O2 on Thursday confirmed it will be carrying the Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact, two new Android flagships which Sony announced just moments ago at its pre-IFA 2017 press conference. The duo will be available with a variety of O2 Refresh tariffs next month, the British mobile service provider said, without disclosing a more specific time frame for that announcement. While the Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact will also be available from other wireless carriers and a number of Sony’s licensed retailers in the United Kingdom, the White Silver variant of the Xperia XZ1 Compact will be an O2 exclusive in the country, the company confirmed, adding that the device will also be available in the Black variant, whereas the Xperia XZ1 will be sold in Moonlit Blue.
Consumers interested in acquiring one of the two handsets who are already paying for the O2 Refresh plan can upgrade to a new device by simply paying off the remaining balance on their Device Plan, O2 said, adding that anyone is free to keep their smartphones after two years after which they’ll only be charged for their Airtime Plan on a monthly basis. If you choose to upgrade from a device you own, you can benefit from the O2 Recycle plan by trading in your older handset and receiving a cash payment when you upgrade to a new device; recycling electronics through O2 can be done at any one of the company’s retail locations in the country and more information on the program is also available at www.o2.co.uk/recycle.
The Xperia Xz1 boasts a 5.2-inch display panel with a Full HD resolution and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip (SoC) and 4GB of RAM, in addition to featuring 64GB of internal flash storage expandable by up to 256GB via a microSD card slot. The IP68-certified device also boasts a 19-megapixel rear camera capable of capturing slow-motion videos at 960 frames per second and taking advantage of SteadyShot technology with five-axis stabilization. The top bezel of the device houses a 13-megapixel sensor with an aperture of f/2.0, with the device itself also being equipped with a USB Type-C port and being bundled with a quick charger for its 2,700mAh non-removable battery.
The Xperia XZ1 Compact is a largely similar device which primarily differs from its counterpart in terms of screen real-estate, boasting a 4.6-inch display panel with an identical resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels. The smaller device also doesn’t accept two Nano SIM cards and has an 8-megapixel secondary camera, though it still ships with the same SoC and amount of RAM. It features 32GB of expandable storage space and supports 3D scanning, a feature that Sony is touting as one of the main selling points of both the Xperia XZ1 Compact and its larger sibling. The Xperia XZ1 is set to hit the market on September 19, while the Xperia XZ1 Compact should be commercially available on October 4, with the two handsets having a recommended retail price of around $699 and $599, respectively.