Digitally scan your world with Sony’s latest flagship

• Sony banks on XZ1’s unique 3D scanning capabilities to help its flagship standout from the crowd
• XA1 Plus to offer powerful camera and innovative features at an affordable price

FRESH out from the show floor of the IFA 2017 convention in Berlin, Japanese tech giant Sony has introduced the latest edition to its Xperia line of smartphones with a new flagship model the XZ1 and the mid-range XA1 Plus.

First up is the Xperia XZ1, a premium-looking smartphone with a seamless metal loop surface that surrounds the exterior and diamond cut edges. It sports a 5.2-inch full HD display that incorporates High Dynamic Range (HDR) and TRILUMINOS display technology that is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

Despite its elegant looks, the XZ1 is ready for anything whether it rains or shines with IP65 and IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, so it can withstand splashes and spills.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the new Xperia XZ1 is its 3D creator feature that utilises the camera to scan objects within 15 to 60 seconds to digitise real world objects and turn them into high-resolution 3D images or impose them on 3D objects in Augmented Reality and share them on social media.

From a specs point of view, the XZ1 has all the typical features you would come to expect from a top-tier device including a Qualcomm 835 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 256GB via a microSD card. Powering the device is a smaller than expected 2,700mAh battery but Sony says its Stamina mode helps with power consumption.

Sony says the Xperia XZ1 will run on the latest version of Android 8.0 Oreo and it comes with a few unique features that include being able to use PS4 Remote Play to connect with a PlayStation 4 console to play games.

Tapping on Sony’s expertise in sound, the XZ1 will support High-Resolution audio for an enhanced listening experience and have built-in Digital Noise Cancelling (DNC) technology.

Not forgetting the camera, the XZ1 will come with a 19-Megapixel Exmor RS sensor that carries the Motion Technology found on previous models. It will be able to shoot motion videos at 960 frames per second, has predictive capture and 4K video recording.

As for the front camera, it has a 13-Megapixel sensor with a 22mm equivalent wide-angle lens.

It will come in four colours: blue, pink, silver and black.

Sony also introduced the Xperia XA1 Plus which has with a diamond cut-like finish on top and bottom with aluminium sides and a matte finish. It sports a large 5.5-inch full HD display that Sony says will provide bright and vivid colours.

The highlight of the XA1 Plus is its rear camera with its 23-Megapixel high resolution and a bigger 1/ 2.3-inch Exmor RS mobile sensor and a bright f/2.0 aperture lens. There is an 8-Megapixel front camera with a 23mm wide-angle lens.

It also comes with Sony’s ClearAudio+ and Smart Amplifier audio technology for an enhanced listening experience.

The XA1 Plus packs a fingerprint sensor on the power button, runs on Android N and is powered by a MediaTek Helio P20 octa-core processor with 4GB and 32GB of internal memory.

Battery wise it has a 3,430mAh battery with quick charging capabilities.

Colour wise the XA1 comes in three colours: gold blue and black.

Sony said the Xperia XZ1 will be available in Malaysia from end-September for RM2,999 while the Xperia XA1 Plus will arrive in October for RM1,499.

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