Xperia PRO finally nears release, as firmware hits servers

The Sony Xperia PRO was announced at the same time as the Xperia 1 II (Mark 2) back in February last year. Sony targeted the handset towards videography and photography content professionals – while the handset carried mostly the same specs as the Xperia 1 II, it came with a number of extras.

This included a HDMI micro connector (Type D) to allow direct camera connectivity, support for 5G mmWave, a dedicated shortcut key to quick launch certain apps and a 360-degree antenna design for optimal signal strength.

The Xperia PRO was always earmarked to launch in only one region – the United States, and we’ve not heard anything to change that since it was first announced. No official launch date was ever communicated, however given it was announced in February last year there was an expectation that it would appear at some point in 2020.

However, 2020 has come and gone and there is still no official news on the Xperia PRO. No announcements, no pre-orders, nothing. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has likely disrupted plans, but even in spite of this, we did wonder if Sony would now bother with the launch given that newer phones with updated chipsets will shortly launch.

It does indeed look like that Sony will be launching the handset in the US shortly. The firmware for the Xperia PRO (XQ-AQ62) recently appeared on Sony’s public servers, highlighting US specific firmware with build number 58.0.A.9.116. This firmware is based on Android 10 and comes with the September 2020 Android security patches.

Normally when a firmware hits Sony’s servers for a new device, a launch is typically within a weeks away. Right now there are still no pre-orders available, and according to the official product page it will be “available soon” – which is unchanged for months. Hopefully, we will see this change shortly. We don’t know how Sony plans to distribute the product, particularly given its likely niche audience. We’ll let you know once it goes up for sale.

Thanks Sarante!

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p class=”post_tags”>Tagged as: Xperia PRO 2020