Sony has not lived a great 2016, but the new year opens with the presentation at the Mobile World Congress 2017 of an excellent product in all its characteristics. This is the Xperia XZ Premium with 5G modem, 4K resolution, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and other very interesting features that we will see below. It is an Android smartphone that stands at the top of the range of the market and whose technical specifications make it a worthy opponent of the Samsung Galaxy S8, Apple iPhone 8, Huawei P10 and even the LG G6. Undoubtedly, for the moment this is the device that has impressed most attendees to the MWC 2017.
Apart from notebooks. The real competitor of televisions as we know them today, as objects used exclusively in a living room (or other rooms), are smartphones. Sony, which is one of the leaders in both areas, has introduced the Xperia XZ Premium, the first cell phone with 4K HDR display, which means a resolution of 2,160 x 3,140 pixels and above all a color depth of the highest level and now unequaled among its competitors, at least in the mobile area. To process the content of this quality, the truth is that it will need a first-line processor, such as Snapdragon 835. On March 29th we will see this processor in the Galaxy S8. Sony will have to wait for the smartphone to go on sale first in order to launch its flagship later.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium: technical specifications
Design and Display
The Sony Xperia XZ Premium is made of glass and aluminum (as the previous generation), with panels Gorilla Glass 5 and a design with slightly rounded corners. The structure called 'unibody' has made it possible, among other things, to obtain the IP68 certification (water resistant and for half an hour under 1.5 meters, as well as particularly resistant to dust and falls and shocks). The screen is absolutely excellent: 5.5 inches with 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160p and 801 ppi) and IPS LCD technology. It also includes a series of features directly from the Bravia line coming from the television, ie Dynamic Contrast Enhancher, X-Reality Engine and HDR.
Hardware and Software
Let's now turn to the powerful engine that will move the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. This is the first smartphone already announced with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, a chip architecture in 10nm with four cores of the type Kryo at 2.45 GHz and four cores type Kryo at 1.9 GHz. The graphic processor will be Adreno 540, while the RAM will reach up to 4 GB. It is, at present, the best you can imagine for a mobile device. It also ensures the presence of Snapdragon X16 LTE modems, which are basically a bridge to connectivity in 5G networks (high even compared to the 4G-LTE network with 1 Gbps data transmission).
On the software side, however, we find that the Sony Xperia XZ Premium has the operating system Android 7.1 Nougat and proprietary interface Xperia UI.
Cameras
As always in Sony, the section dedicated to the cameras is impressive. Exmor RS sensor (brand new) with a resolution of 19 megapixels with 1/2.3" in size, which means that it can produce videos at 960 fps in HD, an excellent slow motion. Also Predictive Capture, which ensures the continuous focus of everything that is in motion. But the real point of interest, however, is the integration of the so-called DRAM memory, which allows an increasing number of shots. This is translated into an advanced and improved experience, which facilitates comfort and ease of use for ordinary users and also for the experts.The flash is obviously dual tone and features an image stabilizer. Front camera has 13 megapixels and aperture f/2.0. In summary, a section with a really excellent performance.
Battery
Turning to the battery, Sony indicates the presence of 3,250 mAh, which, given the characteristics of the screen, runs the risk of becoming an insufficient amount. But in relation to the battery life, is something that we will not know until using it. We add that Sony has thought of everything, by introducing the Quick Charge 3.0 technology and the Smart Stamina function to manage energy savings.
Release Date and Price
The launch of the Sony Xperia XZ Premium will take place after the market release of the Samsung Galaxy S8, as it takes priority over the Snapdragon 835 processor. The price has not been officially announced, but given the technical details, you can expect a high price, according to the market.