TSMC's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus rumored to power the Sony Xperia 5 Mark 4

Remember the good old days when Sony would release a flagship Xperia phone and then offer a smaller version of it that it labeled Compact? These models would have a smaller screen but would keep the same powerful chipset, and the same camera. The only difference would be a smaller display and a smaller battery (and of course, a smaller price).

A post on China's Weibo social media site leaked the specs for the Sony Xperia 5 Mark 4. This is the smaller-sized premium model, what you might consider the modern equivalent of the Xperia Compact phone. The Xperia 5 Mark 4 is rumored to rock a Gorilla Glass Victus protected 6.1-inch display which passes these days for a smaller screen.

Like the Compact models in those days of yore, some powerful silicon will be driving the Xperia 5 Mark 4. It won't be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC under the hood. It will be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus. Unlike the regular version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 which is manufactured by Samsung Foundry using its 4nm process node, the Plus variant will be produced by TSMC using the latter's 4nm process node.

If you believe the Weibo post, the camera array will match exactly what Sony included on the Xperia 5 Mark 3. In other words, the main snapper will feature a 12MP camera sensor (IMX557), the ultra-wide camera will be driven by a 12MP IMX363 sensor, and the telephoto lens will have an IMX663 camera sensor behind it to deliver 3x optical zoom. And by the way, all of the camera sensors not only match the Xperia 5 Mark 4's predecessor, but they are also made by Sony.

The post says that the Xperia 5 Mark 4 will be equipped with a battery that will sport a small increase in capacity compared to the previous model (which carried a 4500mAh battery), and the back glass will also be protected by Gorilla Glass Victus.

Since the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus is supposed to be released during the second half of the year, that is when we might expect to see this phone. However, Qualcomm is reportedly looking to speed up production of the chip, so the Xperia 5 Mark 4 could be released earlier than thought. As a comparison, the predecessor was announced last April and released in October.

As for the Xperia 1 Mark 4, Sony's upcoming 2022 flagship, this model is rumored to feature the Samsung manufactured Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC with 12GB to 16GB of memory teamed with 256GB and 512GB of storage. The 5000mAh battery expected to be powering the phone is rumored to support 45W fast charging. The handset supposedly will support wireless charging.

Speculation has the Xperia 1 Mark 4 using the same ultra-wide hardware for the camera that it used on the Xperia 1 Mark 3. That would mean you should expect the Sony Exmor RS IMX36312 camera sensor behind the lens. The latest rumor says to expect upgrades for the Xperia 1 Mark 4's main and telephoto cameras (from last year's Xperia 1 Mark 3), and all three sensors employed on the rear camera array should weigh in at 12MP.

On the other hand, another rumor calls for 50MP and 48MP Quad-Bayer sensors for the new Xperia flagship which could indicate that the 12MP figure being bandied about could be the result of pixel binning. This is the technique used by many manufacturers that groups together data collected from multiple pixels into a single pixel. This results in the ability of the combined pixel to collect more light while still allowing the manufacturer to promote a huge number megapixel camera on the back of the phone.

For example, let's say a company promotes a 108MP camera sensor on its new phone. With 9:1 pixel binning, the camera could shoot 108MP photos under perfect conditions. But in low-light, it will snap 12MP images (108 divided by 9) to deliver a photo bright enough to view, and with less noise.