Possible Sony Xperia 1 VI unveiling date leaked on social media

We've recently seen renders of the Sony Xperia 1 VI and there has been much talk about changes that Sony is making to the phone that might make it less special. For example, the 4K display that some have called overkill is rumored to be gone this year, replaced by a 2K display. While the 6.5-inch size of the OLED panel is expected to stay the same, the tall and thin 21:9 aspect ratio will be made a little wider and a little shorter producing an aspect ratio of 19.5:9.

The phone could be equipped with the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 application processor (AP). A previous Weibo post from last month indicated that all three cameras on the rear of the handset will use the 48MP Exmor T image sensor. If that rumor is wrong, we might see something similar to the rear camera array on the Xperia 1 V which includes one 48MP primary camera and a pair of 12MP cameras (ultra-wide and telephoto) The front-facing camera will weigh in at 12MP.

We should see the Xperia 1 VI carry up to 16GB of RAM in a configuration that would include up to 1TB of storage. A 5000mAh battery will keep the lights on and with all of the changes making the phone less special, Sony might be able to reduce the price of the handset which started at $1,399 for the Xperia 1 V last year.

A post on Weibo shows a leaked teaser for the Xperia Special Event that will take place on Friday, May 17th. No time is listed and we'd be lying if we didn't say that we are taking this with a grain of salt. On the other hand, the Xperia 1 V was introduced on May 11th last year so the date seems absolutely possible.

Sony is believed to have an incredibly low .35% share of the global smartphone market. Even phones that get purchased by accident every now and then have a higher market share. Will this be the year that Sony shocks us all and generates strong demand for the Xperia 1 VI? Without a decent reduction in price, don't count on it. With the rumored changes to the display, the camera app and the Sony name cannot justify charging $1,399 for the device.