Sony Xperia 1 VII Announcement May 13

I do not normally cover Xperia news here, as there are other sites that do a much better job, but the teaser photo does show a Walkman, the WM1ZM2 Series. Sony removed the Walkman app from their Xperia line back in 2015. Now it looks like after 10 years we will finally see Walkman back in Xperia.

Whether we will see any actual Walkman tech in the phone is a unknown. I would not expect anything significant, as many such components in the WMZ1ZM2 take up a lot of space, and extra space in a smartphone is precious. 

So what could the Powered by Walkman branding bring to the new Xperia? Well let us look at the WM1ZM2, and see what could make its way across.

The Walkman uses oxygen-free copper for the case, we can probably rule this out for the Xperia, Although, I would not mind seeing a copper coloured Xperia again.

Could we see the addition of Sony's S-Master HX amp? This would count as something physical rather than just software improvements. Sony uses 2 Cirrus Logic CS35L45 amps in the Xperia 1 VI, so I do not think we will see the S-Master HX amp in the new model, if Sony has been using amps from another company already.

Sony already uses lead-free solder on all their products, like in the WM1ZM2 Walkman. so this is one thing the Walkman and Xperia will have in common.

Large solid high polymer capacitors are out of the question as they take up A LOT of space. Checking a Xperia 1 VI teardown, I do not see where such large caps would even fit, perhaps smaller ones, but would it make any sense? I would rather Sony use any extra space to improve the battery capacity or larger cameras modules/sensors.

Sony could utilize Fine Sound Resistors on the board, which "ensures even, effective distribution of power to the circuit components, for consistent sound quality". I am sure there many resistors on the Xperia 1 VI PCB already, so I suspect Sony already makes use of such resistors. 

What about separating the audio components away from other wireless/power components? The Xperia 1 VI uses isolation for wireless components, but not for audio. Due to limited space inside the phone, such audio isolation is unlikely.

I expect to see the return of the Walkman app, but whether we will see any significant physical tech from any Walkman will only be revealed either in the announcement or with a teardown. 

Powered by BRAVIA

There will be some enhancements from Bravia, which are already present in the Xperia 1 VI:

The Xperia 1 VI display is Powered by BRAVIA, and uses AI remastering technology to improve contrast, colour, and clarity. This technology works for your own content and even streaming services. 

So nothing new here. Perhaps we will see further improvements thanks to the new Snapdragon 8 Elite AI advances. The screen ratio is 19.5:9 like the current model, and might have the same resolution, 1080 x 2340. The dimensions of the headset are almost identical to the old model, 162 x 74.5 x 8.5 mm (162 x 74 x 8.2 mm previously).

Powered by Alpha

The powered by Sony Alpha teaser shows 2 lenses, the Sony G Master 50mm F1.2 and 70-200mm F2.8. While I do not expect to see a 50mm F1.2 main camera, perhaps the teaser is hinting at a 25mm/50mm main wide camera, and the zoom now spanning from 70-200mm.

Sony Xperia 1 VI Camera specs

I suspect it is possible to get 70-200, as the new camera module on the Xperia 1 VII has been moved slightly closer to the edge of the device, which might be enough to add a large zoom module inside.

Using the certification leak photos from sumahodigest, and overlaying the current model (same height), then we can see the new position of the camera module.

Obviously, this is technique is not super precise, but the camera bump has definitely moved, so there should be more space inside for a slightly larger zoom module when compared to the Xperia 1 VI.

In the video teardown by WekiHome of the Xperia 1 VI, they showed the zoom modules from both the V and VI. It is a substantial increase in size of the VI module, so Sony will have to perform their magic miniaturization skills in order to fit a 70-200 module. There is more space now that the camera bump has moved, whether it is enough will be revealed next week (or via a leak). But I suspect Sony has achieved this new zoom range.

For those wanting to see the Xperia return to the US, I have my doubt, as the Sony US website has no teaser up, like other areas around the world.

Stream Link

Here is the video stream link. Below are the times for various regions. The livestream (?), is definitely oriented at Japan, as the time is 11:00, which is when Sony usually has heir reveals for their market.

Japan: Tuesday 13th May, 11:00
Taiwan & Hong Kong: Tuesday 13th May, 10:00
Central Europe: Tuesday 13th May, 04:00
US East Coast: Monday, 12th May, 22:00
US West Coast: Monday, 12 May, 19:00

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