Sony is one of those companies in the smartphone world that used to enjoy a healthy chunk of the market share, but now, lives a quiet life with only a couple of devices released each year. It's a fall-off from a company that used to pump out multiple phones yearly, but we're glad they're still here.
Sony is going to be releasing the Xperia 1 VI as its next flagship smartphone, and that event seems set for May 17th. Heading up to that, we've been hearing a lot of whispers about the things that might change with Sony's latest attempt, and now, we know it might get a lower price and bigger cameras.
Sony Is Going To Be Opting For Larger Camera Sensors In The Xperia 1 VI
The Sony Xperia 1 VI will be the latest iteration in Sony's camera-focused Xperia 1 lineup. These phones have always been black sheep in the flagship smartphone world, with odd choices like 4K screens and super tall aspect ratios, but the one thing that has never been odd is a solid focus on a pro-level photography experience.
The launch of this device is just a bit over two weeks away, and more rumors have been sneaking in. Now, it seems that the phone may come with some improvements to the existing camera hardware, with larger sensors. The source of this leak is rather amusing, as it is from a tempered glass lens protector product page on Rakuten. There's an image comparing the sizes of the camera modules of the Xperia 1 VI and its predecessor, and the newer phone has a larger module in both dimensions.
It's hard to think of why the company would make such a minute change if not simply to accommodate a larger sensor behind all that glass. Sure, they might be doing it for more robust protection, but I'm not very convinced by that theory.
It could be the primary camera alone that's getting a sensor upgrade and Sony decided to increase the size of the entire module for symmetry.
The Sony Xperia 1 VI Is Going To Be Cheaper (At Least In One Region)
The Sony Xperia 1 series of smartphones is an expensive one. The price is one reason why I believe that the entire lineup hasn't been super popular. However, it looks like Sony might be ready to cut down the price by just a tad.
GSMArena has leaked Taiwanese pricing for the upcoming phone, and based on that region alone, it seems like Sony might attempt to bring the pricing for its smartphones down. The Xperia 1 V, the preceding phone, costs TWD 41,990 ($1,288) at launch, but the Xperia 1 VI is going to cost TWD 39,900 ($1,224).
Hopefully, this price bump will extend to other regions, and theoretically, I think it should. Sony is dropping the unnecessary (and likely expensive) 4K display as well as the odd aspect ratio that the previous phones had (21.5:9? Really?). Hopefully, these changes should help shave the price down a bit.
