Everything you need to know about the Sony Xperia Z4
MWC 2015 came to pass without sight nor sound of the Sony Xperia Z4, sparking a new round of questioning as to when the eagerly awaited handset will be introduced.Expected to be a one of the standard-setting flagships of this year's smartphone race, the Sony Xperia Z4 will go head-to-head with the newly introduced Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 for smartphone supremacy. Exactly when the phone will land is still open for debate, however.
Although the Xperia Z3 might still be a relatively fresh addition to shop stock-rooms, Sony's frankly ridiculous habit of launching updated flagship phones every six months means the Z4 could be with us in the very near future. Sony has even promised the phone will hit retailers before September.
While we might not have seen the Z4 smartphone at MWC, an oversized sibling launched under the moniker of the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet. It offers no indication as to what specs the phone will have, but has ended all speculation as to what the company's next flagship phone will be called.
Adding further fuel to the imminent release fire, a flurry of Xperia Z4 rumours have already started to flow, with the damaging Sony hack even seeing renders of the device preaturely do the rounds online.
Most recently, a full press render emerged online, showing off a device with only very minor aesthetical differences over the handset's predecessor.
Advanced images aside, having overlooked the move to a QHD display with the Z3, it now appears Sony will echo the likes of the LG G3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in adopting the 2K technology.
Further headline features tipped to make an appearance include Qualcomm's 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor, the new IMX230 camera sensor and Google's Android 5.0 Lollipop OS. All things considered, the Xperia Z4 is shaping up to be a true powerhouse of the smartphone space.
It needs to be, too. Sony recently announced loses of £1 billion on its smartphone efforts, a figure which has cost former Sony Mobile CEO Kunimasa Suzuki his job.
We will continue to update this page with all the latest Sony Xperia Z4 release date details, news, leaks and rumours as details emerge. Bookmark it now to keep on top of all things Xperia Z4.
Sony Xperia Z4 Release Date
As you might expect - given the Z3's relatively recent arrival - Sony is remaining tight-lipped as to exactly when the Xperia Z4 release date will be held. That doesn’t mean we don’t have some idea of when to expect the iPhone 6 rival though.
Sony’s desire to push new phones out before current models have had chance to fully hit their stride means we can probably expect the Xperia Z4 to land in the first half of the year.
Teasing an early 2015 release recently, Calum MacDougall, Sony’s director of Xperia Marketing told TrustedReviews: “The replacement ratio [on our flagship phones] is about six months.”
With the Z3 having touched down in September, this suggests the Z4 is heading for a March or April unveiling.
Further hinting that we could see it's next flagship phone soon, Sony has also informed TrustedReviews that although the handset might be a little later than last year's model, it will be with us well before September rolls around.
“Z4 is the next-generation of product that we’ll be announcing,” Tim Harrison, Sony’s Vice President of Global Communications and PR, told us recently.
Although failing to confirm exactly when the phone will be introduced, he told us to expect the Xperia Z4 to drop sooner rather than later.
“No, we haven’t [moved to a more traditional 12 month product cycle],” he told us.
“As a general rule you will see some adjustment to the way we phase our products."
An imminent arrival is lent further credence by the fact that it seems both Japan's wireless certification board and the USA's FCC have given the handset the thumbs-up for local retail.
Far more telling, perhaps, is that the Japanese company has confirmed its new smartphone camera sensor will take its first bow on a consumer device in April.
With the Z4 expected to be the first handset to offer these impressive imaging abilities, this April release appears to hint at a new flagship phone being inbound.
Although having pushed its premature refreshes in the past, the Z4 could be Sony’s last attempt at a six month smartphone cycle.
Discussing the company’s rushed updates recently, MacDougall stated: “This might not necessarily be something we continue in the long term, but for now, in the beginning of the Z series, we believe we can bring experiences which are fresh and new and relevant, and justify for the consumer buying a new product.”
An early release isn't guaranteed, either. According to one of our sources with knowledge of the matter, the Z4 could be held off until September.
Suggesting Sony is looking to push its next flagship phone out a year after its predecessor, we've been told to expect the Z4 to land around the autumn's IFA 2015 gathering.
We will continue to update this post as and when more concrete launch plans are revealed.
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Sony Xperia Z4 News
Sony needs its next smartphone to be a consumer hit. The Z3 gained critical acclaim but that didn't stop Sony Mobile haemorrhaging money in 2014.
Recent financial earnings reports have seen the manufacturer forced to revise its smartphone sales forecast. Having previously predicted it would shift 43 million devices during the year, this figure has since been slashed to just 41m. Sony has claimed this drop is due to lack of presence in markets such as the US and China.
With Kunimasa Suzuki having lost his job, former VP Hiroki Totoki has been promoted to head honcho.
Adding to the company's woes, the first Xperia Z4 images were leaked via the Sony hack.
Bizarrely, the shots were stolen from the design labs, but emailed between two high-level execs trying to hash out a product placement deal in the upcoming James Bond film, Spectre.
“Sony Mobile has now provided us with the needed visuals of the new Z4 phones,” Sony’s Executive Vice President of Consumer Marketing, George Leon, stated in the leaked emails.
In the messages sent to Sony CEO Michael Lynton he added: “These phones are the planned phones for May/November of 2015. I’m attaching the visual for you to see.”
Although offering no details on the phone's specs, the leaked images have suggested the handset will pair a minimalist bezel with a 1.2mm glass boarder.
According to the leaks, the Z4 - which will look markedly similar to its predecessors - will be joined by a secondary, spin-off handset later in the year. It is expected this device, which will feature a slightly remodelled design, will act as a direct tie-in to the upcoming Bond flick.
These aren't the only Z4 leaks to offer an early look at the phone, either.
A claimed shot of the phone's front panel (below) has shown a handset markedly similar to the franchise's former offerings.
What's more, serial Twitter-based tech tipster @OnLeaks recently teased a full press render of the upcoming phone.
Backing up further leaks, the insider's image shows a markedly similar looking device to the Xperia Z3 and Z2, with the company's Omnibalance design principles maintained.
Larger stereo speakers and a missing microSD expansion slot are the only major design differences to a device which otherwise appears to be a near carbon copy of its predecessor. The phone's front-facing camera also looks to have switched locations with the integrated light sensor, moving to the left of the face Sony logo.
On a more positive note, the Sony Xperia Z4 is widely believed to be heading down the QHD route, with a 5-inch-plus 2K panel tipped for inclusion. Such an addition would see a stunning 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution bestowed on the phone.
Although a QHD panel would see Sony keep pace with latest industry trends, it goes against recent comments made by the company. Addressing TrustedReviews, MacDougall said the Z3 overlooked a 2K panel as, not only would it have a negative effect on battery life, but the visual benefits are not there.
“If we think of this size of screen, even up to 8-inches, they are relatively small screens and it is very difficult for the human eye to discern the difference between 2K and Full HD,” the Xperia head told us.
He added: “If we believe that a key part of the user experience for consumers is to have a longer term battery, and if we believe we can deliver a great screen with Full HD and our Sony technologies, we don’t believe the trade-off between having a 2K screen and battery consumption is the right trade-off for a consumer.”
With the Galaxy S6 having now adopted a QHD panel of its own, it appears Sony has been forced into the move by the competition.
While a QHD panel is all but confirmed, questions still surround exactly what size the phone will be. While it has been widely reported that the Z4 will move to either a 5.4- or 5.5-inch form factor, further leaks have also suggested the handset could retain the Z3's 5.2-inch base. At this stage we remain uncertain exactly where the Z4 will fall on teh size scale.
With the phone's visuals being boosted, it is also believed the Z4's imaging abilities will be dramatically updated.
In mid-November, Sony officially announced the Exmor RS IMX230 imaging sensor. This smartphone-bound camera addition is a 21-megapixel sensor which offers enhanced colour management over past models.
The first CMOS sensor to be built for smartphones, this sensor should take mobile imaging closer to DSLR quality shots for the first time. 192-point auto-focus detection is also on the cards alongside built-in image plane phase detection.
Further reports have suggested the Z4's camera will benefit from optical-image-stabilisation.
There's also talk of a Sony Xperia Z4 Walkman edition being in the works. The music-focused variant would boast a trimmed-down 4-inch display, but rock S-Force Pro front-firing speakers paired with Sony's S-Master digital amplifier.
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Sony Xperia Z4 Rumours
Android is all but certain to be the OS of choice for the Z4. Sony’s is heavily reliant on the Google platform and with Android 5.0 Lollipop having just been announced, it appears the Z4 will be licking Google’s Lollipop direct from the box.
Although Sony has shed no light on its future phones, with all existing ‘Z’ brand smartphones and tablets confirmed to be getting an Android 5.0 update, it is unlikely the Z4 wouldn't follow a similar trend.
Unlike Samsung, Sony looks set to continue its relationship with Qualcomm for the Z4's processor.
Having leaked with the new 1.56GHz octa-core Snapdragon 810 chip at its heart, the Z4 won't be lacking in power.
In a recent trip to Qualcomm's headquarters in San Diego we put the Snapdragon 810 through its paces and were hugely impressed with the results.
In the popular AnTuTu benchmark tests, the Snapdragon 810 scored a record-breaking 61,499, up massively on the 42,334 scored by the Xperia Z3's Snapdragon 801 chip.
Further Z4 rumours to be doing the rounds surround the phone’s design.
With the company’s flagship phone line having featured largely unchanged boxey designs in recent years, it is expected the Z4 will follow suit. Given the Z3’s streamlined improvements and the current market trends, it is possible the Z4 will look to shave further precious millimeters of the phone's already svelte 7.3mm form factor.
Like Sony's past smartphone efforts, the Z4 is again tipped to add waterproof credentials to its premium, glass-backed design.
Hopefully unlike past Xperia offerings the Z4 will not be plagued by overheating issues when shooting 4K video. Having rendered the Z2's feature all but useless, Sony made minor improvements on this front with the Z3 but there is still room for improvement.
While there's a lot going around about what the Z4 will add, its omissions could be of equal importance.
Looking to echo the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6, it has been reported that the phone will lack any form of microSD expansion.
Limiting the phone's storage options to what's onboard, this could dawn the era of multiple capacity offerings lining up alongside each other on retailers' shelves.
Read More: LG G4 Release Date, Rumours, News, Specs and Price
Sony Xperia Z4 Specs
The Sony Xperia Z4 specs sheet could see the handset line up as a market-leading device.
Offering a detailed insight into what the phone has to offer, anonymous tipsters have already leaked the phone’s full specs sheet well ahead of launch. Relayed through GSM Arena, the insiders have revealed the Z4’s 5.5-inch QHD display will be paired with a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor.
This high-power component is expected to line up alongside a massive 4GB of RAM and a new base storage option of 32GB – expandable via microSD.
One area where the Z4 doesn’t look to be getting a specs boost is on the camera front. The Z3’s 20.7-megapixel snapper looks set to live on, although the Z4 could introduce a new lens.
Further Sony Xperia Z4 specs tipped to feature include Bluetooth 4.1 and Cat 6 LTE connectivity options, the latter of which is capable of handling theoretical download speeds of 300Mbps.
With a specs sheet like this, the Z4 would leave the Nexus 6 and OnePlus One in its wake.
Sony Xperia Z4 Price
Given the phone’s array of high-end components, don’t expect the Xperia Z4 to be easy on your wallet. The Z3 has just launched with a £525 SIM-free price tag and we don’t expect the Z4 will be any cheaper. In fact, given the addition of a QHD panel and other premium additions
With the iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 both already costing wannabe owners northwards of £600, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Z4 edge closer to this more costly milestone.
What would you like to see included on the Sony Xperia Z4? Share your thoughts via the comments section below.
