Sony recently revealed their flagship Xperia Z3+, opting to use the “Plus” moniker rather than call it the Xperia Z4. The new name is befitting in that Sony have taken the Z3b design and device and given out something of a makeover. The new Xperia benefits from an upgraded octa core, 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, which includes a newer and more powerful Adreno graphics processor (the Adreno 430). The device still uses a 1080p, 5.2-inch screen and this features a number of Sony’s proprietary display technologies, such as Triluminous for a wider color gamut and the X-reality engine, designed to dynamically enhance images. The device also had a manual white balance override. The newer model also come with a similar 20.7MP rear camera, a higher resolution 5MP front camera, is IP68 dust and waterproof up to 1.5 meter and 30 minutes and includes Sony’s specialist audio output technology. The battery is slightly smaller, down from 3,100 mAh to 2,930 mAh, but comes with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 and the handset still comes with Sony’s promise of two day battery life – this from a 6.9mm thick (thin?) smartphone.
With the new internals, and a new name, the Xperia Z3+ comes with a higher price tag. Although Sony are yet to officially publish their prices, a survey conducted by the source website shows a consistent price across the United Kingdom and Europe. We are looking at £550 in the UK (this is approximately €750) and €699 across most of Europe, but I do need to highlight that this is for a pre-launch price and these may change. We see minor differences across the different countries as part of Europe: for example, Belgium and Germany have the Z3+ up for €699 but in Denmark, one retailer has it priced at the equivalent of €736 whereas another has it priced at the equivalent of €810. We would expect thee prices to be somewhat volatile for the time being but will settle down, so if you are looking to pre-order the unlocked device it would pay to do a little research and make sure that if the price drops, you will pay the lower price. For the carriers, we know that O2 Germany will be offering the Z3+ on an exclusive with pre-orders starting in mid-June for black and white colors. O2 Germany is expecting the Aqua Green and Copper models to be available later in the year. We also know that in the Netherlands, the Xperia Z3+ will be available through T-Mobile NL, which has a scheduled launch date of the 8 June.
Although Sony’s modest name upgrade might seem to suggest a relatively minor polish of the specifications, the Z3+ is something of an upgrade over the older models – albeit a relatively minor one, which reflects Sony’s six month product cycle refresh plan. Does the upgraded processor and GPU merit an upgrade from the six month old Xperia Z3? How about from the older Z2 or Z1 models? Sony would hope that the answer is a “yes” and is pricing the device for those customers who want the very latest Sony technology as soon as it is available. Is £550 or 699 a reasonable price to pay for a 32 GB smartphone with the latest Qualcomm processor? We will likely know in a few months.