Sony has today announced the Xperia SL a couple of weeks ahead of its expected announced at IFA in Germany. The Xperia SL is a minor upgrade over the current Xperia S flagship, offering a slightly faster chipset and seemingly not much else.
The dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor is now clocked at 1.7 GHz, up from 1.5 GHz. Many people, including myself, would've preferred to see a more powerful chipset but it should be enough for most. Furthermore the Xperia SL will likely be more of a mid-range phone once Sony announces its new flagship later this month.
For the record, there is also a 4.3 inch display with a 1280×720 resolution, 32 GB of non-expandable storage and 1 GB of RAM. It has a 12.1 MP rear camera with 1080p video recording and a 1.3 MP front facing sensor. Software wise, it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and one would expect an update to Jelly Bean is on its way.
The 144 gram shell is identical to its predecessor and will be offered in a new pink colour, as well as black, grey and white. We don't know where it will be available or how much it'll cost but we should find this out at its more formal unveiling on August 29th.
KitGuru says: The Xperia SL is highly unlikely to retain the flagship status so expect a new flagship Sony to be shown at IFA.