- A leak appears to have revealed the Sony Xperia 10 III.
- It should stick with a familiar design, including the headphone jack and front stereo speakers.
- You may hear more about the phone in the next few weeks.
Update: January 21, 2021 (6:50 AM ET): Accompanying the leaked Sony Xperia 10 III renders from earlier this week, a 360-degree video has now leaked via Steve Hemmerstoffer.
The brief loop gives us a better look at the triple rear camera array, the 3.5mm headphone jack at the top of the phone, and a pair of beefy horizontal bezels on the facia. It’s unclear if the minty-fresh colorway will also be an option for future buyers, but we wouldn’t be opposed to it.
Original article: January 20, 2021 (6:07 PM ET): Sometimes, it’s what a company doesn’t change about a phone that may prove the most exciting. Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka OnLeaks) has shared what he says are images and details of the Sony Xperia 10 III, a subtle evolution of the 10 II that keeps features that appear to be dying on flagship devices.
Most notably, the Xperia 10 III will reportedly keep the 3.5mm headphone jack and front-facing stereo speakers — Sony might not make you give up your favorite earbuds, or ask you to hold your phone gingerly while you watch a video. While it’s true that Sony also revived the jack for last year’s Xperia 1 II, it’s doubtful people will complain about more options.
Read more: The best phones with a headphone jack
You can also expect the 21:9 6-inch display to return, with no hole punches or notches in sight. Details aren’t available for the triple rear camera setup, but rumors have suggested the Xperia 10 III will have a 12MP primary camera as well as 8MP telephoto and ultra-wide sensors. It won’t rival mid-range devices in some areas, then (a device like the OnePlus Nord has a higher-resolution camera), but the continued existence of a telephoto camera could give it an edge.
Sony is also expected to preserve the side-mounted fingerprint reader and otherwise stick to a familiar aesthetic. While internal specs aren’t available, the Xperia 10 II used a Snapdragon 665. We’d expect the Xperia 10 III to offer similar processing power, although it’s not certain that Sony will leap to the Snapdragon 690 and its built-in 5G.
If history is any indication, Sony could debut the Xperia 10 III sometime in February. It won’t be a radical departure for the company, but it could stand out in a field where competitors are scaling back features that customers once took for granted.