Sony's Xperia Pro is a $2,500 5G smartphone with an HDMI input

[midian182]

In brief: Would you pay $2,500 for a smartphone with last year’s processor? That’s what Sony is hoping with its Xperia Pro. The device does have a few features that go some way toward justifying the price, including 5G connectivity and being the world’s first handset with a dedicated HDMI input.

Last year, Sony revealed it was preparing a Pro variant of the Xperia 1 II, itself a $1,200 phone. Rumors claimed the successor would cost $1,500, but it’s actually a grand more expensive than expected.

The Xperia Pro shares many of the Xperia 1 II’s specs, including the Snapdragon 865, 4,000mAh battery, 12MP triple rear camera setup, 8MP selfie cam, and 6.5-inch 21:9 OLED (3840 x 1644) screen. The RAM jumps from 8GB to 12GB, while the expandable storage has increased from 256GB to 512GB. Moreover, Sony’s latest device is also one of the few flagship smartphones that still come with a 3.5mm jack.

The main difference is the inclusion of HDMI support through a type-D connection at the bottom of the Xperia Pro. This allows it to be connected to any camera with an HDMI output and act as an external monitor, giving users a better view of what’s being captured and offering features such as gridlines and pinch-to-view. The phone doesn’t ship with the required HDMI micro connector cable, strangely.

Thanks to its 5G connectivity, the Xperia Pro can also live-stream video content up to 4K 60fps HDR from the connected camera or camcorder. As noted by The Verge, HDMI footage can be streamed to YouTube directly, and it supports StreamLabs and StreamYard for streaming to other platforms like Twitch and Facebook Live.

The Xperia Pro supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G standards and comes with a four-way mmWave antenna array to maximize reception. It also features a built-in network visualizer app for finding the best signal, and its mmWave has been “fine-tuned” for Verizon’s network.

Those in the US can grab the Xperia Pro now. Whether anyone, even professional content creators, will be happy to pay $2,500 for the handset remains to be seen.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/88431-sony-xperia-pro-2500-5g-smartphone-hdmi-input.html

 

[nismo91]

I am imagining discussion in the Sony Mobile board meeting went like this:
Title: -Idea for new premium $2000 smartphone-
A: you know guys, our competitor Samsung have released two foldable phones! maybe we can too?
B: I like it! even huawei from china has one too! I'm sure people of japan will love the flip-phone style!
C: but we need to make a smaller one, maybe something like the new Motorola Razr
D: no! how about swivel phone like LG Wing? I lead the development of the old S700, W550 and W900.
E: well guys, that's too expensive. flexible screens and dual screens are costly. let's just stick to normal form-factor but see if we can get better cameras from corporate, bigger battery, latest SoC, and maybe HDMI input and output? I mean most of our customers are using Sony professional cameras anyway. we need to have synergy between...
CEO: (cuts conversation) E is right. forget about multiple screens. they are too costly. let's just take our current phone, give it a HDMI in/out port and retain the small battery. done. thanks E
C: but..
CEO: not one more word! our phones are not meant for peasants. those who can afford will pay for it. meeting's over!

 

[Uncle Al]

ROFLMAO ....... well played!

 

[Nobina]

So they target "content creators" who likely use pro gear to make content and will probably be underwhelmed by this.

Sony just picks the smallest audience they can find and then sell them overpriced phones. That's surely gonna bail them out.