With Mobile World Congress just around the corner, the rumour mill is spinning like crazy and leaks are coming in thick and fast.
Over the last few days some leaked information and screenshots regarding Sony’s next flagship smart phone have grabbed my attention, which I am about to discuss yet pinch the proverbial salt on until any official announcement is made. I wouldn’t normally make a post about unconfirmed future products but the source is fairly solid and if this is what Sony brings to the table in a few weeks then I’m really impressed with the road they are taking to re-establish themselves as the kings of technology once again.
Codenamed “Sirius” (now the title makes sense) the new device will sport updated hardware and a whole host of software improvements. Specifications will include a Snapdragon 800 quad-core 2.3 GHz processor, Adreno 330 GPU and 3GB of RAM. The camera will still be 20.7MP with a 1/2.5" sensor and will run on Android 4.4.2 KitKat.
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| Next To Xperia Z1 |
The hardware improvements don’t stop there though. The new device will have front facing stereo speakers (much like the HTC One) and although it will be physically no bigger in size than the current Z1, it will have a slightly larger 5.2” 1080p screen.
On the software side, it seems Sony have gone all out to provide features its rivals have been flashing around for a while as well as some further improvements on the stock Android experience that I think Google should really be taking some notes on.
Firstly is a menu in the settings that allows you to customise and control which apps can show notifications. The option to disable notifications for apps has been available in Android for a while by accessing the apps properties within the app manager, but this is a fairly non user friendly way of going about it and it’s nice to finally see a company step up and make this a much nicer experience.
Second on my most notable list is the ability to mount remote storage drives right into the phones storage management which will serve as a fantastic tool for businesses and savvy home users to easily access all their remote files and folders on the go.
On top of all this Sony has added 4K video recording and slow motion video, its own version of HTC’s Blinkfeed and Hi-Res DAC audio output.
If this is indeed what Sony announces at MWC next month then HTC and Samsung are in for big trouble as I have seen personally the reliability of those two brands in particular plummet in recent years. HTC still haven’t been able to produce a version of their Sense UI that isn’t riddled with bugs and problems, and Samsung’s bloated software and inflating batteries has plagued the Galaxy line for a while now.
The way I see Sony’s road to success I mentioned earlier is a determination to build and be recognised for the most robust and reliable products on the market and then add the finely tuned bells and whistles afterwards. A completely different strategy held by the current Android market leader Samsung, who seem to expand every iteration of their beloved flagship devices with every software gimmick and sensors without really testing them or incorporating them without bloating the system and before making sure the product itself is well designed and built to last.
Whatever happens, I will be looking forward to MWC and indeed to see what this year in tech brings all round. Happy (late) New Year everyone!
