Sony who has been struggling in the smartphone world for many years could be announcing a total of five new Android smartphones for the incoming MWC 2017 to be held in Barcelona next month. The move is seen rather a big drop for a smartphone maker considering Sony is not really selling its devices like pancakes.
The Japan-based company in the previous year has released a total of six models - X Compact, XA Ultra, XZ, X Performance, and the Xperia X. It could be that instead of introducing them one by one, Sony would like to just lump them all into one announcement and then spread out their launch throughout the year.
The info leak from Japan did not revealed their formal names just yet - rather codenames, but analyst already figured out what users should expect based on the comparisons from last year's model. Here are the characteristics of the new models, according to Slashgear.
1. Yoshino
- This model will run on Snapdragon 835 with 4 or 6 GB LPDDR4 RAM
- It will be using Sony IMX 400 camera and a 5.5 inch 3840 x 2160 4K screen. With the mobile VR these days, the 4K screen is a necessity.
- Rumored to be the successor of Xperia XZ
2. BlancBright
- CPU will be based on either Snapdragon 835 or the lower version 635.
- It will have 4GB or RAM with the same IMX 400 sensor as Yoshino
- 5.5 inch 2560 x 1440 WQHD display.
- Could probably replacing XPeria X2.
3. Keyaki and Hinoki
Both will be in the mid-range territory, powered by MediaTek Helio P20 processor. Keyaki will be having 5.2 inch full HD screen with 64GB storage and 4GB RAM. Its front camera will be of 16 megapixel and the main camera will be having 23 megapixel. On the other hand, Hinoki will be having a slightly small screen of 5-inch HD, 3GB RAM, 32 GB storage, 16 megapixel for rear camera and 8 megapixel for the front one.
Curiously, there is no detail for the "Mineo" aside from a probably $350 price tag. That could mean it will be one of Sony's lower mid-range models, like an Xperia M for 2017.
Given the "Yoshino" and the "BlancBright" processors, those two are unlikely to launch before April, since Samsung has exclusive rights to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 until then. Sony has set its MWC 2017 keynote on 27th February, where hopefully there will be a lot more info to be learned about these five smartphones.
