 Hey guys, I'm Vlad with The Verge here at EVO 2016 and I have Sony's new flagship for this year, the Xperia XZ. Now, all the action with this phone is around here at the back, because Sony is doubling down, tripling down on its camera technology. You still have the 23 megapixel sensor from the Xperia Z series, but this time it also has laser detect autofocus, so that's a second sensor, and a new RGB IR sensor dedicated to white balance and getting just the right colors. So, these are really the standout features. Apart from that, you have the metal back design, which Sony introduced at MWC, and it's its feature for the Xperia X series, but besides them, this is really quite a regular Android flagship smartphone. Sony's differentiation here is design and the camera. In terms of the specs of Sony's new flagship, you would have heard them quite a few times already this year. It's a Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, both of which are actually quite limited. We've seen some other flagships coming out with 6GB of RAM and plenty more storage, but you also get the usual fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button. You get USB-C, naturally, for 2016. Also, something that's quite unique to Sony nowadays is having a dedicated shutter button, which again goes to the whole point about this being a camera phone first and foremost. And besides that, there's also an Xperia X Compact, which has the same strengths of camera and design, so you have a choice of sizes, the 5.2-inch Xperia XZ or the 4.6-inch Xperia X Compact. The Xperia X Compact actually downgrades quite a few of the specs. It doesn't have the metal back, it doesn't have the Snapdragon 820, so what you may do is with a plastic back with a ceramic-style coating and a Snapdragon 650. I think that might be sufficient to get most people the performance that they need, but again, it isn't the top tier level. There are just a couple of specs that might disappoint people. One of them is the resolution. The Xperia XZ still sticks with 1080p resolution. The Xperia X Compact still has a 720p resolution on it. Neither of them is bad per se, and both displays have really nice viewing angles, looking at them now, but it isn't the latest, it isn't pushing any boundaries, and for Sony, that's what we usually expect. Besides that, both of these phones seem to be running Android 6.01 at the moment. No promises from Sony with respect to Android Nougat, the latest version, which would be really nice to see. Other companies like LG are just about to launch Android Nougat phones. So before seeing these new Sony phones in person, I was actually ready to criticize them for not having any breakthrough specs aside from those new camera systems, but getting them in my hands, what I'm finding is that I really like them. This is typical with Sony. They do design really, really well. They have this new loop design as they describe it. There's a whole bunch of symmetry going on around each phone, and it's tangible. You feel it in your hands, particularly the Xperia X Compact. I've always had a soft spot for Sony's smaller phones. It's just a joy and a pleasure to hold. In terms of Sony living up to its strengths and extending them, these phones are just classic Sony. So Sony hasn't yet announced the pricing for these new phones, but the X Compact can be expected to be a little bit cheaper, and it will be on the market sooner. Next week, in fact. The Xperia XZ will be out there in October. Thanks for watching our first look at Sony's new Xperia range here at IFA 2016. For more of the fun and whimsy of covering the show here in Berlin, stay tuned to youtube.com slash theverge and theverge.com. Xperia Z... No. This is cardio, this is good.