It’s fair to levy accusations of insanity at Sony Mobile; their approach to smartphones in 2015 has been unconventional to say the least.
Take, for instance, the launch of the Sony Xperia Z4, the company’s major flagship smartphone…that it decided would only land in Japan.
Well it seems the Xperia Z4 will make it out of the eastern nation finally, sort of. It’s getting a bit of a makeover before it crosses the waters.
Enter, the Sony Xperia Z4v, a Verizon-branded version of the handset set for release in the USA.
It’’s got the same controversy-ridden Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 20.3-megapixel camera.
It’s also kept the water- and dust-proof chassis, and supports wireless charging. There’s a 3,000mAh battery at its core, too.
Interestingly,
Finally, it’ll run off Android 5.0 Lollipop just like the Xperia Z4, although it’ll be skinned with Sony’s Xperia styling, of course.
Related: Best Android Smartphones 2015
The real issue with the Z4v is that the design has taken a significant step backwards from the Z4 proper.
It looks a lot more like last year’s Xperia Z2, with an ungainly profile that’s a full two millimeters thicker than the Z4.
There’s nothing unusual about Verizon getting a carrier branded version of a smartphone, but it’s further evidence of Sony Mobile’s disjointed global strategy.
Here in the UK, we have to settle for the Sony Xperia Z3+, which is a weird spin-off of the Xperia Z4 for non-Japanese markets.
Do you have any idea what’s going on at Sony HQ? If so, let us know in the comments. Because we’re thoroughly bewildered.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.