Sony has scheduled a press event on February 26 at 8.30 AM CET (7.30AM GMT), which is when the MWC 2018 begins. On this day, the Japanese tech giant is expected to unveil several phones, more so the successor to the Xperia XZ Premium unveiled during last year’s MWC event at the same venue.
There are several leaks of Xperia phones doing rounds and while we expect Sony to be active at the MWC, it’s unlikely that all the rumored phones will be unveiled at this event. The two most leaked Xperia phones so far have model numbers H85XX and H82XX. Apparently, the former will be unveiled as the Xperia XZ Pro (XZ Premium successor) and the latter will be christened Xperia XZ2. However, it’s also likely that the H82XX, which we expect to be the Xperia XZs successor, could be named Xperia XZ1s.
In this post, we’ll be focusing on the latter – the Sony Xperia H8266, which is widely expected to be a notable upgrade over Xperia XZ1 unveiled at the IFA 2017, just like the XZs with respect to the OG XZ unveiled at IFA 2016.
Sony Xperia H8266 specs and features
- New 18:9 display with full HD+ resolution
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC
- 4GB RAM and 64GB storage
- Dual 12MP camera
- Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box
Sony is one of the top names in the smartphone industry, but lately, there’s just something about Xperia phones that makes you not want to grab one. This feeling might not be mutual, but the questions in the Xperia fanbase might as well be. For instance, will Sony finally make the switch to the new 18:9 design? Will it ditch the 3.5mm audio jack? Will the fingerprint scanner be relocated to the back like the Xperia XA2? So many questions flying around!
Sony is fully aware of the current trend in the smartphone and admittedly, Xperia phones are beginning to look boring due to their old design. Of course, the minimal design tweaks on the Xperia XA2 family do throw in some hope.
In fact, Sony India’s MD, Kenichiro Hibi expressly told The Indian Express that the upcoming wave of Xperia phones will feature a new design language. Hibi even went further to acknowledge what competitors are doing with bezel-less designs and wider screens, but was careful enough not to give out any hints about the design of upcoming Xperia phones.
However, in order to level the playing ground, Sony will have to make the switch to the new, trending design for its upcoming Xperia H8266 handset. This could mean losing the block design in favor of something better-looking, but don’t expect a massive departure from the usual. In fact, it’s likely that the only major change could see Sony chop off a significant chunk of the top and bottom bezels, thus ending up with a beautiful 18:9 display screen with a full HD+ resolution but on a smaller footprint, something similar to what it achieved on the XA2 compared to the XA1 as shown below.
Back in December 2017, we saw a leaked image of the alleged Sony Xperia H8266 boasting a massive 90%+ screen to body ratio, but there is no way we can confirm how legit the image is. Apparently, the specs of the phone, which we strongly believe to be the successor to the Xperia XZs unveiled at the MWC 2017, have further appeared on AnTuTu, all but adding weight to earlier reports.
Although the screen size is not specified, we now know it’ll be an 18:9 panel with a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels, up from 1080 x 1920 used on the outgoing models. Under the hood, the Xperia H8266 will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage and it’ll run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.
Sony has always used a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, but things changed earlier this year when the Xperia XA2 series got a rear-mounted scanner. It’s also expected that the Xperia H8266 will follow in the XA2’s footsteps. If anything, this could mean U.S. consumers may finally get a Sony Xperia phone with a working fingerprint scanner out of the box.
We’ve heard rumors about a dual 12MP camera on the back and a 13MP selfie shooter while keeping the Xperia H8266 handset alive will be a 3130mAh battery unit with support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 technology. As usual, expect the phone to come with an IP68-certified body, probably with the 3.5mm audio jack on board.
Sony Xperia H8266 price and release date
- MWC 2018 launch expected
- Price may start at about $699.
As pointed out earlier, several Sony Xperia phones have been spotted online and given Sony’s recent change of naming strategy, it’s hard to tell where the names are headed next. Some publications claim the Xperia H8266 is the Xperia XZ2, but we think otherwise.
Looking at Sony’s strategy, the Xperia XZ2 won’t be here until September 2018 and as such, it makes no sense that details of the phone are showing up now. On the other hand, Sony unveiled the Xperia XZs at the MWC 2017 alongside the Xperia XZ Premium. If anything, these two will be succeeded at this year’s event, which means we can expect the Xperia XZ Pro alongside Xperia XZ1s. But of course, we are just speculating, although Sony should clear the air at the MWC 2018 event.
As far as pricing is concerned, there’s little we know. However, since the Xperia XZ1 came with a launch price of $699 and that the Xperia XZ1s will be a small upgrade over the XZ1, you can expect an equally premium price tag or even higher. But again, this is just a hunch that will be verified on February 26, 2018.
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