Sony has announced its first smart car audio system, the XAV-AX100. The system is compatible with both, Apple CarPlay as well as Android Auto, so regardless of which smartphone you have you are covered.
The double DIN system has a large capacitive touchscreen display up front with physical buttons to change the track and also a rotating volume dial so you can control basic system functions without taking your eyes away from the road.
It also includes a 4x 55W amp with Sony’s Extra Bass feature, and a 10-band equalizer. You also get 3 pre-out connectivity ports for connecting additional amplifiers and other accessories. The Dynamic Stage Organizer feature also compensates for the downward firing door speakers and improves clarity.
The XAV-AX100 is priced at $499.99 and will be available in North America by late November.
While we were expecting to see as many as five of them, Sony has confirmed that there won’t be any Xperia Z6 at all. The confirmation came in the form of a Facebook comment by the German arm of the Japanese company.
In addition, the company also revealed that the new Xperia X series of smartphones – which was announced at the ongoing MWC in Barcelona – will replace the Z series. “A Z6 will not exist. The new X series is under a modified concept that meets the needs of our users even more accessible,” the Google translated version of the comment read.
So, what does this mean. Well, going by what all Sony has confirmed, it’d be safe to assume that the the new SD820-powered Xperia X Performance is Sony’s flagship for the year. The other two phones that the company unveiled at MWC are the Xperia X and XA.
The Sony Xperia Z5 and the Xperia Z5 Compact are now official. The new generation “mainstream” flagship and its pocket-friendlier brother were just announced at a press event two days before the IFA expo opens to the public.
The regular-sized Xperia Z5 comes with the familiar 5.2-inch diagonal established with the Z2, and the Z5 Compact retains the 4.6 inches of the last Z3 Compact. The Z5 has a FullHD panel with a 428ppi density, while the Compact sticks to 720p resolution, resulting in 323ppi. Both displays are IPS units with the TRILUMINOUS and X-reality technologies inside and undisclosed make chemical tempered glass on top.
Sony Xperia Z5
The mighty Snapdragon 810 powers both smartphones with a dual quad-core CPU, ticking at up to 2GHz, and Adreno 430 GPU. You get 3GB of RAM on the vanilla model, but only 2GB on the Compact. Both models will have 32GB of built-in storage, though the Compact may ship with half than in certain markets. The microSD slot is universally available, though. The entire Xperia Z5 family will run on Android 5.1.1 upon launch.
Number one on the new features list is the 23MP camera. It uses a custom-made sensor, exclusive to Sony, housed behind a 24mm-equivalent f/2.0 lens. The sensor’s effective area is actually larger, as we’ll try to explain, and you’ll be able to shoot 23MP images in 4:3 aspect or 20MP in 16:9. The camera app has been thoroughly redesigned as well for a more contemporary look and improved usability.
The Xperia Z5 bears a strong resemblance to the previous model, but a few new design elements clearly set it apart. Chief among those is the reworked power button, now doubling as a fingerprint sensor. The now aluminum frame has an Xperia logo engraved on the side, while a frosted back panel replaces the glossy predecessor, aiming to put an end to smudgy backs and to achieve a more unified look between front and sides.
Measuring 146mm x 72mm x 7.3mm, the Z5 is identical to the Z3 in terms of dimensions and thus marginally thicker than the Z3+. Weighing in at 154g it’s heavier than either of the two older generations, but its battery is smaller, at 2,900mAh. Both have IP68 certification for the lineup’s signature dust and water resistance.
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
The Xperia Z5 Compact shares the fingerprint sensor and the Xperia logo in the frame but looks a lot chunkier. It measures 127mm x 65mm x 8.9mm so it’s not really thin, it’s just that the Z3 Compact did a much better job at masking its waistline. The 138g of heft are justified here by the 2,700mAh cell capacity.
The Sony Xperia Z5 will be available in the more formal White and Graphite Black, but also Gold and Green, while the Z5 Compact spices things up with Yellow and Coral. The smartphones will be on store shelves globally starting in October, but pricing remains to be detailed.
Xperia Z5 Premium
Capturing and displaying true to live images has long been close to Sony’s heart and today they revitalized that passion. The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is the first to reach the next benchmark in display smartphone technology – 4K resolution – and comes with a much-improved camera to match.
The 4K Triluminos display is an IPS panel has 3,840 x 2,160px resolution, that’s four times 1080p or just over 8MP. It puts 806ppi pixel density in the palm of your hand for crystal clarity of 4K footage from Netflix, YouTube or some that you’ve shot yourself.
You can do that with the brand new camera, the first major upgrade since the Z1. The Xperia Z5 Premium packs a new 1/2.3″ Exmor RS sensor with 23MP resolution (shared with the other Z5s). The sensor sits behind a Sony G Lens with an f/2.0 aperture and tech borrowed from Sony’s α line of lenses.
The camera captures 4K videos with improved Intelligent Active Mode and SteadyShot technology for smooth, sharp videos at day and at night. ISO for videos goes up to 3,200, for photos the maximum jumps to 12,800.
The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium has a stainless steel frame (unlike the other Z5s, which are made from aluminum). It’s painted in Black, Gold or the unique Chrome option (a mirror finish). The body is IP65/68 rated – dust-tight and waterproof with a cap-less USB port.
A new addition to the Z family is the fingerprint sensor on the redesigned Power key. Things naturally flow from waking the phone with the key to unlocking it with the sensor, which also supports the FIDO standard for online payment services.
The phone runs Sony-flavored Android 5.1, naturally, powered by a Snapdragon 810 chipset with 3GB of RAM. You get 32GB of storage out of the box and can add up to 200GB more with a microSD card if you need extra room for those 4K videos.
The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium will launch globally in November, pricing will be revealed around that time. It will come in single and dual-SIM versions, both of which support Cat. 6 LTE.
With 2014 having spawned the Xperia Z2 and Z3, it’s probable that the Xperia Z5 will follow the Z3+ / Z4 into the market before the year’s out. Thanks to a leak, we have a purported glimpse of the device alongside the Z5 Compact, with Apple’s iPhone 6 used as a sizing gauge.
The fingerprint sensor has, over the past couple of years, established itself as a mainstay feature of the flagship sector. It hasn’t quite reached the realm of necessity as, say, a front camera or a full HD display, but many accustomed to having a scanner in-built would perhaps now struggle to go without.
A tipster operating under the handle @vizileaks on Twitter has shared an image of what may be the Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Compact. Unannounced and unconfirmed at this stage, the snap gives a teaser of the fingerprint sensor that Sony looks poised to include, placed on the right side of each device and forcing the volume rocker to relocate lower down.
Sony has announced two new smartphones, the Xperia C5 Ultra and the Xperia M5.
The Xperia C5 Ultra is the successor to the Xperia C3 that was optimized for taking self portraits. The C5 Ultra has a 13 megapixel autofocus camera on the front and back, much like the HTC Desire EYE. The front camera also has 22mm focal length to fit more people in and also an LED flash like on the C3.
Other than the camera, the C5 Ultra has a 6-inch, 1920×1080 resolution IPS display with really thin bezels on the side, 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6752 chipset, 2GB of RAM, 16GB internal memory, microSD card slot, LTE, 2930mAh battery with a promised battery life of up to two days, and Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The Xperia M5 is what Sony calls the ‘super mid-range’ smartphone, and is quite similar to some of the Xperia Z series devices. It has the same OmniBalance design with metal on the sides and glass on the front and back. The M5 is also dust and waterproof with IP65 & IP68 certification.
The M5 also has a 5-inch 1920×1080 resolution IPS panel, MediaTek Helio X10 processor, 3GB RAM, 16GB internal memory with microSD card slot, 21.5 megapixel camera on the back, 13 megapixel camera on the front, LTE, 2600mAh battery with two-day battery life, and Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Both the C5 Ultra and the M5 will be available in dual SIM variants in selected countries across emerging markets starting mid-August.
The Xperia Z5 Compact shares the fingerprint sensor and the Xperia logo in the frame but looks a lot chunkier. It measures 127mm x 65mm x 8.9mm so it’s not really thin, it’s just that the Z3 Compact did a much better job at masking its waistline. The 138g of heft are justified here by the 2,700mAh cell capacity.
The fingerprint sensor has, over the past couple of years, established itself as a mainstay feature of the flagship sector. It hasn’t quite reached the realm of necessity as, say, a front camera or a full HD display, but many accustomed to having a scanner in-built would perhaps now struggle to go without.
Elie Chahine 