pocket Lint'' criticised the device for the tall design and "occasional software excess" but praised its battery life. ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media ...

'' praised the design of the device for being attractive yet rugged, built out of better materials than the Galaxy S5, and also waterproof. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called the device the best smartphone Sony has ever made, with an improvement in feel and design over its predecessor. However, it criticised the Z3 for lack of wireless charging for something waterproof with "fiddly doors" covering the charging port is disappointing, but it has a magnetic charging port for an accessory dock.

Variants

References

External links

* {{Sony phones Android (operating system) devices Z3 Mobile phones introduced in 2014 Digital audio players Mobile phones with 4K video recording Discontinued flagship smartphones