It looks like Sony is going for a Samsung-like approach when it comes to its portfolio of Android handsets, as the company is continuing to release multiple models that tend to be dangerously similar to one another. The latest example is the Sony Xperia ZR, which can safely be considered a somewhat toned-down Xperia Z.
Still, with a 4.5” 720p screen, a 13-megapixel Exmor RS camera and the Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset in tow, the Xperia ZR is certainly not your average mid-range model. What's more, the phone has kept the Xperia Z's signature ability to be water-resistant, which will undoubtedly boost its appeal even further.
With the Xperia ZR, Sony is looking to offer a solid contender in the upper-mid-range space that will go up against devices like the popular HTC One mini, the Nexus 4, or the Galaxy S III, which can still be found at most retailers. It's more than an uphill battle, going against such tough opponents, but hey, if the product is as good as it seems to be on paper, it could easily give those competing devices a run for their money.
In the box:
microUSB cable
Wall-charger attachment
Earphones with additional ear-gel sizes
Documentation
Design
While the Sony Xperia ZR has kept most of the Z's design DNA, it definitely shows that it's not exactly a premium model due to its significantly thicker profile of 10.4 mm, versus the Xperia Z's remarkable 7.9 mm. Despite that, the phone feels comfortable in the hand and not bulky.
The choice of materials for the Sony Xperia ZR is another thing that reminds us of its mid-range nature. Pushing its front glass panel down, we notice that it's not made of the most firm type of glass, while the back side of the device is made of a very ordinary plastic that is sure to leave you indifferent at best. Unfortunately, it attracts a lot of fingerprint smudges, but at least it's likely to repulse bad guys that might be willing to get a hold of your smartphone.
Handsets equipped with 4.5” displays used to be considered pretty big, but now that 5” smartphones are commonplace, we actually see them as relatively compact offerings. Not that the Xperia ZR is small or anything, but it's definitely easier to handle compared to those 5” beasts. For example, the ZR's dimensions are 5.16 x 2.65 x 0.41 inches (131 x 67.4 x 10.4 mm), while the GS4 measures 5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches (136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm). In terms of weight, though, the Xperia ZR isn't the lightest handset with its 140 g, (the 5” GS4, for example, weighs 130 g). Still, that doesn't make the Xperia ZR feel heavy.
Due to the smartphone's water-resistant nature, its microUSB and 3.5mm ports are protected by tight plastic covers, with the one of the 3.5mm connector being somewhat difficult to remove. Watch out not to break your nail while struggling to open it!
We aren't really fascinated by the execution of the physical keys, all of which are situated on the handset's right hand side. Basically, all of them — which includes the power/lock key, volume rocker and camera shutter — work fine, but aren't particularly “clicky” and comfortable to use. What's more, the volume rocker has an unusual position near the lower end of the Xperia ZR's right hand side, which makes it not as easy to reach as it would have been if it was in its traditional position towards the upper end. Meanwhile, the camera button is so tiny that you can almost fail to notice it's there.
Sony has made a really poor job of the SIM card tray, which is made of an extremely thin piece of rubbery material. As a result, we accidentally damaged ours the second time we tried to pull the tray out, as you can see in the image on the left. If you have the Xperia ZR, be sure to handle the tray with extreme care, because it's very fragile!
Display
The Sony Xperia ZR isn't ready to make many compromises in the display area. The sizable 4.5” screen sports a more than decent resolution of 720x1280 pixels, which works out to a satisfying pixel density of 323 pixels per inch. In comparison, the HTC One mini packs a slightly smaller display at 4.3 inches, but having the same 720p resolution, its pixel density comes in at 341 ppi.
Back to the Xperia ZR, its LCD TFT display can get reasonably bright at about 470 nits max, which isn't a staggering number, but manages to keep the screen visible under daylight.
Overall, we're pleased with the image quality of the screen, as its colors appear well-saturated and lively. Meanwhile, contrast is pretty decent in your normal, straight-on viewing position, though viewing angles are once again pretty poor (same as on most other Sony Android phones), so as soon as you start tilting the phone to one side, things get very washed out.
Thankfully, the Sony Xperia ZR hasn't missed out on the Mobile Bravia engine, which makes media content viewed on the phone's screen appear more appealing. It does nothing more than to apply some software enhancements to the image, but we enjoy it.
Interface
The Sony Xperia ZR comes with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, which is a bit disappointing having in mind that Android 4.3 is already available to users of Nexus devices. We aren't really optimistic when it comes to Sony's ability to bring timely software updates to its devices, but still, we hope that it won't take too long for Sony to release an update for the ZR.
On top of Android 4.1.2, we find Sony's custom user interface. Overall, the UI is quite unobtrusive, which should be good for the purists out there. In our opinion, this is one of the most polished custom UIs for Android. It's certainly not the most feature-rich, but it is filled with subtle animations here and there making it feel fun and exciting to use.
All of the essential apps like Phone, Contacts, Messaging and so on have been customized. They are quite simplistic and straightforward, which isn't a bad thing, and thanks to their redesign, their appearance is in line with the rest of the user interface.
Unfortunately, some of the custom widgets by Sony actually have smooth, but slow animations, which might be fun the first time you use those widgets, but quickly becomes tiresome afterwards. Of course, you can always ditch those for third-party widgets of your own liking.
Processor and Memory
As we said in the beginning, the Sony Xperia ZR is powered by the oldie but goodie quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 chipset, which is clocked at 1.5 GHz. That powerful CPU is complemented by the Adreno 320 GPU, which is all that a mobile gamer could ever want. The ZR's impressive configuration is rounded up by 2 GB of RAM, and while that all seems pretty good on paper, the best part is that system performance itself is also spectacular. We're glad to report that Sony has finally managed to get rid of the little remaining lag that used to plague its UI. The Sony Xperia ZR is very speedy and doesn't waste the user's time with irritating delays or choppiness.
In terms of internal storage, the ZR comes with the healthy 8 GB, though only about 4.6 GB of that are accessible to user. Luckily, you can install a microSD card and expand your storage space.
Quadrant Standard
AnTuTu
GLBenchmark 2.5 (Egypt HD)
Vellamo (HTML5 / Metal)
Sony Xperia ZR
8216
21045
5115 / 45 fps
2274 / 652
Samsung Galaxy S4
12078
24701
4437 / 39 fps
1702 / 704
HTC One
12481
23308
3551 / 31 fps
2395 / 781
Google Nexus 4
4757
16749
4917
1375 / 600
Phonebook
One thing we don't like about Sony's phonebook is the lack of an option to set up an account to sync with. Who knows, there might be such an option... somewhere in there, but we couldn't find it, so we instead went to the Settings to set our account from there. Another irritating thing is how little space is left for your call log, as it shares a single screen with the dialer. Other than that, switching between dialer, all contacts and favorites is pretty seamless.
Meanwhile, it's great to see that Sony has kept the good old T9-style dialing, where you can start T9-typing the name of the contact you want to call using the numeric keypad, and the phone will automatically find that person for you. It's very comfortable to dial this way.
Organizer
The businessman's best friend, the calendar, is well represented in the Sony Xperia ZR. The phone's calendar app features all the basic necessities like month, week and day views, as well as some 'bonus' features such as the ability to expand the appointments for the selected day in month view. The pinch-to-zoom function from the stock calendar has, thankfully, been preserved.
The handset also comes with a simple calculator, as well as a versatile notes app, which isn't the most convenient notes app ever, but makes up for it by offering a good array of options. One think we have to point out here is that you might find Sony's Small Apps to be more comfortable to use compared to their full versions. For example, once you press the multitasking button, you gain access to four shortcuts to handy mini apps, including a calculator, timer, notes and voice notes. In the end, we found it pretty easy to make quick notes or recordings using the Sony Xperia ZR.
Messaging
Sony's QWERTY keyboard is very reminiscent of the iPhone keyboard as its main layout features only the most necessary keys, as well as as a similar color theme. It's a bit irritating that even the dot hasn't found a place somewhere next to the spacebar, but oh well... All in all, typing with the keyboard is a joy, as the letter keys are big and easy to find. The landscape layout is also great as it takes advantage of the full screen width and even features an addition line of frequently used symbols (yep, the dot is there).
The messaging app is very well designed with a versatile and intuitive interface. You can easily do stuff like attach a photo, video, sound, note, location, etc. to your messages. The default email app is will do the job, though it lacks some more advanced settings like tweaking the preview text length, for example.
Internet and Connectivity
Chrome is the browser of choice for the Sony Xperia ZR, and it tends to perform lovely on this device. As always, loading is super-fast, while navigation around pages, including scrolling and zooming, is very fluid and trouble-free. The browser inflates text correctly, so usually it's just the right paragraphs that need to be read comfortably that are the ones to get an increased size. Of course, for those who've been living under a rock for the past year, we'd like to point out that Flash Player is out of the question with this browser.
Sure, some things had to be scaled down for the Xperia ZR to reach the desired price-point, but you'll surely be glad to know that LTE wasn't one of them. But just in case that your carrier is yet to adopt those beloved 4G technologies (which is quite likely, when you think about it), the ZR can offer standard HSPA+ connectivity for up to 42.2 Mbit/s downlink and 5.76 Mbit/s uplink.
Further completing its full set of connectivity options, the Sony Xperia ZR is also the proud owner of support for all the latest Wi-Fi protocols, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and DLNA. If you're the type of user who loves to explore the possibilities with these new technologies, the Xperia ZR will certainly prove to be a fine playground.
We encountered no problems when using the Xperia ZR for navigation. The user's location gets pinpointed in a timely manner even when assistance from wireless networks is turned off. Of course, what you'll find on board the device is Google Maps, which has a decent voice navigation module built-in, though it should be noted that it requires you to have a constant internet connection. Other than that, Google's robust Maps offering makes for a pretty satisfying maps and navigation solution.
Camera
Like many other things in this phone, Sony has also personalized the camera interface. The app is pretty easy to get the hang of, as most of the important options are just one or two taps away. Shooting modes, for example, are one of those things that are very easy to reach. What's of particular interes there is Sony's 'Super auto' mode, which dynamically changes the shooting mode based on the type of scene you're currently framing. It tends to work pretty well most of the times. The camera app does take 2-3 seconds to initialize after a cold-start, though consecutive launches are almost instantaneous. There's also little to no delay between saving a taken photo and getting ready to take the next one, so overall, we can't have any complaints speed-wise.
The Xperia ZR is equipped with a 13MP camera, which might seem impressive to some, but the quality of the images is actually average. The worst thing about the ZR's shots is that they often appear underexposed, causing them look darker than the actual environment that you took them in. Besides, although the resolution itself is the more than sufficient 4128x3096 pixels (granted you're shooting at 13MP and in 4:3 aspect ratio), once you zoom in to take a good look at the fine details, it's easy to notice some chubby pixelized clusters giving the photo a somewhat digitized appearance. Of course, no one views pictures from their summer vacation this way, so they are still detailed enough for everyday use cases like sharing on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks.
On the plus side, colors tend to keep a mostly realistic balance, while good macro images are a piece of cake to make with the Xperia ZR.
Moving indoors, all the disadvantages of the camera are once again visible, especially the digital noise, which will accompany your indoor pictures every step of the way. Also, do not expect wonders from the LED flash, as it's on the weaker side, struggling to illuminate even a small room.
As with photos, the worst part about the 1080p video that you can record with the Sony Xperia ZR is its underexposure. Aside from that, there are some slight problems with the continuous autofocus, while sharpness is about average. It's by no means an award-winning 1080p video, but it can still do the job when you aren't bringing your point-and-shoot with you.
Sony Xperia ZR Sample Video:
Sony Xperia ZR Indoor Sample Video:
Multimedia
The Sony Xperia ZR is a great phone to watch video on. The display is mostly good-looking and big enough so you can even watch full-length movies on it, if need be. It supports all the popular formats, and even if you manage to find a video that is not playable with the stock player, you should be able to fix this by downloading a capable third-party player from the Play Store.
The Xperia ZR comes with a Sony headset in the box, and the sound it provides is OK. Unfortunately, the earphones are of the stick-them-deep-down-your-ears type, which makes them somewhat uncomfortable to use. You simply have to make sure that they fit very tightly, because otherwise you won't be enjoying any bass. The Walkman music player is quite cool and simplistic. It sports some interesting features like ClearAudio+, which aims to give some more clarity to the sound, though it's basically a specific EQ preset. There are also some other sound enhancing tools like xLOUD, as well as a regular equalizer with many presents, including a custom option.
The Gallery has also been customized
The picture and video galleries have also been customized by Sony, and we have to admit that the result is very good. The new apps have a fresh and consumer-centric design. The Sony touch has worked well here.
Sadly, while the handset's loudspeaker manages to produce some OK sounding tones, its loudness is actually on the weaker side. It's not a bad speaker, but doesn't stand out in any way. Even the xLOUD option can't bring it to a more satisfying level.
Call quality
The Sony Xperia ZR is nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to call quality. The earpiece is pretty average with slightly muffled, but still comprehensible sounding. Meanwhile the microphone is just fine as it manages to transmit your voice in a clear and audible way.
Similar things can be said about the phone's loudspeaker. It's neither very powerful, nor deep-sounding, but it manages to remain clear and strong enough for the most part. Don't try to use it in a noisy environment, though – you'll be struggling to hear a thing.
Battery
It's actually a bit depressing to see the battery percentage of the Xperia ZR drop almost in real-time. The phone should, theoretically, be capable of offering up to 13 hours of 3G talk-time and 21 days of stand-by, but of course, real-life usage will successfully drain it completely in just about a day and a half.
Conclusion
Although there are a few compromises associated with the otherwise solid performance of the Sony Xperia ZR, it manages present users with a satisfying experience that will surely be appreciated by tech-savvy people. The thicker profile, uninspiring materials, average battery life, mediocre camera and so-so outdoor visibility of the display represent a big part of the compromises that were made with the Xperia ZR. Sony has tried to give this phone a not-so-high-end feel, and for the most part, it has succeeded.
Still, once you weigh the positive over the negative aspects of the Xperia ZR, it turns out that there is still a lot to like in this Sony handset. It still has a fairly big, 4.5” display with a fine resolution, and it still has that powerful quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, so you can at least be sure that you're getting a highly-relevant device that won't have a problem running even the most complex game or application currently available. At the end of the day, the Sony Xperia ZR proves it can qualify as an upper-mid-range device, but its price is the thing that will probably put most users off, as the ZR is priced well above many other capable Android smartphones.
Right now, last year's Nexus 4 seems like a much better deal with its lower price and comparable specs. Meanwhile, the HTC One mini will soon be an Android model of similar characteristics and a more exquisite design. And, if you're ready to shell out just a bit more cash, you can just go for the HTC One or the Galaxy S4, which will offer you that true high-end feel that only a flagship smartphone can have.
Software version of the reviewed unit: Android 4.1.2; Build 10.1.1.A.1.310
Rad Slavov is the Editor-in-Chief at PhoneArena. He joined the media in 2008, right on the cusp of the modern smartphone revolution. Through time and perseverance, he amassed a great deal of knowledge and industry know-how, allowing him to guide and organize the company's growing line-up of talented content creators and ever-expanding content portfolio.
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