The Sony Xperia ZR is the little brother of the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL, and boasts pretty much every key specification they have. The major is the 4.55″ 720p display, which should be kinder to the equally large 2300 mAh battery inside the phone.
Identical chipsets and batteries plus a smaller screen of lower resolution give the Xperia ZR every chance of beating its premium rivals.
Let’s kick the battery test off with 3G talk time. The Sony Xperia ZR did 17 hours and 48 minutes of 3G calls before its 2300mAh battery went flat. That’s nearly 5 hours more than Sony officially says the phone is capable of, which is quite impressive on its own, but even more so considering that its better than the Xperia Z achievement by a bit over an hour and a half.
Talk time
Huawei Ascend Mate 25:12
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 21:18
LG Optimus G Pro 20:45
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 20:24
Motorola RAZR i 20:07
BlackBerry Q10 20:00
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 19:54
Sony Xperia SP 19:49
Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600) 18:03
Sony Xperia ZR 17:48
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 16:57
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active 16:40
Sony Xperia Z 16:03
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 15:32
LG Optimus G 15:30
Sony Xperia ZL 15:22
Nokia Lumia 720 15:17
BlackBerry Q5 14:31
Nokia Lumia 620 14:17
Oppo Find 5 14:17
Google Nexus 4 14:17
HTC One 13:38
HTC One X+ 13:31
Nokia Lumia 520 13:33
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini 13:10
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos 12:45
Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE 12:37
Huawei Ascend P1 12:30
Sony Xperia L 12:30
HTC Butterfly 12:18
Samsung Galaxy Note 12:14
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 11:58
Samsung Galaxy Premier 11:30
Asus Padfone 2 11:20
HTC Droid DNA 11:07
HTC Windows Phone 8X 11:07
Samsung Wave 3 S8600 11:07
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 11:06
HTC Desire X 11:03
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa) 11:01
HTC One X (AT&T, LTE) 10:35
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 10:20
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 10:15
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 10:03
HTC One V 10:00
Meizu MX 4-core 10:00
Samsung Galaxy Express 10:00
HTC One X 9:57
HTC One S 9:42
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 9:40
HTC Sensation XL 9:30
Nokia Lumia 810 9:05
Nokia Lumia 710 9:05
Acer CloudMobile S500 9:05
Motorola Atrix HD 9:04
HTC Vivid 9:02
Nokia Lumia 920 8:56
Nokia Lumia 610 8:51
HTC Rhyme 8:48
Apple iPhone 5 8:42
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 8:42
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 8:41
Meizu MX 8:39
Samsung Galaxy S II 8:35
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 8:28
Nokia Lumia 800 8:25
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 8:23
Nokia Lumia 510 8:22
Samsung Galaxy Fame 8:21
BlackBerry Z10 8:20
HTC Desire V 8:20
Samsung Captivate Glide 8:20
Sony Xperia T 8:15
HTC Rezound (LTE) 8:10
Samsung Galaxy Note (LTE) 8:02
LG Optimus Vu 7:57
LG Optimus 4X HD 7:41
Apple iPhone 4S 7:41
Samsung i937 Focus S 7:25
HTC Evo 4G LTE (LTE) 7:21
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 7:14
Nokia Lumia 820 7:09
Sony Xperia acro S 7:09
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 7:09
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 6:57
Nokia N9 6:57
HTC Radar 6:53
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 6:53
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:52
Sony Xperia E dual 6:42
Samsung Galaxy S III mini 6:22
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 5:54
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T (LTE) 5:53
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:52
Sony Xperia P 5:33
Nokia 808 PureView 5:16
LG Nitro HD (LTE) 5:16
HTC Titan II (LTE) 5:10
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:00
Pantech Burst 4:46
The good news continue with the web browsing test. Here, the Sony Xperia ZR tops everything we’ve ever tested by scoring 11 hours and 20 minutes. The combination of Chrome as a default browser and the smaller screen are probably to thank for this great result.
Web browsing
Sony Xperia ZR 11:20
BlackBerry Q5 10:04
HTC One 9:58
Apple iPhone 5 9:56
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini 9:47
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 9:12
Apple iPad mini 9:05
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 8:51
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 8:48
BlackBerry Q10 8:42
Nokia Lumia 810 8:20
Asus Padfone 2 8:20
Huawei Ascend Mate 8:17
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 8:17
Nokia Lumia 610 8:01
HTC One X+ 7:56
Sony Xperia E dual 7:42
Samsung Galaxy S III mini 7:38
Nokia Lumia 720 7:37
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active 7:35
Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600) 7:24
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 7:23
HTC Radar 7:17
Nokia Lumia 520 7:15
Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE 7:13
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos 7:09
Samsung Galaxy Express 7:09
Motorola RAZR i 7:06
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa) 6:58
Apple iPhone 4S 6:56
HTC One V 6:49
LG Optimus G Pro 6:40
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 6:40
Sony Xperia L 6:40
HTC Droid DNA 6:40
Samsung Galaxy Premier 6:40
Motorola Atrix HD 6:40
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:40
Sony Xperia Z 6:37
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 6:35
BlackBerry Z10 6:27
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 6:27
HTC Butterfly 6:24
Sony Xperia SP 6:18
Samsung i937 Focus S 6:15
Nokia Lumia 510 6:13
Sony Xperia ZL 6:04
HTC Windows Phone 8X 6:01
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:56
Samsung Galaxy Fame 5:55
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 5:53
Pantech Burst 5:51
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 5:45
HTC Desire V 5:44
HTC Evo 4G LTE 5:41
Nokia Lumia 920 5:40
Samsung Wave 3 S8600 5:34
Oppo Find 5 5:33
Sony Xperia T 5:33
Samsung Captivate Glide 5:33
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 5:28
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE 5:24
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 5:23
HTC Sensation XL 5:20
Meizu MX 4-core 5:19
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 5:17
Sony Xperia acro S 5:16
HTC Rezound 5:16
HTC Desire X 5:16
LG Optimus G 5:15
HTC Rhyme 5:08
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 5:07
HTC One X (AT&T) 5:03
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 4:50
LG Optimus Vu 4:49
HTC Vivid 4:46
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 4:45
Meizu MX 4:35
Google Nexus 4 4:34
Nokia N9 4:33
Acer CloudMobile S500 4:32
Nokia Lumia 820 4:24
Samsung Galaxy S II 4:24
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 4:20
HTC One X 4:18
Nokia 808 PureView 4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 4:10
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T 4:10
Nokia Lumia 800 4:07
HTC Titan II (LTE) 4:05
HTC One S 4:03
BlackBerry Bold 9790 4:02
LG Nitro HD 4:00
LG Optimus 4X HD 3:59
Sony Xperia P 3:59
Nokia Lumia 710 3:51
Nokia Lumia 620 3:50
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 3:47
Samsung Galaxy Note 3:35
Huawei Ascend P1 3:23
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 3:01
We now arrive at the final test – video playback. Here, the Xperia ZR did alright, but nothing breathtaking. Thanks to its 720p screen it beat the 1080p display rocking Xperia Z (5:39) and Xperia ZL (5:28) by scoring two hours more – 7 hours and 30 minutes. That’s not a particularly impressive score, but it’s not half bad either.
We ran the test with Mobile BRAVIA 2 turned on as we believed that’s how most users will be using their smartphones. Nevertheless, even with it switched off, the battery life wasn’t affected in a noticable way.
Video playback
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 16:35
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 14:17
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini 13:12
Apple iPad mini 12:51
Samsung Galaxy Premier 12:51
Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE 12:32
Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600) 12:30
BlackBerry Q5 12:28
Huawei Ascend Mate 12:18
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa) 11:29
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 11:27
BlackBerry Q10 11:15
Apple iPhone 5 10:12
HTC One 10:02
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 10:01
Samsung Galaxy Express 10:00
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 10:00
Nokia 808 PureView 9:53
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 9:42
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 9:34
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 9:30
HTC One S 9:28
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 9:27
Apple iPhone 4S 9:24
HTC Evo 4G LTE 9:07
BlackBerry Z10 8:44
LG Optimus G Pro 8:40
Nokia N9 8:40
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 8:34
HTC Butterfly 8:28
Samsung Galaxy Note 8:25
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos 8:11
HTC One X+ 8:11
Motorola RAZR i 8:11
Samsung Galaxy S II 8:00
Samsung i937 Focus S 7:55
Samsung Wave 3 S8600 7:52
Samsung Galaxy S III mini 7:46
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 7:45
Asus Padfone 2 7:38
Huawei Ascend P1 7:38
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 7:33
Sony Xperia ZR 7:30
HTC Droid DNA 7:30
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE 7:30
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 7:30
Sony Xperia SP 7:27
Nokia Lumia 610 7:23
LG Optimus G 7:16
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active 7:03
Nokia Lumia 720 6:43
Meizu MX 4-core 6:33
Nokia Lumia 620 6:32
HTC Windows Phone 8X 6:27
Sony Xperia E dual 6:27
Nokia Lumia 810 6:27
HTC Desire V 6:26
HTC One X (AT&T) 6:26
Nokia Lumia 820 6:25
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos 6:25
Nokia Lumia 510 6:23
LG Optimus Vu 6:23
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 6:21
Nokia Lumia 920 6:19
HTC Sensation XL 6:12
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 6:06
Samsung Captivate Glide 6:04
Sony Xperia ion LTE 6:03
Samsung Galaxy Nexus 6:02
Sony Xperia T 6:01
Motorola Atrix HD 6:01
HTC Vivid 6:00
HTC Radar 5:54
Nokia Lumia 800 5:52
Nokia Lumia 520 5:50
HTC Titan II 5:50
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:47
HTC One X 5:45
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro 5:44
Sony Xperia Z 5:39
Sony Xperia acro S 5:38
HTC Desire X 5:38
Pantech Burst 5:38
Sony Xperia ZL 5:28
Meizu MX 5:27
HTC Rhyme 5:23
HTC One V 5:20
Acer CloudMobile S500 5:18
Oppo Find 5 5:18
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T 5:18
BlackBerry Curve 9380 5:09
HTC Rezound 5:03
Samsung Galaxy Fame 5:02
Google Nexus 4 4:55
Sony Xperia L 4:44
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 4:30
Sony Xperia P 4:30
LG Nitro HD 4:17
LG Optimus 4X HD 4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 3:28
Nokia Lumia 710 3:27
In the end, thanks to its efficient talk times and optimized web browsing, the Xperia ZR managed to pull off an endurance rating of 62 hours. We did experience strange battery drains on a couple of occasions when we left the phone idle overnight, so it wasn’t always so great when it comes to stand-by, though.
You can read more about how we do the battery tests here.
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