I don't know how Sony hasn't run out of alphabet letters and rectangular designs by now. Year after year, or more like half year after half year, the company churns another phone that distinctly looks like almost every Sony phone we've seen to date (which might be a good or a bad thing, depending on how much you like the design language) and that has another letter or noun added in the name. I'm honestly confused, but I understand that it has its appeal for a small subset of people, so I'll put my judgment aside and carry on telling you about these new Sony phones announced at MWC today.

Xperia XZ Premium

First up is the Xperia XZ Premium, which will be taking the crown as Sony's new flagship thanks to a Snapdragon 835 processor and an all-singing and dancing camera. Here are the detailed specs you can expect to see:

SPECS

Processor

 Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 64-bit, Adreno 540 GPU

RAM

4GB

Storage

64GB UFS with MicroSD card support

Back camera

 19MP 1/ 2.3”  Exmor RS™ memory stacked image sensor, Super slow motion 960fps video capture, 4K video recording

Front camera

13MP 1/3.06” Exmor RS™ for mobile image sensor, F/2.0, 22mm wide angle lens, ISO6400

Display

5.5" 4K HDR TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile with X-Reality™ for mobile picture engine

Battery

3230mAh Smart STAMINA and Qnovo Adaptive Charging

Design

IP68 rating, Fingerprint sensor on power button (only some markets, read: probably not US), USB Type-C, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 (front and back)

Colors

 Luminous Chrome, Deepsea Black

Operating System

Android 7.1 Nougat

The highlight here is obviously the camera, which Sony says is "so advanced it captures motion that the human eye can’t see." It brings tech used on Sony ‘α’ and Cyber-shot cameras along with a memory stacked Exmor RS sensor to create a new system dubbed "Motion Eye." The result is 5x image scanning and data transfer that lets you record at up 960fps and play back at super slow motion. Sony is also adding many features we've seen in smartphone cameras recently, like taking pics when it detects motion before you even tap the shutter so you don't miss any moments. The front camera isn't shabby either, at 13MP with a wide-angle lens and F/2.0 aperture.

The rest of the Premium's specs are just as impressive. We have a 5.5" 4K HDR screen with a selection of compatible content from Amazon Prime Video, a Snapdragon 835 processor — the same one that LG couldn't add to its G6 because it's rumored that Samsung flooded Qualcomm with the first order — with an X16 LTE modem for super fast connectivity speeds, and a USB-C charging port with USB 3.1 for faster transfers.

The exterior is a "glass loop surface" with a mirrored effect on the back and the entire phone is IP68-resistant. Sony is shipping it with Android 7.1 Nougat and including Smart Stamina mode, Xperia Tips, and Xperia actions to make your life a little easier and add some smarts into the phone.

The Xperia XZ Premium will be available globally in Luminous Chrome and Deepsea Black, starting late Spring 2017. That means it won't probably ship until late May or June, when Qualcomm has enough Snapdragon 835 processors to fulfill Sony's order. There's no pricing information yet, but if what we heard is right, you should expect the tag to be around the $900. Sony will also sell you accessories like a quick charger and a Bluetooth headset with speaker and remote camera shutter.

Xperia XZs

The second phone announced is the Xperia XZs, where the s means something like a second iteration. It's an updated version of the Xperia XZ, which was introduced last September at IFA. The main difference is that the camera is now the same as the XZ Premium, i.e. the same Motion Eye system with 960fps video capture, super slow motion, predictive capture before pressing the shutter button, and so on.

SPECS

Processor

 Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820 64-bit, Adreno 530 GPU

RAM

4GB

Storage

32GB/64GB eMMS

Back camera

 19MP 1/ 2.3”  Exmor RS™ memory stacked image sensor, Super slow motion 960fps video capture, 4K video recording

Front camera

13MP 1/3.06” Exmor RS™ for mobile image sensor, F/2.0, 22mm wide angle lens, ISO6400

Display

5.2" 1080p Full HD TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile with X-Reality™ for mobile picture engine

Battery

2900mAh STAMINA and Qnovo Adaptive Charging, Quick Charge 3.0

Design

IP65/IP68 rating, Fingerprint sensor on power button (some markets), USB Type-C

Colors

 Ice Blue, Warm Silver, Black

Size and Weight

 146 x 72 x 8.1 mm, 161g

Operating System

Android Nougat

The Xperia XZs will be available from the beginning of April 2017 in Ice Blue, Warm Silver, and Black, and it looks like you'll be able to purchase a case to go with the nice blue color.

PRESS RELEASE