Leaked images of possible Sony Xperia 2 flagship smartphone show relocated camera setup

A few pictures of a mysterious Sony Xperia smartphone have been published on XperiaBlog. The images show the front and rear of the device, which exhibits the familiar straight edges and tall, narrow frame of the current flagship Xperia 1. The right-hand side of the smartphone shows three hardware buttons, which are likely to be the volume rocker, power button (with integrated fingerprint sensor), and the dedicated camera shutter button that the OEM is known for.

The most notable difference between the smartphone in the leaked images and the Sony Xperia 1 is the placement of the rear-facing camera setup. The current flagship has a triple lens system occupying the top center of its rear, whereas the Xperia device in the pictures below features the camera module tucked neatly into the top left-hand corner. Obviously, the photos don’t reveal anything about the smartphone’s internal hardware.

Although some speculation has suggested that the device could be the Sony Xperia 2, with the Xperia 1 only being first released at the end of May, it seems a bit premature for the OEM to already launch a successor. However, there is some expectation that Sony will reveal another flagship smartphone at IFA 2019 in September. If the device in the images isn't the Xperia 2, then it's possible it could be either a 5G variant of the Xperia 1 or even a trimmed-down model (a "compact" version).