Meet the new Sony Xperia XZ

Sony is making a comeback now and ready to reclaim the dominance on the smartphone market it once have. But will it work? Now that Google is now full force in campaigning the release of their new Pixel smartphones, Sony’s timing couldn’t be worse.

Sony just announced that on October 2, it will start selling its new Xperia XZ. It will come unlocked and unsubscribed for the whopping price of $699.99. Well, that’s just steep but anyone who wish to spend that much can get one from Amazon and Best Buy. If on a budget, the same retail stores will have a stock for a much cheaper sibling to the XZ, the Xperia X Compact for just $499.99.

Here’s a quick pricelist for you:

• Sony Xperia XZ – $699.99
• Sony Xperia X Compact – $499.99

The XZ seems to be a flagship that was released too late for 2016. With a Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage, it’s main selling point is its camera. The camera module makes it stand out from the rest of the competition and somehow justifies the very high price. However, the 5.2-inch XZ is not like Samsung’s Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge. It’s quite not there yet.

With the case of the X Compact, the 4.6-inch device is not only the cheaper one but with less powerful model. Unlike the previous Compact models from Sony, it’s not only the size that shrunk, but the processor as well. With a Snapdragon 650 processor, it will definitely feel sluggish to use compared to its bigger brother, the XZ. Regardless of this compromises, the Xperia X Compact is a compelling and cheaper choice for those looking for a capable Android smartphone for just $499.99.

Sony’s biggest challenge comes October 4th, however, will be to convince anyone that Android Marshmallow phones without any Daydream VR novelties are worth its high price of admission versus Google’s incoming Pixel phones. Would you really invest the full premium tier smartphone cost into a device that’s got months-old software and hardware, or would you rather go with Google’s in-house Android?