Sony introduced its latest flagship smartphone range back at the IFA trade show in Berlin last year. As part of the lineup, the Japanese consumer electronics giant unveiled not one, but three handsets dubbed the Xperia Z5, the Xperia Z5 Compact and of course, the Xperia Z5 Premium phablet with a 5.5-inch 4K display. While the phones were introduced months back, it is only now that the company is looking to bring them to the US, and while leaks and rumors had already revealed a lot of info regarding Sony’s plans for the upcoming devices in the US, it is only recently that the Tokyo-based consumer electronics company has started to make some of that info official. The latest report about Sony’s current flagship lineup now seems to suggest that the US-bound unlocked Xperia Z5 will come with model number E6603.
The revelation comes by way of a listing for the device on the website of online retailer B&H Photo/Video, which is currently listing the 32 GB version of the smartphone at a price of $599.99. The E6603 model is specifically meant for the US market, and comes with support for an extensive array of LTE bands, including band 1 (2100 MHz), 2 (1900 MHz), 3 (1800 MHz), 4 (1700/2100 MHz), 5 (850 MHz), 7 (2600 MHz), 8 (900 MHz), 12 (700 MHz), 17 (700 MHz), 20 (800 MHz), 28 (700 MHz), 38 (2600 MHz) and 40 (2300 MHz). What this means is that the handset will support all the LTE bands currently in use by AT&T and T-Mobile, making the device fully compatible with both the carriers.
While the device is scheduled to hit store shelves in the country officially on the seventh of the next month, many have been taken aback by the recent revelation that the US-bound model will lack the side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which was one of the major points of attraction of the upcoming handset. With disappointed fans venting their ire at the company, Sony confirmed the reports, but refused to give a proper explanation for the missing fingerprint scanner, saying, it is a ‘business decision‘ to leave out the biometric sensor. With even entry-level devices starting to come with fingerprint scanners of late, many are openly questioning the logic behind Sony’s decision, and wondering if the glaring omission on Sony’s flagship handset will hurt its sales vis- -vis offerings from Samsung, LG and Apple.