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It seems like Sony is already developing its next flagship smartphone fueled by the Snapdragon 865 SoC. The first evidence of that surfaced on Sony’s firmware distribution server.
Sony’s Snapdragon 865-based flagship is in development
The “SM8250” internal model number appeared on Sony’s firmware distribution server. That model number will almost certainly represent the Snapdragon 865, as it’s natural succession from SM8150 aka Snapdragon 855.
That is pretty much all the info that was spotted in this code, but it’s more than enough at the moment. Qualcomm is actually expected to announce this processor by the end of this year.
The very first Snapdragon 865-powered devices are expected to start appearing in Q1 2019. The Galaxy S11 may be the very first one we’ll see.
Not much is known about this processor at this point. One rumor suggested that the chip will arrive in two variants. One with an integrated 5G modem, the other without it. Similar to the Kirin 990.
Qualcomm will, allegedly, release a brand new modem with this SoC, the Snapdragon X55 or X60. That is at least what the rumors have been saying.
Sony introduced two flagship-grade phones this year
For those of you who are out of the loop, Sony already released two flagship-grade devices this year. Less than we’re used to seeing from Sony, but the company decided to mix things up in 2019.
The first flagship-grade phone that the company announced in 2019 is the Xperia 1. That is the company’s main flagship which comes with a rather large display, and the Snapdragon 855.
The Xperia 5 followed at IFA 2019, and that is basically a more compact variant of the Xperia 1. There are some additional differences between the two devices, as the Xperia 5 is inferior. Still, the Xperia 5 is quite close to the Xperia 1 in terms of quality, and even specifications.
That handset is also fueled by the Snapdragon 855, while it comes with plenty of RAM. The same camera setup is included on the back of this device as well, a triple camera setup, by the way.
The next flagship smartphone that Sony is planning to release is probably the Xperia 2. This will only apply if Sony intends to stick to its naming scheme, as the Xperia 5 managed to complicate things.
The Xperia 2, or whatever Sony ends up calling the device, will probably arrive in February or March. The device may arrive during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, at least that is expected to happen.
