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Sony is no stranger to releasing new phones at Mobile World Congress (MWC) and IFA. The company has already announced the Xperia 1 at MWC 2019, and sources say Sony is preparing to unveil its Xperia 2 at IFA Berlin 2019 this September.
A new User Agent Profile (UAP) has surfaced online showing two new model numbers, J8210 and J8010. The Sony Xperia 1 has a model number of J8110, meaning that the J8210 is likely the next-generation Xperia 2 headed to IFA.
The Xperia bearing model number J8010 has a 3840 x 1644 resolution and 21:9 aspect ratio while the J8210 has a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080p and 16:9 ratio, indicating that one of the models is the high-end Xperia 2 while the other may prove to be a more budget-friendly Xperia model for budget-conscious consumers.
The only image available for the upcoming phone has leaked, showcasing the same triple rear camera setup with the camera bump moved to the side of the phone, unlike with the Xperia 1’s middle camera bump.
OnLeaks and CashKaro have provided some renders and a 360-degree video of the upcoming device back in May, showcasing a phone with a 6.1-inch display (as opposed to the Xperia 1’s 6.5-inch display), the 21:9 aspect ratio shared with the Xperia 1, 6GB of RAM, Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, a triple rear camera setup, and a 3,000mAh battery with wireless charging. The device should be 9.2mm thick.
From the looks of the renders, speaker cutouts and cameras remain at the top of the Xperia 2, highlighting Sony’s resistance to contemporary smartphone design. Most companies today are at least putting selfie cameras into displays (or at least trying, anyway), along with speakers (such as what LG did with the V50 ). The bezel at the very top of the device is still too much of a blast from the past.
There doesn’t appear to be a headphone jack, either, but instead a single audio speaker at the bottom of the device to the right of the USB Type-C charging port (a microphone lies to the left of the charging port). The Xperia 2 appears to be tall, with slimmer bezels on the sides, though, so there’s something contemporary about the design.
The Full HD versus Quad HD resolutions above for the two Xperia 2 models may confirm a rumor released some weeks ago stating that the Xperia 2 would come in two display models, one bearing an OLED display while the other would come in an LCD model.
Perhaps the Full HD model will feature the LCD screen while the higher-end Xperia 2 bears the OLED screen. Since liquid crystal diode (LCD) displays are more widely available and cheaper to manufacture and purchase, it would make sense for Sony to go with a more affordable display tech on a more affordable model.
IFA 2016 is always held in Berlin, Germany, and Sony won’t be the only company unveiling new products there. Samsung could also make a scene by unveiling its new Galaxy Watch Active 2 there, though it could also unveil it at the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ announcement on August 7th and skip IFA 2019 altogether.
Whatever Sony has up its sleeve, we’ll be sure to find out come IFA 2019. We’ll keep you updated on the leaks and info until then.