Sony Xperia Z2 Avatar: The 2014 Flagship Born to Lead

It’s a new year and fresh start for the smartphone industry. Sony stole hearts and minds with the Xperia Z this time last year and a new flagship is surely in the making. Despite using January as the launch of flagships in years past, Sony has divulged that the Xperia Z1 will continue as flagship into January 2014.

But we know that a flagship is coming.

It is rumoured that the next flagship is the Xperia Z2 codenamed ‘Avatar’ featuring a 5.2″ IGZO Triluminos Display at 500 PPI, 4K video camera with 3GB RAM and a 20.7 mega-pixel camera. But there is talk of a hot new feature – a full charge in just one hour! Is it the end of multiple-hour charges? What other goodies is Sony bringing to the Avatar?

Update – The ‘Sirius’ smartphone and ‘Castor’ tablet appear at FCC, Sirius images leak.

Sony indicates that the next flagship won’t be revealed in January. Non-flagship devices will be unveiled at CES. More rumours are coming in on the next flagship. The ‘Sirius’ may be the same as the rumoured ‘Avatar’. A reveal at MWC in February is possible, you can read more here.

More rumours and images have leaked and this time the source is a Japanese site called CtechCN. The CN in that name suggests that the source is Chinese given the .cn top-level domain yet Google translate insists it’s Japanese. (A high-five to anyone that can translate more from this site, Google translate collapsed under the pressure). You can see the translation here. Check out the latest images of the chassis under the specs.

Here are the rumored specs of the Xperia Z2/Avatar/C770X:

5.2″ IGZO Triluminos Display at 500 PPI
4K video camera
1080p, 1920 x 1080 full HD display resolution
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 Chipset
20.7 mega-pixel camera
3GB RAM
3200 mAh battery
Android Kitkat 4.4
Special feature: recharging entirely within one hour, could also offer advanced wireless charging

Latest (rumoured) Xperia Avatar images, click to enlarge

Specs like that definitely have the makings of a flagship and follow on nicely from the Z1. Notice that the body follows the Z1 shape, Sony must find it a successful model to build on, like the Xperia Arc. Perhaps mid-tier phones in 2014 will take inspiration from this. You can read more about the inspiration for the Z1 in the Ask the designers section below.

It hasn’t yet been mentioned but it’s almost certain that the Z2 will be waterproof too. Will it have finger print scanning like the new iPhone or other rumored Android phones? What comes after waterproof?

No Flagship in January 2014, Clues about Designs and Features

Many hoped that Sony would continue their trend of wowing crowds with a new flagship in January, but they have indicated that the next flagship won’t be revealed in January 2014.

What is certain is that another flagship is coming and January is a hot month for Sony having launched the Xperia S (2012) and Xperia Z (2013) in the first month of the new year. Also, the models released in January tend to set the design language, feature-set and the standard of specs from screen quality to CPU as a benchmark for the future phones and tablets. This gives us a view of what’s to come. The 2013 mobile lineup is an example of this as each phone (including the few phones in the low-mid-range) follow the Xperia Z.

Ask the Z1 designers

You may have seen the interview with the designers behind the Xperia Z1. The brains behind the current flagship that were interviewed were: product planner, Asuka Matsumura; designer, Keita Hibi; material and finish designer, Nami Katayama; Sony DI camera engineer, Nobuyuki Matsushita; Sony Mobile camera engineer, Kenichi Kamezaki; experience planner, Ryoko Amano and display engineer, Fumiyuki Ito.

When asked about what makes a flagship and particularly what sets Sony smartphones apart from other flagships, product planner Asuka Matsummura had this to say:

With Xperia Z1 we were working to create a device that goes beyond the traditional bounds of a smartphone. People expect this of a modern mobile device, but we wanted to go beyond expectations and develop something that provoked sheer wonderment.

Sony’s design standards in smartphones has caught mass media attention in 2013, starting with the illustrius Xperia Z. The principles behind the curves, shapes and sizes is what Sony calls OmniBalance. Even curves on a Sony smartphone aren’t just for aesthetic pleasure; they are designed to fit the human hand and provide a slim profile or broader support wherever it feels most comfortable for the hand. Refering to the design princples behind the Z1, material and finish designer Nami Katayama said:

OmniBalance design is all about creating smartphones that balance competing requirements, so for example in Xperia Z1 we wanted to create a smartphone that was equally comfortable both upright and horizontal, with no real centre of gravity.

While we wait for more rumours and leaks about the Avatar, check out our coverage of incoming 2014 Sony smartphones and market ambition.

A signature feature of the 2013 Sony flagship smartphones: waterproof