Sony Xperia Z4 launched globally as Xperia Z3+: What's new and competition with existing flagships

Japan-based Sony has made official its newest Xperia iteration called the Xperia Z3+ which is a global smartphone that is also called Xperia Z4 in Japan. The global Xperia Z3+ will be launched globally in June and is an improved version of the Xperia Z3.

The USP of Xperia Z3+ is that it is waterproof, just like its predecessors. The newest Xperia is also claimed by its makers to offer up to two days worth of battery life on a single full charge.

Prospective customers can choose between two Xperia Z3+ variants viz Xperia Z3+ (bearing model number E6553) and Xperia Z3+ Dual (model number E6533). Xperia Z3+ runs Google's Android 5.0 (Lollipop) straight out of the box. Tech-spec wise, the smartphone is the same as that of the Xperia Z4 only with the change in name for the global edition.

Key technical specifications of Sony Xperia Z3+ aka Xperia Z4

• 5.2in IPS display enclosed within scratch-resistant glass
• Android 5.0 (Lollipop) operating platform, out of the box
• 1.5 GHz quad-core Cortex A53 and 2 GHz quad-core Cortex A57 CPUs within a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 64-bit SoC
• 20.7MP primary camera
• 5.1MP secondary camera
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB internal storage
• MicroSD card slot for expansion of internal storage up to 128GB
• 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and microUSB connectivity
• Fixed2930 mAh Li-Ion battery having a claimed talktime of up to 17 hours on 3G

The retail price of Sony Xperia Z3+ is yet to be announced at this point in time.

Competition

Being a flagship device, Sony's Xperia Z3+ competes with the likes of Apple's iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung's Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge in terms of technicality.

Very recently, Sony's French unit confirmed that they would seed Android 5.0.2 to users of the older Sony Xperia T3 handsets. Hence, users of this device are advised to check out for newer automatic OTA notifications.