For a company with such an illustrious history, Sony’s smartphone business is a curious failure. Xperia handset accounted for less than 1% of the global smartphone market at the end of 2019, while and other companies continues to bundle it into the ‘Other’ category.
Despite this, there are no signs that Sony will follow LG’s lead and pull out of the phone market. The company still has a core group of loyal fans, while simplified product lines have allowed it to focus on fewer products of a higher quality.
With the next generation of Xperia phones set to be unveiled tomorrow, it’s an exciting time if you’re a fan of Sony hardware. Here’s how to watch live.
When is the Sony Xperia launch?
The Xperia launch event is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 14 April. It’s set to get underway at 4:30pm in Sony’s native Japan, or 8:30am in the UK.
How to watch the Sony Xperia launch live
Sony will be live streaming the event around the world via its official Xperia YouTube channel. We’ve embedded the video at the top of this page, or head straight to for a teaser trailer before it begins.
What to expect from the Sony Xperia launch
Sony has dramatically simplified its smartphone lineup in recent years, so it’s much easier to predict which new devices will launch at the event.
We’re almost certain to see the new Xperia 1 III, Sony’s flagship phone for 2021. The device has been extensively leaked, with rumours suggesting a new 120Hz 4K display, Snapdragon 888 chipset and 12GB RAM. Some detailed renders of the phone have already emerged online, so there are unlikely be any big surprises.
A is titled ‘Three is the magic number’. Unless Sony is planning on announcing a partnership with the UK phone network, it’s likely we’ll see at least two further phones launch.
The next most likely candidate is the more affordable Xperia 5 III, although at a starting price of £799, it’s still very much a flagship. Expect this to be a compact version of the high-end phone with slightly lower specs – we’re talking a smaller Full HD+ display, potentially without the 120Hz refresh rate. It does usually stick with the flagship processor, though.
Then there’s the Xperia 10 III, which does operate in the mid-range space. It may be Sony’s most affordable phone yet to support 5G, although that probably won’t be via the Snapdragon 888. We haven’t heard much about a successor to the budget Xperia L4, but there’s an outside chance a new model will be announced.
