Sony Quietly Reveals New Smartphone

(RTTNews) - Japanese electronics company Sony Corp. (SNE, SON.L) on Monday silently launched that latest version of its flagship Xperia Smartphones in its home turf of Japan.

Sony announced in a Japanese language press release that the Z4 will be available for sale in Japan later this summer.

The Xperia Z4 debut comes sooner than the previously projected September launch at IFA 2015. Its predecessor model, Xperia Z3, was unveiled in September 2014 at IFA 2014 in Berlin. Sony could be looking at a separate global launch at IFA 2015 in September.

Sony is apparently focusing on the domestic market with the latest model, but is expected to make an announcement upon deciding its overseas strategy for the US, UK or Europe.

The newly unveiled Xperia Z4 is similar to its predecessor Z series phones in overall design and size, continuing with the aluminum body covered with glass. However, the Z4 is 0.4 mm thinner at 6.9 mm and 8 grams lighter than its predecessor at 144 grams.

The more significant differences with the Z3 are in the processor, front camera, and onboard storage.

The Z4 comes with a more powerful 810 64-bit octa-core processor processor and is run by Google's latest Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system. As in the Z3, the Z4 comes with the same 20.7-megapixel 4K video-capable rear camera, but it comes with a non-removable battery, which has dropped its capacity to 2930mAh from 3100mAh on Z3.

The front camera has jumped up to 5MP from 2.2MP with digital stabilization and a 25mm wide-angle for all selfies. The Z4 has also upgraded its default storage option to 32GB from 16GB that is further expandable to 128 GB with microSD memory cards.

The Sony Xperia Z4 will be available in White, Black, Copper and Aqua Green in Japan this summer at a price point of 7000 yen plus tax. However, the company has not yet announced pricing or availability in other markets.