Sony Executives are Big on 5G, They Tell IFA; Sharp Among Others Looking at Fifth Gen
BERLIN -- Sony executives are big on 5G, they told a consumer electronics conference Thursday. They said it will benefit gaming and other user experiences. The company also unveiled a new smartphone.
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In the “upcoming 5G era,” Sony’s products and services “will be capable of not only realizing ultra-fast connectivity with low latency, but also enhanced user experiences,” said Mitsuya Kishida, who became Sony Mobile Communications president April 1. Kishida’s subsidiary will be “at the forefront of Sony’s 5G initiatives, with mobile network technologies bringing users and creators ever closer,” he said.
The “connectivity” that enables PlayStation Network users to “communicate with fellow gamers” online globally, with 80 million active users a month, will be “further accelerated with the introduction of 5G,” said Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida Thursday in his first IFA news conference since assuming the top post in April. The former Sony chief financial officer thinks 5G will bring “new opportunities for Sony, where we can leverage our reality and real-time technologies that we have mastered in the audio-visual domain.”
Kishida’s big IFA announcement was Sony’s introduction of the new Xperia XZ3 smartphone. The XZ3 will be among the first smartphones on the market globally with the new artificial-intelligence-heavy Android 9 Pie operating system, said Kishida. The XZ3's six-inch OLED display with HDR uses technology borrowed from Sony’s OLED Bravia TVs to render “deeper blacks, sharper images and richer, more vibrant colors,” he said.
The XZ3's AI capabilities enable new features like “side sense,” which anticipates and instantly displays favorite apps with a “simple tap” on either side of the phone, said Kishida. Another use of AI on the device is a feature called “smart launch,” he said. Holding the XZ3 horizontally automatically activates the phone’s camera app, “ensuring you capture those unmissable moments,” he said. The XZ3 will be available in the U.S. from Amazon and Best Buy starting Oct. 17 at $899 list, it said.
Others at IFA also discussed 5G plans.
Sharp is working on developing 8K content with “broadcasting enterprises,” and working with NTT DoCoMo on multiple-channel transmission of 8K images over a 5G network, said Bob Ishida, CEO of Sharp Europe. Sharp also will develop 5G wireless devices and smartphones before the start of 5G service “to realize a new customer experience with 8K and 5G,” he said.
Content for 8K is coming, said Guy Kinnell, Samsung senior director-marketing and product management. “We know that 8K content will grow over time,” said Kinnell, touting new TVs for that format. “We don’t believe that you, our consumers, should wait."