Sony Xperia XZ3 is an expensive treat for your eyes

As expected, Sony is heading to IFA 2018 with a new flagship in tow. Today the company officially announced the Xperia XZ3, and it's pretty much what we expected given the sheer number of leaks leading up to this reveal. Still, even though we knew about most of the phone's specifications heading into today's announcement, there might be a few surprising features left to learn about.

If you've been following the rumors, then the XZ3 is going to look instantly familiar. Some of the leaks we saw seem to have been right on the money as far as aesthetics ate concerned, with the XZ3 sporting a borderless design and a display that spans pretty much the entire width of the phone. That 6-inch OLED display outputs at QHD+ resolution (1440 x 2880) and supports HDR as well, so it sounds like it'll look great.

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 845, further cementing its status as a flagship device. As we've heard a few times before, Sony is opting for a single lens 19MP camera around the back, which uses the company's Motion Eye technology to capture 4K HDR videos and 1080p slow motion videos that record at 960fps. It'll also use AI to launch the camera when you hold the phone up in landscape mode – a useful feature that sounds like it might have the potential to be at least somewhat annoying.

Around the front, we'll find a 13MP camera, and the whole device will run on a 3,300mAh battery. Other noteworthy specs include 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and Android 9 Pie out of the box, which is always wonderful to see. One of the XZ3's more interesting features is called Side Sense, which pulls up a list of frequently-used apps whenever you double tap on either side of the phone.

Sony says that the XZ3 will be available globally beginning at the end of September, but unfortunately it doesn't get more specific than that. CNET, on the other hand, says that pre-orders will open up here in the US on September 24, with launch currently scheduled for October 17. The XZ3 will also apparently cost $900, so this trend of super expensive flagships isn't going to end with Sony.