One month after announcing the Xperia Z4 in Japan, Sony today took the wraps off of another updated version of the Xperia Z3.
The Sony Xperia Z3+ is now official, running Android 5.0 on a 5.2-inch 1920x1080 TRILUMINOS display. The 6.9mm-thick body of the Xperia Z3+ features the OmniBalance design that Sony has been using and refining in recent years, and it includes a side-mounted power button and a dedicated camera key. The body of the Xperia Z3+ is also IP65 and IP68 rated for being waterproof and dust tight.
Speaking of cameras, the Xperia Z3+ has a 20.7-megapixel rear shooter with an Exmor RS for mobile sensor, 25mm wide-angle lens, and features like Gourmet mode for making your food pictures look awesome. Around front lives a 5-megapixel camera with an Exmor R for mobile sensor and a 25mm wide-angle lens to help you fit all of your friends in your selfies.
Powering the Xperia Z3+ is an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 2930mAh battery. Sony’s also included 32GB of internal storage, a microSD slot that supports cards up to 128GB, LTE Cat.6 and Wi-Fi MIMO connectivity, and Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 support.
If that all sounds a bit familiar, well, it should. The Xperia Z3+ is basically the Xperia Z4, but for everywhere except Japan. Sony says that it plans to launch the Xperia Z3+ globally starting in June 2015, but there’s no word yet on how much it’ll cost when it does begin hitting store shelves.
Sony considers the Xperia Z3+ to be a member of the Xperia Z3 family of devices rather than a whole new model, and some might argue that that’s accurate considering the Z3+’s modest upgrades over the Z3. That said, the Z3+ is still a nice-looking phone that offers some notable updates from the Z3, like a capless microUSB port and a Snapdragon 810 processor. However, Sony’s facing some stiff competition in the flagship phone market this year, and the handful of updates that the Z3+ offers may have a tough time helping Sony to gain more mobile marketshare.
What do you think of the Sony Xperia Z3+?