In 2023, of its global debut on January first week, the Sony Xperia Pro is officially announced in its home Chinese market. The Xperia PRO enables broadcast and photographic professionals to work faster and smarter than ever before.
It’s the world’s first smartphone with dedicated HDMI input2, and USB or Ethernet3 tethering with an Alpha camera. It gives professionals a variety of new possibilities.
Despite lacking a Pro in its name the phone is a fully-fledged flagship with the latest and greatest chipset, memory, and cameras.
The SoC is Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and Sony executives said on stage the chipset will be fully operational at its maximum capacity.
Normally that wouldn’t be a noteworthy remark, but it could well indicate that Sony is done with its past practices of limiting performance to boost battery life and keep thermals in check. Sony Xperia Pro phone comes with 12GB of the latest dedicated RAM and 256 GB or 512GB.
Sony Xperia Pro
The Xperia PRO enables broadcast and photographic professionals to work faster and smarter than ever before. It’s the world’s first smartphone with dedicated HDMI input2, and USB or Ethernet3 tethering with an Alpha camera. It gives professionals a variety of new possibilities.
The Sony Xperia Pro is built around a new 6.5″ OLED display with a 1644 x 3840 pixels resolution. The superb cameras set on the back of the Xperia Pro have been upgraded to a 48MP main Sony sensor with multidirectional Dual Pixel PDAF and OIS, 5-axis gyro-EIS.
There is a 12 MP telephoto shooter with autofocus that allows you to serve a superb camera, and a 12 MP ultra-wide camera and 0.3 MP TOF 3D depth camera. The 20 MP selfie camera is sitting inside a punch hole in the upper left corner.
Surprisingly we heard that the camera setup is seemingly identical to the best-censored camera of Sony Xperia, but this isn’t a surprise as both brands announced a new strategic partnership recently.
On the other hand, having reviewed it we found its performance really impressive and it might do even better with the newer Snapdragon chip.
The battery of the Sony Xperia Pro has a 4400 mAh capacity, like the predecessor. However, this time it can reach 30W charging speed over the wire.
Although, wireless charging is not on the menu. The Gamers will appreciate the micro HDMI vibration motor, which is 3.5mm, the biggest in a smartphone so far per the company’s claims.
Sony Xperia Pro launching in China at top of Android 13 out of the box. This also means it will sell on Sony Store and third-party retailers, with pre-orders already live.
Basically, the actual sales begin on January 2023. The phone comes in Black colors, with the former bringing a glass rear panel, while the latter has a sandstone-like finish.
Sony Xperia Pro prices in China are CNY. 12,480 to CNY. 15,040 (USD 2,450) for the 12/256GB version, CNY4,399 ($1800). In Bangladesh, the latest expected price is BDT. 1,80,000 and the latest expected price in India are Rs. 156,990.
360-Degree Beamforming Antenna
Achieving a solid 5G mmWave connection is essential in mission-critical applications, especially live streams and broadcasts. This is why Sony selected a 360° antenna with beamforming technology. The antenna can transmit and receive through all sides of the Xperia PRO, while the beamforming technology focuses the antenna on an available signal to maximize its efficacy.
5G Endurance Mode
When activated, this will let an operator continuously transfer data at maximum 5G mmWave speeds while being tethered to a camera.
Network Visualizer App
Just like there can be connection dead spots in your home, while on location it’s imperative that you set up your gear in a prime location with a strong signal. The Network Visualizer app lets you use the Xperia PRO to navigate your surroundings to locate strong 5G mmWave reception. It can also work with 4G/LTE signals, provides a histogram, and displays data throughput.
Video Monitoring via HDMI
In addition to a USB Type-C port for tethering, a micro-HDMI port is integrated for live video monitoring when attached to professional cameras. The port allows for more accurate color reproduction of what you’re filming with YCbCr 4:2:2 8-bit/RGB 8-bit support, and incoming video is displayed at up to 4K resolutions at your choice of 24, 30, or 60 fps as needed.
Professional Camera System
When you’re not using the Xperia PRO for its monitor and connectivity features, you can use its triple camera array to capture pro-quality mobile content. They can record stills in a variety of formats and videos at up to 4K HDR resolution at a 21:9 aspect ratio at 24, 30, 60, and 120 fps:
- 12MP Ultra-Wide: 16mm focal length, f/2.2 aperture, 1/2.55 Exmore RS sensor, and 124° FOV
- 12MP Wide: 24mm focal length, f/1.7 aperture, 1/1.7 Exmor RS sensor, and 82° FOV
- 12MP Telephoto: 70mm focal length, f/2.4 aperture, 1/3.4″ sensor, and 34° FOV
The system was developed in conjunction with Sony Alpha 9 engineers to ensure quality and provide much-desired features not normally found in a mobile phone. Features like manual controls, support for shooting raw, up to 20 fps continuous wide-angle shooting (up to 10 fps at 16 or 70mm), and real-time eye autofocus that works on both humans and animals. These engineers also used premium calibrated ZEISS optics with ZEISS T-coating to boost contrast and reduce reflections.
External Monitor
When attached to your camera and used as an external monitor, the Xperia PRO offers a host of additional capabilities. You can live stream what your camera sees online, use waveform to check the exposure and RGB balance, and use false color to assist with iris setting selections by ensuring the details for exposure are more noticeable.
You also get a trigger function for recording and stopping via a USB Type-C cable and on-screen statuses that include whether you’re recording or not, shutter speed, f-stop, ISO, and EV. When connected to an Alpha camera, you can even control the features of the Alpha itself.
IP65/68 and Corning Gorilla Glass 6
It’s not always a bright and sunny day when you’re out in the field. This is why Sony made sure the Xperia PRO can keep up with the rest of your kit. The IP65/68 rating translates to a smartphone that is completely dustproof and able to withstand rain and short periods of complete and continuous immersion in water. The Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection on the front of the phone is made to deliver significant scratch and damage resistance.
High-Quality Audio
When you want to wind down with some music, the Xperia PRO is capable of playing back Hi-Res Audio wirelessly or via a 3.5mm jack. It features front-firing stereo speakers and supports 360 Reality Audio decoding, Dolby ATMOS, DSEE Ultimate, HD audio, Qualcomm aptX, and audio recording in stereo.
Long-Lasting Battery
To ensure long battery life, the Xperia PRO comes with a sizable 4000 mAh battery and two features to guard the phone against damage while charging. Battery Care delivers overcharging protection, while Xperia Adaptive Charging works to make sure the battery is not overworked during the recharge process.
Shortcut Button
We all have that one app we constantly use. A built-in shortcut button can be programmed to launch the go-to app of your choice, such as the Network Visualizer.
Additional General Features
- 512GB of internal storage space
- Supports an optional microSDXC card up to 1TB in size (shared with the 2nd SIM slot)
- 8MP selfie camera with HDR and an 84° FOV
- Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity
- Intelligent wind filter
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G mobile platform
- Fast charging via USB Power Delivery
- PS4 Remote Play
Additional Display Features
- 10-bit tonal gradation (8-bit display with 2-bit software smoothing)
- Motion blur reduction
- X1 for mobile
- Supported Image Playback Formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, WebP, WBMP, HEIF, DNG, CR2, NEF, NRW, ARW, RW2, ORF, RAF, PEF, and SRW
- Supported Video Playback Formats: H.263, H.264, H.265, MPEG-4 Video, AV1, VP8, and VP9
Additional Camera Features
- Up to 20 fps AF/AE5
- Up to 60 times per second continuous AF/AE calculation
- Dual photodiode
- 3D iToF sensor
- RGB-IR
- Photo OIS
- Video OIS, EIS, and Optical SteadyShot (hybrid OIS/EIS)
- Video SteadyShot with Intelligent Active Mode (5-axis stabilization)
- Photo flash and photo light
- Up to 3x (70mm lens equivalent) optical zoom
- Up to 3x digital zoom (16, 24, and 70mm lenses)
- HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo capture
- Portrait Selfie, Display Flash, and Hand and Smile Shutter modes
- JPEG and raw image capture formats
- MP4 (AVC264 and HEVC265) video capturing format
Additional Audio Features
- Supported Audio Playback Formats: AAC-LC, AAC+, eAAC+, AAC-ELD, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, FLAC, MP3, MIDI, Vorbis, PCM, Opus, ALAC, DSD, and 360 Reality Audio Music Format
- Supported Audio Recording Formats: AAC-LC, AAC+, AAC-ELD, AMR-NB, and AMR-WB
Accessibility Features
- Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC)
- Teletypewriter (TTY)
- Volume key shortcut
- Screen readers: Select-to-Speak, TalkBack, and Text-to-speech output
- Display: Font size, display size, magnification, color correction, color inversion, large mouse cursor, remove animations
- Interaction Controls: Accessibility menu, switch access, click after mouse pointer stops moving, power button ends call, autorotate screen, touch and hold delay, and vibration
- Audio and On-Screen Text: mono audio, captions
- Experimental: High-contrast text
Sony Xperia Pro Related FAQ
Q.1: What kind of Chipset is used in Sony Xperia Pro?
Ans: They used Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.
Q.2: Is Sony Xperia Pro waterproof?
Ans: Yes, this phone comes with water resistance facilities, and the body disclaimer made this to strongest backup qualities also.
Q.3: Is Sony Xperia Pro available in Bangladesh?
Ans: Yes, It’s available in Bangladesh.
