Sony announced a horde of new phones at MWC 2017 in Barcelona. It launched new flagship Xperia XZ Premium alongside the XZs, XA1 and XA1 Ultra. Here we have all the news and details including release date, price and specs.
Also see: Best new phones.
It seems Sony is back to s six-month cycle for some devices, with the Xperia XZ only on the market for a few short months since IFA 2016. Nevertheless, we have four new handsets from Sony mobile – some of which will have to compete with the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8 for the best phone of 2017 title.
You’ll also like: Sony Xperia XZ2 rumours.
When is the Sony Xperia XZ Premium release date?
The Carphone Warehouse is telling customers who pre-order the XZ Premium that delivery will be by 2 June 2017.
How much will the Sony Xperia XZ Premium cost in the UK?
The Sony Xperia XZ Premium is available to pre-order from Carphone Warehouse at £649 SIM-free, or on contracts starting at £39 per month. Carphone Warehouse has the exclusive on the chrome colour.
You can also pre-order from Sky Mobile and if you do it before 1 June you’ll get a whopping 10GB of free data. Contracts start at £36 per month with no upfront cost for the phone.
When are the Sony Xperia XZs, XA1 and XA1 Ultra release dates?
At MWC 2017, Sony announced three other phones with a slightly confusing naming system. There’s the smaller mid-range Xperia XZs (this is one of the confusing names – it’s not plural but the actual product name). In any case, this model is not coming to Europe.
The other new phones are the XA1 and XA1 Ultra – both follow-ups to the XA and XA Ultra but we have the addition of the number one somewhat confusing. These both have a release date of ‘spring’, too.
Read next: iPhone 7 Plus vs Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Sony Xperia XZ Premium: Specifications and features
Much about the XZ Premium is the same as the last year’s model but Sony is flaunting some new features including world firsts. For starters, it’s got Qualcomm’s new flagship Snapdragon 835 processor which was thought to be exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy S8.
According to a score posted in Geekbench, performance is very much the same as that of the Galaxy S8, which isn’t entirely surprising. The Xperia scored a little lower in the multi-core component (5824 vs 6106) but higher in the single-core test (1943 vs 1915). We’ll be conducting our own benchmarks when we get the XZ Premium into our lab.
The top feature Sony is promoting is the large 5.5in screen which is the first in a smartphone to feature 4K HDR. This sort of makes it a successor to the Z5 Premium, the first 4K phone. However, you’ll be limited to certain titles on Amazon Prime Video to watch 4K in HDR for supposedly improved colour, contrast and detail.
It’ll be available in a mirrored chrome colour, black and the above pink.
Sony is known for some of the best phone cameras and it thinks the XZ Premium has one of the best ever put in a mobile. The resolution has dropped to 19Mp but the pixels are 19 percent bigger and the camera can shoot in a jaw dropping 960fps super slow motion.
See below for full Sony Xperia XZ Premium specs:
- Android 7.0 Nougat
- 5in 4K HDR touchscreen
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB storage, Micro-SD card slot
- 19Mp Motion Eye camera
- 13MP front camera
- NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, 11ac Wi-Fi, USB-C 3.0
- 5mm headphone jack
- 3230 mAh battery, Qnovo Adaptive charging
- IP65/68
- 9mm
- 195g
- Luminous Chrome, Deepsea Black, Bronze Pink
Sony Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra: Specifications and features
When it comes to the oddly named XA1 and XA1 Ultra you’ve got a choice of regular size or very larger in terms of screen size: 5- and 6in respectively. The devices have a similar design to the XZ Premium but come with a less shiny finish and more colours.
They both come with a MediaTek Helio P20 processor, 32GB and a Micro-SD card slot. They don’t have features like a fingerprint scanner and waterproofing. They do get the camera from previous generation Xperia phones.
Sony Xperia XA1 specs
- Android 7.0 Nougat
- 5in 720p touchscreen
- MediaTek Helio P20 processor
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB storage, Micro-SD card slot
- 23Mp camera
- 8MP front camera
- NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, 11a Wi-Fi
- 5mm headphone jack
- 2300mAh battery, Qnovo Adaptive charging
- Black, White, Rose and Gold
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra specs
- Android 7.0 Nougat
- 6in touchscreen
- MediaTek Helio P20 processor
- 4GB RAM
- 32GB storage, Micro-SD card slot
- 23Mp camera
- 16MP front camera
- NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, 11a Wi-Fi, USB-C
- 5mm headphone jack
- 2700mAh battery, Qnovo Adaptive charging
- Black, White, Pink and Gold
Author: Chris Martin, Reviews Editor
Tech Advisor's Reviews Editor, Chris has been reviewing all kinds of tech for over 10 years and specialises in audio. He also covers a range of topics including home entertainment, phones, laptops, tablets and more.