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.

New HTC One E9+ renders reveal 3 different color variants

Much like the HTC One M9+ will be to the HTC One M9, HTC is apparently planning on making a Plus variant of the HTC One E9. Upleaks revealed new renders of that device today, and gave us a look at three of its expected color variants in the process.

As we’ve seen before, the device will have a plastic-based backplate rather than the full unibody metal design of the M9, though it should still have a fair bit of metal in its chassis. Specs for the base model of the HTC One E9 are rumored to be a 5.5-inch Quad HD display (2560 x 1440), a 20 megapixel camera, 3GB of RAM and a MediaTek chipset, though we aren’t yet sure which areas the two will differ.

HTC is expected to announce one or both of these devices at an upcoming “More Than One” event in Beijing that was recently scheduled. It’s possible we’ll also see the HTC One M9+ debuted at that same event, which is said to come with a slightly bigger display 5.2-inch display, a fingerprint scanner and dual cameras on the rear compared to the HTC One M9’s 5-inch display, lack of a fingerprint scanner and a lone 20 megapixel camera sensor.

HTC One M9+ renders leak again, still looks like the M8

Many people were expecting HTC to show off two devices at Mobile World Congress, but instead we just got the mildly disappointing HTC One M9 (our review). The second device is rumored to be named the HTC One M9 Plus. It’s a variant with a slightly bigger display, fingerprint scanner, and the Dual Camera from the One M8. A new leaked render shows off the M9+ and it’s still not terribly exciting.

If you thought the One M9 wasn’t enough of a change the One M9+ is even less. From the back it looks nearly identical to the One M8. The camera is still round and the second Dual Camera is still present. This device is rumored to have a 5.2-inch quad-HD display, MediaTek processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 20MP camera. We were originally expecting the M9+ to launch alongside the M9 as a phablet, but it’s looking more like this is simply a variant for other countries.

HTC will officially announce the One M9+ at an event in China next week. What do you think of this device? Is this what the One M9 should have been? Do you prefer the One M9?

[via @upleaks]

Newly leaked LG G4 renders give us multiple new angles to check out

@OnLeaks is back with more LG G4 renders for us to drool over. These new shots give us a look at not just the rear that we saw yesterday, but also the front and sides. It still looks just like an LG G3, folks, save for a bit more of a hump to protect the camera on the rear.

The leakster confirmed that the device does have a slight curve not just in its chassis, but also in the display itself. It’s not as profound an effect as it is on the curvaceous LG G Flex 2, but it’s there.

Otherwise, everything else looks pretty ordinary. Specs for the LG G4 are still largely unconfirmed at this time, but we’re expecting a display size anywhere between 5.2 and 5.7 inches, a Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM and a megapixel count between 16.0 and 20.7 for its rear camera (and we’re told that sensor will once again be supported by a laser-assisted autofocus).

More interesting than what it looks like is when it’ll launch. Unfortunately that bit of information is still yet to be revealed, but it won’t be long as LG is said to be looking to lift the curtains up at some point in April. We’ll have to see if they’ll be fast enough to make it to market before Samsung and HTC’s latest options gain too much momentum.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Active appears in leaked press renders, black and white camo options shown

Yesterday photos of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active were leaked out onto the webs. The photos were fairly good quality and gave us a good idea of what the device looks like in the wild. If those were still a little too grainy for you, famed tipster @evleaks is now showing off the device in a pair of leaked press renders.

There’s no question the phone certainly looks rugged enough and in attempt to attract more outdoorsy types, features a camouflage paint job in both black (blue-ish), and white (with silver accents). We have to admit, we kinda liked yesterday’s all black model a little better than these, but to each his own. No word if AT&T will throw in a free can of Monster energy drink every device sold.

Moto G (3rd Gen) exposed in leaked press renders

You know we’re getting close to the launch of the Motorola Moto G 2015 when press renders of the device are leaked online. This time, the good folks at TechnoBuffalo are doing the honors, giving us our clearest look yet at the device before it’s officially unveiled. The updated aesthetics look nice enough, with the Moto G

Allegedly going by the codename “Osprey” and carrying  model XT1540, the updated Moto G aesthetics look nice enough, with the came and “M” logo dimple accentuated by a piece of plastic reminiscent of an LG device or the ASUS ZenFone 2. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any confirmation on the device’s internal hardware, although we’re hearing a higher res camera, Snapdragon 410 processor, and slightly beefier battery will round out improvements for the 2015 model.

What do you guys think?