Here’s our first look at Sony’s next Xperia flagship, complete with a refreshed design language

Sony phones all look… well, the same, for the most part. Sony gets away with it because the phones do look quite pleasing to the eye. But even they feel the need to change up from time to time.

Leaked photos of a forthcoming Xperia flagship give us our first look at Sony’s most significant change in design language since the launch of the Xperia Z family. The most notable trait is its rounded edges on the left and right sides of the device. We’re not sure if this was made more for ergonomics or looks, but we’re game. The top and bottom of the phones are a sharp contrast as they’re completely flat.

Taking things over to the rear, Sony seems to have finally decided to go with a dual-LED flash. While the camera and flash placement are identical to the way they’ve done it in recent years, the dual-LED module gives it a more distinct look.

Here’s how they’ve done it on the Xperia X family for comparison’s sake:

The Sony Xperia X only has 1 LED flash ring

There’s also a separation at the bottom which we imagine could be for attenuation. This would make sense if the device is going to be dressed in full metal.

Taking things over to the front side, we can see one thing Sony still can’t quite seem to break away from is their need to include the world’s biggest bezels above and below the display. At least here they have some sort of purpose with the inclusion of dual-front speakers.

Other details gleaned from the leak include Sony’s first usage of USB-C, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack accompanying it (which is notable because it’s starting to look like those will become rare at some point).

Unfortunately, there isn’t much to know about what’s inside the device, other than it’ll have a 1080p display, and that both the front and rear cameras will be capable of recording 4K video. That’s actually pretty insane so it’s one of the biggest points you better not overlook as you read about this device.

It’s strutting around with a model number of F8331 and you can bet we’ll be looking to hear more about this thing as we inch closer to IFA (where Sony historically has news to share about their plans for the second half of the year). How is this thing looking to you?