Sony Xperia Z4 appears in new renders taken from the Sony Pictures hack, new details rumored

It was right towards the tail end of last year Sony Pictures made headlines after a North Korean hackivist group leaked out the company’s confidential documents. Aside from leaking a stack of very interesting emails about the studio’s future movie productions (apparently Leonardo DeCaprio is really hard to work with), the forth coming Sony Xperia Z4 also made an appearance.

It wasn’t much, just a handful of leaked concepts, but it clued us in on what Sony’s mobile division could be planning for the handset. Of course, later leaks of an alleged Sony Xperia Z4 began making the rounds, showing something much more akin to the design philosophy of Sony’s previous Xperia line. It was a bit of a let down, but it seemed to make a little more sense for Sony’s struggling smartphone division.

More recently new “leaker” @ViziLeaks claimed this device wasn’t the Sony Xperia Z4 at all, but something called the Sony Xperia Z3 Neo. What’s more the leaker now says the new Sony Xperia Z4 is on track for a September release and will feature an all-metal construction along with an improved power button with fingerprint scanning technology built inside.

With the previously leaked documents now archived and easily searchable on Wikileaks, people are once again turning to the Sony Pictures hack to dig up any info on the previously leaked Xperia Z4, which according to emails, should be making an appearance in this year’s new James Bond flick.

What was found were a few images we didn’t get a look at during last year’s leak, but show something closer to what @ViziLeaks could have been talking about. Namely, a completely redesigned look — and home button — along with a unibody type metal housing, and references to a 2.5D glass display panel.

 

But the leaked PDF raises more questions than it actual answers. It’s possible we could be looking at nothing but unfinished internal concept renders of multiple devices — not just the Xperia Z4. There’s a smaller device that has more rounded corners and a cushiony backside. Really, everything is up in the air at this point.

According to one leaked email, the target release date was originally set for April/May/June 2015, putting a launch right around the time Sony’s new tablet would hit the market. That being said, the doc was dated October 2014, so a lot can change in that amount of time. Whether we’ll see a completely redesigned Sony Xperia Z4 (or just another rehashed model) in time for the launch of the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet or later this summer remains to be seen.

Samsung’s Gear SDK reveals new details about Gear A smartwatch, shows rotating bezel and slick UI

A few weeks back Samsung confirmed round smartwatch rumors when they revealed their upcoming Gear SDK for developers that showed a variety of round smartwatch faces and apps. Today, the folks at SamMobile were able to dive into said SDK and managed to dig up a few details on Project Orbis, which could officially launch as the Samsung Gear A later this year.

The most interesting hardware feature is the inclusion of a rotating bezel that can be used to navigate the watch’s Tizen-based software. Samsung’s answer to the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown, the secondary form of input can be used for app specific actions, zooming in and out of images, to change the volume, or simply to navigate between screens. Initially it sounded odd, but now we’re getting a better picture of how useful this feature could be when used properly.

The Gear A will also feature a round 360 x 360 resolution display and appears to be using a fair amount of aluminum in its housing. A handful of sensors were also revealed and include the standard accelerometer, gyrosensor, heart-rate monitor, pressure sensor, and magnetic sensors. Wi-Fi, GPS, and a cellular radio were also on board, but absent was a camera and ambient light sensor.

The all new 100% more round Samsung Gear A is expected to be officially unveiled alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 later this year. Although not an Android device, it still looks to be an interesting entry into the smartwatch category.

Latest Oppo R7 details reveal full metal unibody design

We knew the Oppo R7 would have a fair bit of metal in its skeletal makeup, but new details reveal that this thing is metallic all around. The Oppo R7 will have a metal unibody design, according to recent information that has come to light. Oppo will tout the fact that the device has been put through a whopping 48 finishing processes to make for a nice metallic look and feel.

The device will also still have some slight curvature to it, we’re told. It’ll improve looks, naturally, but should also make it a lot more comfortable to hold in the hand. Oppo isn’t the first company to accomplish this, but we’re appreciative of it nevertheless.

Other known specs and features of the Oppo R7 are a 4.7-inch 1080p display, 20.7-megapixel rear camera, Octa-core MediaTek processor, 2000mAh battery with VOOC fast charging, “2.5D” curved glass and that it’ll be just 4.85mm thin. All is scheduled to be told at some point later this month.

Oculus Rift official release window and details announced

Oculus Rift has just announced details for the consumer launch of their virtual reality headset. This is poised to become a benchmark product by which others are measured, and with Facebook’s backing we’re sure to see very interesting and significant developments down the line.

So when’s it coming? For how much? Will it help me survive the apocalypse? Fret not, because the answers are in. Here’s what we know so far:

• There will be a simple, sleek desktop sensor that doesn’t require anything but a USB connection to a PC.


• The release date for the Oculus Rift is scheduled to happen in Q1 2016.


• The integrated headphones are user removable.


• Oculus Rift will have a dial for adjusting lens focal distance.


• The headset’s design has been updated to better accommodate glasses.


• Oculus Rift will come pre-packaged with a wireless Xbox One controller.


• You will be able to stream Xbox One games to your Windows PC to play in Oculus Rift.


• Oculus is pledging million to help independent developers create games for Oculus Rift.


• Oculus Home will be a fully 3D VR-enabled user interface to buy and play all your games.


• Oculus Touch is a new input option that’ll allow you to control your games with your hands instead of a traditional controller. It supports gestures, hand presence and object manipulation in the game world.

We also get a first look at some of the launch games that will natively support Oculus Rift. One was an insane space combat action title called EVE Valkyrie (which, for what it’s worth, is also headed for the PlayStation 4 and Sony’s Project Morpheus headset). You can check out a quick trailer of it in action right here:

Other games announced for Oculus Rift include an exclusive third-party Insomniac title named Edge of Nowhere, as well as an interesting action RPG titled Chronos.

Damaged Core, VR Sports Challenge, Esper, AirMech VR and Lucky’s Tale are all slated to be on Oculus Rift in 2016, and available to try out for anyone attending E3 as soon as next week..

Unfortunately the details stop there, which means we still don’t have an exact release date, nor do we know how much it’ll hit our wallets for once it arrives. E3 is next week so we’ll be on the lookout for more details then. Otherwise, it looks like we’ll have to wait until we’re closer to that Q1 2016 launch window to be let in on more.