Sony announces Xperia Z3+: Just another flagship

While the likes of HTC, LG and Samsung all have new flagship smartphones for 2015, Sony is still trying to sway consumers with last year's Xperia Z3. While it is not exactly dated, it is showing its age in a time when the competition is rocking newer and more impressive hardware, as well as more attractive designs.

So how is Sony answering? The Japanese maker has decided that the flagship it needs to compete against rivals like G4 and Galaxy S6 is actually a rebranded version of the Japan-only Z4 that it unveiled in mid-April. Sony is either crazy or dropping out of the race.

Sony's new global flagship is called Xperia Z3+. It looks pretty much like all other Xperia Z flagships that have been released in the past two years, which may not be enough to propel Xperia Z3+ to the top of consumers' lists. The big changes, compared to Xperia Z3, are under the hood, where Sony's latest flagship is up there with the competition.

Sony has given Xperia Z3+ Qualcomm's most-powerful processor, the octa-core Snapdragon 810, which has four of its cores clocked at 2 GHz, with the remaining four running at 1.5 GHz. It also features 3 GB of RAM, which should aid with multitasking.

As it typical of Sony's flagships, Xperia Z3+ is likely to be a strong performer when it comes to battery life. There is a 2,930 mAh battery inside, non-removable of course, which is quoted for up to 580 minutes of video playback -- or 9 hours and 40 minutes. The screen is still a 5.2-inch IPS panel with a resolution of 1,080 by 1,920, which should do its fair part helping the battery.

In the specs department, so far so good. Where Sony has done little is in regards to the camera. Xperia Z3+ packs a 20.7 MP sensor with a 25 mm-equivalent wide-angle lens, which is capable of 4K video recording, HDR, and a 5 MP camera on the front, which can record 1080p video. The main camera is similar to the one found on Xperia Z3, which wasn't exactly the strongest of performers. Meanwhile, the competition has improved (HTC's One M9 might be an exception though).

Here is what else you should know about Xperia Z3+. It offers 32 GB of internal storage, and a microSD card slot for an extra capacity of up to 128 GB. It is equipped with Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, and 4G LTE Cat 6. Physical dimensions are 146.3 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm and weight is 144 grams.

The good news, for those who want to mix smartphone use with water, is that Xperia Z3+ retains the IP65 and IP68 certifications, which means it is both water and dust proof. This is a feature that Samsung has dropped with Galaxy S6, coming from last year's Galaxy S5.

Is there something else that you should know? Well, Sony says that Xperia Z3+ will be available as early as next month, in four color trims: Aqua Green, Black, Copper and White. It will be globally available, and offered in both single and dual-SIM flavors.

When it comes to the software, Sony has set itself up for criticism from the get-go. Xperia Z3+ ships with Android 5.0 Lollipop, which is not the latest version of Android that is available -- that would be version 5.1. Sony, as some of you may know, is slow when it comes to delivering software upgrades, so it would not be an exaggeration saying that I expect Android 5.1 Lollipop to be available closer to the launch of a new Android release.

Couple the dated software with the dated design and you have a smartphone that will struggle to compete on equal footing with Apple's hugely-popular iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, LG's well-received G4 or Samsung's mighty Galaxy S6.