Sony Xperia XZs release date, specs rumors: New smartphone has sleeker design, 19-megapixel camera with bigger pixel size

The Sony Xperia XZs and the XZ Premium were launched by the company during the recently-concluded Mobile World Congress last February. The former might not be the brand's flagship phone this year — that distinction goes to the latter — but it nonetheless offers a couple of new features that may entice Sony Xperia XZ users to upgrade their phone.

The most distinctive change incorporated in the Sony Xperia XZs is its camera. It bears Sony's latest innovation, the Motion Eye camera, which is also installed in the Xperia XZ Premium, and it is said to be a step up from the Cyber-Shot cameras in terms of capturing images. According to Sony, they incorporated Predictive Capture technology, which the company said can sense movement, thereby buffering images even before you press the camera button. It also comes with an intelligent exposure control system, which automatically adjusts the level of lighting in shots — a handy feature when taking night shots.

While the pixels lowered to 19 megapixels, from Xperia XZ's 23 megapixels, Sony said that the phone bears larger pixels compared to the previous models, thus allowing the Xperia XZs to capture more details in photos, giving the handset a brighter display. Its camera is also able to take slow-motion videos up to 960 frames per second.

The design is another area that was upgraded. It now bears an exclusive ALKALEIDO brushed metal back to give it a sleeker, more luxurious look.

Features from the original Xperia XZ that were carried over to the Xperia XZs include water and dust resistance and fast charging. Its battery is said to be at 2,900 mAh. It also comes with Android Nougat already pre-installed.

While the phone has already been launched last February, it will hit the stores this April, although the exact date has not been revealed yet. Rumors are pegging the price at $599 for its 32 GB version, and $699 for the 64 GB variant.