Back at MWC 2016 in Feb Sony launched a trio of mid range smartphones to lay the foundation to its 'X Series'. These mid-rangers all featured a particular strength but you could tell that the range lacked a flagship which attempted to distill all of Sony's best tech into a single device. Now at IFA, Sony has launched a pair of flagship Xperia X Series devices in its now familiar full-sized and Compact companion size.
Sony's full sized 'crown jewel' is the Xperia XZ and the Japanese electronics firm pushes the quality of its built-in camera as its stand-out feature. Triple Image Sensing Technology is behind the new main camera, built to "analyse, adapt and capture perfect shots in challenging conditions". The triplet of technologies are as follows; the Exmor RS Mobile image sensor featuring Bionz processing, a laser AF focus system, and the RGBC-IR colour sensor for accurate colours and white balance "in any light".
Other key Sony Xperia XZ specs are as follows:
- 5.2-inch Full HD Triluminos X-Reality display with dynamic contrast and curved Gorilla Glass
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, 64-bit Quad-core processor
- 3GB of RAM and 32GB eMMC (Single SIM), 64GB (Dual SIM) + microSD card
- 23MP main camera with 24mm f/2.0 G-lens and 1/2.3-inch sensor, with triple image sensing technology, SteadyShot with intelligent active 5-axis stabilisation mode, and capable of 4K video + a 13MP front camera
- Single SIM, Dual SIM, Nano SIM
- Measures 146 x 72 x 8.1mm and weighs 161g
- USB Type-C port for data transfer and charging
- 2,900mAh battery
- Water resistant IP65/IP68
- Fingerprint sensor
- Android M installed
- Forest Blue, Mineral Black, Platinum
The new flagship Xperia XZ has got an ALKALEIDO metal back to round off its 'loop surface', and it will be perhaps less worrying to drop than recent Xperia flagship devices. Other nice features include; adaptive charging, Hi-Res Audio and DNC support.
Sony's Xperia X Compact does bring quite a lot of the XZ's goodies to a smaller format. The Compact measures 129 x 65 x 9.5mm and weighs 135g. Of course the screen is smaller, the Compact uses a 4.6-inch HD Triluminos X-Reality display with dynamic contrast and curved edges.
While the headlining main camera is the same as in the larger smartphone, the selfie camera is toned down to a 5MP model. Another noticeable bit of trimming is in the processing department with the Compact packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650.
Sony told HEXUS that the Xperia XZ will launch globally from October 2016 and Xperia X Compact will launch globally from September 2016.
