Sony unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the Xperia XZ, in Berlin on Thursday afternoon, sporting a premium camera and an optimised battery.
The launch came shortly after Huawei unveiled two new mid-range smartphones, on the day before the official start of IFA 2016 in Berlin.
The new handset, which is due to be released commercially in the UAE next month, has a 23MP rear-facing camera using triple image sensor technology, in an addition to a 13MP selfie camera.
Sony claims that the Xperia XZ’s intelligent battery charging function, which adjusts how the phone is charged according to individual usage patterns, will double the lifespan of the phone’s 2900mAh battery.
The Xperia XZ is set to be priced at about Dh2,299. The company also unveiled the smaller Xperia X Compact (not slated for launch in the UAE), as well as other products and concepts including a new Walkman audio player and MDR-1000X Hi-Res wireless noise cancelling stereo headphones.
Sony’s launches came a few hours after the Chinese electronics company Huawei announced two new mid-range handsets, the 5-inch Nova and 5.5-inch Nova Plus. The Nova boasts a 12MP camera and Full HD screen, retailing for about €399 (Dh1,636), while the Nova Plus has a 16MP camera and 3,340mAh battery, and is expected to retail for €429.
Both handsets are due to go on sale next month. Huawei also unveiled the MediaPad M3, an 8.3-inch Android tablet, which goes on sale this month, starting from €349.
Samsung, which had unveiled its new smartwatch, the Gear S3, at a previous event, showed off three new curved gaming monitors using the quantum dot technology of its large-screen UHD televisions.
IFA 2016 officially opens its doors on Friday, with about a quarter of a million visitors expected to visit exhibits by more than 1,600 consumer technology companies over a space of 150,000 square metres. The trade show, Europe’s largest, concludes on September 7.
[ jeverinton@thenational.ae ]
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