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(Pocket-lint) – Sony Mobile typically announces a couple of smartphones a year. After a naming strategy change in 2019, these ranges are now known as Xperia 1, Xperia 5 and Xperia 10.
The Xperia 10 sits within the mid-range market, though takes some characteristics from the flagship Xperia 1. We saw the Xperia 10 II (Xperia 10 mark two) launch in the first half of 2020 alongside the Xperia 1 II, so we’re expecting the third generation model in the next couple of months.
Here is everything we have heard so far about the Sony Xperia 10 III.
Release date and price
- Expected soon
- Around £300-£350 in the UK
Sony Mobile normally announces its smartphones updates at tradeshows Mobile World Congress and IFA. It doesn’t normally do separate events like Samsung and Apple. With the global pandemic meaning a few changes to the tradeshows, it makes determining an exact release date slightly harder.
The Xperia 10 II was announced on 24 February 2020 – during MWC 2020 – so if Sony is sticking with a yearly refresh despite Mobile World Congress not taking place in February this year, its successor should be imminent, along with the flagship Xperia 1 III.
In terms of price, the Xperia 10 II costs £319 in the UK (around $399). We’d expect a similar ballpark for the Xperia 10 III, though it would be great to see it under the £300 mark in the UK.
Design
- 154.4mm x 68.4mm x 8.3mm
- IP65/68 waterproofing
- Gorilla glass back
Based on the leaks, it looks like the Sony Xperia 10 II will feature a similar design to its predecessor. High resolution renders suggest a flat slab design with rounded corners as we have come to expect from Sony over the years, with a bezel at the top of the display housing the front camera. We expect to see a glass back like the Xperia 10 II.
It looks like a triple rear camera will be positioned in the top left corner of the rear and we would expect to see the IP65/68 waterproofing that was introduced on the Xperia 10 range with the second generation model, making a return in the Xperia 10 III.
A physical fingerprint sensor seems to be present again on the right-hand edge of the device. The leaks show a black device, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Sony Xperia 10 III come in white too, as the Xperia 10 II did. Leaked measurements are reported to be 154.4mm x 68.4mm x 8.3mm, which would be the same as the Xperia 10 II, just 0.1mm thicker.
Display
- 6-inch, Full HD
- OLED
- 21:9 aspect ratio
The Sony Xperia 10 II features a 6-inch OLED display with a 21:9 aspect ratio and we’d expect to see the same on the Xperia 10 III. There are currently no rumours on display size specifically but as the device measurements are reported to be the same as the Xperia 10 II, we’d say 6-inches is a good bet. Sony switched to OLED for the Xperia 10 range in the Xperia 10 II so it would be surprising to see it move back to LCD.
The 21:9 aspect ratio – good for movies – has been a common theme of the Sony Xperia handsets since the launch of the Xperia 1 and Xperia 10 in 2019 and the leaked images suggest this tall, narrow form is staying. The Xperia 10 range originally had two handsets within it – the Xperia 10 and the Xperia 10 Plus – but in 2020, Sony offered only one option so we expect that to continue for the Xperia 10 III.
There’s a Full HD resolution on the Xperia 10 II, which we suspect the Xperia 10 III will also offer, saving the higher resolution for the Xperia 1.
Hardware and specs
Rumours put the Sony Xperia 10 III as featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G platform under its hood, coupled with 6GB of RAM. Its predecessor has the Snapdragon 665 chipset with 4GB of RAM, so while there is a newer Snapdragon 6-series chip, the SD765G is a very capable processor, found in a number of excellent smartphones and the increase in RAM will also likely be welcomed.
It would also mean the Xperia 10 III would be 5G capable – a first for this range.
The Xperia 10 II had 128GB of storage so we would expect at least that for the Xperia 10 III and we expect a battery around 3500mAh – hopefully larger – though nothing has been rumoured in this department as yet.
Camera
It’s not currently clear what camera specifications the Xperia 10 III will offer, though based on leaked images, a triple rear camera again is expected.
The Xperia 10 II comes with a 12-megapixel main camera, and 8-megapixel ultra-wide and telephoto cameras, which the Xperia 10 III is also said to have. We’d expect improvements in terms of features and results even if the hardware remains the same though.
Sony Xperia 10 III rumours: What’s happened so far?
Here is everything we have heard so far about the Sony Xperia 10 III.
17 February 2021: Sony Xperia 10 III with Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G and 6GB RAM appears on Geekbench
The third generation of the mid-range Xperia 10 appeared on Geekbench featuring the Qualcomm lito platform – which is the Snapdragon 765G – supported by 6GB of RAM.
15 February 2021: Sony Xperia 10 III to have same camera loadout
Gizmo China said the Sony Xperia 10 III will have a 12-megapixel main camera, 8-megapixel Ultra-Wide camera and 8-megapixel telephoto camara on the back, like the Xperia 10 II.
21 January 2021: Sony Xperia 10 III pictures leak
Leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer revealed some pictures of the Sony Xperia 10 III on the Voice platform.
18 November 2020: Sony Xperia 10 III will come with Snapdragon 690
GSM Arena suggested the Sony Xperia 10 III will come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 processor. It also said the measurements would be 154.4mm x 68.4mm x 8.3mm for the third-gen device.
Writing by Britta O’Boyle.
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