Rare Sony Xperia AG-1 5G smartphone prototype turns up for sale in Ukraine

An interesting Sony Xperia prototype is currently available for sale on OLX, with the seller being based in Ukraine. As spotted and shared by u/Godlike_Player on Reddit, the device is shown off in a series of images (posted below) to prove its veracity. The “Sony” and “Xperia” logos are clearly visible, the phone sports a very similar form to the Xperia 1, and the telltale “5G mmWave” logo reveals what the device is and where it was originally exhibited.

The seller lists the phone as a “Sony Xperia 1s”, but as stated in our report from 2019, the 5G smartphone was known as the “AG-1” to staff at Sony. The prototype appeared at the Mobile World Congress event back in 2019, with Pocket-lint reporting that few details about the device were available. However, it was noted that it ran on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 SoC and utilized the X50 modem. As can be seen in the images, the Xperia AG-1 has a distinctive form thanks to the 21:9 display ratio that used to be found in the Xperia 1 range until the Xperia 1 VI (curr. available on Amazon) was released with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio.

Apparently, the longer form also allowed the prototype Xperia 5G phone to contain “specialized mmWave antennas”, although it seems Sony decided this specialist device wouldn’t do well in the global market. Now this unit has appeared in Ukraine, with the seller wanting 9,999 Hryvnia for the phone. This is actually quite an offer for Xperia fans who might want to own a piece of Sony Mobile's history, as the price translates to around $240, €230, or £190 at current exchange rates. The Xperia AG-1/1s appears to be in working order and in good condition, and the seller has positive ratings.