Sony announced two mid-range smartphones today focusing on what Sony does best — smartphone cameras. As a reminder, Sony is one of the leading providers of smartphone cameras, supplying the biggest smartphone makers in the world. For example, both Apple and Samsung rely on Sony for their flagship phones, the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S6.
So without further ado, here are Sony’s new phones.
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
Smartphone makers usually put a sub-par front camera compared to the rear camera. The Xperia C5 Ultra features a 13-megapixel camera at the back, and the same 13-megapixel camera at the front. It’s a 22mm lens as well, meaning that you could potentially fit more faces on your selfies. Finally, there is a front flash if you want to take a selfie in the dark.
Other than that, the C5 Ultra sports a 6-inch display, a 1.7 GHz 64 bit octa-core processor and 2GB of RAM. The C5 Ultra will ship in August.
Sony Xperia M5
The Xperia M5 has the same front camera but features a better back camera. This time, Sony lets you shoot 21.5-megapixel photos and 4K videos. This phone is smaller as well with its 5-inch display. And like its predecessor, it’s waterproof.
The rest of the specs are slightly better with a 64-bit 2.0GHz octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and a 2,600mAh battery. It will ship in August, as well.
Who Will Buy These Phones?
Sony is in a tough position when it comes to the smartphone industry. Recently, the companyreported a $184 million quarterly loss on smartphone sales as unit sales are down 16.3 percent year-over-year.
But it doesn’t mean that Sony is doing bad overall. The company also reported $780 million in profit thanks to the PlayStation 4 and its camera sensor business. And this is the weird part — when Apple and Samsung sell more phones, Sony’s camera sensor business drives the company’s bottom line. But many customers are opting for an Apple or Samsung phone instead of a Sony phone.
So the Xperia C5 Ultra and M5 are interesting because they show what kind of camera you should expect in your next smartphone. But chances are you won’t see them in the wild, as no one will buy the new Sony phones.
