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Sony Xperia Z2 revealed as new flagship Android handset

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Sony’s best smartphone just got better with the introduction of the new Sony Xperia Z2 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The long-rumoured sequel to the impressive Z1 is finally official after an outing at the annual mobile show today, confirming the company’s plans to improve on the Z1 just five months after it became available – the Xperia Z1 was announced in September of last year at IFA but soon after we started hearing reports of the Z2.

To look at, the Xperia Z2 is identical to the Z1 – the same large, squared design with a thin frame is still present, with little changes made. Sony has however made the Xperia Z2 thinner – 8.2mm compared to 8.5mm on the Z1 – and 12g lighter. Due to a slightly larger display, the Z2 is also fractionally taller.

The display size has been bumped up from 5-inches to 5.2, keeping the same Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution but switching from a TFT screen type to IPS LCD. This switch will make the Z2’s display much brighter and more vivid, with better viewing angles to boot. Sony has also added a technology which it calls ‘Live Colour LED’ which will apparently provide “the widest palate of rich natural colours for the sharpest images and a viewing experience that is as close to reality as possible.”

The camera has also been improved, with the same 20.7 megapixel Exmor R sensor from the Z1 still used but with some adjustments to bring even better image and video quality. To keep up with the trend, 4K video recording capabilities have been added, so the Xperia Z2 will shoot video in a super-high resolution that suits the new breed of 4K TVs and projectors. There’s also 120fps video recording for slow-mo video goodness, SteadyShot image stabilisation and a cool new effect which blurs the background around a close-up shot.

Speed is also on the bill with the Xperia Z2, thanks to a faster quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.3GHz. Android 4.4 KitKat is also the operating system of choice, which when paired with the new 801 chipset should make for a very fast phone indeed. To complement the processor upgrade there’s also a jump to 3GB of RAM and a bigger 3,200 mAh battery which should see 14 hours of talk time from a single charge.

Finally, Sony has moved the stereo speakers to the front of the phone – a la HTC BoomSound – and has introduced a technology called S Force Surround Sound which should improve sound quality when gaming and watching movies without headphones.

Sony will make the Xperia Z2 available to buy in March, but hasn’t confirmed the price just yet. We suspect that the Z1 will disappear and be replaced by the Z2 naturally at the same price.