At this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) going on in Barcelona this week, Sony has announced four new high-end smartphones – the Xperia XZs being one of the flagships announced along with the Xperia XZ Premium. The Xperia XZs has a 5.2-inch full HD display, while the Xperia XZ Premium sports a 5.5-inch 4K display, and the first device with the new Snapdragon 835 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, new and improved camera, Hi-Res audio, and an IP68 certification – however, there is still no fingerprint sensor in the US version. There are no fingerprint sensors to be found on any of the new Sony smartphones sold in the US. This omission is only on the US version – models sold in other parts of the world include the feature – and Sony does not seem to have valid reason for doing this
Sony needs to rethink their position on omitting a fingerprint sensor, particularly since mobile purchases and Android Pay are starting to take off. Android Nougat allows the user to verify and authorize a mobile payment with the swipe of your finger. It is quicker and more secure than punching in a code or password – two items on consumer minds when they make a purchase at a retailer. This desire for mobile payments will only increase over the next year, and Sony is already behind on a feature that was commonplace on most 2016 models. Hopefully Sony will include it in their 2018 models, or even their late 2017 models that will be announced in the fall.
Sony has rather lackluster sales of its smartphones in the US and a poor bottom line, yet continue to make business decisions like disabling the fingerprint sensor on their smartphones in the US. Besides the lack of a fingerprint sensor, Sony decided to stick to a Full HD display instead of a Quad HD panel. The Xperia XZ Premium does have a 4K capability, but only ‘turns on’ when needed otherwise it uses the Full HD resolution. Sony’s decision to disable the fingerprint sensor continues to be puzzling, particularly since they are only doing it in the US. Sony representatives still have not given an answer as to why this business decision has been made, and this is the third set of Xperia smartphones to come to the US with disabled fingerprint sensors.