Sony(s sne) hasn’t had an easy time breaking into the U.S. smartphone market, but it also hasn’t released any must-have phones. The Xperia Z was close, but it was held back by a dated processor and a T-Mobile(s tmus) carrier exclusive. The new Xperia Z1s is also tethered to T-Mobile, but it’s packing a much faster processor. In addition, it improves upon the waterproof properties of its predecessor and has a really great camera. That said, I still don’t think this is Sony’s breakthrough phone – though it does make me hopeful for the Xperia Z2.

All Xperias look the same in the dark

Physically, there’s not much going on here to distinguish the Z1s from other phones in the Xperia line – and that’s a good thing. I’d argue that Sony’s Xperia phones are the most attractive Android devices out there next to the HTC One. Covered…