Xperia Z3+ overheats and crashes in seconds under normal use

Expect to see this warning if you buy an Xperia Z3+. Photo: AndroidPIT

Expect to see this warning if you buy an Xperia Z3+. Photo: AndroidPIT

Snapdragon 810 supporters will try to convince you there’s nothing wrong with Qualcomm’s latest chip, but the video below proves its tendency to get too hot is a very real problem. Watch Sony’s new Xperia Z3+ overheat and crash in a matter of seconds while running the build-in Camera app.

“We were pretty excited to get the Xperia Z3+ in for review,” writes Kris Carlon of AndroidPIT. “That is until we found one of the worst launch bugs we’ve ever seen… the Xperia Z3+ camera crashes almost instantaneously when you throw anything even vaguely heavy at it.”

Shooting still images and even 1080p video doesn’t appear to be much of a problem, but when attempting to shoot 4K video, or using some of Sony’s built-in camera features — like the augmented reality mode — the Xperia Z3+ quickly overheats and closes the Camera app automatically.

“The device temperature is rising,” reads the warning that pops up prior to the Camera crash, which happens after less than a minute of use. “If it continues to rise, the app will close automatically.”

AndroidPIT calls this a “bizarre bug,” and believes it’s mostly down to the Camera app itself. But Sony has already acknowledged that the Snapdragon 810 chip powering its new device is prone to overheating, and it insists it’s normal.

But despite brushing off the concerns, the Japanese firm has confirmed it is working on updates that will address both the overheating, and the Camera crashes. It’s not clear when those will be available, but they are on the way.

It’s pretty clear that the Xperia Z3+ probably wasn’t ready to go on sale yet. These are problems you should not expect to get with any smartphone — let alone a flagship device that costs as much as $700 off-contract.