Sony’s Xperia Z2 smartphone has arrived in the US for $699.99

Sony’s flagship Xperia Z2 quietly went on sale in the U.S. this weekend, but it is initially available off-contract only at a whopping $699. And that’s after a limited-time $50 discount. Even for a flagship smartphone with the latest specifications, that’s a pretty hefty price tag — and it’s only going to go up when (if) that $50 discount runs out. It’s particularly pricey when you consider that rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8 can now be had for under $600 on Amazon. If you don’t mind spending that kind of money on a phone, however, you will be getting one of the best available right now. The Xperia Z2 boasts a stunning 5.2-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and an impressive 20.7-megapixel rear-facing camera that’s capable of shooting 4K video. It’s also dust- and water-resistant, and there’s a microSD card slot for boosting the 16GB of storage that comes built-in. The model Sony is currently offering in the U.S. supports LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, and 20 — making it ideal for AT&T and T-Mobile. There’s currently no indication when you’ll actually receive the Xperia Z2, however. Sony says it’s on backorder and it does not advertise a shipping date — though we suspect that might change quickly over the coming days. There’s also no word on when the device will be available on contract in the U.S., either.