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I've been using XZ Premium for almost 2 months, so I guess it doesn't really fit in the "first impressions" thread. I've got some thoughts to share, some positive, but some neutral and negative as well, both regarding software and hardware. Also for the reference, my previous phone was Xperia X.
HARDWARE
Positive:
+ The looks! - I really like the rectangular dark slab with sharp corners. I spend some time on reddit and see many users in /r/Android (as well as other places online) bashing Sony design for apparently not changing since the original Xperia Z (which, let's be honest, is an exaggeration at least) and their phones still having huge bezels, but I can't say that I mind it, personally. I find it easier to reach the navigation bar of the screen when there's some bottom bezel while using the phone with one hand.
+ The display - it's bright enough for me, most of the time. Also changing color gamut to Professional mode in display settings makes it look really nice. I can't help but notice how ridiculously oversaturated other phones' displays are, now.
+ The speakers - I've seen people here complaining about the speakers being too quiet, but they're loud enough for me. My ringtone volume is set to about 50% most of the time, and same goes for media volume. I really like the way the music sounds on them, too.
+ IP68 rating - moving from Z3 Compact to X, I really missed the water resistance. I don't swim with the phone or take underwater photos with it, but it was nice to know that I don't have to worry about my phone when being surprised by a downpour. I also washed my Compact under a tap more times than I'd care to admit 
All in all, it's good to have a water-resistant phone once again.
+ Fingerprint reader - I feel like I'm having much better success rate with it than with the one in the X. It's accurate and unlocks the phone quickly.
Neutral:
~ The size - it's a matter of preference. When I held the phone for the very first time, it seemed giant and unwieldy compared to the X. I got used to it and don't mind it at all anymore, but I sometimes grab the X and can't notice how much more comfortable it lies in my hand. I'm using a Style Cover though, which adds a bit of bulk when it's folded behind the phone, so I guess that's a factor that comes into play, too.
Negative:
- Glass on the back - I realize it was used to make the phone look more luxurious, but when using it caseless, it loses it's appeal quickly as it's a big fingerprint magnet, and makes the phone very slippery as well, and slippery coupled with the phone being a glass sandwich spell disaster. On the other hand, that way NFC antenna could be put in the back of the phone instead of the front like in the metal X, so I guess it's a double-edged sword.
SOFTWARE
Positive:
+ Speed and smoothness - Sony UI skin is pretty lightweight when compared to, say, Samsung or LG, so it doesn't get in my way (just like software should) and makes the phone ran smooth when using it - I like that a lot.
+ Additional features - most of them are fairly inobtrusive and actually add to the experience. For example, I like the magnifying glass appearing when moving the cursor around, or the Smart backlight feature.
+ Some of the preloaded apps - even though I'm one of those people who replaces most of the stock apps with third party equivalents, I have to say that Sony's stock apps are solid. I actually don't feel the need to download gallery apps from Play Store, as Sony Album works just fine for my needs. Sony Music is great too, although my hunger for customization pushed me for GoneMAD Music Player and its extensive settings and toggles to tailor the music player to my needs.
+ Camera - It's quick to launch and quick to snap, and automatic mode provides decent quality. I also absolutely love the Super Slowmo mode. It reminds me of the time when I got my first cellphone with camera (Sony Ericsson W810, by the way) - I would take photos of everyone and everything and checkng how did they turn out. Over the years I, as well as pretty much everyone else, got used to camera being a part of the phone and I'm now taking it for granted, but the Super Slowmo sort of makes me go back to that period of wonder - I keep playing with it, checking how everyday events look like when slowed down. Sometimes nothing spectacular happens, but other times the effects are incredible. From my experience, the best subjects are skipped stones, insects and cats.
Neutral:
~ Some of the preloaded apps - I get it, I really do: partnerships mean profit. That said, I really, really don't like an antivirus app installed by default, especially since antivirus software can barely do anything on Android as it lacks permissions to even remove apps. I despise Facebook, so I frowned at the sight of it being installed on my phone by default. Luckily, the biggest offenders can be disabled, so there's that. Except What's New, which I feel like has no place on this phone at all. At least it lets me disable the nagging notifications, otherwise I'd be trully livid.
Negative:
- Some of the software choices when compared to AOSP. I used to run Concept software on my X, and after switching to the Xperia-branded software on XZ Premium I encountered some bits that I find inconvenient or simply frustrating:
- Battery quick tile - oh man, that tile. While it displays a nice graph and Stamina toggle after pressing, I really miss being able to jump to battery usage chart from it. In my opinion, tapping the quick tile and going to "More settings" should open the Settings > Battery screen, not Settings > Battery > STAMINA mode. Especially since, after tapping the quick tile I'm already presented with a Stamina mode toggle. I think it would make much more sense to present the landing page of battery settings instead of one sub-menu.
- Battery usage graph - oh no, I'm not done with battery Compared to AOSP Nougat, the graph in Settings > Battery > Battery usage is crippled. I can't tap it to show me when my screen was on, when my phone was awake, how long the GPS has been used, and signal quality on these bars. Although from what I know, the AOSP Oreo has got the same crippled graph, so it's probably not going to change. Shame.
- Battery notification - yup, still about that battery! I absolutely can't understand why I'm presented with two notifications popping up when I'm down to 15%. One notification tells me that Stamina mode has been enabled - I can live with that and understand its purpose, as some users might start complaining that their phone is lagging on low battery, and the notification provides a nice explanation. But the other one notifying me of low battery and showing predicted time left until 0% is really annoying. At least let me dismiss it without being forced to tap on it! I understand that if someone doesn't use Stamina mode, it's the only low battery mode notification that they're getting, but when Stamina mode is being used, it feels a bit redundant.
- Missing double tap to wake (dt2w) - That one hurts. Sure, there's a power button and the fingerprint scanner on the side. Sure, I use Style Cover that wakes the display when I open it. That said, there are times when dt2w would be really appreciated. For example, while I'm typing this long post on a laptop, my XZP is lying on the desk, with the Style Cover folded behind the phone (that's how I use it and how I sometimes put the phone down on the desk). I can't count how many times I tried tapping the display to check who sent me a message without wanting to unlock the phone. Not to mention that using the fingerprint scanner when the phone is lying flat on a surface is a bit cumbersome - of course, more convenient than a fingerprint sensor mounted on the back, but it's one of those moments when double tapping the screen and unlocking it with a pattern feels quicker and more natural. I really hope dt2w makes its way back to this phone, perhaps with the Oreo and its revamped ambient display?
- Camera app not showing in the recent apps list - Sometimes I take some photos, switch to another app for a second, then double tap the recent apps button to jump back to camera and... I land in a completely different app. Of course, I could use the shutter button, but since double tapping recent apps button works fine when switching back and forth between, say, an SMS app and a browser, it should also work between an SMS app and camera. Or any other app and camera. Currently it just breaks the workflow ("funflow"?).
- Tweaked animation speed - Sony animation speed is equal to 0.5x AOSP setting. I guess the animations were made faster in order to make the phone appear even snappier. That said, it doesn't play nicely with animations in third party apps, which were designed to match AOSP animation speeds. One could change animation speed to 2.0x in developer settings to remedy that, but that causes some of third party apps' animations to be painfully slow.
BUGS
There aren't many that I encountered, but there's one thing that's been bothering me the most - sometimes automatic brightness stops working for some reason. I would sometimes find that the display was too dark in direct sunlight. After going to Settings > Display and disabling and reenabling Adaptive brightness, the display would suddenly get brighter. Sometimes the brightness slider would stop responding, too.
Another thing is automatic rotation being wonky at times - from time to time the phone will switch to landscape mode despite it lying flat or being just slightly leaned to a side because of the Smart Cover being folded below it. So on the one hand it feels like the sensor is being too sensitive, reacting to very small changes in position, and on the other it seems like it's not sensitive enough, as on those occasions it takes some shaking to make the phone return to portrait mode, because just holding the phone upright won't make the screen rotate.
Last but not least - that weird distortion in the photos. I wouldn't mind a regular wide lens-style distortion too much, but for some reason some of the horizontal lines run almost perfectly straight, and then harshly curve inwards in the middle of the picture. It definitely doesn't look like regular pincushion distortion, but I keep hoping that it'll be addressed in a future update. It probably takes time to find a proper, consistent way of correcting it with software.
There's also one thing that I miss the most from the days when I was participating in Concept initiatives, both on Z3 Compact and the X - staying in touch with Sony team. I know that it's much more easy to do in a small forum for just one device, but being able to voice my concerns and getting a reply from a Sony employee, often explaining why a certain choice has been made or why something or other cannot be changed was a truly magical experience, and I miss it dearly. It was also nice to be able to send a captured bug report to the devs and being involved in troubleshooting issues. For those reasons, if any kind of beta tests would be performed on XZ Premium, I'd jump on the board in a heartbeat.
I guess that's it from me. I hope I didn't bore anyone too much with the lengthy post (which I was writing over the course of three days) 
Overall I'm very happy with the device, and the good stuff definitely outweighs the few issues I've experienced.
If I'll remember any other remarks, I guess I'll just edit the post in the future.
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thanks I added one more thing I forgot to mention before - changed animation speeds (a small pet peeve of mine).
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