As more and more manufacturers have adopted nearly bezel-less, 18:9 displays and have even begun to move them downmarket, Sony Mobile has remained stubbornly attached to generous top and bottom bezels throughout its lineup. That will end Sunday, on the eve of Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress, when the company introduces its first pair of redesigned flagships: the Xperia XZ2 (pictured below) and XZ2 Compact.
According to a person who spent time with the devices, the 5.7-inch XZ2 and its 5.0-inch little brother boast largely the same features, with a few caveats. At the heart of these Android 8.0.0 Oreo-powered handsets is Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line system-on-a-chip for 2018: the Snapdragon 845 (also expected in some variants of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+).
The XZ2 sports 3D glass on both faces of its aluminum frame, with the front offering a larger screen-to-body ratio than any previous Xperia. Its glossy finish comes in four different colors — black, silver, green, and pink — and is contrasted by the non-scratch polycarbonate finish on the XZ2 Compact. Both models’ full HD LCDs are protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5.
Around back is the same 19-megapixel, f/1.8 camera setup found on the XZ Premium, capable of 4K HDR recording and super-slow motion capture in Full HD resolution. The camera component layout is slightly different on the XZ2 Compact. As with the Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra, which debuted at CES, the backs of these models now also house a fingerprint scanner, unseating it from the power button.
“S Force” stereo speakers adorn the front face of the phones, and XZ2 (but not Compact) supplements the audio with a haptic feedback system that syncs up vibrations to the sound.
Certified for ingress protection, XZ2 features a 3180mAh battery that’s chargeable either via USB-C or wirelessly, while XZ2 Compact has a smaller, 2870mAh pack and only wired charging.
Tune in on February 26, 8:30 a.m. Barcelona time, to learn pricing and release specifics (although the devices should be available sometime in March).
The Guardian interviewed Sony CEO Kaz Hirai, who talked in depth about the company’s various divisions, but we found his thoughts on the smartphone segment the most interesting.
First, the good news: Sony Xperia phones are here to stay. Now the bad: phones may not be. Hirai believes the future lies elsewhere but to capture and lead this future market, his company needs to stay in the communication business.
“It’s not about the smartphones of today; it’s more about looking beyond smartphones – at what are we going to be doing – and to be a player in this space; ideally to be a leader. For that strategic reason, I want to make sure we stay, not in the smartphone business, per se, but in the communications business.”
Some companies (Samsung, LG, Apple) already offer an alternative, phone-free life – smartwatches with voice call and LTE support, plus music streaming and wireless payments. The market’s thirst for large screens, however, means that few have dropped their phones in favor of a watch.
Sony, however, has effectively discontinued its smartwatch line, the last model came two years after Hirai took over as CEO. So whatever he envisions as the future of communications, it’s probably not wrist-worn.
The company has some forward-looking projects, but for now it's tough to see where they might lead. The Sony Xperia Touch is a fascinating wayto interact with standard Android apps and games and offers some novel functionality. And the Sony Aibo robot dog makes for an emotional connection to electronics.
The CEO also touched on one of Sony’s most successful businesses – the image sensor division. They are used by the leading manufacturers of phones, digital cameras and surveillance equipment, but Sony wants a piece of the growing automotive market as well.
Hit to Source link to read the full interview with Kaz Hirai. He also talks about Sony Pictures, Sony corporate culture and his own guiding philosophy.
