Sony unveiled the camera-centric Xperia Z1 “Honami” (pictured above) at the IFA in Berlin just a few days ago. In what is turning out to be a strategy borrowed from Samsung, it seems it won’t be long till we see the Z1’s successor. Details have emerged of the specifications of the Xperia Z2.
The Z2 is expected to carry on the high end tag of the Z1 with the following specs:
- 5.2-inch full-HD screen (IGZO Triluminous)
- Snapdragon MSM8974AB chipset
- 3GB of RAM
- 20.7MP camera (just like the Xperia Z1)
- A 3,200mAh battery
- Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box
- Sony’s proprietary dust and water resistant capabilities
We’re used to seeing Sony release several high end devices targeted at the same market every year since 2011 so this won’t really be a surprise device. We sort of expected it. Remember the Xperia S (and SP), Xperia T (TX and TL) and this year the Xperia Z, ZL, ZU and Z1? Sony works that way. Unlike Samsung which will go to great lengths to differentiate its products by releasing stepped up and stepped down devices for various markets, Sony just bumps up things and gives you a refreshed model in no time.
While Sony may appear to be sticking with its tradition of refreshing its flagship devices throughout a calendar year, the Z2 is highly necessary seeing as it is that competitors are already pushing the frontiers with devices like the Galaxy Note 3. The Note 3 comes with direct support for 4K video recording with its 13 MP main camera so Sony needed to quickly catch up though its 20.7 MP camera as we saw on the Z1 is already more than impressive and the closest competitor to Nokia’s 41 MP sensor on the Lumia 1020. Also the 3 GB RAM on the Note 3, a first ever for a mobile device, is something Sony can’t wait to trump or equal. Since native 64-bit architecture on Android is still a few months away, trumping is not an option, catching up is. The Z2 will also build on the display tech (Triluminous) that we first saw on the Xperia Z Ultra by having a highly pixel dense display (500 ppi!). 500 ppi should be the highest we have seen on a smartphone and easily beats anything the 2013 flagships have shown us this year including the HTC One’s 468 ppi. Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box is also another factor to further whet our appetite. Never mind that the oft-rumoured Nexus 5 is expected to come with it when it is announced sometime soon.
The main point of focus of this device is expected to be that IGZO display not the camera as was the case with the Z1. IGZO display tech ensures that the screen is not battery hungry since that is the main undoing of full HD displays. Of course the 500 ppi is bound to get many tongues wagging anyway.
While news of the Xperia Z2 come out soon after the Z1 was announced, the earliest we could see this device is early next year at CES 2014 so hold your horses till then. It will be exactly a year since we saw the Xperia Z and should be the perfect timing to take the Sony ship forward to another interesting year.
