It’s been a long time since October 2011, when Sony Ericsson, a joint-venture company responsible for mobile technologies, ceased to exist. Fortunately, it did not leave a void on the market and Sony took the whole matter into its own hands by buying all Ericsson’s shares. Before this epochal moment, the company was one of the leaders of the mobile phone market, fighting fierce battles with the revolutionary Apple at the time, Samsung, which was still growing in strength, and Nokia, which was slowly moving towards its destruction.
Already at the beginning of 2012, Sony presented its first, standalone flagship – Sony Xperia S. The model referred stylistically to the legacy of Sony Ericsson and as it turned out it was one of the last such phones. Since January 2013, Sony has been writing a new story with the flagship Xperia Z series, which we can admire all the time. Many manufacturers have created their own unique design, which they stick to in subsequent editions, gradually developing it. However, it is probably the most visible in the case of Sony. Many users accuse the Japanese manufacturer of stylistic stagnation and clinging to Omni Balance. Personally, I would definitely stick to Samsung soap dishes, but regardless of taste, we must agree that the appearance of smartphones with the Sony Xperia logo is an evolution rather than a revolution.
The front part of each successive version of the flagship “Zetta” has undergone by far the least changes, and they are basically limited only to the position of the loudspeaker and possibly the order of the sensors. The same can be said about the rear panel, where the camera and the LED flash are always found in the upper left corner, and users had at most more colors to choose from. The biggest change took place in the Xperia Z5 model, where the glass was replaced by its matte version in new shades. The procedure turned out to be so interesting that finally you can’t see the ubiquitous fingerprints and dirt disfiguring the glass pane.
The most changes were noted on the frame merging two pieces of glass, between which all the components were crammed. In the Xperia Z presented at the beginning of 2012, we were dealing with plastic combined with aluminum. Since September 2013, i.e. since the debut of Xperia Z1 and subsequent models, the frame is made entirely of metal, which definitely gives elegance and a sense of prestige and strengthens durability. All buttons are located on the right edge: starting from the bottom are the camera shutter button, volume control and screen lock button. The latter has been completely redesigned in the latest Xperia Z5 and a fingerprint reader has been implemented in it. From the Z3+ model, the plugs covering the memory card / SIM have disappeared from the right edge and are only on the left. All edges were gradually rounded and dulled.
Knowing the 6-month cycle of presentations of flagship devices, we can expect the presentation of the new version of Xperia Z in the first quarter of next year. Probably the Japanese will hold off on the premiere until the Snapdragon 820 is introduced to the market, which we recently wrote about in Mobileworld24.pl. Do you think the Sony Xperia Z6 will still be a delicate variation on Omni Balance, or will Sony surprise with something new?
Source: phonesreview.co.uk & xperiablog.net
