is a series of and the sole brand name of

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

s marketed by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

. It also includes various related mobile hardware such as tablets as well as software. Xperia was originally developed by Sony Ericsson before becoming

Sony Mobile Sony Mobile Communications Inc., originally Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, was a Multinational corporation, multinational consumer electronics and telecommunications company, best known for its Mobile phones, mobile phone products. The ...

as a result of the mobile phone manufacturer being taken over and solely owned by Sony in 2012; it has been under Sony Corporation since 2021 following Sony Mobile's merger. The name Xperia is derived from the word "experience", and was first used in the Xperia X1 tagline of "I Xperia the best".

History

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 on sale 20081229

The Xperia X1 was the first phone to be released in the Xperia range. Released in 2008, it featured a high resolution display (~311 ppi pixel density) and it was intended to fill the widening gap of smartphones as other competitors were producing high-end smartphone devices such as

HTC HTC Corporation ( zh, t=宏達國際電子股份有限公司, p=Hóngdá Guójì Diànzǐ Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī, first=t), or High Tech Computer Corporation (abbreviated and trading as HTC), is a Taiwanese consumer electronics corporatio ...

and

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

. The X2 was released in the following year, which included an 8.1 MP camera and included Wifi and GPS. By this time there was a clear shift towards the smartphone end of the spectrum. An exception was the Xperia Pureness, a translucent phone without camera that was sold by selected retailers in selected cities.Sony Ericsson XPERIA X12 Completely Detailed By Mobile Review
. Sony Insider (30 November 2010). Retrieved 18 October 2011. The Xperia X5 Pureness is based on Sony Ericsson's proprietary operating system (OSE). The X10 was released at the start of 2010. It was the first in the Xperia line to feature the Android operating system, where previous models ran on the

Windows Mobile Windows Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants (PDA). Designed to be the portable equivalent of the Windows desktop OS in the emerging Mobile device, mobile/port ...

OS. The phone was praised on its design, but its downfall was its use of Android 1.6 at a time when competitors were on 2.1. There was a great delay in the update of the firmware, due to the heavily skinned OS, as well as Timescape and Mediascape which needed to be reprogrammed every time an update was made. The phone also lacked pinch to zoom, but this was added later as well as HD video recording. The

X10 Mini The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini—also known as the E10i (international) or E10a (Americas)—is a smartphone by Sony Ericsson in the Xperia series. It is the second Sony Ericsson smartphone to run the Android operating system, and at the ti ...

and the

X10 Mini Pro The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini—also known as the E10i (international) or E10a (Americas)—is a smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users ...

were, as the names suggest, smaller versions of the X10. These were received relatively well and proved to be very popular, as there were no other smartphones on the market at that time which were as small as the two. The Z series smartphones continued the Xperia legacy with an omni-balance design and water resistance. On several Sony Xperia smartphones such as the

Xperia Z The Sony Xperia Z is an Android-based smartphone by Sony. Announced at CES 2013 the phone was officially released on 9 February 2013 in Japan and 1 March 2013 in Singapore and the UK. It was released in the U.S months later. The Xperia Z was in ...

, the

charging port Charging may refer to: * Charging (ice hockey), when a player takes more than three steps before checking an opposing player * Battery charger, a device used to put energy into a rechargeable battery * Charging station, a device used for recharging ...

is located at the top of the left edge, rather than popularly at the bottom center. The Xperia Z is the earliest known device to feature

high dynamic range High dynamic range (HDR), also known as wide dynamic range, extended dynamic range, or expanded dynamic range, is a signal with a higher dynamic range than usual. The term is often used in discussing the dynamic ranges of images, videos, audio o ...

filming, and does it at 1080p. Its image sensor is an

Exmor Exmor is a technology developed by Sony and implemented on some of their CMOS sensor, CMOS image sensors. It performs on-chip Analog-to-digital converter, analog/digital signal conversion and two-step noise reduction in parallel on each column ...

IMX135. After the

Sony Xperia Z The Sony Xperia Z is an Android-based smartphone by Sony. Announced at CES 2013 the phone was officially released on 9 February 2013 in Japan and 1 March 2013 in Singapore and the UK. It was released in the U.S months later. The Xperia Z was i ...

(early 2013), the Z1 (late 2013) was released with increased processing performance and a physical shutter button, as well as

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

camera effects such as a walking dinosaur. In early 2014, the

Sony Xperia Z2 The Sony Xperia Z2 is an Android-based smartphone unveiled, manufactured, and marketed by Sony and was released in April 2014. Under the codename "Sirius", Xperia Z2 serves as the successor to the Sony Xperia Z1. Like its predecessor, the Xperia ...

was introduced with

2160p 4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K UHD) with a 16:9 asp ...

video recording,

1080p 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the sc ...

at 60 frames per second, and

720p 720p (720 lines progressive) is a progressive HD signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HD (1.78:1). All major HD broadcasting standards (such as SMPTE 292M) includ ...

at 120fps for

slow motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slow-mo or slo-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use ...

, as well as precluded

screencast A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture or a screen recording, often containing audio narration. The term ''screencast'' compares with the related term ''screenshot''; whereas screenshot ...

ing functionality. In 2016, Sony introduced the new Xperia X series to replace the Z series and in 2018, Sony introduced the Sony Xperia XZ2 along with the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact at Mobile World Congress 2018 featuring Sony's brand new "Ambient Flow" smartphone design while the premium smartphone, the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium featuring a 4K HDR Display and a 19 MP + 12 MP MotionEye Dual camera built for 'extreme' low-light shooting was announced two months later. Sony has been criticized for the heavily inconsistent naming of their Xperia devices.

Default software

Software that comes preloaded on current (2023) Sony Xperia devices include: *

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, a music player * Music Pro, music recording with AI studio processing * Video Pro, "premium" video recording feature * Cinema Pro, "premium" video recording feature * PlayStation App, voice chat and PS Store integration * Creators' App, for imaging * Game Enhancer, improves gaming on Xperia * Bravia Core, Sony Pictures movies on demand service Several other stock software had existed in the past but are no longer made, including Xperia Lounge, Album, and Weather.

Sony Ericsson Xperia products

Smartphones (Windows Mobile)

Smartphones (Android)

Feature phones

Sony Xperia smartphones

Sony Xperia tablets

Sony Xperia smartwatches

Sony Xperia projectors

Sony Xperia robotic assistants

References

External links

Sony Mobile.com
– Sony Mobile official website
Developer WorldXperia Care – Global support
* {{Android tablets Products introduced in 2008 Sony smartphones

Xperia is a series of and the sole brand name of smartphones marketed by Sony. It also includes various related mobile hardware such as tablet computer, tablets as well as software. Xperia was originally developed by Sony Ericsson before becoming So ...