This is the Sony Xperia 1 III in all its leaked glory
Sony will be announcing its flagship for 2020, the Sony Xperia 1 III tomorrow, but it seems that the phone has already leaked out in all its glory.
A set of not that high-res images revealing the flagship were posted by AndroidNext, revealing small if any visual changes at all. Indeed, Sony seemingly hasn't altered the general design language in any way, with the upcoming flagship allegedly looking the same as its predecessor, the Sony Xperia 1 II.
And that's to be expected of Sony's mobile division, which has the most conservative design on the smartphone scene. Yet, there's nothing bad with conservative and this isn't concerning at all since the Japan-based Android phone maker relies on other aspects to lure in customers. One of these is the camera, and judging by the leaked images, the Sony Xperia 1 III could have something woe-worthy at hand.
Indeed, the camera bump at the rear of the device is noticeably longer than before which means larger sensors and more capable cameras. Judging by the leaked specs sheets that have already made the rounds, one of the camera should be a long periscope lens for a long-throw zoom and the leaked images kind of corroborate that rumor.
The periscope will reportedly be branded as Cyber-shot, which is Sony's own line of digital point-and-shoot cameras, but has already made an appearance to Sony phones in the past, where the company was still releasing devices in partnership with Sweden's Ericsson. Seeing how almost all phone manufacturers aside from Apple are teaming up with photography's biggest names and collaborating, it's natural of Sony to use its own Cyber-shot branding to indicate improved imaging capabilities. Hopefully, the Cyber-shot name will bring some neat imaging skills on deck and wouldn't be just another hollow branding.
【独占情報】Xperia 1 IIIの公式画像とスペックがリーク、世界初の4K+120Hz駆動も確定！https://t.co/yh7Ct9WX24pic.twitter.com/7FjAVWpDAB
— ANDROIDNEXT (@sumahoinfonews) April 12, 2021
What else do we seem to know about the next Sony flagship? Apparently, it would come with 6.5-inch 4K display with 10-bit HDR and a 120Hz refresh, which would make it the first device with such a display. Moreover, the leaks call for a maximum display brightness of 1,300 nits which is even more impressive. On the hardware side, we should see 12 and 16GB of RAM, as well as 256 and 512GB storage versions. 5G should be part of the starting lineup. There also seems to be a punch-hole selfie camera at the upper left corner of the phone, though we expect uniform top and bottom bezels.
The cameras at the rear will be a 64MP main shooter accompanied by a 12MP ultra wide-angle one and the aforementioned 12MP Cyber-shot periscope lens with lossless zoom. It's natural to expect the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 inside the phone. Finally, there will be a 5,000mAh battery with fast 65W charging. Price rumors call for a starting price of around 8,999 yuan, which translates to a bit more than $1,350, and that's a premium price tag if we've ever seen one.
Sony Xperia 1 III as leaked by case maker Olixar
As a reminder, the Sony Xperia 1 III announcement will take place on April 14. Aside from the Xperia 1 III, we should also see the Xperia 10 III and the Xperia 5 III mid-rangers. Naturally, the majority of leaks and rumors target the most interesting device, namely the Xperia 1 III, so we are a bit light on information about the other two devices. Provided that Sony prices them correctly and releases them in a timely manner on the US market, it could very well benefit from the slight vacuum that will be left after LG's untimely exit of the smartphone market.
You can tune in on the Sony Xperia 1 III announcement here tomorrow at at 0:30am PDT / 3:30am EDT / 8:30am BST / 9:30am CEST.
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