Sony introduces Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact at IFA 2017

Sony at its IFA 2017 event today announced the much-awaited Xperia XZ1 and the XZ1 Compact flagship smartphones. While the smartphones may not look too different from last year’s lineup, plenty has changed both on the inside and the outside.

The designs of both smartphones are identical, with the Xperia XZ1 featuring the larger 5.2-inch Full HD HDR display and the XZ1 Compact using the smaller 4.6-inch HD display. Sony decided to maintain its bezel -heavy loop surface design philosophy which now features an all metal body instead of the plastic frame on previous Sony models. The bezels are still thick and all over the place, but the loop design gives the smartphones a more contemporary look. Both the XZ1 and the Compact will be available in Moonlit Blue, black, Warm Silver and Venus Pink.

Coming to the specifications, both devices offer the top of the line, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipsets coupled with 4 GB RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. The smartphones support microSD cards of up to 256 GB in capacity.

As for the cameras, Sony has stuck with a single lens system as opposed to the dual camera setup used by most manufacturers today. The primary camera consists of a 19 MP Motion Eye camera featuring a 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS mobile memory stacked sensor. This stacked sensor like its predecessor allows for 960 fps Super slow motion video capture and Predictive Capture including burst mode with autofocus.

Moving to the front-facing camera, the Sony Xperia XZ1 gets a bigger 13 MP sensor, while the Xperia XZ1 Compact gets a smaller 8 MP sensor.

Connectivity options for both smartphones include 4G LTE bands. The XZ1 gets Cat16 support for Gigabit-class speeds, while the Compact gets Cat15 that supports speeds of up to 800 Mbps. Both smartphones pack in GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth V5.0, NFC, Google Cast and are DLNA certified as well. Last but not the least, both device feature a USB Type-C port at the bottom.

As for the fingerprint reader, it still sits on the side inside, the power/unlock button. Both smartphones come with IP 65/68 ratings, Gorilla Glass 5 and support Quick Charge 3.0 for the respective 2,700 mAh batteries. Yes, both devices pack in the same battery capacity, despite their size differences.

Lastly, but definitely not the least, these are one of the first smartphones to feature Android 8.0 Oreo straight out of the box. As for availability, Sony said that both smartphones will go on sale globally in September.