Yesterday morning @EVLeaks leaked out that the Xperia Z1s would be coming to T-Mobile, and shortly there after Sony officially announced that the Xperia Z1s would be coming to the US exclusively to T-Mobile. What was confusing was that the leak for the phone pinned the Z1s as being the smaller brother of the Xperia Z1, when it actuality it seems that the Xperia Z1s is a refinement of the original Z1, addressing some design concerns people had with the original device. It’s a pleasant surprise to see any Sony phone reach US shores, especially given Sony’s history and how they’ve stayed away from US carriers as a whole. Of course T-Mobile always tries to differentiate itself from all the other carriers in the US, and now it has just one more way to do that. Let’s also not forget that Sony shook up the management in their US division in order to boost sales in 2014. Sony is clearing up the fairly confusing waters here by showing off the Xperia Z1s on video by going over just a few of the many features from the device.
In the video a representative from Sony shows off the device, which looks basically identical to the Xperia Z1 that’s been out since Fall 2013 internationally. The device features the same internals of the Xperia Z1 as well, which means top-of-the-line parts and performance. It’s also got the same 20.7 megapixel camera from the Z1 with f/2.0 lens and a larger sensor than most smartphones out there. In the video the Sony rep highlights the fact that the phone is waterproof to a certain degree, and that if you decide to use it in the pool you need not worry about the phone dying on you. He even goes on to talk about how good underwater pictures are, and that both autofocus and macro modes work normally underwater.
Then there’s different photo modes, including a new Background Defocus setting which focuses only on the foreground, making your subject stand out even more than usual. The video also talks about when you can get the phone, and it’s extremely soon. Online orders for the Sony Xperia Z1s on T-Mobile will begin this coming Monday, January 13th, and it’ll be in T-Mobile stores on the following Wednesday, January 22nd. The Xperia Z1s is a great opportunity for T-Mobile, and should bring one of the best phones out there to the growing 4th place carrier. In the mean time check out the interview below for a glimpse of what the Xperia Z1s is all about.