Sony Mobile is still alive and kicking, and surprisingly its latest Xperia smartphones such as the Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 were released in Malaysia in the past few months. With MWC 2020 taking place next month, the Japanese smartphone maker will continue to introduce a couple of new devices and at least one of them is likely to be their first 5G smartphone.
Word has it that the next flagship could be called the Sony Xperia 1.1 and it is said to be running on a Snapdragon 865 with the latest Snapdragon X55 modem that can support dual-mode 5G. In terms of specs, the device is speculated to come with a slightly bigger 6.6″ OLED display that still pushes 4K resolution in a tall 21:9 aspect ratio.
The rear is said to come with a quad-camera setup which includes a 48MP or 64MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide-angle shooter and a 12MP telephoto camera (with possibly 3X optical zoom). Also included is a ToF camera for depth sensing.
Earlier this month, serial leakster @Onleaks had shared a render of a device that is said to be the Sony Xperia 5 Plus. The device is listed with a 6.6″ OLED display, a triple-camera setup with ToF and an 8MP selfie camera. Looking at the design, it appears that Sony is going back to its boxy design approach like the early Xperia Z series.
The device still retains a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and a dedicated camera shutter button. For those who wish to use their own headphones, you’ll be happy to know that the Xperia 5 Plus is said to come with a headphone jack on the top frame. The current compact Xperia 5 doesn’t come with a 3.5mm port and you’ll need a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle.
To recap, the current Sony Xperia 1 was officially launched at RM4,299 while the Xperia 5 is officially priced at RM3,399. For the new Sony flagship, you can probably expect some delay for the new Xperia 1 successor. The past Sony flagships that were launched at Mobile World Congress traditionally took months before it goes on sale, especially for the Asian market. In terms of 5G availability, commercial services are expected to be rolled out in Malaysia sometime in Q3 2020.
