Category: Sony

Sony Smartphone With Dual Cameras Spotted On GFXBench

So far in 2017, Sony has launched some impressive premium devices as well as capable mid-rangers. The company has however, strayed away from the growing trends of thin bezel phones and dual cameras. It looks like Sony will give in to one of those trends with a smartphone which will have dual front facing cameras.

According to a GFXBench listing, the Sony phone with the model number Xperia H3213 Avenger will have dual cameras on the front of the device. The listing reveals that the new Sony will be equipped with a 16MP + 8MP camera setup. Front facing dual cameras are not as common but, recently there have been phones like the Honor 9i which also sport a similar setup. The front facing cameras will also record 4K videos. The back of the phone has a 21MP camera.

Honor 9i with dual front facing cameras

Other specifications listed include a 6-inch display with a 1920 x 1080 px display. The resolution means that even though the phone will have a big display, it will not be a tall and bezel-less display.

Despite the dual camera setup, the Sony Xperia H3213 Avenger will not be a flagship smartphone. It has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset, along with 4GB of RAM and 32GB onboard storage. It is safe to assume that the onboard storage will be expandable via microSD card.

There is no word from company that it is working on mid range smartphone with a dual camera setup at front so it is hard to know when the phone will be launched. The device will be an interesting entrant in the sub-20K category in India which already has some great devices like the Xiaomi Mi A1 and the Moto G5s Plus.

November 15, 2017
Top Water Resistant Phones In India Right Now

A lot of smartphones nowadays boast of an ‘IP’ rating which indicates the phone’s ability to fight off water and dust damage. Here’s what an ‘IP’ rating mean-

IP- This stands for the International Protection marking, a standard drawn up by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

Dust

6- The first digit stands for its resistance to dust, but also general dirt and sand. For example, the Moto X4 earned a ‘6’ rating for “No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact (dust tight).”

Water

The second digit stands for the phone’s resistance to water

•   0 – No protection.
•   1 – Dripping water shall have no harmful effect.
•   2 – Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect with enclosure is tilted at 15°.
•   3 – Water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the vertical.
•   4 – Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction.
•   5 – Water projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) against enclosure from any direction.
•   6 – Water projected in powerful jets (12.5mm nozzle) from any direction.
•   6K – Powerful water jets with increased pressure.
•   7 – Immersion, up to 1m depth for up to 30 minutes.
•   8 – Immersion, 1m or more depth (exact details vary).
•   9K – Powerful high temperature water jets.

This feature has become ever so important nowadays as phones are getting more expensive and every user wants the best features for the price he/she pays. Also, phones are the principal mode of photography for a majority of consumer market and having a phone with an IP68 rating always helps. So, let’s take a look at the top phones with an IP68 rating available in India right now:

Moto X4

The cheapest phone on the list, the Moto X4 starts at a price of Rs 20999 and is the only phone in this price bracket which has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

The Moto X4 has a 5.2 inch 1920 x 1080 px LTPS IPS LCD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top for protection.

The Moto X4 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630, 2.2 GHz octa-core processor and Adreno 508 GPU, along with 3GB or 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 2TB via microSD card. The fingerprint sensor is housed inside the home button which also doubles up as a single navigation button. The Moto X4 is powered by a 3000 mAh battery with TurboCharge capabilities.

The Moto X4 has a dual-camera setup at the back. The main camera is a 12MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture, and the 8MP secondary camera with an f/2.2 aperture is equipped with a wide-angle lens. The dual-cameras allow users to have depth effect shots, bokeh effect shots, ultra-wide angle shots, and selective focus shots. On the front of the device is a 16MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture and an LED flash. The cameras record 4K videos at 30 FPS.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium

Priced at Rs 54945, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium became the first phone with a 4K HDR display. The device is also IP68 water and dust resistant.

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium has a 5.5 inch 4K HDR Display with TRILUMINOS Display for mobile and X-Reality for mobile picture engine. The 4K display comes into play whenever high res content is available like a 4k video or movie.

Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset along with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of Storage with microSD support for 256 GB. Running all the hardware is a 3230 mAh battery with Qnovo Adaptive charging and Quick Charge 3.0.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium has a 19MP Motion Eye camera which has a 1/ 2.3” Exmor RS for mobile memory stacked sensor with a pixel size of 1.22m and Predictive Hybrid Autofocus.
The XZ Premium also offers 960 fps Super slow motion video and the camera is equipped with a 25 mm wide G Lens with a F2.0 Aperture.
The Sony Xperia XZ Premium has SteadyShot 5-axis image stabilization and does 4K recording at 30fps. The front camera is a 13MP 1/ 3.06” Exmor RS for mobile image sensor with a 22mm Wide-angle lens with an F2.0 aperture. The front too has SteadyShot with 5-axis stabilization.

LG G6

The LG G6 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset with quad-core processor and Adreno 530 GPU along with Android 7.0 Nougat. The phone has a 5.7 inch QHD+ FullVision display with a 2880 x 1440 px resolution and an awkward 18:9 aspect ratio. The LG G6 is available in two variants – one with 4 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage and the other with 4 GB RAM, 64 GB internal storage. Both the variants have an expandable storage of up to 2 TB, when those card become available.

The LG G6 has a dual rear camera setup with two 13 MP sensors. One of the sensors supports wide-angle shots and has a 125 degree lens. The other sensor is for regular shots, with OIS 2.0 and 71 degree lens. The front camera is a 5 MP wide angle lens with a 100 degree field of view.

The LG G6 has a non-removable 3300 mAh Li-ion battery, which supports QuickCharge 3.0, and will work for more than a day according to LG.

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

The 2017 flagship phones from Samsung have an IP68 rating as well for water and dust resistance.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S8 and its bigger sibling, the Galaxy S8+ in April 2017. Apart from the LG G6, there was hardly any mainstream global phone with thin bezels and premium features. Qualcomm made a deal with Samsung and gave the company an exclusive early access to the Snapdragon 835 chipset. This made it possible for Samsung to launch the Galaxy S8 with a 2017 flagship chipset way before any other OEM got their hands on it.

The display is edge-to-edge with minimal upper and bottom bezels. Both the phones run a new 10 nm chipset, The S8 has an Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64 bit chipset while the S8+ will have an Octa core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad), 64 bit chipset.

Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have a 4GB RAM (LPDDR4), 64GB (UFS 2.1) storage, the Galaxy S8 has a 5.8” (146.5mm) Quad HD+ 2960×1440 px display with a 570ppi while the S8+ has a 6.2” (158.1mm) Quad HD+ 2960×1440 px display with a 529ppi density. Both have Samsung’s own super-AMOLED display. For cameras both phones get a main Dual Pixel 12MP OIS (F1.7), Front: 8MP AF (F1.7). While the battery on the Galaxy S8 is 3000 man, the S8plus has a 3500 mAh battery. Both support fast charging and wireless charging as well.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ does most of the things right. If you have the budget, there aren’t many phones that look as good and perform as well as these two flagship phones from Samsung.

Buy it here

Samsung Galaxy Note8

Both the Galaxy Note8 and the S Pen are IP68 rated for water and dust resistance.

The Samsung Galaxy Note has a 6.3 inch 2960 x 1440 px 18.5:9 aspect ratio Super AMOLED display with an 83.1% screen-to-body ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back of the device.The Galaxy Note 8 runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat and Samsung has promised an update to 8.0 Oreo in the near future. The phone is powered by a non-removable 3,300 mAh battery with QuickCharge 2.0 through the USB Type C port and because of the glass at the back, the phone also supports wireless charging as well.

Just like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, the fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device right next to the dual-cameras. As is with all Samsung flagship devices, the Galaxy Note8 ships with two different chipsets, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 2.45 GHz octa-core processor with Adreno 540 GPU for USA and China, and the Exynos 8895, 2.3GHz Quad-Core (Custom CPU) + 1.7GHz Quad-Core (Cortex-A53) with Mali-G71 MP20 for the remaining markets.

The Galaxy Note 8 is the first phone from Samsung to feature dual-cameras with a 12MP dual-camera setup, the primary camera has a wide-angle 12MP lens with an f/1.7 aperture and the secondary camera has a 12MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture. The telephoto lens enables a 2X lossless optical zoom and has features such as the Bokeh effect, much like the iPhone 7 Plus. The dual-cameras are capable of capturing 4K videos at 30 FPS On the front is an 8MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture and captures 4K videos at 30 FPS.

The Galaxy Note8 is much more than just a “slightly larger Galaxy S8+.” It surely does what Galaxy S8+ does best, and then does a lot more. The integration of the S Pen in Samsung’s UI and the dual-cameras are worth an upgrade to the Galaxy Note8 and the premium price tag.

Buy it here

Apple iPhone X

Although onky IP67 rated, the iPhone X deserves a mention for its superior hardware and software performance.

The iPhone X has a 5.8-inch 2436 x 1125 px OLED True Tone Super Retina display with minimal bezels around it. The phone runs iOS 11 and is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery which charges through the Apple signature lightning port placed at the bottom of the phone. Under the hood, the smartphone has the Apple A11 Bionic chipset with a neural engine, a hexacore processor, 3GB of RAM and storage options of 64GB, and 256GB. As is with every iPhone, the onboard storage can not be expanded via a microSD card. The small bezels mean there is no physical home button, which is now replaced with gestures for navigation. Siri is activated by pressing the now larger lock/unlock button. The iPhone X is also IP67 certified for water and dust resistance.

The iPhone X has dual 12-megapixel rear cameras, and it’s equipped with dual optical image stabilization. The sensors are both larger and faster, according to Apple, and the main camera is equipped with a wide angle lens and has an f/1.8 aperture while the secondary telephoto lens has an f/2.4 aperture. In between the two cameras is a quad-LED True Tone flash. Both the front and back cameras have the portrait mode. The rear cameras have the portrait lighting feature, just like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

The bottom line is, the iPhone X has all the ingredients of being the best iPhone yet. The design, the new cameras and the AR integration makes the iPhone X even more future-proof than it predecessors. However, the price tag of the iPhone X can make you question how much you love the iPhone and whether its enough to shell out over a thousand dollars on it.

Buy it here

November 13, 2017
Robot Dog Aibo Unveiled By Sony

After more than a decade when it was launched, Sony has announced its iconic robot pet brand with a brand new model simply called “Aibo” (model number ERS-1000).

It uses ultra-compact actuators that allow its body to move along 22 axes, and its eyes use two OLED panels to show a range of expressions. Battery life is rated at around two hours, with a three-hour recharge time. Sony claims that:

Aibo can form an emotional bond with members of the household while providing them with love, affection, and the joy of nurturing and raising a companion.

Sony says Aibo’s behaviour is adaptable, with the dog seeking out owners, learning what makes them happy, and gradually growing accustomed to wider environments. It uses deep learning technology to analyse the sounds and images coming through the robot dog’s array of sensors, and uses cloud data to learn from the experiences of other Aibo units and owners. Aibo also now requires a subscription, which costs 2,980 yen a month (US $26 approx.) for a minimum of three years. This gives you Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, cloud backup, and access to the app’s features.

The new Aibo is available to pre-order in Japan and will go on sale on the 11th of January, 2018; there aren’t any plans yet to release it outside of Sony’s homeland. It costs 198,000 yen (US $1,700 approx.), as well as the monthly subscription

November 1, 2017
Unboxing The Sony Bravia OLED A1 KD-55A1 4K Android TV
The new Sony Bravia OLED A1 KD-55A1 4K Android TV is priced at Rs 364,900 for the 55 inch variant and Rs 464,900 for the 65 inch variant. Lets unbox the new Sony TV and see what all we get:
- The Sony Bravia KD-65A1
- Remote
- Cables
- Wall mount screws
- Table support
The Sony Bravia TV has built-in support for 4K HDR content and the remote comes with shortcut buttons for Netflix and Google Play, proving that companies also believe that not a lot of people watch cable or DTH television anymore.
October 31, 2017
Sony Xperia R1 And R1 Plus Launched In India At A Starting Price Of Rs 12990

Sony has launched two new mid-range smartphones, the Xperia R1 and Xperia R1 Plus in India. Both the phones will be sold offline and will be available across all Sony Center and major mobile stores across India from the 10th of November. The devices are priced at Rs 12990 for the Xperia R1 and Rs 14990 for the Xperia R1 Plus, and both the phones will be available in Black and White colour variants. The design of the phones reminiscent of all the Sony Xperia phones launched since the Xperia Z with a rectangular shape and blockish design.

Both the phones have identical specifications with the only difference being in the RAM and storage. Both the devices have a 5.2 inch TF display with a 1280 x 720 px resolution. the smartphones are powered by 2620 mAh battery and run Android 7 Nougat out of the box. Under the hood, the devices have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset. The Xperia R1 has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage while the Xperia R1 Plus packs 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The storage is expandable via microSD card.

Both the devices have a 13MP rear camera with autofocus, Exmor Sony sensor, and LED flash. There’s an 8MP front camera on both the phones.

The company has also confirmed that interested customers can register for the phones starting 27th of October on Amazon. Sony promises has promised that pre-registered customers will be entitled for a special offer.

October 27, 2017
Sony A7R III Mirrorless Camera Launched

Sony has launched a new mirrorless camera, the Sony A7R III at an event in China.

The Sony A7R III is based around the same 42.2MP full-frame image sensor as in the earlier A7R II. What’s different is that the A7R III is paired with a reworked imaging pipeline that should allow for a 15-stop dynamic range at lower sensitivities. Sony claims that is the “highest picture quality of any camera we’ve ever made.” Despite its high megapixel count, the A7R III is fast with a continuous shooting speed of up to 10fps with full AF/AE tracking which this is twice as fast as the 5fps on the A7R II. The new A7R III also features new technologies like a gapless on-chip lens design and anti-reflective sensor coating to achieve better low-light performance and wider dynamic range. The A7R III features an ISO range of 100-32000 which is expandable to 50-102,400. The camera also has a 5-axis optical image stabiliser that provides 5.5 stops of compensation.

The new A7R III has a new feature called the Pixel Shift Multi Shooting Mode. When activated, the camera captures 4 separate photos shifted by 1 pixel each to capture 169.2 megapixels of data. These are then composited in Sony’s new Imaging Edge software to create a single photo to achieve a higher resolution and colour accuracy. On the back of the camera is an 3-inch OLED viewfinder with 3.186 million dots.

The A7R III captures 4K footage using the full width of the sensor, and packs the Super 35 oversampling mode. Like the Sony A9, you can also shoot at 120fps at full HD, but the A7R III also adds S-Log 3 and support for the hybrid log gamma HDR standard.

The Sony A7R III will be availble in November at a starting price of US $3200.

Sample images taken from the Sony A7R III

October 25, 2017
Sony Xperia XZ1

Sony Xperia XZ1 was launched in India on the 25th of September at a price of Rs 44990. The highlights of the phone are that the phone runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and the 3D scanning camera. Sony has claimed that the Xperia XZ1 is the first smartphone featuring real-time 3D capture.

[amazon_link asins=’B075T5VD9S’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’igyaan-21′ marketplace=’IN’ link_id=’dd60c9f0-f2cb-11e7-8eb9-9b5ef7f17d04′]

[section label=”Latest News”]

Latest News

[loop included_tags=”39811″ loading=”paged” layout=”c” postsperpage=”5″ disable_ads=”true” disable_excerpt=”true”]

[section label=”Videos”]

Videos

October 24, 2017
Unboxing The Sony Xperia XZ1
Sony launched the Xperia XZ1 in India on the 25th of September at a price of Rs 44990 and went on sale the same day through both offline and online channels. The smartphone is available only in Black colour in India unlike its global variant which is available in Snow Silver, Horizon Blue, and Twilight Pink as well. The highlights of the new flagship smartphone is that the phone runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and the 3D scanning camera. Let’s unbox the new Sony Xperia XZ1 and see what we get inside the box:
- Sony Xperia XZ1
- Documentation
- Sim ejector tool
- USB Type C cable
- Wall charger
First look at the phone is enough to tell you that it is indeed a Sony smartphone. The rectangular build of the phone is reminiscent of the previous generation Sony Xperia smartphones. There is a thick forehead and chin on the phone which house the front firing stereo speakers which has become a rare right. The lock and unlock button also houses the fingerprint sensor.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 has a 5.2 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top for protection. The design of the phone is reminiscent of a lot of previous Sony flagships, dating back to 2013’s Xperia Z. The device runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and is powered by a 2700 mAh battery, which is considerably smaller than a lot of smartphones in the market. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, similar to the one found in XZ Premium, 4GB RAM, and 64GB onboard storage which is expandable up to 256GB via microSD card.

Sony has used its “Motion Eye” camera system in the XZ1. According to Sony, “Motion Eye” system uses a 1GB memory-stacked camera which has five times faster image processing than other smartphones. Ditching the trend of the dual camera setup, Sony went with a single camera at the back with a 19MP 1/2.3? Sony IMX400 camera lens with an f/2.0 aperture. Sony has pointed out that the phone’s 3D scanning capability is one of its highlights. The camera app includes features like Predictive Capture which will click the picture seconds before you actually hit the shutter button. Sony has used SteadyShot electronic stabilization for video instead of optical image stabilization for images. The primary camera can also record super slow motion 720p video at 960fps in addition to recording 4K videos at 30fps. On the front, the XZ1 has a 13MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture and 22mm wide-angle lens.

For the launch offers, Sony is bundling a Quick Charge 3.0 charger in the box for a limited time while the buyers can purchase the Sony Style Stand Cover for Rs 2,490 which costs Rs 3490 originally along with the device. HDFC credit/debit card holders and ICICI credit card holders can also avail a 5 per cent cash back on purchase.
October 23, 2017
Sony Launches Xperia XZ1 In India For Rs. 44990

After unveiling the Sony Xperia XZ1 at IFA 2017 in Berlin, the Japanese tech giant has launched the new phone in India. The highlights of the launch was that the phone will run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and the 3D scanning camera. A noticeable omission is that of the Xperia XZ1 Compact which was launched globally along with the XZ1. Sony also recently launched the Xperia XA1 Plus in India at a price of Rs. 24990.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 has a 5.2 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top for protection. The design of the phone is reminiscent of a lot of previous Sony flagships, dating back to 2013’s Xperia Z. The device runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and is powered by a 2700 mAh battery, which is considerably smaller than a lot of smartphones in the market. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, similar to the one found in XZ Premium, 4GB RAM, and 64GB onboard storage which is expandable up to 256GB via microSD card.

Sony has used its “Motion Eye” camera system in the XZ1. According to Sony, “Motion Eye” system uses a 1GB memory-stacked camera which has five times faster image processing than other smartphones. Ditching the trend of the dual camera setup, Sony went with a single camera at the back with a 19MP 1/2.3? Sony IMX400 camera lens with an f/2.0 aperture. Sony has pointed out that the phone’s 3D scanning capability is one of its highlights. The camera app includes features like Predictive Capture which will click the picture seconds before you actually hit the shutter button. Sony has used SteadyShot electronic stabilization for video instead of optical image stabilization for images. The primary camera can also record super slow motion 720p video at 960fps in addition to recording 4K videos at 30fps. On the front, the XZ1 has a 13MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture and 22mm wide-angle lens.

Sony has claimed that the Xperia XZ1 is the first smartphone featuring real time 3D capture:

High quality 3D scans of objects can be rendered in just a minute using four scan modes; head scan, face scan, food scan and freeform scan. Scanned objects can then be shared on messenger apps using 3D stickers or uploaded to 3D communities such as Sketchfab. The 3D Creator app also sports a ‘Find More’ option that provides access to a growing 3D ecosystem via Google Play.

The Xperia XZ1 is priced at Rs. 44990 and will go on sale September 25 through both offline and online channels. The smartphone will be available only in the Black colour variant unlike its global variant which is available in Snow Silver, Horizon Blue, and Twilight Pink as well. For the launch offers, Sony is bundling a Quick Charge 3.0 charger in the box for a limited time while the buyers can purchase the Sony Style Stand Cover for Rs 2,490 which costs Rs 3490 originally along with the device. HDFC credit/debit card holders and ICICI credit card holders can also avail a 5 per cent cash back on purchase.

September 25, 2017
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus Launched In India For Rs 24990

Sony unveiled the Xperia XA1 Plus at the IFA 2017 in Berlin and has now launched the smartphone in India. The Xperia XA1 Plus will be available in all Sony Center outlets and major electronic stores across India in Black, Blue, and Gold colour variants for a price of Rs 24990.

In terms of design, the Sony Xperia XA1 Plus inherits the traditional all metal, thick bezel design as seen in its earlier variants. The smartphone’s power button on the right-hand side also houses the fingerprint sensor. The XA1 Plus features a 5.5-inch 1920×1080 px display, whereas the earlier models, the Xperia XA1 and the XA1 Ultra featured a 5-inch display and a 6-inch display, respectively.

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus has the same MediaTek Helio P20 chipset with Mali T-880 GPU used in the XA1 and the XA1 Ultra, 4GB RAM, and 32 GB of onboard storage which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card. The smartphone runs Android 7.1 Nougat, unlike the newly launched Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 compact, which run the latest Android 8.0 Oreo. The Xperia XA1 Plus is powered by a 3430 mAh battery and comes with Qnovo adaptive charging and Pump Express+ 2.0 quick charging support.

On the camera front, the XA1 Plus features Sony’s 23MP camera with an f/2.4 aperture, same as the one found on its XA1 siblings. On the front, the smartphone has an 8 MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture.

The Xperia XA1 Plus enters the Indian market were the sub-25K category is dominated by Xiaomi and Motorola. There is no word on it online availability yet, but, the smartphone’s widespread offline presence may play role in its success

September 21, 2017
Sony Xperia XZ1 Set To Launch In India On 25th September

Sony unveiled its new flagship, the Xperia XZ1 along with XZ 1 Compact during the IFA 2017 in Berlin in August. At the time of its unveiling, Sony announced that the smartphone will be available globally in the coming month and it looks like Sony is set to launch the XZ1 in the Indian market on September 25th. Sony has sent out press invites for a launch event in Delhi on 25th September. Whether the compact variant will be launched along with the XZ1 is yet to be seen.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 has a 5.2 inch 1920 x 1080 px display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top for protection. The design of the phone is reminiscent of a lot of previous Sony flagships, dating back to 2013’s Xperia Z. The display still has thick bezels around it and doesn’t look like a 2017 flagship smartphone. Sony claimed during the launch of the XZ1 that the device will run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, whether that will be the case with the Indian variant has not been confirmed yet. The device is powered by a 2,700 mAh battery, which is considerably smaller than a lot of smartphones in the market. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, similar to the one found in XZ Premium, 4GB RAM, and 64GB onboard storage.

Sony has used its “Motion Eye” camera system in the XZ1. According to Sony, “Motion Eye” system uses a 1GB memory-stacked camera which has five times faster image processing than other smartphones. Ditching the trend of the dual camera setup, Sony went with a single camera at the back with a 19MP 1/2.3? Sony IMX400 camera lens with an f/2.0 aperture. Sony has pointed out that the phone’s 3D scanning capability is one of its highlights. The camera app includes features like Predictive Capture which will click the picture seconds before you actually hit the shutter button. Sony has used SteadyShot electronic stabilization for video instead of optical image stabilization for images. The primary camera can also record super slow motion 720p video at 960fps in addition to recording 4K videos at 30fps. On the front, the XZ1 has a 13MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture and 22mm wide-angle lens.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 is priced at US$699 (Rs 45000 approx.) in the global market and the price in India could well cross the Rs 50,000 mark.

September 19, 2017
Sony Flagship Device With A Bezel-Less Display Leaked

Sony recently launched its new flagship, the Xperia XZ1 at IFA 2017 in Berlin. Although the phone has top-notch specifications and a promising camera, the design of the phone is still reminiscent of all Sony devices since the 2013 Xperia Z. When all the big smartphone manufacturers are moving towards a bezel-less display, the Sony Xperia XZ1’s design looks dated. However, it seems like 2018 will be the year when Sony finally ditches the top and bottom chins and launch a flagship Android smartphone with an 18:9 aspect ratio display.

A recent leak on GFXBench reveals that the new Sony smartphone, named Sony H8151 will have a tall display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The phone will have a 5.8 inch 2160 x 1080 px display. In the display column, there is another 11.5-inch 4320 × 2160 resolution display listed, which will be a 4K display and succeed the Xperia XZ Premium next year. The smartphone will run Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. The CPU column mentions a 2.6GHz octa-core processor, but, the Snapdragon 835 is clocked at 2.4GHz. This means that the new device might have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 836 chipset, should Qualcomm change their mind and announce the chipset before the launch of the Sony smartphone. The phone will have 4GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage.

On the camera front, it looks like Sony will continue producing smartphones with a single camera. On the back will be a 17MP camera which will record 3840 x 2160 px (4K) videos. The front camera will have a 12MP sensor with 4K video recording capabilities as well.

The design of the smartphones will be marketed as the ‘Mirai’ design, which means ‘the future’ and will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress 2018.

September 19, 2017
Sony Launches The Smart Speaker LF-S50G To Rival Amazon Echo, Google Home

Sony has launched its first smart speaker, the LF-S50G powered by Google Assistant at a price of USD 199 (Rs 12,700 approx.). The smart speaker will enter the market dominated by the likes of Amazon Echo and Google Home.

The inclusion of the Google Assistant means that it will work almost identical to the Google Home and has plenty of power to fill “the average room” with sound, Sony claims. The smart speaker looks very similar to the Apple HomePod with a white speaker mesh wrapped around a metal frame. It is, however, a little taller and slimmer than the Apple HomePod, and there’s a slender silver base which houses the power port and two buttons. It has two microphones, which is same as Google Home, however, Apple’s HomePod has six and the Amazon’s Echo has seven for improved audio recognition. Both microphones on the Sony LF-S50G are positioned on the top of the speaker, with a rubberized cap to ensure splash resistance.

Since the speaker is powered by Google Assistant, it’ll work for timers, Google searches, your calendar, controlling your smart home, and more. The top of the smart speaker also supports gesture controls. A rotation of a finger clockwise over the top of the speaker will increase volume, and movement in the opposite direction reduces it. You can also skip back and forth between songs by moving your palm over the top of the speaker, left to right to skip forward, and the other way to skip back a track. The smart speaker is equipped with a 360-degree speaker setup, a downward woofer, and an upward tweeter, delivering sound in all directions.

The smart speaker from Sony boasts something that the Amazon Echo and Google Home miss out, a small matrix-dot display. It can provide you with useful info such as the time and the volume level and, seamlessly disappears in the speaker mesh if you do not want it.

Sony says the LF-S50G release date is set for mid-October with a retail price of $199 (Rs 12,700) and will be available in Blue, White, and Black colour variants, but, there is no word about the speaker entering the Indian market, yet.

September 1, 2017
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus Launched With Helio P20 Chipset And 23 MP Rear Camera

Sony has launched the Xperia XA1 Plus at IFA 2017. The company pitched the third smartphone in the Xperia XA1 series as a ‘super mid-tier smartphone’ with a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display, 23MP rear camera, and a 3,430mAh battery.

In terms of design, the Sony Xperia XA1 Plus inherits the traditional all metal, thick bezel design as seen in its earlier variants. The smartphone’s power button on the right-hand side also doubles as a finger print scanner. The XA1 Plus features a 5.5-inch 1920×1080 px display, whereas the earlier models, the Xperia XA1 and the XA1 Ultra featured a 5-inch display and a 6-inch display, respectively.

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus has the same MediaTek Helio P20 chipset with Mali T-880 GPU used in the XA1 and the XA1 Ultra. The smartphone is available in two variants, a 4 GB RAM variant and a 3 GB RAM variant which will only be available in the US and South America. The XA1 Plus has 32 GB of onboard storage which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card. The smartphone runs Android 7.1 Nougat, unlike the newly launched Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 compact, which run the latest Android 8.0 Oreo. The Xperia XA1 Plus is powered by a 3,430 mAh battery and comes with Qnovo adaptive charging and Pump Express+ 2.0 quick charging support.

On the camera front, the XA1 Plus features Sony’s 23MP camera with an f/2.4 aperture, same as the one found on its XA1 siblings. On the front, the smartphone has an 8 MP camera.

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus is available in three colour variants, black, blue and gold. Unlike a lot of smartphones from Sony itself, the Xperia XA1 Plus misses out on water resistance.

Sony is yet to announce the price for the mid-range Xperia XA1 Plus, which is due to go on sale globally in late September.

September 1, 2017
Sony launches Wireless WF-1000X Earphones At IFA 2017

Sony has launched a pair of wireless earbuds at the IFA 2017 in Berlin along with the Xperia XZ1, XZ1 Compact and the Google Assistant powered smart speakers.

The Sony WF-1000X has a 3-hour battery back up and cost USD 199 (Rs 12,700 approx.). The earbuds weigh at 7 grams without the charging case and about 70 grams with the case. The earbuds connect to an audio source via Bluetooth 4.1. The Sony earbuds also feature NFC and a Noise Canceling switch button. The charging case takes 3 hours to charge with the earbuds in it. The earbuds automatically turn off when not in use, to prevent battery drain and feature Adaptive Sound which automatically detects your activity such as traveling, walking, and waiting, then adjusts ambient sound settings to you.

The smart sound feature allows you to switch between different modes to let ambient noise in order to keep listening to your music and also not miss out on important conversations or announcement. You can customise these modes via the Sony Headphones Connect app.

The Sony wireless earbuds are priced closer to the Apple AirPods at USD 199 than the B&O Beoplay E8 and even offer features such NFC and Noise Cancellation. As far as its availability in India goes, there is no official word on it and the price in India is also expected to be different than the global markets.

September 1, 2017