Xperia 1 III live image and specs leak show Sony's next flagship is ready to compete with a 4K 120 Hz display and bigger battery than the Xperia 1 II

Right on the heels of a leaked, and very blurry, live image of the Sony Xperia 10 III comes another blurred real-world image of a Sony smartphone, and this time it’s the flagship Xperia 1 III making a star turn. The picture, posted as an exclusive by Japanese site AndroidNext, shows the Xperia 1 III in that typical Sony smartphone design language, which will make it instantly appealing to fans of the series and for those who are just bored of the generic designs that fill the smartphone space nowadays. Yet again, the real-life image (see below) appears to corroborate renders of the Xperia 1 III that were shared by @OnLeaks back in January.

As for the Sony Xperia 1 III’s specs, unsurprisingly a Snapdragon 888 heads the show, which was already mentioned at the end of 2020. However, it appears the RAM/storage configuration will start at a beastly 12 GB + 256 GB, with a rumored 16 GB variant possibly being saved for the Japanese market, if it exists. The 6.5-inch display of the Xperia 1 III has a selling point of apparently offering 4K @120 Hz – but this should be taken with a pinch of salt. Qualcomm’s own datasheet for the SD888 states maximum support of 4K @60 Hz and QHD+ @144 Hz. Sony may have a software trick (afterimage technology) up its sleeve here for the display.

The cameras for the Xperia 1 III seem unlikely to be led by a 64 MP sensor as was previously suggested. This current leak (see specs list below) goes with a more conservative 12.2 MP + 12.2 MP + 12.2 MP + ToF sensor configuration with an 8 MP shooter at the front. As for the battery, the Sony Xperia 1 III, which is widely expected to be announced at an event on April 14, is believed to sport a 4,500-mAh unit. This is a handy bump up from the 4,000-mAh battery found in the Xperia 1 II smartphone. A previous price prediction went with a price tag of 8,999 CNY (US$1,373/£1,000/€1,155) for the third iteration of Sony’s Xperia 1 flagship phone.

Buy the Sony Xperia 1 II from Amazon