Sony unveils three new X series smartphones at MWC 2016

Sony’s 2016 Xperia X-series range of smartphones come with Qnovo battery technology which substantially improves battery performance and reduces charging times. Also announces four Xperia smart gadgets

Sony’s 2016 Xperia X-series range of smartphones come with Qnovo battery technology which substantially improves battery performance and reduces charging times. Also announces four Xperia smart-gadgets (Sony)

Japanese tech giant Sony has announced a trio of smartphones at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona.

The new range — known as the Xperia X series that includes the Xperia X, the Xperia X Performance and Xperia XA smartphones — will fit between the flagship Xperia Z Series and mid-range Xperia M Series.

These smartphones will be equipped with Qnovo technology which the company claims drastically increases the battery lifetime to around 800 charge cycles. Qnovo's technology essentially improves all aspects of battery performance: A longer lifespan, faster charging without degrading battery, and more daily usage.

'Not only will it keep your phone running for longer from one charge, Xperia X series benefits from a battery lifespan that's up to twice as long with Qnovo's Adaptive Charging technology and Sony's smart battery management system,' said Sony.

The new range sports an all-new Snapdragon 650 processor, 3GB of RAM, 5-inch 1080p display, 32GB of storage, 2620mAh battery, and a whopping 23-megapixel rear and 13-megapixel front camera.

It is more advanced than the Xperia XA that features a MediaTek MT6755 processor, 2GB of RAM, 5" 720p display, 13-megapixel primary camera and an 8-megapixel selfie cam, 16GB of storage, and a 2300mAh battery.

The X Performance is the most expensive of the lot, featuring a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 820 processor and beefier 2700mAh battery compared to its standard X counterpart with rest of the specifications remaining the same.

Apart from these, Sony announced a slew of smart gadgets which include the Xperia Eye, Xperia Ear, Xperia Projector and Xperia Agent. These gadgets are essentially designed to free users from their smartphones.

According to Sony, Xperia Eye is the company's vision for a personalised assistant which comes equipped with facial and voice detection and can be attached to clothing or worn around your neck.

The Xperia Ear is a pair of wireless smart earpods which allows users' to control their smartphones and receive notifications. The idea is to free the user from constantly looking at their smartphone. It can even respond to voice commands and perform internet searches, navigation and read messages.

Xperia Ear is a wireless earpiece that allows users' to control their phone and receive notifications without having to look at it constantly (Sony)

Xperia Ear is a wireless earpiece that allows users' to control their phone and receive notifications without having to look at it constantly (Sony)

'It will navigate you to where you want to go and make your life eye-free and hands-free,' said Sony Mobile's President and boss, Hiroki Totoki.

Xperia Project as the name suggests, allows users to project an interface onto any clear surface. Sony claims the image projected would respond to a user's touch, voice and gestures just as it would on a smartphone screen.

The Xperia Agent acts as a security-camera keeping an eye on what's going around it which then projects live feeds onto your Sony smartphone.