Xperia Z2 gets microphone gain control; hear the difference…

One thing I never liked about the Xperia Z2 was the, frankly, awful sound if you were recording a video in a noisy environment – such as a gig.

But the Z3 and Z3 Compact came along with a new option to set the microphone gain, and now with the pending update to 4.4.4 on the Z2 the same option has been added.

You can now hear the difference for yourself courtesy of these three videos uploaded by Haldi4803.

Previously, I’d say that recording in a noisy location was nearest to the high gain video (2) below, which was horrible and embarrassing compared to the gain control featured on other handsets, such as Nokia Lumia models (with adjustable gain), the HTC One (M8) and LG’s G3.

Android 4.4.4 is currently rolling out to the Xperia Z2, but anyone that can’t wait can flash the new ROM (23.0.1.A.0.167) now, choosing a preferred FTF file from Xda-developers.com.

Video 1: Low gain (Sony recommends for: rock concerts, close-up interviews)

Video 2: High gain (Sony recommends for: lectures)

Video 3: Automatic

This seems to have failed miserably, so perhaps it’s not safe to just assume the phone will adjust automatically and not mess things up. Rather like the camera in Superior Auto mode then!