Sony Xperia A4 With 20.7-Megapixel Camera, Android 5.0 Lollipop Launched

Sony last month launched the Xperia Z4 in Japan, forgoing the fanfare of a flagship launch, and with no word on the global availability. Now, the company has launched the Xperia A4 for the Japanese carrier NTT Docomo.

Notably, the new Sony Xperia A4 features nearly identical specifications as the Xperia Z3 Compact, launched last year. The Xperia A4 (SO-04G) will come in Grey, Pink, Blue and White colours. It is currently available for pre-orders via NTT Docomoand will start shipping mid-June. So far no pricing details have been announced for the handset.

The single-SIM Xperia A4, unlike the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, runs Android 5.0 Lollipop out-of-the-box. It features a 4.6-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) Triluminos display with X-Reality engine. Like most of Sony's recent top-end smartphone launches, the Xperia A4 features IP65/IP68 ratings for dust-proof and waterproof certification.

(Also see: Sony Xperia A4 vs. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact)

It features a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC with Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM. It packs a 20.7-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and Exmor RS sensor apart from a 2.2-megapixel front facing camera, just like the Sony Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact.

The internal storage on the handset is 16GB, which can be expanded via microSD card (up to 128GB). Much like the Xperia Z3 Compact, it packs 2600mAh battery.

Connectivity options on the Xperia A4 include Wi-Fi, FM radio with RDS, Bluetooth 4.0, GPRS/ EDGE, A-GPS, 3G, 4G LTE, 3.5mm audio jack, and Micro-USB. The smartphone measures 128x66x9.1mm while the Xperia Z3 Compact comes with 127.3x64.9x8.64mm dimensions. Both phones weigh 129 grams.