It’s looking like this year’s massive Mobile World Congress expo (kicking off at the very start of March) may be a relatively quiet affair for Sony. Rumours suggest that the Japanese giant won’t be releasing a new flagship at this year’s event, though it may punt out a couple of other sleek and sexy devices…
Last year, Sony unleashed its latest flagship phone at the MWC expo in Barcelona – the Xperia Z2, which came just six months after the Xperia Z1 and six months before the Xperia Z3. However, at the end of 2014 the Japanese giant also announced that it would be slowing down the non-stop onslaught of flagship phones, a move we felt was rather wise. After all, no one wants to splash out on a shiny new phone, only for it to be old news less than a quarter of your way into the contract.
Sony Mobile will definitely be launching something at MWC 2015, of that there’s no doubt. However, speculation has the latest flagship phone – the Xperia Z4 – launching after the expo, which fits in with Sony’s new ‘taking-it-easy’ strategy.
Of course, these delay rumours have thrown the internet into overdrive, with everyone donning their tin hats to conspiracy theorise. A popular angle is that the Xperia Z4’s delay could be a result of the reported overheating issues with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810, the chip which is expected to power Sony’s next major effort.
Qualcomm was quick to rubbish the rumours of the chip overheating, with Senior Director of PR, Jon Carvill saying “I can tell you that everything with Snapdragon 810 remains on track and we expect commercial devices to be available in H1 2015.” However, apparent delays with high-end devices reliant on it, including the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the LG G4, add fuel to the rumours that something isn’t right with that particular SoC.
In terms of leaked info, Sony has been running a pretty tight ship, especially since the major hack which took place back in November. We’ve seen very little smartphone-related info of any substance hitting the news and zero leaked photos, which is highly unusual for a new mobile – especially one that gathers such worldwide interest, despite not officially existing.
So, if the Xperia Z4 doesn’t launch at MWC 2015, what will we see from Sony instead?
Well, we reported back in November that Sony was working on a huge new phablet, rumoured to be the new Xperia Z4 Ultra, which could come packing a mighty 5.9-inch Triluminos display. However, would MWC really be a good time for such a handset to launch?
A summer reveal for a killer new phablet could be a more savvy move from Sony. Most companies launch their sexiest hardware in March, where they have to fight for attention with all the other new devices shown off at MWC. The summertime will be relatively quiet though, giving the Z4 Ultra much more room to gain the limelight.
That said, Sony will have something exciting to show off at MWC, the biggest mobile conference of the year – so if it isn’t a new flagship, the Z4 Ultra (and perhaps a new Compact) is the best bet.
Sony also just launched a new purple design (dubbed ‘soft purple’ inexplicably) for the Xperia Z3, suggesting that it may be attempting to keep the current range fresh and relevant, whilst dealing with delays on newer tech behind the scenes.
Obviously, much of this is based on detective work, thanks to Sony’s current tight-lippedness, but with MWC in just over a month, we guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the company has anything up its sleeve after all, or whether it is playing a waiting game before it launches its latest flagship and the beastly Xperia Z4 Ultra.
Leave a Reply