MWC 2017 | Sony Xperia XZ Premium named best new smartphone at MWC

GSM Association has awarded the Sony Xperia XZ Premium with the title of the “best new smartphone or connected mobile device at MW 2017” in what has been described as an unexpected choice. It has been some years since Sony produced something that was this impressive, with expectations for Sony Mobile at such events being generally low. The XZ Premium won out over Nokia’s devices, Moto G5 and G5 Plus, the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus, BlackBerry KEYone, and some Samsung tablets also vying for the same title.

Unlike Sony's usual iterative flagship phones and overpriced devices aimed at the budget market, the Xperia XZ Premium managed to drum up excitement at the event with its camera arrangement, 4K HDR screen protected by Gorilla Glass 5, 4GB RAM, fingerprint scanner and the top-tier Snapdragon 835 chipset. Technically, the XZ Premium will be the world’s first commercial Snapdragon 835 phone, stealing some of the Samsung Galaxy S8’s thunder.

Critics found a lot to, other than the lack of information about pricing on the device, which is expected to be substantial. LG, who many were saying would be the primary competitor to the Samsung Galaxy S8, was a little caught off-guard by how appealing the Xperia XZ Premium looks, despite how it didn’t opt for the current bezel-less trend.