Xperia XZ3 is Sony’s first phone with OLED display and Android Pie out of the box

Sony overhauled its smartphone design language earlier this year and it seems the company is still feeling excited about the new look. The Japanese tech giant has been on the roll with flagship phones here and there, the latest of them being the Xperia XZ3.

The IFA 2018 event in Berlin is upon us and this is where Sony Xperia XZ3 has been announced. The phone looks just like the Xperia XZ2, only that it’s bigger and better. For the first time, you are getting an OLED panel on a Sony Xperia phone. But this isn’t the only first the XZ3 brings to Sony phones.

Related: The best Sony phones in 2018

Xperia XZ3 specs

6-inch 18:9 OLED QHD+ HDR TRILUMINOS display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor
4GB RAM
64GB expandable storage, up to 512GB
19MP Motion Eye back camera
13MP front camera
3330mAh battery
Android 9 Pie
Extras: Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, NFC, IP65/68, rear-mounted scanner, wireless charging, Quick Charge 3.0, stereo surround speaker, etc.

From the spec sheet, the Xperia XZ3 is blazing hot. This time, you get a flagship-level 13MP front camera and not the mediocre 5MP unit used on the XZ2, but it is the new OLED panel that takes the limelight. The first ever on an Xperia smartphone, the 6-inch panel has technology inspired by Sony’s Bravia TV team as the company aims to take the game to Samsung’s own yard, which now has the even bigger and better Galaxy Note 9.

Sony also has another first-ever feature on Xperia phones, but not in the industry. The edge can respond to pressure, just like latest HTC and Google phones. Whether this is just a gimmick or Sony has some actual use for the feature it calls side sense can only be determined through time, but we hope the latter case prevails.

When all is said and done, the icing on the cake is the software, where Sony Xperia XZ3 becomes the first to ship with Android 9 Pie preinstalled, even ahead of Google Pixel 3. Sony says the phone will be available for pre-orders beginning September 24th priced at $900. And there lies the problem with otherwise great Sony Xperia phones – the price!

You can have the XZ3 in either Black, White Silver, Forest Green or Bordeaux Red beginning October 17th through Amazon and Best Buy, with the former offering a free Xperia Ear Duo headset to those who pre-order the phone.