Sony unveils premium Xperia 1 to take on Samsung, Apple and Huawei

Japanese electronics company Sony has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1, as it aims to reclaim market share in the highly-competitive industry.

The Xperia 1 features a 6.5” 4K HDR OLED screen with a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio, designed to enable users to enjoy movie playback in its original format.

Sony said in its press release that the screen also enables multi-window functionality as a key productivity feature, running two apps simultaneously.

“We have established a new vision for our Xperia™ brand to bring our customers experiences beyond imagination,” said Mitsuya Kishida, President of Sony Mobile Communications, in the press release. 

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“We are continuing to push the boundaries in pursuit of innovation and our new Xperia delivers genuine technologies with a multitude of professional-grade features for creative entertainment experiences that are only possible with Sony.”

The new handset appears set to capitalise on the current trend in the industry for high-quality, full-screen displays that do away with bezels to give handsets a more elegant aesthetic.

CNBC reported that research company e-Marketer has estimated that 78% of video viewing worldwide is done on mobile handsets, highlighting the consumer appetite for handsets with excellent displays.

CNBC added that the Xperia 1 will cost £799, equating to around US$1,043.

According to Statista, as of Q4 18 the smartphone market leaders are Samsung (18.7%), Apple (18.2%) and Huawei (16.1%).