After being rumored more times than someone would probably like to count, Sony has officially taken the stage at IFA 2014 and given the Xperia Z3 the proper announcement it deserves.
The Xperia Z3 looks quite similar to the Xperia Z2, but Sony did indeed make some changes (and improvements) to some key areas. First and foremost, with the physical design. While Sony is still aiming to keep their “OmniBalance” mantra in tact, with the idea that holding a smartphone should be comfortable and not aggravating, they’ve taken it to the next level with a rounded frame. It’s also been reduced in size, down to 7.3mm (from 8.2mm). The same front-mounted speakers are still there in the new device, and the handset still holds onto that aluminum-and-glass design as its predecessor.
The display is the same as the Xperia Z2, as was previously rumored, measuring in at 5.2-inches. It’s an IPS panel with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. That means it has a pixel per inch count around 424.
Under the hood there’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, clocked at . It will have 3GB of RAM, and have two variants: 16GB of 32GB, both of which will have support for microSD cards. The battery is measured at 3100mAh.
The camera is still a 20.7-megapixel shooter, but Sony has included a new 25 mm wide-angle G Lens, which is meant to give the Xperia Z3 a wider field of view while you’re taking pictures.
Other features of the Sony-branded device include PlayStation 4 Remote Play. That means, if you own the home console, you’ll be able to use your device to control it, and some games, or even play those same console games right on your mobile device (as long as both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network). The company also unveiled a new mount that will let you connect, so to speak, your Sony PlayStation 4 controller to your Xperia Z3, to make Remote Play even easier. The Xperia Z3 will be running Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box when it lands in stores later this year, but Sony, as usual, wasn’t very open about exact release dates or how much it will cost.
We’ll update as soon as we learn more, as Sony’s event at IFA 2014 is still going on.
Here’s the official spec rundown:
