Part of the Xperia X series, the device was announced to the public at a press conference held at the annual 2018 IFA Berlin event on August 30, 2018.

The Xperia XZ3 uses Sony's new "Ambient Flow" design, similar to that on the XZ2, however it comes with a 6 inches (150 mm) curved OLED display, which is wrapped around a new 7000 series aluminium frame.

Being a Sony device, it features their TRILUMINOS and X-Reality technology and supports 10-bit colour, which means it is certified for the BT.2020 standard and HDR10 playback.

With the XZ3, Sony has abandoned QuickCharge 3.0 in favour of USB Power Delivery (USB-PD), but it still includes Qnovo Adaptive Charging.

It includes a new feature from Sony called "Side Sense", which is a custom drawer-like interface that is built-in to the stock Xperia launcher, it can be triggered by tapping twice anywhere along the curved display edge of the XZ3.