Sony has always made smartphones of high-quality and high-performance, but has always somehow lost out to its competition in the race. While the phones have had stellar performance and build features, the same design from one generation onto the next kept the smartphone maker a step behind its rivals, offering no unique features such as dual cameras, squeezable chassis or other little tricks. Hopefully, this year, the new generation of Sony smartphones can change that, with the launch of the XZ1, the XZ1 Compact and the XA1 Plus. Here are the top five features of these smartphones that should be able to penetrate every segment of the market.
Power Package
Starting with the leader of the pack, the XZ1 will pack the Snapdragon 835 SoC with 4GB of RAM and the Adreno 540 GPU. The Compact version of the device will come in a smaller body, and as is the tradition with Sony, smaller does not mean smaller in power as well, so the Compact XZ1 will come with the same Snapdragon 835 and 4GB RAM package. Both phones come with expandable storage up to 256GB. The XZ1 will come with 64GB of internal storage while its smaller sibling will come with 32GB of internal storage. The XA1 Plus is the black sheep of the family, featuring slightly different specs than its powerful siblings. It will come with a MediaTek P20 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM along with a Mali T-880 MP2 GPU. It also comes with 32GB of on-board storage with expandability. In terms of battery, the XZ1 comes with a 2,700mAh battery. The XZ1 Compact is fitted with the same battery power and the XA1 Plus comes with a powerful 3,430mAh unit.
Software Package
Sony is showing that it is trying hard to beat its competition to the bunch, especially in the cut-throat flagship segment. Both the Xperia XZ1 and the XZ1 Compact will come with Android 8.0 Oreo when they release, being the first third-party Android phones to feature so. The XA1 Plus, being the mid-range segment, will not have the pleasure of shipping with Oreo, but we are hopeful that Sony will probably update the OS at a later date.
Cameras
Sony has always made great cameras and all three feature impressive sensors. The XZ1 comes with a 19MP camera on the back and a 13MP camera on the front. The XZ1 Compact also features the same rear camera but comes with an 8MP front-facing camera that can extend its field of view to 120 degrees. Both phones come with the impressive 3D Creator feature that allows the phone’s camera to scan an object and make a 3D model of it. This model can be used to print out a physical 3D model of it. This could be one of the possibilities that AR could bring on future phones as well. The XA1 Plus will come with a 23MP camera on the back and a 5MP camera on the front, with both sensors coming with f/2 aperture sizes and wide-angle lenses.
Hardware
All three phones look near-identical to each other. And while all of them feature Sony’s uni-body metal design, they still will not stand out of the crowd. Sony probably did not get the 2017 flagship memo to slim those bezels. The design, based on initial impressions, is just a recycled version of the previous models from the company. There are a few like-able features to redeem the phones however. All phones are IP65/68 water and dust resistant, and Sony has still kept its best hardware feature, the camera button right where it belongs. Further, the phones come with a fingerprint scanner on the side, with the power button along with USB Type-C for connectivity and a headphone jack. It’s a good thing Sony didn’t get the memo after all.
Display
Sony has been offering its Triluminous display on all of its Xperia line-ups and this year is no different. The XZ1’s display is a 1080p display with HDR and measures 5.2-inches. The XZ1 Compact comes with an IPS display at 720p resolution and a screen size that is just 4.6-inches. The largest phone in the line-up is the XA1 Plus, offering 5.5-inches of screen real estate and a 1080p resolution.
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