The mobile division of Sony has been having some trouble in recent times, they have been trying out different strategies, but none of them seems to be working. It all started with the Xperia Z, it was a pretty decent device that introduced a new design language of the hardware called OmniBalance, which features symmetry from various angles and including glass in front and back of the device. The other relevant feature of that phone was its resistance to dust and water thanks to its IP57 certification. Some months later, Sony surprised us by introducing a new flagship, the Xperia Z1, it featured a very similar design but the camera was upgraded by a 20.7-megapixel sensor and it included metallic elements in its frame. 6 months later, the Xperia Z2 came along and the screen was not only slightly larger but it corrected the problems that previous generations had by switching to one with IPS technology, front-facing stereo speakers were also included. Another 6 months later, Sony introduced the Xperia Z3 with an even more refined design that included more metal in the frame and nylon corners to add more durability and the screen was upgraded too, albeit with a difference that was less noticeable.
By that time, we knew about Sony’s problems, so it was a mystery if the company would keep releasing new flagships every 6 months. In the MWC 2015, no flagship was introduced, so clearly Sony had changed its strategy. There were rumors about the Xperia Z4 and while some leaked documents showed sketches of a possible prototype that was radically different from what we are used now, some leaks that included parts of the device showed a design nearly identical to its predecessor. It turns out that the leaked pieces were the real thing and the Xperia Z4 was officially announced for Japan. A few days ago, it was reported that the same device would launch globally with a different name, Xperia Z3+.
The differences between the Xperia Z4/Z3+ and the Xperia Z3 are minimal, sure the newer devices are slimmer and the metal used in the frame is shinier, and they were upgraded to the latest generation of Snapdragon 810 processor, but the screen size and resolution were kept the same as was the camera. It really makes you wonder if it is worth it to upgrade to the newer devices, so if you have a Sony device and you want it to look like the latest Xperia handsets, you can download the wallpapers included in those devices. The zip file contains some colors that go along with the colors of the new hardware, but it also contains some bright colored ones to go along with the iconography inspired by Android 5.0. At the time this article has been written, the XDA link doesn’t work, but the file can be downloaded in the Mirror link from the Source.