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The Sony Xperia 1 IV has appeared in numerous leaks over the last several months, and its launch might be happening soon. The company announced on Twitter that it is hosting its next product announcement in the coming weeks.
An official invite poster for an Xperia “new product announcement” was released on the brand’s official Twitter page on Wednesday. The company says “big news is coming” and that the event will be streamed on the Sony Xperia channel on YouTube on Wednesday, May 11, at 4 p.m. Japan time / 9 a.m. CEST / 12 a.m. PDT.
Big news is coming! Subscribe to #SonyXperia YouTube to watch our exciting announcement on May 11 2022, 16:00 Japan Time / 9:00 CEST. #Sony #Xperia #SonyXperia #ProductAnnouncement
— Sony | Xperia (@sonyxperia) April 27, 2022
The announcement made no mention of any specific device. But considering the number of leaks centered on details about the Xperia 1 IV, it may be safe to assume that it is the new product Sony will announce next month.
Fans of the brand have seen the leaked renders of Xperia 1 IV back in February, thanks to reliable leaker OnLeaks (via Giznext). It showed not much difference from its Mark III counterpart, and the upcoming smartphone is rumored to still feature a flat display panel and flat edges. Its three rear-facing cameras still appear to be placed in an elongated pill-shaped camera bump, and Sony is expected to still use the top bezel to hide the selfie camera instead of using a display notch or a hole-punch cutout.
Sony is also rumored to keep the fingerprint scanner in a side-mounted component, and the Xperia 1 IV is not expected to lose its dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack. The same leak suggests the device will still sport a 6.5-inch screen but with slight changes in the dimensions from its predecessor’s 165 x 71 x 8.2 mm to 164.7 x 70.8 x 8.3mm.
Last year, the Xperia 1 III shipped with a triple 12MP camera on the back. But previous leaks from Weibo (via Notebookcheck) claimed the Xperia 1 IV is planned to get a significant upgrade in this area by switching to three 48MP lenses for its main/wide-angle, ultrawide-angle, and telephoto sensors. The smartphone is also rumored to ship with 256GB and 512GB storage options with a starting price of 8,999 yuan (~$1,365) for the Chinese market. But with the Xperia 1 IV announcement just around the corner, it may be best to wait for the official details from Sony.
