Last weekend should have been an exciting one for mobile phone lovers if MWC 2020 wasn’t canceled. Manufacturers such as TCL, OPPO, HMD Global, and Xiaomi had originally scheduled their product launches for the weekend but had to reschedule following the announcement that MWC will not hold this year due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Sony, on the other hand, scheduled its own event for today but has switched it to an online event that will be live-streamed on YouTube. Ahead of the launch, specs and renders of two new phones – the Xperia 1 II and the Xperia 10 II – have been posted online.
Xperia 1 II
The Xperia 1 II is a flagship and the successor to the Xperia 1 released last year. The phone has been slightly designed and comes with significant upgrades and features.
Sony is sticking to the 6.5” screen size and 21:9 aspect ratio. There is no notch or punch hole but we still have bezels. The OLED screen has a 4K resolution and Sony has added what it calls Motion Blur Reduction which provides the same benefit as having a 90Hz refresh rate according to the spec sheet.
There is a Snapdragon 865 processor under the hood and it is paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. We do not know if there will be other configurations, especially in Sony’s home country.
The Sony Xperia 1 II has four rear cameras. There is a 12MP 16mm 1/2.6” sensor with Dual-PD autofocus. It is paired with a 12MP 24mm 1/1.7” sensor with Dual-PD autofocus and OIS. You also get a third 12MP sensor with a 70mm focal length, 1/3.4” sensor size, PDAF, OIS, and 3x optical zoom. The last rear camera is a 3D ToF camera with autofocus.
The rear cameras use ZEISS lens and have features such as Real-time Eye Autofocus and 20fps AF/AE tracking burst. The selfie camera is an 8MP sensor.
The Xperia 1 II has stereo front speakers, Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio, and even has an audio jack, unlike its predecessor. There is a 4000mAh battery inside it with support for wireless charging but there no mention of the charging speed. The phone also has an IP65/IP68 rating which means it is dustproof and waterproof.
The spec sheet also mentions features such as 21:9 gaming support, DualShock 4 direct connection, Elite Gaming, and Game Enhancer.
The Xperia 1 II will be available in black and purple.
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Xperia 10 II
Sony’s second phone is the mid-range Xperia 10 II. It doesn’t have 5G support like the flagship phone but it comes with more cameras and bigger battery capacity than its predecessor, the Xperia 10.
The display is a 6.0-inch 21:9 FHD+ OLED panel with Video Image Optimisation. There are bezels at the top and bottom of the screen.
Sony has replaced the Snapdragon 630 with the Snapdragon 665 processor and paired it with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
It has three rear cameras arranged vertically on the left side. It includes a 26mm 12MP sensor with PDAF, a 52mm 8MP sensor, and a 16mm 8MP sensor. The spec sheet says it has color reproduction know-how from Digital Imaging. Users also get an 8MP front-facing camera.
The Xperia 10 II has an audio jack, Hi-Res Audio (wired and wireless), LDAC support, DSEE HX Digital Sound Enhancement Engine. It packs a 3600mAh battery and also has an IP65/68 rating. There is a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and NFC.
Sony will release the phone in black and white colorways.
We should know about the prices and availability of the two new phones when they launch later today.
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