Apr 06, 2017 12:21 PM EDT By Emily Schultz, UniversityHerald Reporter

Sony's super mid-range mobile device, Sony Xperia XZ, is now available on store shelves this week. Starting April 5, the Nougat-powered Xperia XZ can be purchased at $700 unlocked from retailers, which include Amazon.com and Best Buy. Sony made the big announcement this week.

Sony first introduced Xperia XZ at a press conference held at the annual IFA event last year. The Xperia XZ, which first released on September 30, 2016, serves as the true successor of the Sony Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z series. The Xperia XZ is also the company's latest flagship phone after the Xperia Z5 Premium. It also the successor to the Xperia Performance.

The Xperia XZ is one of the first Sony-made smartphones to utilize the USB Type-C connectivity for charging and data transfer. It also the first smartphone to feature a five-axis sensor-shift image stabilization system and the first Sony device to feature an RGBC-IR color sensor for capturing accurate colors. But unlike its predecessors, the phone's rear camera is equipped with laser autofocus built-in alongside the hybrid contrast/phase detection autofocus.

As with the other specs and features, the Xperia XZ also shares a number of key features with its high-end big sibling, the Xperia XZ Premium. These include the Exmor RS-fitted camera that said to be capable of shooting video at 960 frames-per-second. However, there some slight changes made. The Xperia XZ's Snapdragon 830 processor downgraded from the Xperia XZ Premium's Snapdragon 835, while the 5.2-inch display merely 1080 pixel, rather than support for 4K, according to The Verge.

Overall, it's a decent smartphone with solid specs and features. But $700 price tag, the phone would likely have trouble attracting customers, especially when there are good alternatives that with almost same specs and that can cost customers hundreds of dollars less. For more about the latest Xperia XZ deals online, check the Amazon website.

In other Xperia-related news, Sony's latest budget Android smartphone, the Xperia L1, is set to be launched this coming June. The news about the Xperia L1's arrival in Europe come from the UK retailer Clove, which listed the Sony mobile device with words like "first stock expected early June," the GSM Arena reported.

Unfortunately, not much information has been released at that time. Neither the release date nor the pricing details were revealed to the public. The rumored Sony Xperia L1, which was first announced a couple of weeks ago, is said to feature key specs which include a MediaTek MT6737T chipset and Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.

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