Leaked renders show off Sony's Android iPhone SE competitor
If the recently unveiled Apple iPhone SE 3 has you craving a compact phone, but you are team Android, fret not because Sony might have a small phone called the Xperia Ace 3 in the pipeline.
This scoop comes from Zollege, and the publication has teamed up with well-known leaker Steve H.McFly (@OnLeaks) to bring us renders of the device. Judging by its name, the phone will succeed the Xperia Ace 2 that was released in Japan in 2021 and will copy-paste the front design.
The accompanying renders showcase a device with a teardrop notch for the front camera and a huge bottom bezel. The iPhone SE 3 also has chunky top and bottom bezels, but the rationale for the bottom bezel is that it houses the Touch ID sensor, so we wonder what's stopping Sony from shrinking it, considering Xperia Ace 3's fingerprint reader is allegedly integrated with the power key that's on the right-hand side.
The device allegedly has roughly the same dimensions as its predecessor (139.7 x 68.6 x 9.1mm vs 140 x 69 x 8.9mm for the Ace 2) and the same-sized 5.5-inches display. The camera array has lost the 2MP depth sensor apparently, and will seemingly only have a single 13MP unit.
Most raw specs are still a mystery and availability and pricing details are also not known, but Zollege is speculating that the device will hit the shelves sometime in June and the price will start at INR 24,999 (~$327), which would make it more expensive than the Ace 2 which was introduced for JPY 22,000 (~$190).
The outlet believes that the new phone will inherit the current model's 4,500mAh battery, and thinks it could be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, but that's highly unlikely, considering this is a budget phone and the smallish 6.1-inches Xperia 5 III is the company's compact flagship and it commands a price of $1,000. The company is currently believed to be working on its successor, the 6.1-inches Xperia 5 IV that will be fueled by the unannounced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus.
The Ace 3 will probably come with a mid-range chip. The Ace 2, for reference, is powered by the Helio P35 chipset. Whether the device will be available in more markets than Japan remains to be seen, otherwise, fans of compact phones will have to consider other small Android phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S22, Google Pixel 5, the Asus Zenfone 8, or the tiny Palm Phone.
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