Much of the spotlight is currently on Sony’s forthcoming 6.4-inch Xperia ZU or Xperia Z Ultra phablet device, but that’s not the only thing the company’s got cooking. When the Xperia ZU first leaked (as the ‘Togari’) it was side-by-side with the ‘Honami’, a device more recently known as the Sony Xperia i1.
The Xperia i1 might not have the fancy stylus input or be large enough to balance a kitten on its glass fascia, but it’s still boasting a premium spec line-up, a sizeable 5-inch 1080p display and its party trick is that is has a much better set of camera tech than the Xperia ZU.
Design
There have been a few leaked pictures of the Xperia ZU but there’s been no images of the Xperia i1 (well, there was allegedly one, but it was so blurry it could’ve been a Motrola Razr for all we know). If it is associated with the Xperia ZU though then there have been strong suggestions the design will closely adhere to the current Xperia Z flagship. That means we can expect reinforced glass on the front and back, a highly angular shape but with contoured corners and panelled detailing on the sides.
On the subject of reinforced glass, one source has even suggested the Xperia i1 will be tougher than the Xperia Z’s Dragontrail glass, which itself is said to be stronger than conventional Gorilla Glass.
However, there may yet be differences from the Xperia Z and Xperia ZU, if some claims made by leak's sources are correct. According to svartling.net the Xperia i1 is the first handset designed under Sony’s ‘One Sony’ mantra – an approach intended to tie in its entire product range from here-on out. We’d previously heard of the One Sony concept but to be honest we weren’t aware that the Xperia Z and Xperia ZU weren’t already part of it. Only Sony knows for sure.
At any rate you can expect something pretty slick and premium looking. Sony’s allegedly using glass, metal and carbon fibre for the bodywork and as with the company’s other recent offerings it’ll be IP55 and IP58 certified up the wazoo for water, dust and impact resistance.
- Sony Honami will have 20-MP camera, metal and glass body
- Sony Honami smartphone and Togari phablet details leak
Display
Being a Sony device, and a high-end one at that, you can expect something pretty jazzy when it comes to the touchscreen and the leaked specs and rumours don’t fail to disappoint. It’s been said from day one it’ll sport a 5-inch Full HD 1080p display in-line with the current trends. Specifically the resolution is that magical 1920x1080 pixel setup we’ve seen used before to great effect.
It doesn’t end there though. Sony has a boatload of extra technology layers employed here, according to rumours, including OptiContrast for better blacks, dark tones and, funnily enough, contrast. There’s also the X-Reality Engine, which is apparently a technology that Sony has built up from the Mobile Bravia Engine 2 we saw on previous devices.
As with the Bravia Engine, the X-Reality engine enhances overall image quality, sharpness and particularly improves colours. An additional boost to colour quality comes in the form of Triluminos display technology, something which is rumoured for both the Xperia i1 and Xperia ZU. This tech allegedly produces more vivid and natural colours then conventional displays.
Hardware
The internal ‘running gear’ is pegged to be pretty competitive and it looks like Sony is making a serious push to knock Samsung off its perch. We’ve heard multiple rumours that the Xperia i1 will use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core chip paired with an Adreno 330 graphics processing unit (GPU) and 2GB of RAM.
Needless to say you can expect this to be pretty rapid indeed for running all the latest Google Play content – benchmarks recently emerged from the Sony Xperia ZU (also running a Qualcomm 800) and it wiped the floor with everything, including an allegedly in-development Qualcomm 800-powered Samsung Galaxy S4.
We don’t know what the clockspeed will be yet but we do know the Qualcomm 800 chip can go as high as 2.3GHz, which is pretty zippy.
According to leaks the Xperia i1 will have more internal storage space than the Xperia ZU, with 32GB onboard and it’ll also have a microSD slot for expanding this further. Connectivity is pegged to include NFC (with one-touch sharing), Wi-Fi, Miracast, 4G, infrared and Bluetooth. While nothing has been specifically mentioned in leaks or rumours we can also likely expect MHL, microUSB and GPS to be added to that list.
The battery pack is thought to be fairly hefty, which is good news as the Xperia Z suffered from poor battery life. The Xperia i1 packs a 3,000mAh unit. Other perks include dual stereo speakers powered by an S-Master MX Mobile Audio Amplifier.
Camera
We’ve seen several claims suggesting variously 13-megpaixel, 16-megapixel and 20-megapixel sensors using Sony’s Exmor RS back-illuminated sensor (BSI) technology. For a while there’s been talk of Sony Cybershot functionality and allegedly the phone will feature a Cybershot camera UI and both a dual-LED and Xenon flash.
The sensor allegedly has a 2/3-inch aperture and one wildcard rumour we’ve seen recently says you’ll be able to swap the lenses around. It’s also rumoured to use a Mobile BIONZ image processing technology to enhance things further and there’ll be a dedicated camera button.
The front-facing secondary camera is a 2.2-megapixel Exmor R sensor with 1080p video capture.
Software
The operating system will of course be Google’s Android software and the latest version, 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, has been mentioned specifically to be onboard. It seems a given it will have a Sony interface layer on top and while we’ve previously seen the ‘Sony UI’ on the Xperia Z and others, the Xperia i1 will apparently debut the so-called ‘Xperia UI’. Whether this is a dramatic change from the previous interface or something very similar remains to be seen.
Release date and price
There’s been no word on when Sony might release its Xperia i1 handset, but it was revealed through leaks at the same time as the Xperia ZU, which appears to be getting a launch on June 25. Sony is hosting an event in Paris on June 25 and the invitation featured an image of a stylus pen of the type rumoured to be included with the device.
The company could surprise us with the launch of both handsets at the same time. Alternatively, assuming both products have been developed in tandem, which we think is quite likely, Sony could delay the launch if the Xperia i1 by either a matter of weeks or a month or two.
We think it’s quite likely we’ll see the Xperia i1 appear by the end of August at the very latest. After launch, we expect the device to hit the market within the following month, so that could put us into September before it’s on shelves.
In terms of pricing, again there are no details given but considering Sony’s previous flagships have retailed for around the £500 mark SIM-free – we suspect we’ll see a repeat of this pricing plan on the Xperia i1.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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