Sony’s new Xperia XZ Premium is a step above past Xperia models in build quality if JerryRigEverything’s bend test is any indication, with the phone’s plastic sides holding up much more admirably than previous generations. The device features Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back panels, which also covers both the front-facing and rear cameras. Naturally, these did not exhibit any scratches until a pick with a level 6 on the Moh’s Hardness Scale was brought out. The level 6 pick produced hair-fine scratches, while the level 7 pick gave the screen deep gouges. This means that keeping the phone in the same pocket as your keys won’t do it any harm. The same plastic sides that helped the phone to pass the bend test succumbed to the utility razor used in the video with seemingly minimal effort, so if you stash the phone in a pocket or purse with keys or tools, those would be the areas to survey for possible damage.
In the burn test, the phone’s rich 4K panel lasted ten seconds over a lighter’s flame before pixels started turning off. The burned pixels recovered rather quickly, however, which is great news for any do-it-yourselfers out there who plan to make use of their heat gun if the glass front of their Xperia XZ Premium ever breaks. A blue tinge was left behind for several seconds, but it was very slight, and eventually went away. The bend test failed to harm the battle-scarred phone – even with deep gouges from a razor in them, the phone’s plastic sides were able to contour to any way the phone was bent, and the Gorilla Glass 5 front and back panels did the same, rather than shattering or cracking. Once the pressure was removed, the phone went mostly back to its original shape, though it retained a slight curve, which would be a simple matter to straighten out by hand, and left the phone no worse for wear when JerryRigEverything did so.
Near the beginning of the video, a follow-up was teased in the form of a teardown video and an attempt at making a clear-back mod akin to the ones done on the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8 in the past, should the device survive the testing. The Xperia XZ Premium survived quite nicely, and showed that it truly lives up to its name in build quality. The durable exterior sports IP68 ingress protection on top of being able to withstand bending, scratching, and burning, though it would seem that there have been no drop tests as of this writing. The specs are also quite premium; on top of the first-ever 4K resolution, HDR-enabled screen on a mobile device, the Xperia XZ Premium boasts a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, a sizeable 3,230mAh battery, and the excellent cameras that Sony phones are known for, this time in the form of a 19-megapixel rear sensor and a 13-megapixel unit around front.