Sony Xperia Z1 dummy unit stars in photo shoot

BY Stefan Constantinescu

Published 30 Aug 2013

Two important companies are going to be holding press conferences on September 4th in Berlin: Samsung and Sony. We know Samsung is going to announce a 5.7 inch smartphone and a watch during their event, but what about the Japanese consumer electronics giant? The Z1, better known by its codename, Honami, has been leaked to high heaven during the past few months, but today’s leak tops them all.

Someone in China has managed to get their hands on an Xperia Z1 dummy unit, and they shot the device from every angle under the sun. Now I know what you’re thinking, why is a dummy unit in circulation? This is actually more common than you think. During my travels through South East Asia earlier this year, many of the stores I visited had dummy units out on display to let you experience what the phone feels like. Case in point, the Sony Xperia Z, which was unveiled in January. I wanted to play with one, but it wasn’t out yet. Still, I had no problem finding someone who would hand me a dummy unit to fondle for a few minutes.

Circling back to the Z1, what exactly is going to make the it special? It’ll have a Snapdragon 800 under the hood, 5.0 inch 1080p screen, 20.7 megapixel camera, and supposedly a 3,000 mAh battery. Rumor also has it that there will be a “Z1 Mini” that has the same specs, but swaps out the 1080p panel for a 4.3 inch 720p one.

We’ll see. September 4th is five days away.