Skip to main content

Big-screen Sony Xperia Z and ZL phones leaked ahead of CES unveiling

Leaked Sony Xperia Z Xperia ZLCheck out our full reviews of the Sony Xperia ZL and Sony Xperia Z phones.

Sony hasn’t been able to keep its two new flagship Android phones secret ahead of CES 2013, as a picture of the pair has sneaked out just days before the beginning of the Las Vegas show. The phones are identified as the Xperia Z (seen above on the left) and Xperia ZL, and have previously been leaked as the Yuga and Odin respectively. As both images were discovered on a SonyMobile.com website they’re almost certainly genuine, plus the device names make up part of the URL, so there’s a good chance these will turn out to be correct too.

While both the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL have appeared before, we’re still not sure of the exact specification of either, however it’s possible the Xperia ZL/Odin is a more compact variant of the full-size Xperia Z/Yuga. In the past, the addition of an L in a Sony smartphone model name hasn’t signified anything other than a gentle warm-over of the specs, such as in the case of the Xperia S and Xperia SL, but how this approach would work with two devices launched at the same time remains to be seen.

We’re expecting the Xperia Z to be Sony’s 5-inch, 1080p smartphone effort which will be driven by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor – also a first for Sony, after it swore off quad-core chips for 2012. A 13-megapixel camera – as seen on the Xperia T, Xperia TL and its variants – is likely to sit on the rear of the big-screen device, plus we can see a forward facing video call lens on both phones in the new pictures. Oddly, the Xperia ZL’s video call lens is in the bottom right-hand corner of the chassis; a most unusual position. Google Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is the most obvious candidate for the operating system.

So when will we get to see these two new Sony smartphones? The company has scheduled a press conference at CES 2013 for 5pm local time on January 7, and in previous years it has announced several top-of-the-range devices. We’ll be there to bring you all the latest news.

Editors' Recommendations

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Google has no idea what it’s doing with the Pixel Tablet
The back of the Google Pixel Tablet.

With its latest move to try and encourage you to buy a Pixel Tablet, Google has unfortunately indicated it still has no idea what to do with its most recent return to tablets.

Its big plan to sell more tablets is to take away the best thing about them, which then gives it an excuse to charge a bit less. Reducing the price is a good thing, but in the case of the Pixel Tablet and Google's solution, there’s sadly no longer any reason to buy it at all.
Google's new plan for the Pixel Tablet

Read more
A big iPhone update is right around the corner
An iPhone 15 Pro Max sitting upright, showing one of its home screens.

With announcements for 2024 models of the iPad Air and iPad Pro, today's been a busy day of Apple news. But the iPad isn't the only Apple product in the news today. Following the big announcements from its event earlier this morning, Apple also shared some important news regarding the next iPhone update.

As of Tuesday, May 7, Apple has begun rolling out RC builds for iOS 17.5. RC stands for "Release Candidate," and it's the last beta version of a software update that Apple releases before its final public rollout. In other news, the official iOS 17.5 update should be right around the corner.

Read more
Google Pixel 8a vs. Pixel 7a: Do you really need to upgrade?
Google Pixel 8a vs Pixel 7a.

The Google Pixel 8a (left) and Google Pixel 7a Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital Trends

The new Google Pixel 8a has entered the market to compete in the budget smartphone category. It has officially replaced the Google Pixel 7a, which was launched in 2023. Although the two phones' appearances are quite similar, the newer model boasts several improvements under the hood, making it considerably superior.

Read more