Sony has unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z4. The phone is certainly no trendsetter, plumping for the large slab of glass, thin bezels and metal casing that has become the standard spec of the high-end smartphone.
In the Xperia Z4's case it is a 5.2in 1080p display, powered by a 2GHz eight-core Snapdragon 810 processor and 3GB of RAM. It will come with 32GB of built-in storage, which can be supplemented with up to another 128GB via the microSD slot.
It all slots in an attractive, and relatively slender, frame. The phone measures 146mm × 72mm × 6.9mm, which is almost identical to the Samsung Galaxy S5, but a millimetre thinner. It has a near identical weight to Samsung's flagship phone, too, at 145g. The polished metal casing wraps around the edge of the phone, which comes in just that single colour, although you can buy optional covers which come in white, black, copper and aqua green.
The standout feature of the Xperia Z4, as with its predecessor, is the camera. The rear camera has a 20.7-megapixel sensor, which Sony claims is particularly strong in low light conditions. Its ISO setting can be pushed all the way up to 12800, making it possible to shoot in dimly-lit conditions without excessive noise, the company claims. The camera has a selection of shooting modes, including "cooking mode", for those who insist on snapping a shot of their food in the kitchen or restaurants.
The front-facing camera is 5.1 megapixel model with a 25mm wide-angle lens, designed specifically for those who want to take selfies with more than one person in the frame. Sony has built in electronic image stabilisation to reduce shake in those arm-length photos and video.
The phone is both dust and waterproof, including the USB socket, which no longer has an awkward rubber cap on it to keep the water out. There's no word as yet on UK pricing and availability, but like its highly regarded predecessor, the Xperia Z3, you can expect it to cost the thick end of £500 SIM-free. It will be out this summer.