Sony teases new compact phone. Is it the Xperia 5 IV or something else?

A few days ago we showed you a YouTube video starring songwriter Cat Burns that teased a new Sony Xperia handset and a September 1st event. And yes, part of the video was recorded on the new device which will be a compact model according to the clip. Today, Sony posted a new video teaser for the same phone and the same event.

Sony fans in the states will have to stay up late or go to bed early to catch the event's live stream. That's because the unveiling of the new phone will take place at 4 pm Monday in Tokyo which is 3 am in New York and Midnight in Los Angeles (U.S. EDT). You can view the event via the Sony Xperia YouTube channel

The latest video is titled "A New Xperia is coming..." and Sony adds, "Exciting news is coming from Sony. ​" As the late Warner Wolf used to say, "Let's go to the tape." The teaser starts, as you might expect from Sony, by discussing the photography system and claims that with the new Xperia handset, you can "Shoot breathtaking portraits." The phone will also allow you to "Share your song with the world," and "Live stream your winning moments" while playing video games.

A bigger clue is passed along next. In black text on a white background, Sony writes, "Be Creative. Go Compact." That tells us that the phone could be an unexpected model. While many have been looking for Sony to unveil the Xperia 5 IV, that phone's screen is going to be 6.04-inches according to an FCC certification. Sure, that is smaller than other phones but it is not much more compact than the iPhone 14 will be at 6.1-inches, which leads us to conclude that Sony could announce a completely different model.

If so, it would be Sony's first high-end compact phone since 2018's Sony Xperia XZ2. Even though its compact models had smaller displays, Sony made sure to equip these devices with the same chipsets found on their full-sized flagship phones. The only difference between the company's full-sized and compact models, besides the smaller display, typically was the smaller battery as the camera array usually matched what was found on the bigger phones.

On the other hand, Sony did market the 2020 Xperia 5 II as a compact phone even though it was equipped with a 6.1-inch display. So let's take a look at the Xperia 5 IV
(called the Xperia 5 Mark 4) just in case this is what Sony refers to as a compact phone these days. The aforementioned FCC certification revealed that the 5 IV will be powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. The Xperia 5 IV will also sport a 3.5mm earphone port and will support wireless charging.

Sony has had a tough time cracking into that small fraternity known as the top worldwide smartphone manufacturers. In 2018, with a new executive in place, there was some speculation that Sony might stop making handsets.

Fiscal 2018 (Sony's fiscal year ends on March 31st) was not a good one for the Xperia brand. After selling approximately 22.5 million units in fiscal 2017, Sony rang up only 10 million handsets during the following fiscal year. Sony did experience a revival of sorts during last year's fiscal second quarter when it had an uptick in phone sales. But that came after a record-low 400,000 units were sold during the fiscal first quarter of 2021.

Sony's Xperia sales have been in a downward trend. During fiscal 2019, the company shipped 3.2 million phones, a figure that declined 9.4% to 2.9 million in fiscal 2020.