Sony Mobile showed off a 5G-capable Xperia smartphone at the MWC tradeshow in Barcelona, earlier this month. The prototype was one of a very few at MWC that actually supported mmWave functionality – most others only supported sub-6GHz 5G capabilities.
Very few carriers plan to support mmWave 5G frequencies in 2019, one of these is Japanese carrier NTT docomo, set to roll it out this year. This is perhaps the reason, why Sony went full-in on mmWave support, and could be prepping Xperia models to support this tech later in the year.
The actual prototype 5G Xperia, known internally as “AG-1” was powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, which includes the X50 5G modem. You can see from the pictures below that the tall-and-skinny design language, with sharp edges and angular lines, is consistent with the 21:9 Xperia 1 and 10 series launched earlier this month.
However, this particular unit seemed even longer and thicker than the new Xperia 1 flagship. It also had dual rear cameras with Zeiss optics and an OLED display. A selfie camera was also present, along with a USB Type-C charging port. It should be noted that you shouldn’t expect this to be the end-commercial product – various changes are expected once network testing is complete.
So how does Sony plan to leverage this tech? “At Sony, we are fascinated with the potential of capturing reality, while also delivering Real-Time value, with a lack of latency and content delivery with immediacy. We believe live and Real-Time content will be greatly accelerated with the introduction of 5G,” said Mitsuya Kishida, President and Representative Director Sony Mobile.
Kishida also confirmed that it is currently working on various prototypes, both Sub-6 gigahertz and mmWave. “5G future is essential for our Sony group, and Sony Mobile will be more relevant than ever to content creation, viewing, and sharing,” said Kishida.
Via AnandTech, Pocket-Lint and Sony Mobile Blog.
