The Sony Xperia Z6 could be the phone we've all been waiting for

Xperia Z5
Are we about to say goodbye to OmniBalance?

Sony has stuck with it's boxy, bezel heavy design for years now - but we could finally be about to get a new chapter.

It's been all 'Omnibalance' for years, the current mix or metal edges and glass backs, but the company's smartphone fortunes have hardly been illustrious worldwide, so a change is needed.

According to a source speaking to cnBeta the Sony Xperia Z6 will have a new design, with metal playing a major role.

That would be good news, as Sony's current design, as seen on the Sony Xperia Z5, is getting a little tired.

Churning them out

That's not all that's been revealed though. According to the same source Sony will launch two new flagships next year. The first, which will presumably be the Xperia Z6, is set to land in June, with another, possibly the Xperia Z7, arriving in October.

That's a similar (ish) schedule to what the company is on now and flies in the face of earlier rumours that it would switch to one flagship launch each year. It would also mean we won't see any new Sony flagships at CES 2016 or MWC 2016.

While things may get freshened up with a new design on the Z6 it sounds like the Z7 could be just a small upgrade, with both phones apparently set to use a Snapdragon 820 processor.

For now, these are nothing more than rumours, but hopefully at least the redesign one ends up being true.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.