Back late August, I got to take a look at Sony's new Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact, and they're great. They do all the things a smartphone should do in 2017, and they look pretty good. They even have this awesome 3D mapping feature that lets you recreate your face on your phone. It's neat.
The larger of the two phones, the Xperia XZ1, is now available in the U.S. through Amazon. It's unlocked and works with AT&T, T-Mobile and a bunch of smaller alternative carriers that rely on their networks, but it won't work on Verizon or Sprint. It also doesn't have a fingerprint sensor in the U.S. because of a continuing legal issue with an unnamed entity called Verizon.
That's all well and good, but this phone costs $699.99 from Amazon, which may appear inexpensive compared to recent launches like the Galaxy Note 8, but it's still a lot of money to pay for a phone that lacks a fundamentally important part of the smartphone experience. At least in my opinion.
Should you disagree, it's shipping now and is available in four very nice colors, including my favorite, Moonlit Blue.
If you want something a bit more exciting — still without a fingerprint, but exciting nonetheless — you'll want to wait until mid-October, when the Xperia XZ1 Compact comes out. It's $100 cheaper, and really powerful for a small device.
