Sony Xperia Z4 release date:Xperia z4 news, specs and rumors [updated: Z4 benchmark emerges]

The Xperia Z3 currently ranks as one of our best Android phones in the world. We love it, and the prospect of the Xperia Z4 looming on the horizon has us giddy. However, that horizon has recently moved a little further away when we learned that the Xperia Z4 would not be making an appearance at MWC 2015. The good news is that a leaked benchmark has revealed some of the device specs. Head to the update in the news section below.

This ''fourth generation'' Xperia looks like an evolved Xperia Z3. © Sony

Sony Xperia Z4 news

Update: A leaked benchmark, supposedly for the Xperia Z4, has appeared online via Geekbench. The good news is that the rumored Snapdragon 810 processor looks like the chipset being used, and the benchmark also suggests the Z4 will house 3 GB of RAM. Check out the table below.

Supposed Geekbench results for the Xperia Z4. / © Geekbench

As for the results, the device received a score of 1196 for single-core performance and 3576 for multi-core. To give you some context, this is better than any smartphone currently on thebenchmark list (which only includes released devices) but trails way behind the rumored Galaxy S6 scores, which were 1520 for single-core and 5478 for multi-core performance with its expected Exynos 7420 chipset. Yikes. 

Link to video

Sony Xperia Z4 release date

It has been confirmed that there will be no Xperia Z4 at MWC. This throws the Xperia Z4 relase date up in the air. We can only assume that Sony either doesn't want to compete with the announcement of the Galaxy S6 and HTC One (M9) at MWC 2015, but the delay could also mean the device simply wasn't ready in time. In any case, it shouldn't be too much longer until we see the Xperia Z4 unveiled to the public.

The original Sony Xperia Z was released in February of 2013, with the Xperia Z2 following a year later in March 2014. Sony had previously stated that it wanted to beat the yearly release cycle that most manufacturers have set for their flagship handsets and instead release them on a bi-annual basis, which is why the Xperia Z3 landed in the Autumn.

The Xperia Z4 will apparently receive an updated Sony Exmor sensor. © ANDROIDPIT

This idea appears to have been abandoned now, and we think that the Xperia Z4 will be the only flagship released by Sony next year, so here's hoping it produces more than a just a modest upgrade over the Xperia Z3. 

What all of this means for the Xperia Z4 release date is that it may materialize around April/May at an independent Sony event. Having said all of this, the recent Sony Pictures email leak specifically stated a planned date of May/November for the Xperia Z4. It seems likely this refers to the full-sized Xperia Z4 launch in May and the Z4 Compact in November, 2015. 

Sony Xperia Z4 design

Amongst all the fun of the hackfest that is Sony Pictures' email servers right now lie a few very interesting images of the new Xperia Z4 (and maybe the Xperia Z4 Compact). Sony Mobile was pitching the next-gen device for inclusion in the new James Bond flick and felt the need to include some pics to help sway 007 (or perhaps the new Q).

The images are very different, with one looking quite Xperia Z3-ish (seen above), one showing a weird back that looks like padded leather and a detail of a very angular corner setup (below).

The new Xperia Z4 looks to have a new clock, adaptive screen color and interesting back panel. © Sony

This bezel detail seems to show a super angular glass-backed Xperia Z4. © Sony

Sony Xperia Z4 price

Let’s be real. The Sony Xperia Z range is known for premium materials and hardware. The Z3 features a glass and aluminium housing, 20 MP camera, quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 5.2-inch Full HD display and 3 GB RAM. Oh, and it’s waterproof. The Z4 will be at least as powerful, so you can expect to pay top-dollar when it does come around.

The Xperia Z3 is available in the UK for 479 GBP off-contract on Amazon.co.uk, and around 600 USD on Amazon.com. We expect the launch price of the Z4 will be a bit higher than this (the Z3 has been around for a little while now), and if the rumored QHD version actually is in production, this will cost considerably more. 

The Xperia Z3 (left) alongside the Z3 Compact - Sony's Omnibalance design ethic is here to stay for the time being.  / © ANDROIDPIT

Sony Xperia Z4 display

While Sony has previously claimed that it doesn't believe in QHD technology due to the battery life trade-off, a recent leak has speculated that the Z4 will come in two versions: one with a QHD display and one with a Full HD display.

The news comes from Taiwanese site ePrice.com which claims that the QHD version will be released in US only. It's an interesting notion, and one that seems credible. Sony needs to do something to improve its poor smartphone sales, and with "screen resolution" being arguably the largest aspect of smartphone/tablet marketing in the West, it might be foolish for Sony to stick with full-HD only for its new flagship.

Also of note from ePrice, apparently the Z4's front camera will be a significant improvement from that of the past Xperia Z devices (if only Sony could fix the main camera's red-hue representation). 

Will the Z4 come in QHD and full-HD versions? / © TNN

A supposed leaked internal document from Sony hit the internet late last year via phonearena who claimed the same source (tech site toranji.ir) accurately revealed iPhone 6 schematics previously. The leaked images not only suggest a 5.2-inch QHD display, but also 3 GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 805 processor and Android 5.0 Lollipop. Take a look at what we're talking about below. 

This is one of the leaked presentation slides which is believed to depict the Xperia Z4. / © toranji.ir

A close look at the image reveals the what may be the Xperia Z4's internal specs. / © toranji.ir

This rumor is more than a little fishy to us. Firstly, we aren't sure why the overlaid text says Android 5.1 Lollipop. In the picture, it is clearly "5.0". The text is in English despite tornaji.ir writing in Persian - we don't know who it was added by. Secondly, it strikes us as a weird slide for an internal presentation anyway: what is its function? The text at the top left is barely visible. Lastly, with the Snapdragon 810 arriving on schedule (it can be found in the soon-to-be-released LG G Flex 2), this is probably going to be the processor that ends up on the Z4 launch. 

Another recent rumor came from a blog going by the name of futuresupplier.com which leaked what it claims is the Xperia Z4 LCD digitizer. What a "digitizer" is, for those who aren't aware, is the glass sheet that covers a smartphones display and translates your swipes and presses into digital information (i.e. it tells your phone when and how you have touched the screen). From this we can get an impression of how the front of the device will look.

As you can see from the pictures, the Z4 looks to have a similar screen-size to that of the 5.2-inch Z3. The top speaker has been moved from the top-centre to the top-right of the handset, while the camera flash and proximity sensor have swapped sides. The speaker at the bottom of the screen is also not apparent on the Z4 digitizer, so we presume this will be making its way to the underside of the device, if the rumor pans out. Check out the image below.

The Xperia Z4 display seems to have adopted a very similar design aesthetic to the Xperia Z3. / © Future Supplier

We honestly know nothing about FutureSupplier, it seems to have gotten its hands on a Note Edge digitizer in the past (after it was released), but this in-and-of-itself doesn't say much about its credibility. If Sony is running with the design above, however, it seems likely that it will implement a QHD display, given that there doesn't appear to be a real change in the display dimensions (even though 5.2-inches seems small for a QHD screen).

Sony Xperia Z4 specs

Android Origin has previously speculated that a 5.5-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) display will appear the Xperia Z4. The rest of the specs revealed include a 64-bit compatible quad-core Snapdragon 810, 4 GB of RAM, and 32 GB as the base model for internal storage. 

Category 6 LTE (up to 300 Mbps download speeds) and Bluetooth 4.1 are a given, but one of the most exciting tidbits is that the Xperia Z4 might be getting amplifiers for its speakers, creating an audio experience like HTC's BoomSound. We'll just wait and see how much of this pans out, but if all this works out as leaked, then the ''minor upgrade to fit the six-month update cycle'' problem may be a thing of the past, because the Z4 looks to be shaping up as seriously next-gen if it appears on schedule.

These are just some of the features Qualcomm's new chipset will bring. / © Qualcomm Technologies

• Sony Xperia Z3 vs Xperia Z3 Compact: hardware comparison

Sony Xperia Z4 camera

In a press release found on sony.net, Sony has announced its new smartphone camera sensor, the Exmor RS IMX230, claimed to be industries first "Stacked CMOS Image Sensor with an Image Plane Phase Detection Signal Processing Function for High-Speed AF". (In plain English, the high-speed autofocus means that any moving objects in your picture will be less blurry.) 

The new 21 MP sensor is said to bring better performance in HDR mode, and also a higher level of detail in HD videos. Capable of recording at 30 FPS with 4K resolution (4096 x 2160), the stacked CMOS image sensor will capture videos much like it would take a normal photo, check out the image below for an example. 

The still on the right, taken from a video produced by the new 21 MP IMX230 sensor, shows the improvement offered when recording in HDR. / © Sony

The sensor supports 192 different autofocus points, reducing noise and increasing detail by a significant margin. Based on the flagship rumors we have so far, it looks like Sony is (maybe unsurprisingly) going to lead the pack in terms of camera technology in 2015.

Previously we had seen a leaked Sony document on sonyalpharumors.com which suggests that Sony is producing a different, but even more impressive image sensor. Said to be the the world's first active pixel color sampling sensor (APCS), the document claimed to reveal that Sony is producing a 1.5-inch sensor with 4.8 million pixels, which doesn't seem so impressive until you consider that each individual pixel is said to be capable of carrying full RGBG information thanks to Sony's new technology. (This basically means 1 pixel created by this camera sensor can perform the job of 4 regular pixels.) To the end-user, this would mean higher-dynamic range, faster processing, lower-noise, no need for anti-aliasing, an electronic global shutter, and 2K video recording at 16,000 FPS, and a mega-pixel count which stretches far beyond the current 21 MP smartphone cap. 

It's still entirely possible that this sensor is in development by Sony, but probably for a digital camera, rather than a smartphone. It is suspiciously advanced technology, even for a next-gen flagship, and we think it's far more likely that we will see the aforementioned IMX230 sensor on the Xperia Z4. 

Sony Xperia Z4 features

It's safe to assume that Android Lollipop will be running on any flagship device released this year, and according to latest benchmarks it looks like the Z4 will be running version 5.0.2.

That's basically what we think we know about the Xperia Z4. We'll update this page with more information as we get it, until then, you might want to check out how the Z3 compares to another modern flagship in our Xperia Z3 vs LG G3 comparison.

Are you excited about the Xperia Z4?

Sony Xperia Z4 might miss MWC 2015

Speculation has surfaced that suggests the much-hyped Xperia Z4 won't make an appearance at the Mobile World Congess 2015 event in March. So when could the Xperia Z4 be released?

When will we see the Xperia Z4 make an appearance? / © Sony Mobile

According to Xperiablog, the latest Sony flagship won't be hitting the floors of MWC at the start of March, like the Xperia Z2 did last year. Sony had recently been releasing devices on a bi-annual basis, but had announced that the Xperia Z4 would be the only Sony flagship released this year (Sony has been suffering from poor sales in its smartphone department and is cutting back on the number of devices it releases).

The Xperiablog doesn't name any sources, or any reasons for the delay, and appears to be based on speculation. If confirmed, this could mean that Sony would miss out on the only other major smartphone event in the first half of the year, other than CES, to show off its new handset. Missing MWC in March would suggest the Z4 won't be here in March or April, maybe even pushing the device launch into Q3 2015.

However, it is entirely possible that release dates have been shuffled around since Sony has made plans only to release a single flagship (albeit with "compact", and "ultra" variations) in 2015.

The Xperia Z2 was a huge hit at MWC 2014. / © TNN

This isn't the only major flagship reported to be missing out on MWC: an executive from LG recently stated that the LG G4 wouldn't be there either. This would be great news for LG and Samsung who would likely dominate the show with the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, and HTC One (M9) / HTC Hima.

We recently took a look at how the Xperia Z4 would compare to the Xperia Z3 to see if the new device would make for a credible upgrade from last year's model. Traditionally, there isn't much separating successive Xperia Z series flagships. 

Are you disappointed to hear that the Xperia Z4 might be more than just a couple of months away? Or would you prefer to wait a little longer for a better Sony product?

Source: Xperiablog

Sony Xperia Z4 vs Xperia Z3: does Sony’s flagship offer anything new?

The leaks and rumors are starting to back each other up: a new Xperia is coming to replace theXperia Z3, and unlike its predecessors it won’t be replaced six months later. What can we expect from Sony’s new flagship, the Xperia Z4, and how does it compare to the current model, the Xperia Z3? Let’s see what the leaks and rumors have to tell us.

The Xperia Z3 and Z2 as seen above give us a good indication as to how the Xperia Z4 will look. / © ANDROIDPIT

• Sony Xperia Z4 release date, news, specs and rumors

One of the most interesting things about the Xperia Z4 isn’t the phone but the strategy around it. Reports say that Sony feels that its six-monthly replacement cycle is no longer necessary for its flagship phone, and that the Z4 has more than caught up with its rivals. Can the Xperia Z4 really hold its own against Android’s finest until well into 2016?

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Leaked images suggest the Xperia Z4 combines, er, hardness and softness.  / © Gizmodo

There’s another interesting story too: this could well be the last Sony-made Xperia we’ll ever see. Sony’s financial troubles mean it’s seriously considering selling off its mobile division, just like it did with its Vaio computers a few years ago.

Xperia Z4 vs Xperia Z3: design and display

Don't expect a radical redesign: Sony's design language is well established now. / © Sony

The Xperia Z3 isn’t a bad looking phone, and sources suggest that the Z4 will look much the same - although the relatively unchanged design will be slimmer with a smaller bezel and will include a better screen, Qi wireless charging and batter waterproofing that won’t involve more flaps than a delirious duck.

Sony deliberately chose not to offer a QHD screen in the Xperia Z3 to preserve battery life, but reports suggest that the Z4 will - but there will also be a full-HD display for those who think power matters more than pixel counts. The screen size should remain unchanged at 5.2 inches and it’s expected to have Gorilla Glass 4 to protect it from everyday lumps and bumps.

One of the most interesting unanswered questions about the Z4 is what connection the leaked pictures from Sony Pictures have to the final device. You may recall that in late 2014 hackers got into Sony’s servers and leaked all kinds of things including images of the Z4 range Sony (the phone company) wanted Sony (the film company) to use in the next James Bond movie. Those images looked slightly different from normal Xperias, with photos showing cases whose backs were made of mirrored glass or leather. Were those designs just for the movies, or should we see some snazzy Xperias along those lines this year?

Xperia Z4 vs Xperia Z3: camera

The Z4's camera may include Sony's latest Exmore sensor with 192 autofocus points. / © Sony

The Xperia Z3 camera is pretty good - it’s a 20.7 MP model capable of HDR and ultra HD video - but Sony’s newly announced Exmor RS IMX230 is even better, with support for 192 different autofocus points, reduced noise and superb detail. If it doesn’t make its way into the Xperia Z4 we’ll spend the entire review taking photographs of ourselves looking sad.

Xperia Z4 vs Xperia Z3: processor and RAM

The Xperia Z3 has a Snapdragon 801, and its successor is expected to have a 64-bit Snapdragon 805 or 810 processor: 64-bit is all the range in Android now, and a 32-bit processor would appear as a backwards step in 2015. While 64-bit chips can handle much more RAM than 32-bit ones we wouldn’t expect the Xperia Z4 to have much more RAM than the Z3, which has 3GB on board.

Xperia Z4 vs Xperia Z3: features

Phone Arena's blurrycam pics suggest the interesting stuff is happening inside the phone. / © Phone Arena

Android Lollipop is a given - the Z3 shipped with KitKat - and the Z4 should add voice over LTE (VoLTE) to the Z3’s already excellent Wi-Fi and 4G LTE support.

Xperia Z4 vs Xperia Z3: battery

The Xperia Z3 ships with a 3100 mAh battery that’s good for two days of real-world use. If the Z4 has the same battery then we’d expect similar life, for while a higher resolution screen would draw more power, 64-bit chips such as the Snapdragon 810 are designed to be more energy efficient than their predecessors.

Xperia Z4 vs Xperia Z3: price and availability

Leaked emails suggest that James Bond's Xperia could have a mirrored back. / © Gizmodo

Sony hasn’t announced a price or release date for the Xperia Z4, although we’d expect a launch at MWC 2015 (2nd to 5th March 2015) and an on-sale date shortly afterwards. The Sony leaks suggested an on-sale date of May, and a revised version in November.

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We’d also expect the Xperia Z4 to have a price tag similar to the Xperia Z3. That’s got a list price of $629.99 US (unlocked), although you’ll find sellers on Amazon offering the phone for $508. As ever, the trick is to be patient: the big discounts don’t usually kick in until a new phone has been on sale for a few months.

What do you think? Is the Xperia Z3 good enough that it just needs a minor update to stay competitive, just like the Z3 was compared to the Z2, or does Sony need to try harder?

Xperia Z2 tips: 9 to make the Z2 even more awesome

The Xperia Z2 is a wonderful machine. A real beauty. Look at that glass. Look at that metal. Just stunning. Did you know you can even use a pencil or a pen on the screen? Anyway, enough of that, the Xperia Z2 was one of the top devices of 2014, so it deserves some top tips and tricks. Here are 9 of the best Xperia Z2 tips you can find. 

The Xperia Z2 works just as well with a pen or pencil. / © TNN

1. Touch the screen to wake up

Like LG devices with Knock On, Sony has taken advantage of phone-waker-uppering features in the Xperia Z2, this time with "tap to wake up". Just double tap on your screen to wake it up, allowing you to check the time or notifications or unlock your phone, without pressing any buttons. Nice.

To begin using this feature, go to Settings > Display > and tick the "Tap to wake up" option.

2. Customize your Xperia: the personalization menu

The Sony Xperia Z2 offers a specific menu in the settings where you can customize your device in some interesting ways. A few of these are discussed below and all of the features can be found in Settings > Personalization.

Motion

This is a rather thin menu, containing only one option. But what an option! Enabling "smart call handling" lets you answer your phone just by bringing it up to your ear. Shaking the device will reject the call, and turning it upside down will turn the ringer off. 

Themes

Themes are great for personilizing your device without changing the functionality. With the Xperia Z2, Sony has already preinstalled a lot of themes, but they're a bit basic. What is most interesting is the ability to download themes through Sony Select or the Play Store.

From the settings menu, go to "Themes" and you will be greeted with a number of Sony options, but click on the store button to discover some more interesting options.

Choose the theme of your Xperia Z2 - there's plenty to choose from. / © TNN

Background

Changing your background is an even less intrusive way of personalizing your device than changing the theme. Select some album art from your smartphone or try a classic animated wallpaper. 

Lock screen

If you don't just want to change your home screen background, but your the lock screen instead, simply choose ''lock screen'' from the personlization menu. You can use image "Album" and "Xperia Wallpapers".

Manage notifications

Don't give away your battery to apps that don't need it! Manage the apps that send you notifications so that you are only kept up-to-date on the things that matter to you. Don't want Twitter sending you 20 messages a day? Manage it here! Just go to ''Manage notifications'' to, er, manage notifications.

Not all applications need your attention, select just the ones you use most! / © TNN

Status bar icons

Okay, the organization of the icons in the status bar is a very personal thing. My obsessive compulsive disorder prevents me from having this bar full of icons. So, I only use what is really necessary. Go to the Status bar icons page, to choose which are present.

My status bar contains only information that is indispensable to me. / © TNN

3. Make the Xperia Z2 automatically silent at bedtime

This is winner. Smart Connect doesn't have to be that thing you ignore because it has a very useful "Night" profile, where you can determine a schedule for your device to automatically activate mute and unmute. This is great for the times when you go to bed and forget to turn your phone on silent - Smart Connect will have you covered. 

To access night mode go to Smart Connect in your app drawer and select Events > Night.

The Xperia Z2 Night mode can make sure you don't get woken up by noisy notifications. / ©TNN

4. Edit documents and images using sketch

Sketch makes it pretty easy to edit documents and images, and the app comes pre-installed on the Xperia Z2. Head to Sketch in your app drawer to get started. Clicking the camera button will let you take a picture right there and then to start editing.

Sketch can be used for editing pictures or highlighting things. / © TNN

5. Transfer Xperia Z2 media to your PC without cables

If you own a Windows PC (running Vista or later), you can transfer media to and from your Xperia Z2 without the need of a USB cable. This is an exclusive service of Xperia devices and works as long as both devices are running on the same network. 

Go to Settings > Wireless & networks > Xperia connectivity > USB connectivity > pair with PC and follow the four-step setup procedure. Using this feature you can transfer music, movies and pictures and more.

Transfer data without the need for a USB cable. / ©TNN

6. Avoid shaky videos 

Blurry videos and pictures are an all too frequent occurrence on smartphones. However, the Xperia Z2 does a good job of safeguarding against this (despite overheating when recording video in 4K!).

So you do not have to worry about blurry images, go to your camera app and tap the three dots (options) button. Tap the middle (film) icon and make sure Steady Shot is set to standard. And yes, this is a feature already established by CyberShot cameras from Sony.

Please enable SteadyShot feature and good-bye to blurry videos. / © TNN

7. Enjoy your Xperia Z2 longer with Stamina mode

If there is one problem that smartphones suffer from more than anything else, it's battery issues. Like the rest of 'em, the Xperia Z2 often won't last you more than a couple of days (if that). However, also like the rest of 'em, Sony offers a decent way to offset this in the form of a battery saving feature, in this case called "stamina" mode. 

This feature should always be switched on, because it saves battery with a minimal effect on your device's overall performance. You should also make sure Location-based Wi-Fi is switched on if, like me, you forget to switch your Wi-Fi off when you're out and about. To place your device in battery saving mode, go to  Settings > Power Management > and check what's on offer.

On the left, the battery life estimated the Xperia Z2 without it enabled Stamina mode; Right: Xperia Z2 with the Stamina mode enabled. / © TNN

8. Use the Xperia Z2 as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot

This is a great feature that only a handful of people take advantage of. You can use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot so that other devices can connect to the internet. 

To turn your smartphone into a wireless router, go to Settings > Wireless & networks > "More" > Tethering & portable hotspot and tick the Portable Wi-Fi hotspot option. You may need to configure some additional settings in the Portable Wi-Fi hotspot settings menu, but once completed, other devices should be able to use your smartphone's connection to go online. 

Turn your Xperia Z2 into a Wi-Fi hotspot with Xperia Connectivity. / © TNN

9. Customize your quick settings

The quick settings menu is something I go to all the time, so it makes sense to ensure it is as convenient as possible. To quickly open the menu, drag down from the top of the screen with two fingers. Switch up the order of the quick settings panel by tapping and holding on the icons and dragging them wherever you want. Tap on the "Edit" button to see which other icons you can make use of. 

Sony Xperia Z4 release date, news, specs and rumors [updated: Z4 gets certified in Japan: 3 versions coming]

The Xperia Z3 currently ranks as one of our best Android phones in the world. We love it, and the prospect of the Xperia Z4 looming on the horizon has us giddy. Recent speculation has suggested that Sony is ditching its two flagships per-year approach (sadly it hasn't appeared to do its smartphones sales much good) but it looks like the Xperia Z4 might just pack enough punch to carry us through to 2016. Update: The Xperia Z4 is coming. According to reports, it has just been certified by a Japanese wireless authority – and it wasn't alone. Head to the update section to find out more.  

This ''fourth generation'' Xperia looks like an evolved Xperia Z3. © TNN

Update: We've just received news that the Xperia Z4 is indeed on its way, and that it will be accompanied by two other devices, which we presume are the Xperia Z4 Compact and Xperia Z4 Ultra. gsmarena broke the news citing a Japanese blog, which claims that all three devices support Wi-Fi, LTE and VoLTE (no big surprise).

The Z4 Ultra is said to come with a 6.44-inch screen, while at the other end, the Z4 Compact is likely to have a 4.7-inch display. This is the first time we've had any close-to-concrete information about the Xperia Z4 Compact, Z4 Ultra, and indeed the standard Xperia Z4. With MWC less than two months away, you can bet your bottom dollar that these new Sony devices will be presented then. And we can't wait.  

• For more Xperia Z4 compact news and rumors, hit the link.
• If the Xperia Z4 Ultra news and rumors is more your think, go there instead. 

Sony Xperia Z4 design

Amongst all the fun of the hackfest that is Sony Pictures' email servers right now lie a few very interesting images of the new Xperia Z4 (and maybe the Xperia Z4 Compact). Sony Mobile was pitching the next-gen device for inclusion in the new James Bond flick and felt the need to include some pics to help sway 007 (or perhaps the new Q).

The images are very different, with one looking quite Xperia Z3-ish (seen above), one showing a weird back that looks like padded leather and a detail of a very angular corner setup (below).

The new Xperia Z4 looks to have a new clock, adaptive screen color and interesting back panel. © Sony

This bezel detail seems to show a super angular glass-backed Xperia Z4. © Sony

Sony Xperia Z4 release date

The original Sony Xperia Z was released in February of 2013, with the Xperia Z2 following a year later in March 2014. Sony had previously stated that it wanted to beat the yearly release cycle that most manufacturers have set for their flagship handsets and instead release them on a bi-annual basis, which is why the Xperia Z3 landed in the Autumn. This idea appears to have been abandoned now, and we think that the Xperia Z4 will be the only flagship released by Sony next year, so here's hoping it produces more than a just a modest upgrade over the Xperia Z3. 

What all of this means for the Xperia Z4 release date is that it may materialize around April next year, but maybe even as soon as March to coincide with the 2015 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which takes place between the 2nd and 5th of that month. Having said all of this, the recent Sony Pictures email leak specifically states a planned date of May/November for the Xperia Z4. It seems likely this refers to the full-sized Xperia Z4 launch in May and the Z4 Compact in November, 2015. 

• Sony Xperia Z3 vs Sony Xperia Z2: an unnecessary update?

Link to video

Sony Xperia Z4 price

Let’s be real. The Sony Xperia Z range is known for premium materials and hardware. The Z3 features a glass and aluminium housing, 20 MP camera, quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 5.2-inch full-HD display and 3 GB RAM. Oh, and it’s waterproof. The Z4 will be at least as powerful, so you can expect to pay top-dollar when it does come around.

The Xperia Z3 is available in the UK for 479 GBP off-contract on Amazon.co.uk, and around 600 USD on Amazon.com. We expect the launch price of the Z4 will be a bit higher than this (the Z3 has been around for a little while now), and if the rumored QHD version actually is in production, this will cost considerably more. 

The Xperia Z3 (left) alongside the Z3 Compact - Sony's Omnibalance design ethic is here to stay for the time being.  / © ANDROIDPIT

Sony Xperia Z4 display

While Sony has previously claimed that it doesn't believe in QHD technology due to the battery life trade-off, a recent leak has speculated that the Z4 will come in two versions: one with a QHD display and one with a full-HD display.

The news comes from Taiwanese site ePrice.com which claims that the QHD version will be released in US only. It's an interesting notion, and one that seems credible. Sony needs to do something to improve its poor smartphone sales, and with "screen resolution" being arguably the largest aspect of smartphone/tablet marketing in the West, it might be foolish for Sony to stick with full-HD only for its new flagship.

Also of note from ePrice, apparently the Z4's front camera will be a significant improvement from that of the past Xperia Z devices (if only Sony could fix the main camera's red-hue representation). 

Will the Z4 come in QHD and full-HD versions? / © ANDROIDPIT

A supposed leaked internal document from Sony hit the internet late last year via phonearena who claimed the same source (tech site toranji.ir) accurately revealed iPhone 6 schematics previously. The leaked images not only suggest a 5.2-inch QHD display, but also 3 GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 805 processor and Android 5.0 Lollipop. Take a look at what we're talking about below. 

This is one of the leaked presentation slides which is believed to depict the Xperia Z4. / © toranji.ir

A close look at the image reveals the what may be the Xperia Z4's internal specs. / © toranji.ir

This rumor is more than a little fishy to us. Firstly, we aren't sure why the overlaid text says Android 5.1 Lollipop. In the picture, it is clearly "5.0". The text is in English despite tornaji.ir writing in Persian - we don't know who it was added by. Secondly, it strikes us as a weird slide for an internal presentation anyway: what is its function? The text at the top left is barely visible. Lastly, with the Snapdragon 810 arriving on schedule (it can be found in the soon-to-be-released LG G Flex 2), this is probably going to be the processor that ends up on the Z4 launch. 

Another recent rumor came from a blog going by the name of futuresupplier.com which leaked what it claims is the Xperia Z4 LCD digitizer. What a "digitizer" is, for those who aren't aware, is the glass sheet that covers a smartphones display and translates your swipes and presses into digital information (i.e. it tells your phone when and how you have touched the screen). From this we can get an impression of how the front of the device will look.

As you can see from the pictures, the Z4 looks to have a similar screen-size to that of the 5.2-inch Z3. The top speaker has been moved from the top-centre to the top-right of the handset, while the camera flash and proximity sensor have swapped sides. The speaker at the bottom of the screen is also not apparent on the Z4 digitizer, so we presume this will be making its way to the underside of the device, if the rumor pans out. Check out the image below.

The Xperia Z4 display seems to have adopted a very similar design aesthetic to the Xperia Z3. / © Future Supplier

We honestly know nothing about FutureSupplier, it seems to have gotten its hands on a Note Edge digitizer in the past (after it was released), but this in-and-of-itself doesn't say much about its credibility. If Sony is running with the design above, however, it seems likely that it will implement a QHD display, given that there doesn't appear to be a real change in the display dimensions (even though 5.2-inches seems small for a QHD screen).

Sony Xperia Z4 specs

Android Origin has previously speculated that a 5.5-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) display will appear the Xperia Z4. The rest of the specs revealed include a 64-bit compatible quad-core Snapdragon 810, 4 GB of RAM, and 32 GB as the base model for internal storage. 

Category 6 LTE (up to 300 Mbps download speeds) and Bluetooth 4.1 are a given, but one of the most exciting tidbits is that the Xperia Z4 might be getting amplifiers for its speakers, creating an audio experience like HTC's BoomSound. We'll just wait and see how much of this pans out, but if all this works out as leaked, then the ''minor upgrade to fit the six-month update cycle'' problem may be a thing of the past, because the Z4 looks to be shaping up as seriously next-gen if it appears on schedule.

These are just some of the features Qualcomm's new chipset will bring. / © Qualcomm Technologies

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Sony Xperia Z4 camera

In a press release found on sony.net, Sony has announced its new smartphone camera sensor, the Exmor RS IMX230, claimed to be industries first "Stacked CMOS Image Sensor with an Image Plane Phase Detection Signal Processing Function for High-Speed AF". (In plain English, the high-speed autofocus means that any moving objects in your picture will be less blurry.) 

The new 21 MP sensor is said to bring better performance in HDR mode, and also a higher level of detail in HD videos. Capable of recording at 30 FPS with 4K resolution (4096 x 2160), the stacked CMOS image sensor will capture videos much like it would take a normal photo, check out the image below for an example. 

The still on the right, taken from a video produced by the new 21 MP IMX230 sensor, shows the improvement offered when recording in HDR. / © Sony

The sensor supports 192 different autofocus points, reducing noise and increasing detail by a significant margin. Based on the flagship rumors we have so far, it looks like Sony is (maybe unsurprisingly) going to lead the pack in terms of camera technology in 2015.

Previously we had seen a leaked Sony document on sonyalpharumors.com which suggests that Sony is producing a different, but even more impressive image sensor. Said to be the the world's first active pixel color sampling sensor (APCS), the document claimed to reveal that Sony is producing a 1.5-inch sensor with 4.8 million pixels, which doesn't seem so impressive until you consider that each individual pixel is said to be capable of carrying full RGBG information thanks to Sony's new technology. (This basically means 1 pixel created by this camera sensor can perform the job of 4 regular pixels.) To the end-user, this would mean higher-dynamic range, faster processing, lower-noise, no need for anti-aliasing, an electronic global shutter, and 2K video recording at 16,000 FPS, and a mega-pixel count which stretches far beyond the current 21 MP smartphone cap. 

It's still entirely possible that this sensor is in development by Sony, but probably for a digital camera, rather than a smartphone. It is suspiciously advanced technology, even for a next-gen flagship, and we think it's far more likely that we will see the aforementioned IMX230 sensor on the Xperia Z4. 

Sony Xperia Z4 features

It's safe to assume that Android Lollipop will be running on any flagship device released this year, so you can bet the Z4 will come with the latest version out of the box.

That's basically what we think we know about the Xperia Z4. We'll update this page with more information as we get it, until then, you might want to check out how the Z3 compares to another modern flagship in our Xperia Z3 vs LG G3 comparison.

Are you excited about the Xperia Z4? Do you think the leaked specs can be done in time?