Sony Xperia Z1 Tears up IFA with 20 Megapixel Shooter

After months of speculation, Sony has finally lifted the veil on the Xperia Z1, previously rumoured as the Honami at IFA in Berlin. What’s new? A 20 megapixel camera with G lens and Bionz image processor that can take 61 images in 2 seconds, a full HD 1080p Triluminos 5″ display shining at 441ppi and is powered by a 2.2GHz quad core Snapdragon 800 processor. Sony assures this is the phone that brings premium digital camera quality to the smartphone. Smartphone cameras just got interesting again.

Z1 Profile:

20 megapixel camera with G lens, Bionz imaging
5″ Triluminos display with X-Reality engine at 441ppi
2.2 GHz Qualcomm MSM8974 Quad Core
2GB Ram, 16GB internal storage, SD support
4G, Waterproof and dustproof
Measures at 144 x 74 x 8.5 mm at 169gs, 3000 mAh battery

Water-resistant is so January. The Z1 is entirely waterproof. At this years IFA electronics trade show, Sony stormed in with a 20 megapixel ripper that probably took pictures of everyone’s mouths open before they knew what was going on. It’s good to see a company attempting to innovate an area of our beloved smartphones that has been stale for so long. Adding a few extra megapixels to a camera and calling it a sharp shooter fools few people these days. Instead, Sony hailed it’s latest glossy innovations; Bionz imaging, Triluminos display and X-Reality engine to keep the market fresh since it last stole the show with the acclaimed Xperia Z in January.

20MP Camera

The camera is clearly the prominent feature and it doesn’t aspire to match the competition or edge slightly ahead, instead it’s a game-changer. It calls on the most advanced details of their prestigious Cybershot camera line such as Bionz image processing, supporting extremely stable video capture while minimizing noise for still shots. It features a F2.0 and wide angle 27mm G lens with 3x clear image zoom, that promises to be blur-free. Also under the hood is a 1/2.3-type Exmor RS CMOS high sensitivity image sensor with 20.7MP that captures immense detail for crisp pictures even in low-light conditions. It’s no slouch either – snapping 61 images in only 2 seconds! Sony guarantees that there is no hotter camera tech in a smartphone right now.

The slim beauty adopts the best design features of the Xperia Z with it’s OmniBalance design language, crafting the device in tempered glass and metal with the familiar rectangular design of the Xperia line. It is available in black, white and purple with the sure-hit black offering shades of grey along the corners, adding a distinctive, crisp, luxury appeal to the phone. The display radiates in 1920×1080 resolution on the 5 inch screen, building on the Bravia Engine 2.0 seen in the Z, featuring sensor-on-lens with up to 10 finger multi-touch. It runs on Android 4.3 and is likely to be first in line for the newly-announced KitKat 4.4 upgrade when it becomes available.