Sony has been pushing out water-resistant phones for their high-end Xperia range for the past two years. The Japanese company has been one of the only manufacturers to really push the water-proof feature, and now it is coming to a mid-range device.
The Xperia M2 Aqua will be the first mid-ranger to arrive with waterproof specs, the highest Sony has ever shipped with an IP65/68 certificate. The M2 Aqua is the successor to the Xperia M2, another phone “for everyone” that tackled the outdoors.
Sony will retain the OmniBalance glass design for the Xperia M2 Aqua, this means glass on the front and back of the device. All of the holes and ports will be sealed to avoid water damage, though Sony still has set rules for how long the phone should be underwater.
Specifications on the phone are not the best, but look decent enough for a mid-ranger. The 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 2GB of RAM and 2300mAh battery will be inside the device, along with 4G LTE capabilities.
The display is less than ideal, a 4.8-inch 540 x 960 qHD panel. Sony has not had the best success when it comes to color reproduction, especially when using water-proof plastic over the glass front. The Xperia Z1 was notorious for bad color reproduction, looking way too dark.
Sony is definitely eyeing up the market that see waterproof smartphones as more than just a gimmick. In Japan, this sort of technology is almost mandatory for most consumers, with Sony, Samsung and other manufacturers creating specific phones for that region.
The tagline “for everyone” hints at the possibility for the Xperia M2 Aqua going international.
Source: Sony
