Sony already has the Xperia XZ Premium launching in three colours – Deepsea Black, Luminous Chrome and Bronze Pink, but it looks like a fourth colour option may also be on the cards. Pictures of a Red Xperia XZ Premium have been spied on Weibo, which you can see below. The handset is NTT docomo branded, so it may the case that this colour option may only be appearing in Japan. Would you take this red Xperia XZ Premium over the other colour options? Let us know in the comments below. [read more…]
Sony Mobile has confirmed plans to drop the ‘Premium Standard’ segment from its future smartphone portfolio. Devices launched under this tier included the Xperia X and Xperia X Compact in 2016 – they were designed to offer a reasonable price point with an almost flagship specification.
When details of these phones were announced, many of you bemoaned the fact that these weren’t flagship devices, and it looks like this apathy translated into lacklustre sales. Whilst in Japan, these models hit 85% of its intended volume targets for the year, outside of Japan this number fell to a paltry 31%. It’s fair to say that volumes fell spectacularly short of targets – the lack of resonance outside Japan led to the company only hitting 43% of its targets in this segment globally. [read more…]
Sony held an investor conference in Tokyo yesterday, talking through all areas of their business. One of the slides reflecting on its mobile product portfolio appeared to confirm that it will launch at least two new flagship devices later in the year.
Sony has traditionally launched new Xperia products at the IFA tradeshow in Berlin for the last few years, so we would guess the same will apply this year. IFA takes place between 1 to 6 September 2017.
[read more…]
After the Xperia XZ and XZs dual SIM handsets came with a hybrid SIM tray, there was some concern that the same fate might befall the Xperia XZ Premium. A hybrid SIM tray means that if you want to use two SIM cards, then you end up sacrificing the SD card. Or, if you need to use a SD card, then you are only allowed to use one SIM card.
However, fear not, Sony Xperia France has confirmed that the dual SIM version of the Xperia XZ Premium (as well as the XA1 and XA1 Ultra) will be able to combine two SIM cards and a SD card simultaneously. So, good news, for anyone looking to pick up an Xperia XZ Premium Dual. [read more…]
So, we thought that the Sony had given us the last update for the Xperia X Concept software. However, the wonderful Sony devs have given one final bonus update (38.4.A.0.45), which includes the latest Xperia Home launcher (10.2.A.3.0) that introduced the new wallpaper picker.
The Sony developers also included a hidden Easter egg for users. If you are using the Xperia X then type the following into the dialler (*#*#2468#*#*) to get new Android wallpaper and icons. The Concept programme has been a fantastic ride and we hope that some of the character we have seen from the Sony Concept developers, continues into the official software. [read more…]
Sony Mobile has released a new firmware update for a number Xperia X series models, which adds the 1 May 2017 Android security patch. The Xperia XZ and Xperia X Performance have seen their build numbers move from 41.2.A.2.199 to version 41.2.A.2.223 in this new software.
While, at the same time, the Xperia X and Xperia X Compact have seen their build numbers move from 34.2.A.2.47 to version 34.2.A.2.69. The Xperia X and X Compact remain on Android 7.0 for now. No other changes have been noted so far. We will include FTF firmware links for all variants in due course. [read more…]
Sony Mobile has released a new Xperia Theme to celebrate the film release of “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” starring Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law and Eric Bana. This is Guy Richie’s take on the classic Arthur story, following his rise to the throne, as he wields Excalibur and battles a tyrannical king (see the trailer below). This free Xperia Theme can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. [read more…]
Sony Mobile is currently rolling the first firmware update for the Xperia XZs, which moves the build number from 41.2.A.0.219 to version 41.2.A.0.235. The main change appears to be the addition of the 1 May 2017 Android security patches. The update is live for both the single SIM (G8231) and dual SIM variants (G8232) across select regions at the time of writing. If you have noticed any other changes, do let us know in the comments below. [read more…]
The Sony Xperia X Concept program is coming to an end, but before that happens, Sony has released a final update for the program. The last update (38.4.A.0.39) includes the 1 May 2017 Android security patch along with a number of bug fixes. This includes improvements to low memory stability, faster GPX fix and a charging LED bug fix. The update is currently hitting the Experimental track on Xperia X Concept and will shortly land on those on the stable track.
The journey was fun while it lasted. We hope Sony can take what made the Concept program a success (transparency and frequency of updates, open communication, pushing new experiences) and inject this into the official software. [read more…]
Sony Mobile has given some more detail on the camera technology behind the Xperia XZ Premium. We all know by now that Sony has included a new 19MP image sensor capable of 960 frames per second slow motion video. This has been covered widely by the tech media, including the fact that the sensor has 19% bigger pixels compared to the sensor found on the Xperia XZ.
However, this isn’t the only camera change found in the Xperia XZ Premium’s camera. Sony has also re-designed the G Lens (25mm wide angle, F2.0) to improve the resolution in the corner of images. Sony says that the resigned lens has 25% better resolution compared to the Xperia XZ. [read more…]
Sony Mobile has kicked off Xperia XZ Premium pre-orders in Europe through the Xperia Store. The handset is available for 
Xperia Blog Tweets