Overall, as we already said, the Z4 looks a lot like the Xperia Z3, though some subtle changes are clearly visible - including the larger front-facing speakers which have a slightly different position than on the Z3.
It's said that the Z4 measures 146.3 x 71.9 x 7.2 mm, which means it's almost the same size as the Xperia Z3 (146 x 72 x 7.3 mm). Thus, we're expecting the new handset to sport a 5.2-inch display. It's not clear if Sony will use a 1080 x 1920 pixels, or a 1440 x 2560 pixels panel, but it might go with both variants.
The Xperia Z4 will definitely run Android 5.0 Lollipop, while other features are expected to include Qualcomm's octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, a 20.7 MP rear camera with Sony's new IMX230 sensor, and 3 GB or 4 GB of RAM. We're pretty sure that Sony will include other novelties as well, but for now that's all we know.
The Z4 should be officially announced and launched sometime this summer. Sony announced a slew of new products for its MWC 2015 announcement. Critically, although it has launched a Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet, there was no Xperia Z4 smartphone, one year after it launched the Xperia Z2 and at the point in its release cycle when the Xperia Z4 would be expected.
This adds weight to rumours that there will be no Xperia Z4, and that Sony is looking to exit the smartphone market. Discussing the company’s rushed updates recently, MacDougall stated: “This might not necessarily be something we continue in the long-term, but for now, in the beginning of the Z series, we believe we can bring experiences which are fresh and new and relevant, and justify for the consumer buying a new product.”
An early release isn't guaranteed, either. According to one of our sources with knowledge of the matter, the Z4 could be held off until September. Suggesting Sony is looking to push its next flagship phone out a year after its predecessor, we've been told to expect the Z4 to land around the autumn's IFA 2015 gathering. “Z4 is the next-generation of product that we’ll be announcing,” Tim Harrison, Sony’s Vice President of Global Communications and PR, told us recently.
Sony Xperia Z4 UK release date:
Whereas Samsung, HTC and LG stick to just the one flagship smartphone launch per year, Sony has always preferred to update its smartphones biannual. At least for now: rumours suggest the Z4 will be the only flagship smartphone to appear from Sony in 2015. That makes sense, too - as was the case with the Z2 and Z3, technology doesn't advance so fast as to make the latest Xperia a must-have upgrade.
Most recently at September's IFA 2014 trade show we got the Sony Xperia Z3 (plus Xperia Z3 Compact and Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact); six months previously we saw the Sony Xperia Z2's unveiling at March's Mobile World Congress.
We were convinced that we would see Sony unveil the Sony Xperia Z4 at Mobile World Congress 2015, which ran 2- to 5 March 2015. And that the smartphone itself would go on sale in the weeks immediately following this, and that you would be able to get your hands on it in store by the beginning of April 2015. Indeed, rumour has it the Sony Xperia Z4 was hiding behind closed doors for private showings at January's CES show.
But there have been rumours of a hold-up, and all the signs are pointing to the Sony Xperia Z4 being delayed rather than cancelled.
First, among the chaos of the recent hacked accounts at Sony Pictures, emails between CEO Michael Lynton and executive vice president of consumer marketing George Leon have allegedly been unearthed that leak details about the upcoming Xperia Z4. Not only is it rumoured that it will it be a product placement in the upcoming James Bond movie, but that James Bond actor Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes will have some input on its design.
The emails mention phones rather than a single phone (backing up the theory that we shall aslso see Music and dual-SIM versions - see below), with release dates of not March, but May and November. It's also alleged that Daniel Craig could net $5m simply for posing with the Sony Xperia Z4. This is backed up by fansite Xperia blog which says Sony is planning a Summer release.
The latest bad news comes from Forbes, which reports that all signs point to Sony exiting the smartphone market in 2015. It's basing this argument on CEO Kazuo Hirai's comment to Reuters that “[Sony] would no longer pursue sales growth in areas such as smartphones", alongside significant job losses at the company. 'Sony’s Xperia division is standing on a cliff, ready to jump off and build a parachute on the way down, hoping to slow the descent and prevent a messy landing," reports Forbes.
Take the news that Sony will exit the mobile market with a pinch of salt, however - the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet was announced at MWC. More recently, new leaked images of the Sony Xperia's thinner metal frame back up the theory that it is delayed, not cancelled. PC Advisor was today (10 March) told by a trusted source that the Sony Xperia Z4 would not be released until September 2015. It claims the news was passed on by an accessories supplier. If this is indeed true, we'll see the Sony Xperia Z4 unveiled at IFA 2015, which runs 4- to 9 September in Berlin.
Sony Xperia Z4 price:
You'll pick up Sony Xperia phones cheaper than their RRP online. However, Sony's official pricing for the Xperia Z3 was £549, and £599 (now £469) for the Xperia Z2.
The Z3's improvements over the Z2 were all fairly minor, with a small boost to the processor clock speed, the addition of support for PS4 Remote Play and high-res audio, plus a few design tweaks.
We're expecting more from the Sony Xperia Z4 - as we'll detail below - so a price increase wouldn't be out of the question. Especially when you consider that Samsung's rival Galaxy S6 smartphone is expected to launch at around £599.
Sony Xperia Z4 specs:
According to Android Origin, the Sony Xperia Z4 will be a 5.5in phablet with a Quad HD (2560x1440) screen. In other respects it will look very similar to every other Xperia smartphone before it, and be just as prepared to take on the threat of dust- and water damage.
We can see the SIM card slot has moved to the phone's left edge, while the microSD slot and magnetic charging pins appear to have disappeared. There are slots at the top and bottom for speakers. The article also claims the Sony Xperia Z4 will measure 146.3x71.9x7.2mm, which is almost identical to the Z3.
Sony Xperia Z4 processor, memory, graphics, storage
Inside we'll likely see a 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM and Adreno 430 graphics. Storage will be set at 32GB as standard, and you'll be able to add more via microSD.
Whereas the Xperia Z3 added support for high-res audio, the Sony Xperia Z4 is expected to make your music sound even better with a dedicated amp. Other changes include the addition of LTE Cat 6 and Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity, plus an upgraded camera with a 20.7Mp curved Exmor RS CMOS sensor.
Given that we don't expect to see Android M until this time next year, the Sony Xperia will more than likely come with Android Lollipop out the box.
We'll bring you more rumours and speculation on the Sony Xperia Z4 as we find them.
As we saw with the Sony Xperia Z3, several variants including the Z3 Tablet Compact and Z3 Compact launched at the same time. With the Z4 we expect to see a Sony Xperia Z4 Music variant, following Sony Japan's accidental leak of the following render.According to the leak the Sony Xperia Z4 Music is a compact hi-res audio phone with support for DSD, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC and more. It will have an S-Force PRO Front surround the speaker with S-Master digital amplifier technology; a 4in 1440x720 IPS display; a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with 3GB of RAM; 32GB of storage; a 2000mAh battery; and it will measure 109x49.4x8.9mm and weigh 133.4g.
