Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

3 of the biggest announcements from Sony’s IFA 2015 event

Published Sep 2nd, 2015 11:43AM EDT
Sony IFA 2015 Press Conference
Image: Sony

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

On Wednesday afternoon in Berlin, Sony took the stage at IFA 2015 to unveil a new lineup of consumer electronics stretching across multiple product categories. Although the smartphone stole the spotlight, there were a few other highlights as well, so we’ve decided to collect the three announcements that stuck out to us and round them up below.

READ MORE: So long, Surface: Lenovo’s Surface Pro clone is the Windows hybrid we’ve been waiting for

Here are three of the biggest announcements from Sony’s IFA 2015 press conference:

1. The world’s first 4K smartphone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sCPSwdL5t4

The first major announcement was an unsurprising one: Sony has been working on the Xperia Z5 to follow up its Z4 from earlier this year. The new phone features a 5.2-inch display, a 23-megapixel camera sensor and a fingerprint sensor. When it launches, it’ll be available in four colors: white, graphite black, gold and green.

But the standard model isn’t what caught our eye. Sony also unveiled the Z5 Compact with a 4.6-inch display and the Z5 Premium, which is the first smartphone to have a 4K display. I’m not sure how 4K quality will translate to a 5.5-inch display, but Sony certainly got our attention.

2. A new, strangely titled range of headphones

Over the past couple of years, Sony has doubled down on its commitment to Hi-Res Audio. Sony wants to be a player in the world of audio accessories again, so this year, they’re launching the brand new “h.ear” range of headphones.

That bizarrely titled lineup includes the “h.ear on” on-ear headphones, which come in five different colors, and the “h.ear in” in-ear headphones, which feature digital noise canceling and come in the same five colors.

Other audio-related offerings include a new Walkman, the CAS-1 audio system and, yes, a car audio player. Weird, right?

3. Project Morpheus is still on its way

Alright, the press conference was a little underwhelming (unless you’re desperate for a 4K phone), but having donned Project Morpheus more than once, I can’t help but be excited about its impending release.

Sony didn’t have any real news about the device or a specific release date, but in case you forgot, Morpheus features a 5.7″ 1920 x RGB x 1080 resolution OLED display, can render images at 120fps and is still set to launch in the first half of next year.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.