Sony Xperia Z5 Family Actually Has a 25MP Camera Sensor

Yesterday at IFA 2015, Sony pulled the veil off a new smartphone family including the Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Premium. All the three models feature similar hardware configurations with slight variations between them.

When the trio was announced, the consensus was that the phones bundle a new 1/2.3 Exmor RS sensor that Sony is marketing as having a resolution of 23MP. However, focusing more attentively on the matter, the folks at GSM Arena have discovered that the Sony Xperia Z5 family actually has a 25MP sensor inside. The confusion appeared because of the difference between the two standard aspect ratios. While shooting in portrait mode (4:3 aspect ratio), the sensor will be able to take 5,520 x 4,140 pixel (23MP) pictures, while in landscape mode (16:9 ratio mode), the camera will shoot photos at 5,984 x 3,366 pixels (20MP).

Most Android phones these days come with camera sensors that will natively take pictures in 4:3 aspect ratio, despite the fact that the 16:9 ratio is the preferred one. The thing that happens when users take a 16:9 image is that the smartphone takes a portion (crop) out of the native 4:3 image and turns it into 16:9.

Sony didn't reveal all the details

According to the research conducted by the publication, the Xperia Z5 series features a 25MP sensor with native aspect ratio taller than 16:9 and wider than 4:3. Actually, the phone has a multi-aspect sensor. So when Sony’s new handsets take a picture in 4:3, the camera will crop the resolution at maximum height. When taking an image in 16:9 mode, the camera crops at max width. So in 16:9, you should be able to take pics at 5,984 x 3,366 pixels or about 20MP. If we were actually dealing with a 23MP sensor, the resolution of the 16:9 image would be of 5,520 x 3,105 pixels or 17.14MP.

Anyway, multi-aspect sensors have been known to pop up from time to time, as was the case with the 8.7MP sensor on the Nokia N9. Sony chose to describe the camera inside the Xperia Z5 series like it did because it wouldn’t have been right to announce a 25MP camera capable of shooting 23MP maximum resolution.

Sony Xperia Z5 series
Image credits to Sony

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Thicker iPhone 6s (Plus) Suggested by Leaked Photos

New photos have surfaced that seem to indicate that the new generation of iPhones that will most probably be unveiled at Apple's September 9 event will come in a larger form factor.

Although the new devices might sport a larger frame, the differences in size aren't that big: the new iPhone 6 should measure 7.08 mm instead of the current 6.9 in thickness, and the 6s Plus might come with a thickness of 7.3 mm instead of 7.1. The 6s also appears to be just a little bit longer, with a length of 138.19 mm, the current length being 138.1 mm, while the increase in width is also hardly noticeable, going from 67 mm to 67.68 mm.

Possible built-in Force Touch sensor

All in all, although there are no details as to why the devices will get this size boost, word of mouth and previous rumors we reported about a week ago hint at the addition of a Force Touch sensor within these new devices' displays. One other possible reason for the probably enlargement of the new models could also be Apple's attempt to fix the well-known "bendgate" problem by toughening their shell and strengthening all the iPhone case weak points some users have come to hate soon after the 6 and 6 Plus release.

Plausible Series 7000 alloy case

To prevent the iPhone from bending, Apple could also use the new, 60% stronger than ordinary aluminum, Series 7000 alloy they're currently using in their Apple Watch Sport device. This type of material might also keep the new iPhones from getting heavier depending on the amount Apple uses to build the case, seeing that, although stronger, the Series 7000 alloy also has about one third the density of stainless steel.

Although at the moment nothing is certain, the new leaked photos from MacRumors seem to indicate that most of the rumors in the past were pointing in the right direction, with new iPhones to sport increased sizes and, of course, the new technology additions or upgrades expected by everyone when Apple is releasing new products.

The new iPhone's possible thickness

The case length and width measured with a caliper
Image credits to MacRumors

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Snapdragon 820-Powered Smartphone Prototype Scores Massive 84K Points in AnTuTu

US chip maker Qualcomm is planning to unveil its next-gen Snapdragon 820 soon and in order to prepare the audience for the big event, the company has been teasing the technological breakthroughs we can expect the chipset to bundle when it goes official.

We’ve been hearing that the first smartphone to come equipped with the Snapdragon 820 platform will be the Xiaomi Mi5 Pro, which should make a debut sometime in March 2016. In the meanwhile, a handset going by the name Green Orange X1 Pro has showed up in the AnTuTu benchmarking database with a Snapdragon 820 processor on the inside (as reported by Tech Grapple). The smartphone prototype managed to score a massive 83,774 points in AnTuTu, but don’t get overly excited about the performance of the chipset just yet. We might have discovered the reason why the chip performed so admirably.

Unlike most flagships launching today, the Green Orange X1 Pro features a 1080 x 1920 resolution on the display instead of the 1440 x 2560 characteristic of most flagships nowadays.

The prototype runs only the outdated Android KitKat

Other specifications of the phone include 4GB of RAM, 64GB of native storage, a 16MP rear camera, plus Android 4.4.2 pre-installed. With the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm hopes to erase the bad memories associated with the Snapdragon 810, which was plagued by overheating issues ever since its inception. Unlike the Snapdragon 810, the new chipset relies on the company’s own custom cores dubbed Kyro, so the two platforms are quite different at heart. When it launches, the Snapdragon 820 will have to face avid competition from the MediaTek Helio X20, the world’s first deca-core chipset which is already poised to make it into several devices, including the HTC One A9 or the Zopo phablet that leaked a few days ago.

Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 820 is built using Samsung’s 14nm FinFET process and can handle speeds of up to 2.2GHz. The chip maker has said that the new CPU will offer twice the performance and power efficiency found in the Snapdragon 810 chip and hopefully no overheating issues to complain about. The US chip giant is also trying to get back into the graces of Samsung, which is currently avidly testing the chipset to determine whether it is good enough for its next-gen flagship, the Galaxy S7.

Snapdragon 820 shows up in AnTuTu

Snapdragon 820 scores almost 84K points
Tech Grapple

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Sony Xperia Z5 Family Confirmed to be Unveiled at IFA 2015

If you still have any doubts that Sony will be launching a new Xperia lineup of smartphones, then the following news might convince you that the Japanese company will indeed reveal the Xperia Z5 family very soon.

Sony has already confirmed that its press conference during IFA 2015 trade fair will take place on September 2, which means we're only a few hours away from the announcements. A new poster showcased at Sony's booth at IFA 2015 proves that the company is readying three new Android smartphones: Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Premium. All three handsets will be officially unveiled later today, but they probably won't be available for purchase until later this month or perhaps early October. In addition to the existence of the Xperia Z5 family, the poster also confirms which colors will be available for these smartphones.

As XperiaBlog points out, Sony Xperia Z5 will be available in Gold, Teal, Black and White, while the Xperia Z5 Compact will be available in Pink, Yellow, Black and White. Last but not least, the most expensive of the three, Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, will only be available in Chrome, Black and Gold color options. We have already reported to you about the possible hardware configuration of these upcoming smartphones, so the only thing that remains is for Sony to confirm them.

Sony Xperia Z5 lineup (poster)
Image credits to XperiaBlog

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Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact and Z5 Premium Leak in Hands-on Pictures

There have been quite a few leaks that provide information on the upcoming Xperia Z5 family, so Sony fans must be very happy that they know just about all there is to know about these high-end smartphones.

The latest leaks concerning the next Xperia Z5 smartphones provide us with the first hands-on pictures of the devices. The images have been recently published by Dutch blog Nu and offer us a glimpse at what's to come. The cited source has been able to capture all three Sony smartphones that are supposed to be officially unveiled this week: Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Premium. As many of you can notice from the pictures, all three smartphones feature the same OmniBalance design characteristic to most high-end Xperia handsets.

This means Sony did not have the time to change the design too much, so let's hope there are still customers that like Xperia lineup's looks. We already know some of the specs that come inside these Xperia smartphones, but for those out of the loop here is a quick recap.

The Xperia Z5 smartphones will be announced on September 2

The Xperia Z5 is expected to pack a 5.1-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution while the Xperia Z5 Compact should sport a smaller 4.5-inch display with HD (720p) resolution. Both will be powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processors, but the Xperia Z5 will pack 3GB of RAM while the Xperia Z5 Compact only has 2GB RAM. Also, Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Compact will boast impressive 23-megapixel rear-facing cameras, along with 5-megapixel cameras in the front.

Information about the Xperia Z5 Premium is a bit scarce for the moment, but we expect it to come with Quad HD display and 4GB of RAM inside. All three Xperia Z5 smartphones should be available for purchase beginning next month for prices that will be announced later today at IFA 2015 trade fair.

Sony Xperia Z5 family
Images credits to nu.nl

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Samsung's Android Clamshell Shows Its Beauty in Live Pictures

Samsung officially unveiled the SM-G9198 Android clamshell about two weeks ago. The smartphone is already available for purchase in China, but there is a chance that it will go on sale in other Asian countries.

However, if you're living in other regions like Europe or North America, you will only be able to import this hard-to-come-by smartphone since it will probably never be released in these regions. And if you want to get a better look at Samsung's SM-G9198 check out the gallery below for a series of live pictures courtesy of XiaomiToday.

If you've never heard about Samsung’s latest clamshell smartphone powered by Android, here are a few more details confirmed by the South Korean handset maker. For starters, the SM-G9198 ships with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system right out of the box. The phone is equipped with a hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory.

In addition, the smartphone sports two 3.9-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen displays that support HD (768p) resolution and feature Corning Gorilla Glass 4 coating. Last but not least, the clamshell Android phone packs a 16-megapixel photo snapper on the back, which features autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording, while in the front there is a secondary 5-megapixel camera for video calls and selfies.

Samsung SM-G9198
Images credits to XiaomiToday

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Meizu ME5 Flagship Scores 69,000 in AnTuTu

Rumors that Meizu is looking to introduce a new smartphone series have been floating around for quite a while, and yesterday the Chinese device maker announced a re-branding of its identity and unveiled a brand new logo.

It also officially announced a new flagship lineup which will reportedly be much better than the MX products. And today, the folks at Gizmo China have stumbled upon the company’s upcoming next-gen premium phone, which made an appearance in the AnTuTu benchmarking database. It appears that the new phone will be called the Meizu ME5, and as previous rumors indicated, it will draw power from an Exynos 7420 chipset coming from Samsung. The silicon piece is the same used in the company’s Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge and Galaxy Note5, so we can expect Meizu’s upcoming flagship to be quite a performance beast as well.

On board the Meizu phone, the chipset scored a pretty impressive 69,000 points in the benchmarking application, once again proving to the whole world that Samsung is not kidding around when it comes to designing processors.

What to expect from the ME5

According to information provided by Chinese website IT168, Meizu’s upcoming ME5 will arrive on the market in two versions. One of them will reportedly feature a 5.5-inch 1080p display and will take advantage of the above mentioned processor in combination with 3GB of RAM. As was the case with the MX line, Meizu will also introduce a Pro edition of the device, which will be powered by a deca-core Helio X20 processor and will work hand in hand with 4GB of RAM. Both models should take advantage of a 21MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture, but the Pro model might also bundle Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). A 6.2MP frontal camera will be in charge of taking selfies.

The sources also mention that the ME5 Pro will feature a premium glass and metal frame design, plus a very bright AUO display with 20000:1 contrast ratio. The phone should be powered by a 3,600 mAh battery pack. On the negative side of things, Meizu is apparently looking to price the ME5 quite competitively, so users can expect to pay up to $700 / €621 for the handset. The Pro model should cost even more.

Meizu's new logo
Image credits to IT168

Mistery Meizu phone spotted in AnTuTuImage credits to Gizmo China

Could this be the Meizu ME5?Image credits to IT168

Could this be the Meizu ME5?Image credits to IT168

Specs of the Meizu ME5 leakImage credits to IT168

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Xiaomi’s Upcoming Mi Pad 2 Rumored to Dual Boot Between Android and Windows 10

Last month, an interesting rumor appeared online. It said that Chinese device maker Xiaomi was working on a new tablet which would reportedly run Window 10 out of the box.

Now, the folks over at Chinese publication Mobile Dad claim that Windows 10 is not all customers are going to get when they purchase the upcoming Mi Pad 2. According to sources familiar with the matter, Xiaomi’s next-gen tablet could be a dual-boot affair capable of switching between Windows 10 and Android Lollipop (or Marshmallow, depending on when it arrives). We’re also given a few tips on what to expect spec-wise, so the Mi Pad 2 could make a debut into the wild with a 9.7-inch QHD display with 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution and draw power from a yet unnamed Intel processor.

The device will work with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM and will utilize the services of a 13MP main camera. Obviously, the dual-boot slate is of the high-end variety, so it’s no wonder the source says we’re dealing with an all-metal product.

To dual boot or not to dual boot?

Still, as is the case with this kind of rumors, you’d better take this one with a grain of salt too. Remember that ASUS tried pulling off the same stunt back in 2014, when it announced the Transformer Book Duet with bells and whistles at IFA 2015. The tablet/laptop hybrid was supposed to be able to switch between Windows and Android in under a few seconds, but the trouble is, the product never made it to the market. We never got an official statement from ASUS, but apparently, Microsoft and Google both opposed the idea of such a product making it onto retail shelves.

But now that we're in 2015, have the two tech giants reconsidered their position? It’s a possibility. On the other hand, Xiaomi is a Chinese device maker and we do know that everything is possible in China. Despite Microsoft’s and Google’s restrictions, Chinese OEMs like Pipo didn’t have any problems releasing dual-boot tablets on the domestic market. Anyway, a few days ago, we saw a set of purported Mi Pad 2 images leak online, revealing a tablet very similar to the 2012 Nexus 10. Good news for those who have been hoping to see a sequel to the device.

Purported Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 frontal view

Purported Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 back view

Purported Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 running Android
Images credits to Mobile Dad

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ZUKZ Z1 Gets Teardown Treatment

The Lenovo-backed ZUK startup announced its first smartphone called the Z1 not so long ago. The original version launched only in China and ships out with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

But ZUK decided to bring a slightly different variation of the handset to the international market, one that runs Cyanogen OS out of the box (based on Android 5.1 Lollipop). Anyway, since the smartphone is out and about, some folks already got curious to see what the Z1 hides under the hood, so they did a little teardown of it (as seen at IT168). The phone doesn’t feature a removable battery, so a bunch of tools had to be used to get under its hood. Once in there, we can see that all the parts are neatly arranged and it doesn’t seem like the internal setup is all that atypical. IT168 doesn’t provide a repairability score like iFixit, but you shouldn’t try to open up the phone by yourselves anyway.

Peer inside the ZUK Z1

If you haven’t been paying attention, the ZUK Z1 is a pretty straightforward Android smartphone bundling decent specs and selling for a decent enough price. The device features a 5.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution and takes advantage of a pretty outdated quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor fitted with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory. The ZUK smartphone also features a 13MP photo snapper with autofocus, LED flash and video recording, as well as a secondary 8MP-megapixel camera in front for taking selfies.

The phone’s main camera comes equipped with a Sony IMX214 sensor and features f/2.2 aperture, as well as OIS (optical image stabilization). The front camera has OmniVision for better selfies and videos. Another important aspect of the ZUK Z1 is the brand new USB Type-C port. It also relies on a pretty hefty 4,100 mAh battery, but we’re yet to see how well it will be able to sustain life on board.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Z1 comes with a fingerprint scanner and LTE support. Customers can pick up the phone for $285 / €254, which is pretty decent for a handset specced in this fashion. Teardown images gallery below, click to view larger.

ZUK Z1 gets teardown treatment

ZUK Z1 back view

ZUK Z1 showing USB Type-C

ZUK Z1, upper detail

ZUK Z1 with back off

ZUK Z1 dismantled

ZUK Z1 dismantled

Internal part of ZUK Z1

ZUK Z1 being torn down

ZUK Z1 dismantled

ZUK Z1 dismantled

ZUK Z1 dismantled

ZUK Z1 dismantled

ZUK Z1, frontal view

ZUK Z1, camera unit out

ZUK Z1 part

ZUK Z1 part

ZUK Z1 complete teardown
Images credits to IT168

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Sony Xperia Z5 Guest Stars in Video Alongside the Sleek Xperia Z5 Premium

In a few days, the IFA 2015 tradeshow is going to open its gates, and one of the major device manufacturers expected to host a press event on the grounds there is Sony.

The company is looking to unveil its next-gen Xperia Z5 flagship, which won’t come alone but alongside two other models, the Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Premium. Now, if you can’t wait a few more days and you’re really anxious to see what the new Sony phones look like, GR1 has posted a 3-minute video showcasing the upcoming models in action. In the video there’s even a mention of the mighty Xperia Z5 Premium, which, according to the rumor mill, will probably be the first smartphone in the industry to boast a 4K display. Previous information would have us believe that the Xperia Z5 will make a debut into the wild with a 5.2-inch display with 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels), while the Xperia Z5 Compact will boast a 4.6-inch screen with only 720p res (1280 x 720 pixels).

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium will be a total monster

The most impressive of the three will naturally be the Sony Xperia Premium (previously known as the Xperia Z5+), a phone tipped to make an appearance with a 5.5-inch display with amazing 4K resolution (2160 x 3840 pixels) and an insane 800+ ppi count. Apparently, the phone’s display will also be utilized for virtual reality purposes. The three handsets should all benefit from an in-house Sony 23MP camera unit that features a super-fast 0.1-second autofocus, f/1.8 aperture and 1/2.2 inch sensor. The higher-end models in the trio will be powered by a Snapdragon 810 SoC that features an octa-core CPU and Adreno 430 GPU. Hopefully, Sony has found a solution to keep the controversial chipset from overheating inside of its new devices.

Shortly after the Xperia Z3+ was released, we started hearing owners complain about overheating problems. The company tried to solve the issue by pushing out a software update, but it didn’t seem to help that much. We were hoping that Sony would wait for the Snapdragon 820 for its next-gen flagship, but it seems pretty evident at this point that this is not the case.

Sony Xperia Z5 family caught on camera
Image credits to GR1

Sony Xperia Z5

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