Sony Xperia XZ3 long-term review

Introduction

Going against the tide is a risky thing to do, whether generally in life, or when it comes to stock investments, in business dealings overall, and even specifically in the mobile world. Sure, there's a chance for a much bigger payoff than if you simply went with the prevailing trends, but you could also end up constantly repeating a pattern that has been proven time and again not to work.

This is where the Xperia XZ3 comes in. Quintessentially a Sony when it comes to its looks, you won't confuse this for a device from any other manufacturer. This company is not afraid to go its own way with smartphone design while surrounded by competing products that all appear to be headed in a different direction. But it's not only design, Sony's way of doing things seems to rely heavily on going against the grain.

In this long-term review, we're trying to ascertain whether Sony's unique strategy has finally paid off. Not in terms of sales, the answer for that is clearly no - but is the XZ3 a great smartphone in spite of the dire numbers? Is this a hidden gem that you'll ignore at your own peril?

We took it for a prolonged spin and used it as our one and only device for an extended period of time, trying to evaluate whether it might serve most people well in day to day use, away from benchmarks, sales numbers, and objective tests. So join us over the next few pages as we explore what the Xperia XZ3 has to offer in 2019.