Sony has started rolling out the Android Nougat 7.1.1 update, which is the latest Android version, to some of it’s older devices. The crop of phones receiving the Android upgrade are: Sony Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, Xperia Z5 Premium, Xperia Z4 Tablet, and Xperia Z3+. The devices are nearly 2 years old and come with the latest Android Nougat version. Sony had previously promised to announce the latest Android version for the smartphones and the brand has delivered on its promise. The new build number for the latest update is 32.4.A.0.160 and it changes from the original build number 32.3.A.2.33. The new build version does not bring considerable changes to the device. However, once the new version is installed, it cannot be changed back to the old version. The update also brings bug fixes and minor optimizations to the device. The update also brings the latest June 1, 2017 Android security patch to he Xperia range of devices. The update is available for users and Sony is streaming it OTA. If the notification for the update does not appear automatically, users can visit the phone Settings to check for availability. The update is being rolled out in phases so it might be a while before some users get the new version. Users are also advised to create a backup of their data before starting the phone update as otherwise for security purposes. The new features comes with Multi-Window support and as Sony states on its support page, “You can now run two apps simultaneously in a new split-screen view – ideal for keeping vital information close by. And, when you’re multitasking, just double tap to switch between your two most recent apps.” The update also brings battery improvements to the phone. The update also comes with Doze feature. Sony also introduces a new STAMINA mode with three power saving levels and automatically adjusts settings to improve phone performance and keep the device powered for longer. Photos, Videos and otheblogr media files can be shared directly over Messaging app with the Android Nougat 7.1.1 update. Additionally, the features also bring camera changes with the timer selfie mode for the camera. The Home Screen is also updated with the Google Now integration. As the support page mentions, “Swipe left to find your new home screen, complete with integrated Google Now access. Your Xperia will also display personalised app suggestions here based on your usage and habits.” Users can also visit the page to check for updates and whether there are any updates available for othe Sony devices. Users of Sony Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, Xperia Z5 Premium, Xperia Z4 Tablet, and Xperia Z3+ can expect the update in the near future if not already available.
After announcing the Xperia XZ Premium at MWC 2017, Sony has now launched the smartphone in India. The smartphone features a premium loop design with a metal frame sandwiched between front and back glass. It is also the first smartphone to feature a 4K HDR display, and the first smartphone in India to be powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 835 chipset. Sony has also included its ‘motion eye camera’ that can capture 960fps super slow-motion videos in HD resolution. Pre-bookings for the smartphone start on June 2 and will continue till June 11. The Xperia XZ Premium will go on sale in India starting June 12. Sony is also offering pre-booking customers a free wireless Bluetooth speaker, the SRS-XB20, which is otherwise priced at Rs 8,990. That’s not all, Sony is also offering customers with a three-month Sony LIV subscription for free, and 5,200 game credits for Modern Combat 5, a game on the phone. The smartphone is priced at Rs 59,990, and will go on sale starting June 12 on Amazon India and across major retail stores. The Xperia XZ Premium will be offered in luminous chrome and deep-sea black color variants. Sony Xperia XZ Premium Specifications and features
The Sony Xperia XZ Premium flaunts a 5.5-inch 4K HDR display running at a resolution of 2160x3840pixels, and it is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The display has a pixel density count of a whopping 807ppi, which is far more than what’s needed for a sharp picture where you cannot spot the individual pixels. Sony has partnered Amazon Prime Video to let you enjoy select original shows in 4K HDR. Under the hood, the Xperia XZ Premium is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core SoC, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. A hybrid SIM-card slot is also present, which lets you use two SIM cards or one SIM card and one microSD card. Sony is also touting the camera prowess of the Xperia XZ Premium. The smartphone features a 19-megapixel rear “Motion Eye” camera with pixel size of 1.22μm. Sony has also included a triple-sensor system, which is said to offer laser autofocus, an RGBC infrared sensor for adjusting white balance, and an updated ExmorRS image sensor. The smartphone supports 5-axis stabilization, predictive hybrid auto-focus and support for 4K video recording. The Xperia XZ Premium also allows you to shoot slow-motion videos at 960fps at HD (720p) resolution, which is four times the frame-rate that other top-end smartphones can achieve. Up front, there is a 13-megapixel front camera for selfies and video calling. Sony has also included Hi-Res Audio support along with LDAC codec for a high quality wireless music listening experience. The Xperia XZ Premium is also IP68-certified for water and dust resistance, and features a fingerprint sensor embedded inside the power button for biometric authentication. To keep things ticking, the smartphone is armed with a 3,230mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging, which can take the battery from 0-60 percent in just 45 minutes. Sony has also included Battery Care and Qnovo Adaptive Charging feature to protect the battery from degrading. With connectivity options such as Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, USB Type-C and 4G LTE with VoLTE voice calling support, the smartphone runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box.
Sony has today launched a new smartphone in India, called the Xperia XA1. Priced at Rs 19,990, the Xperia XA1 is a mid-range smartphone with the highlight being its photographic chops. Buyers can choose from white, black and pink colors, and the smartphone goes on sale today. The Sony Xperia XA1 is bundled with in-ear headphone MH-410, and three months free subscription of Sony LIV. The Sony Xperia XA1 was unveiled at MWC 2017 earlier this year. It is being touted as a mid-range device with premium photographic capabilities. Speaking of which, at the back is a 23-megapixel snapper with 1/2.3” Exmor RS mobile image sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 24mm wide-angle lens and hybrid auto-focus. For selfie lovers, there’s an 8-megapixel snapper up front with 1/4″ Exmor R mobile image sensor, f/2.0 aperture, and 23mm wide-angle lens.
The Sony Xperia XA1 flaunts a 5-inch HD (720p) display with image enhance technology and Corning Gorilla glass protection. Under the hood is a MediaTek Helio P20 64-bit octa-core SoC paired with 3GB of RAM. There is 32GB internal storage, of which about 22GB will be available to users. The memory however can be expanded up to 256GB using a microSD card. The smartphone also features a 2,300mAh battery with Quick Charging support, and Sony’s STAMINA mode for extended battery life. Connectivity options include dual-SIM card slots, 4G VoLTE support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, and USB Type-C port. On the software front, the Xperia XA1 runs on Android Nougat out-of-the-box.
After an unveiling at MWC 2017 earlier this year, the Sony Xperia XZs has been launched in India today. The premium smartphone is priced at Rs 49,990, and it will be going on sale via Flipkart, offline retail stores, and Sony Center on April 11. Pre-booking for the Sony Xperia XZs starts tomorrow and the window will be open till April 10. Those pre-booking the device will get a Rs 4,990 worth SRS-XB10 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker for free. As is the case with most Xperia smartphones, the USP of the new Sony Xperia XZs is also its photographic chops. At the back is a 19-megapixel Motion Eye camera with f/2.0 aperture, Predictive Hybrid auto-focus, HDR support, 4K video recording support, and 5-axis stabilization. The talking point however is the smartphone’s ability to record super slow-mo videos at 960fps, which is up to four times slower than standard smartphone cameras. For selfie lovers, there’s a 13-megapixel snapper up front with wide-angle lens and f/2.0 aperture. Sony Xperia XZs specifications, features
As far as the specifications are concerned, the Xperia XZs flaunts a 5.2-inch full HD (1080p) Triluminos display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Under the hood is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM. There is 64GB storage on offer, which can be expanded up to 256GB using a microSD card. The smartphone also features a 2,900mAh battery Stamina mode, and support for Quick Charge 3.0 support. There’s also a feature called ‘Battery Care’, which charges the phone to 90 percent, waits, and then charges to 100 percent. This is designed to protect the battery and keep it healthy up to twice as long. With IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, the device is resistant to dust and water. Connectivity options include dual-SIM card slots, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC and USB Type-C port. On the software front, the smartphone runs on Android Nougat out-of-the-box. As is the norm these days, the UI on the Xperia XZs comes with Xperia Tips and new Xperia Actions.
As expected, Sony has launched a slew of Xperia devices at MWC in Barcelona. The company has launched the Sony Xperia XA1, Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra smartphone, along with the XZ Premium and the Xperia XZs smartphones. The XZ Premium is a high-end variant of the XZ, while XZs is essentially a smaller variant. Similarly, the Xpera XA1 and Xperia XA1 Ultra are successors to the Xperia XA and Xperia XA Ultra smartphone launched last year. Sony has also collaborated with Amazon to showcase a few of its shows in 4K HDR on the phone from Amazon Prime Video, so it’s fair to say that there will be actual content to use with the 4K HDR screen on the phone. Sony is notably touting the phone as the world’s first 4K HDR phone, but we have to consider the fact that all of those pixels on a phone with a 5.5-inch screen seems like overkill. The Sony Xperia XZ Premium has a pixel-per-inch count of over 800, which is far more than what’s needed for a sharp picture where you cannot spot the individual pixels.
That said, HDR capability on a phone is a great touch, and with more HDR content being made available, this is a good move by Sony. LG has also revealed HDR support on its G6 smartphone, so this is likely to be a new trend on flagship smartphones this year. ALSO READ:Sony takes on Apple AirPods, launches Xperia ‘Open Style’ concept earphones at MWC 2017 Sony Xperia XZ Premium Specification and features
The Sony Xperia XZ Premium, the smartphone sports a 5.5-inch Triluminos HDR display with 4K (2160 x 3840) resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back of the handset. It is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor (Gigabit LTE speeds with X16 LTE modem) paired with Adreno 540 GPU and 4GB RAM. It offers 64GB of inbuilt storage with the option to expand further via a microSD slot (up to 256GB). There's a 19-megapixel rear camera with Sony's new Motion Eye camera system (based its new memory stacked 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS CMOS sensor) that provides 5x faster image scanning and data transfer. This means you can create videos by recording in 960 frames per second, providing Super slow motion video playback that is apparently four times slower than other smartphones in the market. There's also a 13-megapixel front camera with 1/3.06-inch Exmor RS sensor for selfies. The Sony XZ Premium packs a 3230mAh battery, runs on Android 7.0 Nougat, measures at 156x77x7.9mm, and weighs 195 grams. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS, NFC, and USB Type-C (USB 3.1) port, IP68 water and dust resistance. The Sony Xperia XZ Premium will be available globally sometime in late Spring in Luminous Chrome and Deepsea Black colours. Sony will also launch a range of accessories including the Quick Charger UCH12Wix which offers hours of battery time by plugging in for just a few minutes and Bluetooth Headset with Speaker SBH56 which enables hands free talking through the loud speaker whilst multi-tasking and has a remote camera shutter.
Sony Xperia XZs Specification and features
The Sony Xperia XZs is essentially a smaller variant of the previously launched XZ smartphone with a 5.2-inch (1080x1920 pixels) Triluminos display. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with Adreno 510 GPU and 4GB RAM. The smartphone offers 32GB and 64GB of internal storage options with the option to expand further via microSD slot (up to 256GB). The battery is at 2900mAh, IP65/IP68 water and dust resistance the Xperia XZs measures 146x72x8.1 mm, and weighs 161 grams. All of the other specifications are identical to the Xperia XZ Premium. The Sony Xperia XZs will be available in select markets from April onwards in Ice Blue, Warm Silver and Black colours. Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra Specification and features
It features a 6-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) display, and is powered by a 64-bit MediaTek Helio P20 octa-core (quad core 2.3GHz + quad core 1.6GHz) SoC with Mali T880 MP2 900MHz GPU and 4GB RAM. The smartphone offers 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, which is expandable further via a microSD card slot (up to 256GB). The big highlight of the Xperia XA1 Ultra is the cameras at the back and front. At the rear, there is a 23-megapixel Exmor RS image sensor with hybrid autofocus, 24mm wide-angle lens, f/2.0 aperture, 5x zoom, and HDR mode. There's a 16-megapixel Exmor RS sensor at the front with front flash, 23mm wide-angle lens, f/2.0 aperture, OIS, and autofocus. The battery is a 2700mAh, and the smartphone runs on Android 7.0 Nougat. Connectivity options include LTE (4G), LTE Cat6/4, GSM GPRS/EDGE (2G), and UMTS HSPA+ (3G).
Sony Xperia XA1 Specification and features The smaller Sony Xperia XA1 smartphone features a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display, packs a 3GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and offers a 2300mAh battery. The front camera is at 8-megapixel with no front flash or OIS. All the other specification details remain the same as the Xperia A1 Ultra smartphone. Both the smartphones will be made available in Spring in White, Black, Pink, and Gold colours. Sony will also launch matching Style Cover Stands alongside in White and Black colours, along with a range of complementary accessories. Price of all the smartphones will vary depending upon the regions.
Sony today announced its next generation of Xperia smartphones and along with a slew of accessories including an Apple AirPod rival at the ongoing Mobile World Congress. Called Xperia Ear ‘Open-Style’, it is Sony’s new wireless smart earbud concept and is based on open-ear audio technology. It is a product out of Sony’s Future Lab Program, which means it is yet to be commercialized. With a metallic body, the Xperia Ear Open Style concept features a loop like design by incorporating ‘open-ear’ stereo headphones for music and receiving notifications, without shunning off sounds around you. As Sony explains, the Xperia Ear Open Style concept earbuds use two spatial acoustic conductors and driver units which work together to transmit sounds directly to the ear canal. This unit is placed behind the ear, making the whole unit look a bit like some hearing aid. As the product goes through more R&D and more prototypes are tested, it will be eventually powered by Sony Agent Technology which is the company’s in-house personal assistant that uses voice commands and head gestures for navigation and communication with the smart device. It will also offer support for the Google Assistant, given Sony uses the Android platform for its smartphones. Sony is also developing new features for the concept earbuds to help improve in-ear assistant capability. It will also be added with support for third-party apps and services. For an example, when the product is commercialized, it will come with a new voice-chat service called ‘Anytime Talk’ that will allow users to instantly start a group conversation in real-time without searching through contacts or needing to dial, all by simply pressing a button or with a head movement. The beta version of this service will roll out for the first-generation Xperia Ear over the coming months. With the new concept wireless earbuds, Sony is aiming to offer a different audio experience to compete with the Apple AirPods which also feature a wireless design and come with support for the digital assistant Siri. To recall, the AirPods, which made their debut alongside the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, have been designed for individual usage and can take voice commands to execute actions. It is worth mentioning that Apple received a lot of flak for the seemingly impractical design of the AirPods. Given their miniscule nature, many argued that the expensive pair of wireless earbuds (Rs 15,400) are prone to get misplaced.
