IFA 2015: Sony's 5.5-inch 4K display

The presentation began Kazuo Hirai, President and CEO at Sony Mobile Communications, presenting a vision of the company and mentioning existing devices that were innovative in their time and were very popular among consumers. The President started from 4K TVs (Series X90C), stressed the importance of HDR technology by comparing it with the conventional image. Then he unveiled digital cameras: a series of Alpha 7 II and RX, the recording quality Sony cameras with Super Slow Motion and 4K quality.

In the end, he went to the point - the new flagship, which is the fifth generation of the Z series. The basic model is Xperia Z5. The first of its distinguishing feature is a perfect hybrid camera with autofocus - sharpening in 0.03 seconds, 5x zoom Clear Image, flawless shots in low light conditions, recording aided by technology of image stabilization Intelligent SteadyShot Active Mode. Additionally the smartphone is intended to provide up to two days of work on a single charge. And it is waterproof.

Xperia Z5 is a 5.2-inch device with a Triluminos display and X-Reality engine with a FullHD resolution (1920x1080 pixels), which operates under the control the octa-core Snapdragon 810 clocked at 2 GHz with Adreno 430 GPU and 3GB of RAM. Certainly, this configuration will provide high performance, while keeping in mind the tight heating model Z3+, I hope that the manufacturer coped with better heat dissipation. For data users will receive 32 GB of internal memory and a slot for memory cards up to 200 GB. Note that the device accepts nanoSIM cards. Supported standards include, inter alia technology LTE Cat 6, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, MHL 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.1.

Two main novelties of this model is a fingerprint sensor integrated in the power button and an improved 23-megapixel camera with ultra-fast autofocus, which allows the 4K recording. The biometric reader is not surprising - after all, there will soon debut a new edition of Android (version 6.0 Marshmallow), which natively supports this system and has allowed not only to wake the phone with a fingerprint, but also even for authorized purchases in the Play store.

And a camera? Sharpening within 30 milliseconds - that is, 0.03 seconds (the recently presented model Xperia M5 sets the autofocus in 250 milliseconds) is really impressive, and given the other parameters of the camera: 1/2.3"sensor and Sony Exmor RS sensor, ISO to 12800. You can expect really good results of shooting. In addition, here is a lossless 5x zoom and SteadyShot mode, and 4K recording. The device supplies the 2900 mAh battery with STAMINA mode - it is to withstand up to 2 working days.

We cannot forget that Xperia Z5 is dustproof and waterproof (IP65/IP68). Fans of portraits will enjoy a 5-megapixel camera on the front. The device runs on Android Lollipop with an original manufacturer's overlay. The device will be available in four colours: white, graphite black, gold and green.

Kazuo Hirai also unveiled the model Z5 Compact and Z5 Premium - the world's first smartphone with a 5.5-inch 4K screen.

The compact edition of Z5 boasts with identical specifications - well, almost... RAM was reduced to 2 GB. The main difference is a diagonal and resolution of the screen. Xperia Z5 Compact is equipped with a 4.6-inch HD screen (1280x720 pixels). We can also find a 23-megapixel camera and a fingerprint sensor. The camera is equipped with Exmor RS sensor, 5x zoom Clear Image, ISO 12800 and the hybrid autofocus (sharpening in 0.03 seconds). Sony installed a in this model a 2700 mAh battery with the Stamina mode. It is to provide two days of battery life.

The heart of the device is the 64-bit 8-core Snapdragon 810 with Adreno 430 and 2 GB of RAM. There will be up to 32 GB memory available to the user and additional 200GB will be available via a microSD card. Compact is waterproof (IP65/IP68) and supports all communication options (including LTE Cat 6, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, MHL 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.1). The phone will be available in the colours: white, graphite black, yellow and pearl.

The fifth series of Xperia Z brings also a model that seems to be ahead of the needs of the users - that is Xperia Z5 Premium, which boasts an incredible resolution of Ultra HD/4K or 2160x3840 pixels on a 5.5-inch screen. This gives a pixel density excessing 800 ppi! (for comparison - Samsung Galaxy S6 with a 5.1-inch screen and a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels at 577 ppi, HTC One M9 - 444 ppi, while LG G4 - 538 ppi). In this way, Sony becomes a manufacturer which first introduced a smartphone with a 4K display.

Probably you will ask - why? To a large extent, probably for marketing reasons - for some time, Sony will be in terms of displays the most innovative and buyers look at digits, and that something is the most... On a practical side that can appeal to users transmitting multimedia on 4K TVs, and if the Japanese come on the market of goggles for virtual reality based on a smartphone screen, such a device with a 4K screen can become an essential asset.

But let's leave the speculation, because the rest of the specification is equally impressive. The 23-megapixel camera equipment, as in the case of Z5 and Z5 Compact, a hybrid autofocus (0.03 seconds), 5x zoom and intelligent stabilization SteadyShot mode. On the front there is a 5-megapixel camera. There is a 3430 mAh battery with STAMINA mode and Quick Charge 2.0, which aims to provide up to 2 working days. There was also taken care of the multimedia part - stereo speakers, noise reduction, there are also supported technologies Remote Play and PS4 Remote Play, DSEE HX, LDAC and AHC.

The heart of Z5 Premium is Snapdragon 810 with 3 GB of RAM, the user has up to 32 gigabytes for files. Additional space will provide a microSD card slot (up to 200 GB). There are, of course, a fingerprint sensor, all the communication options and waterproof casing (IP65/IP68). The smartphone will be available in colours: chrome, black and gold.

In Berlin there were also shown new audio devices: a new line of headphones h.ear (h.ear in, h.ear on) and a new Walkman. We also saw the Project Morfeus, so that playing will never be the same again... Home intertainment also was in the interests of Sony - 4K Ultrashort Projector will allow you to watch movies without the limitations of space, it will be a portable version - from next spring.

How much will we pay for these devices? Sony Xperia Z5 – €699, £599, Sony Xperia Z5 Compact - €599, £549, Sony Xperia Z5 Premium - €799, £699 on preorder.