Following on from the flagship Sony Xperia 1 IV phone launching last month, we now appear to be getting our first details of the Japanese firm's incoming mid-range handset for 2022, the Sony Xperia 5 IV.
And those first details are pointing towards an Android phone with a few choice upgrades over last year's mid-ranger, the Sony Xperia 5 III. That's the mobile that T3 gave 4/5 to on review.
The news comes courtesy of GSMArena, who has spotted an FCC listing that appears to be for the incoming Sony Xperia 5 IV (although the phone's name isn't detailed), and that listing reveals the handset is not only slightly smaller than last year's model but also that it will support wireless charging.
Now, for those who haven't been tracking the Xperia 5 series' progress, no phone in this range to date has featured wireless charging, so the fact that the Xperia 5 IV will support it suddenly makes the handset a more appealing proposition for Android phone users.
Other than the fact that the Xperia 5 IV will also offer NFC and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, as well as support for RFID smart cards, the FCC listing contains no other details on the phone's specs and hardware, though.
The big Sony Xperia 5 IV question remains unanswered
This is clearly positive news for Sony Xperia fans. Up till now so little information had leaked about the Sony Xperia 5 IV that people were starting to wonder if Sony was going to release a mid-range handset at all in 2022. So this info breaking cover, and from the FCC no less, will do a lot to quell those fears.
A slightly thinner, smaller handset with improved connectivity and charging sounds a good start to this year's upgrades as well, although here at T3 we feel for this handset to make an impact it will also need to offer an upgraded main processor.
Last year's Sony Xperia 5 III used a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, which was an upgrade over the Sony Xperia II's Snapdragon 865. However, this year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor - as used on the Samsung Galaxy S22 range - has not been a success and therefore everyone is desperate for Android handsets to move on quickly to the rapidly released Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU, which offers much better performance.
If the Sony Xperia 5 IV does come equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU then it will look very appealing in the mid-range Android phone market, but if it ships with just the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, then it could feel like a big opportunity missed.
Naturally, as soon as T3 finds out what processor the Xperia 5 IV is shipping with then we'll report it, so keep your eyes peeled to the site over the coming months.
