Sony has taken a jump from Z to X with the Xperia X smartphones, which it announced at Mobile World Congress Monday.
The high-end Sony Xperia X Performance, the standard Sony Xperia X and the mid-tier Sony Xperia XA are expected to replace the Xperia Z series as Sony moves forward with restructuring its device line. By announcing the Xperia X line at MWC, Sony hopes to get back on sync with launching its devices at a competitive time alongside its rivals. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG LG5 also launched at MWC; however, these devices will hit markets before the Xperia X series.
The Xperia X devices will release in the summer with global availability including the U.S.
The Xperia X series is Sony’s attempt to catch up with the rest of the market. As smartphones become more commoditized, many manufacturers are altering their release cycles to better catch the attention of consumers. “For a good stretch there was so many innovations that you kind of have to be in a cycle to keep up – because there’s so many things,” Sony Senior Director Marketing told Don Mesa told iDigitalTimes.
However, devices like the Galaxy Note 5 launched weeks ahead of Samsung's typical fall cycle. The LG G5 was introduced in February, instead of the usual April timeframe, in which LG would announce new smartphones. The Galaxy S7 will hit markets less than three weeks after being announced.
Like many of its rivals, Sony is hoping that introducing the X series soon after the Xperia Z5 series will make it so consumers keep Sony smartphones in consideration when deciding on a new driver.
Mesa admits that Sony dropped the ball on the launch of the Xperia Z5, which was announced in September but didn’t release in many markets, such as the U.S. until January. Some markets still haven’t received the Z5. “Those who are still waiting, we want them to understand they have an opportunity, if they didn’t go with the Z5 there’s still a device they can choose [in the Xperia X series],” Mesa said.
The Xperia X devices are millennial focused and have as primary features, software optimization for more efficient battery life as well as new camera technologies. The devices use the Qnovo Adaptive Charging technology to ensure that the overall life of the Xperia X batteries don’t deteriorate over time.
“[Qnovo Adaptive Charging] measures the amount of energy you need to charge your phone so it actually saves your battery over time,” Mesa said. “People are carrying their devices longer so its about how do you make sure that we can we can save that battery.”
Sony’s Predictive Hybrid Autofocus allows users to tap a subject in the camera app, and then it will track the subject’s movements and predict their motions.
While Sony has added many features to the Xperia X line, others have either been removed or they remain glaringly familiar. None of the devices feature a fingerprint scanner, which Mesa said was a strategic decision to ensure they could be announced and hit markets at relatively the same time as competitors.
“One of the key decisions we made was we wanted to get back in sync in global. In order to get to launch the fingerprint sensor was one of the things that we had to make a call on,” Mesa said.
“In the future as we’re planning and now that we’re in sync with global, I’m sure we’ll look at revisiting [fingerprint scanners].”
Users will notice that all of the devices feature the traditional Sony rectangular form factor. However, the company did decide against introducing a phablet to the Xperia X line at this time. “As we look as what’s the right screen size, what’s important is how it feels in your hand when you hold it. When you do functions on it verses when you’re watching something on it is compromised," Mesa said.
“Sure you can have a bigger screen but handling it becomes more difficult. When it’s smaller its easy to use but you don’t want to watch much on it.”
The Sony Xperia X Performance features a 5-inch Full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory with storage expandable up to 200GB, a 23-megapixel-rear camera and 13-megapixel front camera and a 2700mAh battery.
The Sony Xperia X features a 5-inch Full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory with storage expandable up to 200GB, a 23-megapixel-rear camera and 13-megapixel front camera and a 2620 mAh battery.
The Sony Xperia XA features a 5-inch Full HD display, a MediaTek MT6755 chip, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory with storage expandable up to 200GB, a 13-megapixel-rear camera and 8-megapixel front camera and a 2300 mAh battery
The devices will be sold unlocked through retailers including Amazon and Best Buy. At this time no pricing details are available for the Xperia X series.
