We have recently reported that the Samsung Galaxy S6, as well as the Galaxy S Note, will be making an appearance at Mobile World Congress 2015. Also planning to show up is the Sony Xperia Z4, the follow-up to the Xperia Z3. This is what we know about the release date, specs, and rumors of the Sony Xperia Z4, as well as the Android L update for the Xperia Z3 and Z2.
It seems that details about the Z4 change as the probable release date gets closer. According to International Business Times, the Z4 plans to have a screen that is either 5.4 or 5.5 inches. In fact, it might have two types of displays: one with Quad HD and the other with Full HD.
As far as memory is concerned, it should have about 16/32 GB internal memory with 3 GB RAM with a microSD up to 128 GB. The battery for the Z3 is a non-removable Li-Ion 3100 mAh battery, but the Z4 is expected to be at 3420 mAh. As far as the camera is concerned, it should have a 20.7 Megapixel rear camera and 4.8 Megapixel front. Then there are the rumored features of Qi Wireless Charging, IP68 water and dust proof, and LTE Cat 9 connectivity.
Then there is the James Bond connection. It is rumored that there will be some serious product placement of the Sony Xperia Z4 in the next James Bond movie, Spectre. There are even rumors going about saying that James Bond actor Daniel Craig and film director Sam Mendes could have some input in the design of the Xperia Z4.
In a previous article, we mentioned that the Z4 family might have a tablet in it, and this appears to be confirmed by Sony Mobile Senior Vice President Gen Tsuchikawa. According to Design and Trend, he looks forward to bringing "New Xperia products to consumers late this year", and he is also excited about Snapdragon 810. Snapdragon 810 will be the new processor from Qualcomm that is planned to be in over 60 flagship smartphones coming out in 2015.
According to Know Your Mobile, Sony Xperia Z4 has already appeared in certification documents at both the US FCC and Japan's equivalent body.
With all the talk of the Z4, it is pretty obvious that it will come with Lollipop (Android version 5.0) right out of the box. Speaking of Lollipop, when is the Z3 and Z2 going to get their Lollipop update? There doesn't seem to be any change since we last reported on it, with Sony's current flagship phone, Xperia Z3, being confirmed to get the Android 5.0 Lollipop OS update in February along with the slightly older Z2.
A manual download is available for the Z2 and Z3 now on the XDA developers forum, but that software is experimental and doesn't include all features that are found in Lollipop. The question is, though, will the two phones update to 5.0 or straight to the latest 5.0.2.
The Z2 and Z3 are not the only existing Sony devices that will be receiving the Android Lollipop update, though. Sony has confirmed that the mobile operating system update will be coming in "early 2015" to the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Z1, Xperia Z1S, Xperia Z Ultra, Xperia Z1 Compact, Xperia Z3V, and the Xperia Z3 Compact. It is really just a question of when.
As far as the when of the Sony Xperia Z4 is concerned, look for it at Mobile World Congress 2015 in March.
