Exclusive: Sony Xperia Z3 Coming to Verizon

The brand-new Sony Xperia Z3 phone, announced today, will be coming to Verizon Wireless as the Z3v, according to reliable documents sent to PCMag.com.

Sony announced the Xperia Z3 today at the IFA trade show. It's very similar to the existing Z2, with a 5.2-inch 1080p screen, glass front and back, and a luxurious feel. Like the Z2, it has a 20.7-megapixel camera, although this one supposedly has a wider-angle view and spectacular low-light performance.

More importantly, though, this is the first Verizon Sony phone we've seen since the ill-fated Xperia Play gaming phone in 2011. The Xperia Play demanded special controller-compatible games; the Z3, instead, will work as a display for your living room PlayStation 4 when you're on your home network.

Sony announced today that the Z3 will come to T-Mobile, but not to any other U.S. carrier. But the Z3v documents sent to us show a Verizon model with a Verizon logo on the back and references to NFC and wireless charging. A screen shot shows Amazon Music, the Amazon AppStore and Kindle preloaded. The documents also show 32GB of storage, 3GB of RAM, and a MicroSD card slot in the Verizon model of the device.

We've asked Verizon for comment, but haven't heard back. We also don't know anything about pricing or availability just yet.

About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

US and Canadian mobile networks
Mobile phones released in the US
iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
Mobile hotspots
Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services.

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

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