Hardware Overview and Performance

Compared to the Xperia Z2 that came before it, the internal hardware of the Xperia Z3 is fairly familiar. While both devices do utilize Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801 SoC, Sony has bumped up the silicon from the MSM8974AB to the MSM8974AC, giving the CPU a slight 0.two GHz speed bump. This gives the handset the same top-finish Snapdragon 801 chip as the Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3, OnePlus Ane, and the new Motorola Moto X.

The MSM8974AC features a 2.5 GHz quad-core Krait 400 CPU, which uses ARM'southward 32-bit ARMv7 education prepare. Information technology's paired with the ever-trusty Adreno 330 GPU clocked at 578 MHz, also as a dual-channel LPDDR3 retentivity controller that's practiced for 14.9 GB/s of bandwidth. This controller is directly continued to 3 GB of RAM in the Xperia Z3, the aforementioned amount as the Z2.

As well in this 28nm chip you lot'll discover Qualcomm's Hexagon QDSP6V5A DSP clocked at 600 MHz, which is utilized for some low-power tasks, besides equally a 4K video encoder and decoder, and a selection of radios. Specifically, we're looking at dual-ring 802.11a/b/g/due north/air conditioning Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, IZAT Gen8B A-GPS+GLONASS, as well as GSM, HSPA+ and Category 4 LTE radios. NFC is provided by a separate chip.

There are several models of the Xperia Z3 bachelor on the market, so it's crucial to cull the right model to ensure your network'south LTE bands are supported. My advice would be to nab the D6603 considering it has the widest LTE back up, packing in 10 bands (1, 2, iii, 4, 5, seven, eight, 13, 17, 20) that gives support across the bulk of the frequencies in utilize (FDD 700, 800, 850, 900, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, & 2600 MHz). The D6603 also has penta-band HSPA+ support.

I'd wait the D6603, or the very like D6633 and D6643, to be sold in most locations worldwide. In countries that utilize TDD-LTE on 2300 MHz (ring 40) such as Australia, you'll become the D6653 with more limited FDD support. There are also a few other models for China and other regions, and then be careful when picking one so you can maximize local compatibility and roaming (if you decide to travel).

Beneath I've outlined the main differences in hardware between the Xperia Z3 and its 3 predecessors, ranging all the style dorsum to the Xperia Z. The differences betwixt the primeval and most recent models is quite significant, although there hasn't been many changes going from the Z2 to Z3.

Specs Sony Xperia Z3 Sony Xperia Z2 Sony Xperia Z1 Sony Xperia Z
SoC Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AB Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064
CPU 4x Krait 400 @ 2.45 GHz 4x Krait 400 @ 2.26 GHz 4x Krait 400 @ 2.26 GHz 4x Krait @ i.5 GHz
GPU Adreno 330 @ 578 MHz Adreno 330 @ 450 MHz Adreno 320 @ 400 MHz
Retentivity three GB dual-aqueduct LPDDR3 @ 933 MHz 3 GB dual-channel LPDDR3 @ 800 MHz ii GB dual-channel LPDDR2 @ 533 MHz
Storage 16/32 GB internal + microSD 16 GB internal + microSD
Wi-Fi 802.eleven a/b/m/n/ac 802.11 a/b/g/n
LTE Category iv Category three
Other NFC, MHL, GPS+GLONASS, HSPA+, 2G, Bluetooth 4.0
Display v.2" 1080p IPS LCD 5.0" 1080p MVA LCD
Bombardment 11.eight Wh (3,100 mAh) 12.ii Wh (3,200 mAh) xi.4 Wh (iii,000 mAh) 8.85 Wh (2,330 mAh)
Photographic camera xx.7 MP 1/ii.3" sensor with f/2.0 lens 13 MP ane/iii.06" sensor with f/ii.four lens

Like most flagship smartphones these days, the Xperia Z3 provides a smooth experience across the operating system and its apps. The Galaxy Notation 4 with its Snapdragon 805 SoC feels slightly faster to utilise, but the difference is then marginal that it's practically insignificant unless y'all're using the two devices side-by-side.

Anyway, let's check out the benchmarks for this handset, where I'm expecting the Xperia Z3 to perform at the aforementioned level equally the Xperia Z2…

…and it does. Aside from some modest functioning improvements that can be attributed to software tweaks and an 8.4% higher CPU clock speed, the Snapdragon 801 in the Xperia Z3 performs simply like the Snapdragon 801 in the Xperia Z2.

Regarding NAND performance, Sony has significantly improved sequential read/write speeds with the Xperia Z3. Unfortunately, random performance hasn't improved at all, placing it still in the middle of our speed charts.

As for NAND capacity, most Xperia Z3 models come with 16 GB of storage, although in that location are some 32 GB models on the market. With the included microSD card slot I have no trouble with merely 16 GB of storage, of which 11.6 GB is available out of the box. Purchase a cheap microSD carte from Amazon and you lot're set for all your photos, videos and music.

Like nearly (just not all) high end handsets I had no trouble with connecting to Wi-Fi, streaming content from my media server, accessing the web via Australia's fast LTE, or using Bluetooth or GPS at various times. A couple of generations ago I had issues connecting to cellular networks at times on flagship Xperias, but these issues have definitely been resolved.

Sound quality is something that I don't often talk about in reviews, unless there's a specific reason to do so. With the Xperia Z3, there is such a reason, and that'due south because the handset supports the playback of high quality 24bit/96kHz sound in formats such every bit FLAC, ALAC, WAV, etc. If you're an audio enthusiast who tin tell the difference between high-quality lossless files and MP3s, the Xperia Z3 caters for y'all.

Not just that, but in the Xperia Z3 box you lot'll notice a gear up of headphones that can be used in conjunction with the smartphone for agile noise cancellation. The earbuds are quite good quality, but it's the noise cancellation that makes information technology fifty-fifty improve. Note that only a sure option of Sony headphones are uniform with the Z3's noise cancellation, though if yous own a pair or use those in the box, you lot won't have to buy new headphones with a (often) beefy processor simply to attain ambience racket reduction.