Earlier today, UK retail giant Dixons Carphone said that its smartphone sales had been hit by a lack of innovation in the mobile sector, which has caused more owners to "hold on to their devices for longer". There seems to be a growing perception among potential buyers that handset design is stagnating, and that new devices offer little more than their current devices already provide.
Given that various manufacturers have at least been trying to be more creative with their designs - such as Samsung, with its dual-curved displays - you"d think that Sony would be ready to give its handsets a bold new look to grab the attentions of increasingly disinterested buyers.
But leaked images of Sony"s new Xperia XZ1 flagship show that the company is doing nothing of the sort. Its new range-topper looks remarkably similar to its predecessor, which didn"t exactly rock the boat with its design compared with previous Sony flagships.
Incredibly, the XZ1 still has huge bezels - particularly above and below the display - which make it look embarrassingly old-fashioned alongside the likes of the new Galaxy Note8, LG G6, and Essential Phone.
After years of iterative iPhone designs, even Apple is expected to be shaking things up with its new handset design. Google"s new Pixel XL 2 is also believed to be following the same large-screen-small-body formula, although the smaller new Pixel, manufactured by HTC, seems likely to have similarly large bezels to the XZ1.
The Xperia XZ1 is rumored to feature a Snapdragon 835 processor, along with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage - all pretty standard fare for an Android range-topper these days.
But those bezels. Good lord, those bezels.
Source and images: Roland Quandt (@rquandt) / XperiaBlog