Sony appeals to film lovers with slimline Xperia 5 smartphone

BERLIN: Sony launched the Xperia 5, a slimline version of its flagship smartphone, at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin on Thursday as it seeks to strengthen its appeal to its niche audience of video, film and music lovers.

The Xperia 5 comes with a 6.1-inch OLED display in the 21:9 format used by the movie industry and, for photographers and video bloggers, packs a triple camera with resolution of 12 megapixels.

The Android device, a lower-priced iteration of the Xperia 1 launched in June, will go on sale in October at 799 euros ($884) with pre-orders from next week, Sony executive Shigeki Ishizuka told a presentation at IFA.

Despite the number in the name, there was no mention of whether the device will be enabled to work on 5G networks, which are starting to be rolled out in countries like Japan, Korea and the United States.

Sales have been declining in the smartphone market, with the trade dispute between the United States and China weighing on consumer and industry sentiment.

Samsung Electronics, the world's leading smartphone maker, unveiled its $2,000 folding smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, on Thursday in Seoul.

Apple plans to unveil its latest iPhone generation on Sept. 10, while China's Huawei Technologies, the world's No.2 smartphone maker, will unbox its 5G-ready Mate 30 range in Munich on Sept. 19.