Xperia Z2a sized up against the Xperia Z2; inferior display exposed

by XB on 10th June 2014

in Xperia Z2


Xperia Z2a versus Z2_1Sony has started to use much better displays on its handsets, following much criticism last year. A number of models launched in 2014 now use IPS displays such as the Xperia Z2, Xperia Z1 Compact, Xperia T2 Ultra and the upcoming Xperia T3.

Earlier today, we reported that the Xperia Z2a will launch in Taiwan next month, although there’s no word whether we’ll see it launch globally. Essentially it is the same phone as the Xperia ZL2 that has been released for au by KDDI in Japan. Specs for the Xperia Z2a are largely the same as the Xperia Z2 including the Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AB) chipset, 16GB internal storage, 3GB RAM, 20.7MP Exmor RS camera and IP55/IP58 certification.

The Xperia Z2a is slightly smaller than the Xperia Z2, sporting a 5.0-inch 1080p display (Xperia Z2: 5.2-inch) and a sealed 3000mAh battery (Xperia Z2: 3200mAh).The Xperia Z2a also only has a VGA (0.3MP) front-facing camera versus the 2.2MP front camera in the Xperia Z2.

It is therefore a shame to see such a well-specced handset using a VA, rather than IPS, panel. The side-by-side pictures below of the Xperia Z2a versus the Xperia Z2 show the difference in displays and how far we’ve come over the last year. The Xperia Z2a has poor contrast when not looking head-on at the display.

Given that we’ve seen Sony’s mid-range models this year adopting IPS panels, it’s a bit odd that it is not using something similar for the Xperia Z2a. Perhaps Sony is trying to run down inventory of this particular display type. After all the Xperia Z1 also had a 5.0-inch FHD display, so perhaps Sony had some excess inventory. Whatever the reason, we hope that going forward we only see the best displays in all Sony mobile devices.

Xperia Z2a versus Z2_1

Xperia Z2a versus Z2_2

Xperia Z2a versus Z2_3

Xperia Z2a versus Z2_4

Xperia Z2a versus Z2_5

Via ePrice.

Thanks Ben!

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