New photos have surfaced of a handset that could very well be the Sony XPERIA Z4 as it looks very similar to what we’ve seen in the past photos rumoured to be that of the Z4. In the images, Sony has referred to the phone as XPERIA Z Fourth Generation. We are not sure if this means that Sony is planning to change it’s naming scheme. Perhaps instead of having Z2, Z3, Z4 etc they will name their handsets XPERIA Z Generation 4, 5 etc. Perhaps it is to make things simpler as they plan on releasing just one flagship phone per year compared to their previous cycle of two phones per year.
From the photos it’s very clear that the design language hasn’t changed very much from the previous model, the Z3. The speakers are still the small slits as the ones found on the Z3 however their position has been changed and is now located at the top and bottom just like on the XPERIA Z2.
The microUSB port is now unprotected and has moved to the bottom of the phone. We assume that the device is still waterproof as Sony demonstrated that the M4 Aqua still held it’s waterproof abilities despite having an unprotected microUSB port. The lack of a cover for the port might come as a relief to many users who have had issue with the cover breaking off after some months of use. Not to mention it makes the whole process of connecting a microUSB cable much faster and easier whether its for charging or data transfer.
Sony claim to have achieved a more solid and sleek body with more polished surfaces thanks to metal plating with their new anodizing technology. From the pictures the handset does indeed look quite glossy unlike the matte type texture of the Z3 body.
The front and the back are still covered by glass and we can see the black and white colour variants in the photo above. The Z4/ 4th Generation XPERIA Z is rumoured to be powered by the Snapdragon 810 processor along with 3GB of RAM. The phone is expected to retain the same 20.7MP camera module as the one found on the Z3 but with some improvements and software tweaks. The phone is also rumored to be housing a 3400 mAH battery under the hood. We are not sure when exactly Sony is launching the product but we will keep you updated on more details regarding the same.