Sony Mobile’s use of a ‘CinemaWide’ 21:9 display ratio in its upcoming 21:9 Xperia smartphones is pretty much confirmed, given the company’s latest tweet. The tease says to “embrace a new perspective”, while detailing the MWC tradeshow details (Monday 25 February at 08.45 CET) in an ultra-wide 21:9 frame window.
How much are you looking forward to the announcement of Sony’s new smartphones next week? Let us know in the comments below. [read more…]
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Sony Mobile is expected to launch the Xperia L3, its latest budget smartphone, at the MWC tradeshow in Barcelona later this month. Renders and specifications for the device have leaked by WinFuture.de, showing a 5.7-inch device with 720 x 1440 pixel resolution (18:9 display ratio).
So this device does not have the super-skinny ‘CinemaWide’ display used in the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus, but it will have a dual camera setup on the rear. This is said to include a 13MP camera combined with a 2MP camera to implement depth effects. The front camera is rumoured to have a 8MP sensor. [read more…]
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There is a chance that Sony will introduce new phones at the MWC tradeshow in Barcelona called the ‘Xperia 10’ and ‘Xperia 10 Plus’, judging by self-proclaimed twitter leaker Ishan Agarwal, but also backed up by Roland Quandt too, who recently leaked a number of the official renders. These devices will replace what were previously known as the Xperia XA3 and Xperia XA3 Plus. [read more…]
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Sony Mobile is expected to launch the Xperia XA3 (the name may change) at the MWC tradeshow in Barcelona later this month. This much we have known after numerous leaks. However, it now looks like Sony will also release a bigger brother, which looks identical in every way – apart from being larger. This comes from newly leaked press renders from Twitter leaker Roland Quandt (@rquandt).
The ‘Plus’ version comes with a similar dual camera setup, and skinny 21:9 ‘CinemaWide’ display with tiny bezel on the bottom. However, the top bezel of the phone is much larger. What do you think of the new form factor? Let us know in the comments below. [read more…]
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Sony Mobile is rolling out a new firmware update for its latest flagship devices including the Xperia XZ3, and Xperia XZ2 range (XZ2, XZ2 Compact and XZ2 Premium). The update adds the February 2019 Android security patches and moves the build number from 52.0.A.3.163 to version 52.0.A.3.202. There’s no sign of any other changes, but if you’ve updated, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. [read more…]
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We recently caught a glimpse of the first official renders of what is believed to be the Xperia XA3. The images showed a device that sports dual rear cameras, and will adopt a super-skinny 21:9 display which Sony will dub “CinemaWide”. The renders showed a return to the boxy design that we’re fans of, and with a very small bezel on the sides and bottom, but a much bigger bezel along the top.
Well, if you’re keen to see what the handset looks like in the flesh, then you can check out a brief hands-on video below. It shows what looks like the same handset. It shows off the very small bottom bezels, which look great, but the bigger bezel on the top may take some getting used to. Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments below. [read more…]
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Sony Mobile will announce the first Xperia handsets of 2019 at the MWC tradeshow in Barcelona later this month. One of these models will be the Xperia XA3 according to leaker Roland Quandt. He has shown off some pictures that show a smartphone with a very tall and skinny display, large bezels on the top of the phone, but very little elsewhere. It’s also great to see the side fingerprint power sensor back.
Sony recently trademarked the name “CinemaWide” according to LetsGoDigital, and the name would fit right in with these new taller and skinnier smartphone displays. Cinema content is much more at home at ultra wide angles, but the display ratio has failed to be embraced in volume by TV manufacturers thus far. It will be interesting to see how well this form factor will translate for everyday use, and how Sony pitches it. Don’t be surprised to see other Xperia phones released with these CInemaWide displays at MWC, including the Xperia XZ4. [read more…]
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Sony Mobile has been quick to the draw in releasing February 2019 Android security patches for a few smartphones. The Xperia XZs has been updated to build number 41.3.A.2.223 with the 1 February 2019 security patch.
Sony’s budget phones, the Xperia L1 and Xperia L2, also have new firmware updates with the 5 February 2019 security patches. The Xperia L1 has been updated to build 43.0.A.7.99, while the Xperia L2 has version number 49.0.A.6.67. It’s good to see Sony update a number of its phones so quickly, hopefully its more recent flagship phones won’t be so far behind. [read more…]
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Sony’s smartphone woes look no closer to ending. The company has just reported Q3 FY2018 results for the three months ended December 2018, with the company shipping just 1.8 million Xperia smartphones. This represents a fall of 55% compared to last year, when it shipped 4 million smartphones.
Sony has also reduced its full year outlook, now targeting 6.5 million unit sales (versus 7.0 million previously). All of this means, that Sony Mobile only expects shipments of 1.1 million phones in its final quarter (three months to 31 March 2019). This would make it easily the worst quarter for Sony Mobile shipments ever – by a wide margin. [read more…]
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We reported recently that Sony is developing laser-based 3D cameras that will enter mass production this summer. Sony has labelled this new technology “DepthSense” – it uses ToF (time of flight) technology which uses laser pulses and measures the time taken for these pulses to bounce back. This is more accurate compared to the current ‘structured light’ approach that have limitations on accuracy and distance.
Sony has released a promo video showing some of the potential uses of DepthSense, including for messaging, AR gaming, photos and shopping. Shame we didn’t see Sony actually promote its Xperia smartphones in the video… You can check it out below. [read more…]
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Sony Mobile is rolling out a new firmware update for the Xperia XZ Premium, XZ1 and XZ1 Compact that adds the January 2019 Android security patches. The update moves the build number from 47.2.A.4.45 to version 47.2.A.6.30. Some people were experiencing a loudspeaker issue on previous Android Pie builds, which Sony promised would be fixed in an upcoming update. Hopefully, this has now been sorted with this firmware release. Please let us know your impressions in the comments below. [read more…]
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