By 
Sony is rumored to be skipping out on a big flagship reveal for Mobile World Congress this year, but that doesn’t mean they are hard at work on one. A few smartphones have found their way to certification over in Indonesia.
The certifications themselves tell us absolutely nothing about what sorts of devices these are, but there’s reason to believe one of them could be what will eventually be known as the Sony Xperia Z4. Here’s what’s being predicted among the three:
- Sony E6533 — flagship, probably the Xperia Z4
- Sony E5333 — mid-range
- Eony E2353 — entry-level
The “E” in the model numbers indicate 2015 launches (2014 was “D”) while the numbers following them give us an idea of how high up the food chain they sit. Of course, these are little more than just educated guesses as to what they might actually be so there’s always the possibility that these aren’t the DROIDs we think they are. (Yes, I just went there.)
It would be refreshing to see Sony go with just one smartphone for each price bracket for the first half of 2015 as opposed to the stampede of devices we saw years prior. Hopefully they’ll stick to their guns and look to cut back on releasing so many smartphones to give every model — even the less desirable ones — the tender, love and care that they deserve.
[via XperiaBlog]
wait a minute, thats not how you spell America….bring that phone to us!
Yeah, so VZW can jack it up and request a Z4v that is some whacked up mix of leftover Z2 parts and Z3 parts but called a Z4 despite not being the same Z4 the rest of the world gets.
For VZW, as much as I love the Z line as it has so much of what I want in a phone, the seemingly lack of Dev support (versus say HTC or Samsung) and the lack of love from the provider (VZW) kind of makes me feel the need to steer clear as I sense it will not be updated often or cared for down the road.
But it does not really matter much anyway for me as I need a new phone now and the Z4 is to far out, so M9 or S6 are in my most immediate future.
agreed….I just want to see them in the stores to go play with…..I’m a bit old school and like to play with a phone. This Nexus was the first phone that I took a shot in the dark on and bought it. That M9 is looking AMAZING. I cant wait, seriously.
I went to go buy the Z3v when it was released until everything started to hit the web about the fact it was a very different Z3. I also went to look at the Turbo. I knew instantly, I was going to pass on the Turbo. In the hand and visually, the Z3v was so much nicer of a phone. The Z3v was a nice looking phone and performed well for me. But I couldn’t swallow some of the other changes as I was so sold and hyped on the Z3 I saw all over. In the end, I opted to pass on the Z3v given 1. design changes mentioned above 2. not seeing much love from XDA devs 3. fearful VZW will let it languish for updates 4. didn’t want a phone that I could not do voice/data at the same time right out of the box until the update came.
In the end, it might work out for me as that M9 – and to some degree the S6 – are going to be good for me.
The turbo is still kick ass with its battery, 21 meg camera and moto display & much more. Only wish it was fully water proof and on t-mo
So u want the real Z3 that is “not waterproof” (look up all the complaints about people’s Z3 phones being water damaged) and doesn’t have wireless Charging and the camera may or may not have a pink spot in every picture.
Ya vzw really killed the phone. Actually by keeping the z2 design and putting new chip, wireless Charging more ram and bigger battery they made it better. And it is actually waterproof due to no lanyard port(water entry weakspot)
Z3v – different camera, different body, different battery, different screen than the rest of the worlds Z3. Z3v used older body and such from a Z2.
Now, can you find issues with the Z3 and Z3v, yes. BUT the fact remains, the point I am making, the specs and beauty of the Z3 are NOT what the Z3v were. As well, from what I have read, the Z3v hardly sold. I don’t see a ton of Dev interest or support either. And, I think advanced calling only hit on the 20th…. maybe 30 more days beyond their original claim. Point is, I don’t think there is much Z love with VZW (and devs) for keeping it up and maintaining it.
ps – Yes, I know all about the lanyard hole pressure issue.
Sony needs to sell their mobile div to LG or Samsung.
Why?
They seem to be hemorrhaging money and eager to offload a couple divisions like their films. Maybe sell their mobile phones and tablets arm. Perhaps that way we consumers can have more access to their good mobile toys? I’m just tossing around a ball here.
The question is, what would LG or Samsung gain by buying Sony Mobile?
Excellent question. How big is Sony’s phone/tablet patent file? They’ve got great cameras on their phones, that’s one big plus. I’ve always liked the Z series, but not their screens. Imagine how wonderful a Z3 or Z Ultra would look with a Samsung QHD AMOLED?
The z3 has an excellent screen. QHD is a spec stunt and I hate amoled. Two of the things I can’t stand about my nexus 6.
Spec stunt or not it’s hard to argue how much easier AMOLED screens are to read in bright outdoor conditions. To each their own anyway.
Maybe for the latest gen amoled on the s5 and note 4 but my oneplus one is much more visible in bright light than my nexus 6.
Yes that’s what I meant to point out. Samsung has done the business with the screens on the S5 and Note 4. Easy to see in bright light and can lower its brightness really low in darker conditions.
I haven’t seen any IPS screens perform as well. Sony Z series or otherwise.
No thanks. I like the alternative to Korean plastic that Sony currently offers.
Don’t want touchwiz or whatever LGs UI is called either.
See that’s my point, there’s loads of folks that enjoy Sony over the Korean manufactures but the fact is those Korean phone makers seems to have greater market coverage throughout North America. Unless I specifically search YouTube I can’t remember ever seeing a Sony phone/tablet advert.
If Sony isn’t going to fully invest in their mobile device company like the other top dawgs in this game then why keep going? Just pull a Google/Motorola and sell to someone who’s willing to invest and push things forward and offer their products to a MUCH wider consumer market.
I don’t live in north America and I’ve never seen an advert for the Z2 but then again I don’t buy a phone because of advertisements.
Hardware, build quality, waterproofing, excellent battery life, camera, smooth, pleasant UI and styling are what matters for me. The Z2 ticks those boxes for me and so I bought it and have nothing else I need right now.
I don’t care about ads and don’t want Sony’s great phones mangled by Samsung or LG, plenty of plastic cheapies to go round there already and ads too if that’s your thing.
Well that’s just my view as a North American consumer who would like better access to Sony mobile products. Congrats on living where you have that but us North Americans would like the equal attention.
Whatever you say about adverts, they do at least make you aware of a new product to CONSIDER. That helps.
You seem to have a real emotional aversion to “plastic” mobile devices. That’s cool. I care more about the capabilities of a mobile device rather than what’s its made of. If the material is strong and can protect my phone, I could not care less if it’s “plastic” or otherwise.
Sony phones get hardly any attention in Australia. Only apple and Samsung have proper marketing here but like I said, I could care less for marketing.
I’m not a brand loyalist either and definitely not a toolish fan boy so I don’t buy something just because it’s a certain brand, this is my first Sony phone and I’ve owned a different brand of android phone since the HTC desire HD.
Don’t have an aversion to plastic at all but I do have issues with being asked to pay almost $AUD1000 for a cheaply built plastic Samsung with a childish, hideous UI. If a galaxy phone was $400 or under they’d be great value but they’re double that price on release.
Just like I wouldn’t buy a nylon Rolex, I don’t feel comfortable shelling out my hard earned dollars for something that cheaply built and laggy.
Nokia’s polycarbonate phones are awesome and look and feel like a quality piece of gear. They’re an excellent example of plastic phones done right.
Samsung/LG phones feel… Cheap and their software sucks.
I’m with you on brand loyalty. For me it’s about the options the devices offer me. In my case, I truly need expandable storage and removable batteries. Those two options alone have proven to be vital during real life situations in my case throughout the past few years whilst traveling abroad in the Navy.
I would LOVE to see the kind of Nokia polycarbonate used in Samsung and other devices, they’re brilliant!
As for build quality, I can’t speak for others but the Samsung devices I’ve used have served me well. No broken parts or faulty displays. As for software performance, as with battery life, it’s all subjective. It truly depends on the user’s setup and usage. Even if I were to use a Sony Z3, I’d still root and configure the software to my personal preferences.
I don’t use Samsung mobile devices for their name. They’ve just continued to offer me as a consumer the options I need. Sony Z series devices are brilliant which is why I wish they’d saturate our market here more and become available on more carriers. They may not offer removable batteries but they do offer expandable storage so maybe after some user time I can overlook that. Their screens are not as bright as others but maybe over time they may improve their IPS displays or even adopt AMOLED.
They just don’t seem to be as aggressive with their market strategy as the other leading phone manufactures and I just think that’s a shame. Which is why I’m questioning whether they should not just sell rather than continue their current ways.
Australian prices are just bonkers when it comes to many things. My sympathies sir.
Well if you need removable batteries and have no dramas with Samsung phones and their software, what’s the problem? Just keep buying Samsung phones. That’s what I’d do in your place. They have amoled screens too Plus they release a phone almost every fortnight so it’s not like there’s a shortage of choice!
I wouldn’t change anything about the Z2, for me it’s the perfect phone. Only thing I’d maybe like is larger internal storage and a micro HDMI port so I don’t have to use those stupid mhl adapters but it seems no one wants to do that anymore.
I definitely wouldn’t want a phone like this ruined by LG/Samsung with their ‘ingenuity’
Yep, Aussie prices are ridiculous for tech, you can say that again!
this is really great.. Xperia Z4 is coming soon any update on more specs like what processor..screen etc..
well hope best 4 Xperia Z4..