Sony Xperia ZL Nearly Ready For AT&T 4G LTE

The Sony Xperia ZL, a variant of the Xperia Z, recently made its way through the FCC on its way to the U.S. and AT&T’s 4G LTE network.

According to Engadget the Xperia ZL passed the FCC’s inspection, and is safe for U.S. users. The phone that passed through the government agency contained bands for AT&T’s HSPA+ network as well as 4G LTE bands 2, 4, 5 and 17, the same ones AT&T uses on its network.

The radios included in the phone seem to indicate that it will come to AT&T sometime in the near future. Neither Sony nor AT&T have announced a subsidized version of the Xperia ZL coming to the carrier. Sony does offer the recent Sony Xperia TL, however, so there is a history of the carrier offering Sony smartphones with two-year contracts.

Previously Sony announced that it will sell the Xperia ZL unlocked in the U.S. The unlocked model would work on both T-Mobile and AT&T 4G LTE networks. Sony currently has a product page for the Xperia ZL, but it doesn’t have a price or release date for the smartphone.

The Sony Xperia ZL is very similar to the recent Xperia Z. Both phones have 5-inch 1080p displays, and both use a quad-core Snapdragon processor inside. The two phones also feature a 13MP camera that can take instant HDR photos as well as real-time 1080p HDR video.

https://youtu.be/9Pp7nDmb5K4

The biggest difference between the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL is the latter phone doesn’t have the same waterproof and dust-proof features. While the Xperia Z can handle a cup of water poured over it, the Xperia ZL is just as water-phobic as most other smartphones.

Unfortunately for Sony fans the waterproof Xperia Z is only available through import. The Xperia ZL is a nice consolation, but for many consumers, it may be hard to shake the feeling that it’s just not as good as the Xperia Z.