Sony unveils trio of new Xperia smartphones
14 April 2021, 10:04
The Xperia 1 III, Xperia 5 III and Xperia 10 III will all go on sale in the summer.
Sony has announced a trio of smartphones that take advantage of the firm’s high-end digital camera technology as it looks to boost its mobile business.
The tech giant has unveiled its new flagship Xperia 1 III, as well as the smaller Xperia 5 III and entry-level Xperia 10 III.
It comes as the firm’s mobile business continues to struggle against rivals such as Apple and Samsung, but also against emerging Chinese phone makers such as Xiaomi and Oppo and as another household name in electronics – LG – announced it was leaving the mobile business after years of declining sales.
The Xperia 1 III has a 6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate – which Sony says is a first for a smartphone, as well as a number of camera technologies normally found in the company’s well-renowned, high-end digital cameras.
This includes real-time autofocus and eye-tracking for humans and animals for the first time.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Introducing the all-new Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III — featuring advanced content creation features, levelled-up gaming capabilities, an immersive audio experience, 5G, next-generation processing power and more! Learn more 👉 https://t.co/oILWUJmCAw #SonyXperia
— Sony Xperia US (@SonyXperiaUS) April 14, 2021
The Xperia 5 III has similar specifications but comes with a smaller 6.1-inch screen, while the Xperia 10 III has a 6-inch OLED screen and a triple-lens camera system rather than the quad-cameras on the other two.
Industry analyst Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight said Sony’s new line-up was impressive, but was still likely to struggle to lure people away from the brand’s main rivals.
“Sony’s commitment to smartphones is honourable as underlined by its impressive line-up of new devices,” he said.
“While the attention to detail is astonishing, the eye-boggling features still might not be enough to sway users.
“Sony has fallen away in the smartphone sales race compared to its Asian counterparts.
“Sony continues to face monumental challenges in competing with rivals who are rolling out new devices, rich with new features at punchy prices.
“While the company has all the pieces it is losing ground in all areas in the consumer electronics landscape.”
Sony said all three new devices would go on sale in “early summer”, but is yet to confirm pricing for each of the handsets.
