Sony's swelling its Xperia ranks with the Sony Xperia Z1. It joins the Sony Xperia Z and the Sony Xperia Z Ultra. With a 20.7-megapixel camera and some nifty snapping features, it's got the tech to take on the best camera smartphones out there - including the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4 and Nokia Lumia 1020, but how will it fair?

Sony Xperia Z1: Size and Build

The Sony Xperia Z1 is thin and Sony has added a touch of aluminium to the bezel that gives it a more premium feel, compared to the Xperia Z. Buttons are kept to a minimum, you'll find an on/off button, dedicated camera button and a volume rocker. There's also a magnetic charging port and no need to worry if you tip this in the drink, it's waterproof to 1.5 metres for 30 minutes.

Sony Xperia Z1: Features

The stand out feature on the Sony Xperia Z1 is its camera.  On the rear there's a huge 20.7-megapixel back camera with an EXMOR R Cybershot sensor for low light conditions and a F2.0 wide angle 27mm Sony G lens. 
During our short time with the snapper, the pics it took were easily some of the best we've taken on a smartphone. The lag was non-existent and the details and colours in the pictures were excellent, even in lower light conditions.  

Added to the camera are some nifty features. TimeShift is an app that lets you take a picture at 61fps and then allows you to jog through them to pick the best one; InfoEye overlays information on an item you take a picture of; AR effect add dinosaurs or cartoons to your pics and finally Social Live live streams from the Z1 to Facebook.
On the front you'll find a 2-megapixel camera offering that also serves-up HD video recording.

Sony Xperia Z1: Screen

The screen on the Xperia Z1 remains at 5 inches, like the Xperia Z before it, but the tech inside the screen has been updated. As with the camera using EXMOR tech, the screen ports over BRAVIA tech. The result is a pin-sharp screen whether it's watching a video or browsing the web.

Sony Xperia Z1: Performance

Keeping that camera and the phone ticking along is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800-series processor with 2GB of RAM. It's lightning fast and multitasking was a breeze.

Sony Xperia Z1: Verdict

At first glance, the Sony Xperia Z1 is an impressive phone. The camera spec alone is enough to tempt a photography enthusiast. Add to that the nifty creative features, the speedy processor and the pin-sharp screen and it seems Sony has again served up a smartphone to look- out for and one that can take on the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and Nokia Lumia 1020