It’s wonderful to see how the internet explodes with speculations and rumours every year as the Mobile World Congress (MWC) comes around. Leaks and promotional videos are all the rage as gadget enthusiasts scour the net for information of what can been expected at the MWC 2018.
The latest addition to the list is Sony Xperia. While most people have been busy looking at the Samsung Galaxy S9, Xiaomi and Nokia leaks, Sony has quietly been building anticipation.
Adding to the mysterious aura they had already amassed, the new Xperia teaser leaves you with more questions and answers.
Join us. 26.02.2018 #SonyMWC pic.twitter.com/n6IQ82XRVZFebruary 19, 2018
If you’re wondering what that was, you’re not alone. The video is, essentially, ripples that cascade down on to the random hand that’s shown on the screen along with what can only be assumed to be the launch or announcement date.
Background
In recent years, Sony has had both hits and misses when their devices have launched in the market. Some do incredibly well while others are immediately dismissed.
Their strategy has always been to cast as wide a net as possible and see who takes the bait. That is to say, they launch a bunch of devices and hope that at least one will do well.
Sony isn’t alone in this endeavor but does employ the same blueprint each year. They launch models that are almost identical but have one or two distinct differences. A lot of attributes overlap and the features remain confusing.
The rumor, this year, is that Sony could possibly announce the Sony Xperia XZ2 at the MWC. It’s anticipated that this will be Sony’s flagship smartphone complete with all the top features. Expectations are that it will run the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC on a 18:9 display (or perhaps even 4K).
The ripples
There is a lot of speculation as to what those fine lines in the video are indicating. The most popular opinion is that Sony is finally going to deviate from it’s rigid square design that forms the Xperia identity. Though it makes Xperia phones stand out, no one can deny that a rounded handset feels better in the hand and contributes a great deal towards usability.
Having said that, speculations have also surfaced that Sony might be employing a curved screen. It would be a flexible display that wraps itself around the edges of the new Xperia phones. Some hypothesise that it could also indicate Sony employing 2.5D screen glass.
Or maybe, it’s not complicated at all. The simplest translation of ripples are sound waves. Previously, Sony has taken BRAVIA’s display tech and introduced it into the smaller LCDs of its Android devices. Now, perhaps, it has plans of integrating audio. It’s possible that Dolby Atmos might be introduced into Xperia phones.
The ripples could indicate all of this or none of it, or it could be a combination of it all. With the MWC just a week away, fans aren’t going to have to wait very long to find out.
The design change
The reason that the design change theory stands out is because of the request that Sony sent to the FCC, asking the US regulatory authority to remove all the grants for FCC ID PY7-00716V. The reason the company cited in the document was 'design changes'.
It was automatically assumed that the device ID was in reference to Sony’s flagship smartphone. Some speculate that this may just be because the phone will no longer support the 3.5mm jack, making it the first Sony device to do so.
Taking the FCC documents and the Sony teaser into account, it's going to be exciting to see what is finally unveiled at the MWC 2018 next week. Sony has done a great job of building anticipation around their product, but will they be able to live up to the hype?
Will the new Xperia be a hit or a miss in the wide net that Sony usually lays out?
