It’s raining smartphones in Barcelona this week, but we haven’t seen too much wearable tech. Well, Sony changed that emphatically at its conference today, announcing three new wearable and smart home accessories.
The company’s vision is clear: it aims to provide tech to enrich the human experience rather than detract from it, so all of it’s new devices have that theme running through them.
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The Sony Xperia Ear is the first of the bunch, and what was rumoured to be a Bluetooth headset before launch is a little more intricate than that.
Sony bills it as a smartphone improvement device, which allows the wearer to get on with their lives instead of gazing at a screen. The Ear blurts out relevant information to the user, such as the weather, messages, and calls. Missed calls and messages can also be addressed and the latter even sent verbally.
Other devices include the Sony Xperia Eye, Agent and Projector.
But more importantly for the company’s mobile phone hopes, it launched two new devices in its self-explained “super mid-range” category.
Dubbed the Sony Xperia X series, the Sony Xperia X Performance is the first device in the line. As its name would suggest, speed is privileged here, and sports a rather flagshippy Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC (the same chip as the LG G5 and the Samsung Galaxy S7), which will ensure more than enough horsepower for day-to-day number crunching. It also features 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage alongside a microSD expansion slot. It also flaunts a 2700mAh battery, which seems a bit thin in comparison to other 820 wielders.
A 5.0-inch Full HD screen also features, as well as Sony’s 23MP camera sensor. And speaking of the camera, the snapper also sports the Z series’ predictive hybrid autofocus system which guarantees quick focusing for motion snaps. The front camera is an immense 13MP. So there’s two huge sensors on this thing.
The Sony Xperia XA meanwhile, sports a meaty-enough Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 SoC, and an edge-to-edge screen, which will please those bezel hating folk. The XA also sports more vivid colours and finishes, similar to the Lumia mold, while the X will be a more reserved device.
And of course, keeping up Sony’s appearances, the X series is waterproof. We’re not totally sure of the IP rating just yet though, but IP68 should be plausible.
Both phones will be available in mid-2016, but as for South African availability, that remains to be seen. No price has been announced either, but expect it to be in the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact range (at least the Sony Xperia X Performance).
Updates to follow….
