Sony Xperia Z1 review

Following on from last year's Xperia Z, the Z1 is just about as good as it gets in Sony's Xperia universe, with a super-powerful quad-core processor, improved HD screen, 20-megapixel camera and waterproof glass body.

Design
It's still fairly slim, at a sliver under 9mm, but glass is a heavy material and along with the new aluminium banding, it weighs 170g. You know this is a quality piece of kit as soon as you pick it up, but it feels heavy and blocky in the hand and can still put a bit of a drag on the pocket.

It's waterproof, an area that Sony seems keen to make its own, and SIM card, microUSB and microSD card slots (up to 64GB) are all protected behind firm covers so that it can stay underwater to a depth of up to 1.5 metres for half an hour. Interestingly, there's no cover for the 3.5mm headphone jack, but it's been internally sealed, so you can still listen underwater, but without having to reseal every time you unplug.

The five-inch screen has the same HD 1920x1080-pixel resolution as its predecessor, with 441ppi and to be honest, it's hard to imagine how it could be much better. It looks terrifically sharp and colours look natural (which isn't always the case with ultra-vibrant Amoled screens for example). Still, Sony reckons it has boosted performance with "Triluminos" technology derived from its latest high-end TVs. Exactly how that makes is a difference is unclear, but whether you're watching HD movies or loading up dense web pages in a twinkling, it's a terrific screen.
Processor and software
The original Xperia Z had a quad core processor, but it's now been bumped up from 1.5GHz to 2.2GHz and backed by a full 2GB RAM -- just about the highest spec we've yet seen on a smartphone. And sure enough, in our AnTuTu benchmark test it delivered a stonking score of 34,986 -- far ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and LG Optimus G2, which still languish around the mid-twenties. HD gaming held no terrors and Real Racing 3 played smoother and crisper than we've yet seen.

Photography
The camera has gone from 13 megapixels to 20 megapixels -- a considerably higher spec than you'll find on most smartphones, with the exception of Nokia’s Lumia 1020. There's a dedicated shutter button on the side, which wasn't present on the Z and it's certainly a fine little snapper, with Sony's Exmor light sensor to help improve low light pics, and a range of settings to play with, including Smile Shutter, Face Registration and Burst. It isn't perfect -- it struggled a little to balance contrasting light conditions, and some shots can look a bit washed out when using automatic settings -- but picture quality was generally good.
It has a large 3,000mAh battery, but it's a very powerful phone, and that takes its toll -- we barely managed to get a full day's heavy use out of it.

Conclusion
The Sony Xperia Z1 makes a few improvements to what was already a cracking smartphone. The screen looks great, the processor is the most powerful we've yet seen and the camera is very fine indeed. It's not cheap, but it's waterproof, looks great and it's extremely fast.