With the release of Samsung's next flagship the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, and the looming rumoured release of Apple's new products, it is inevitable that tech giant Sony is also scrambling to release their next Xperia smartphone.

How would the rumoured next in line fare with its predecessor, the Xperia Z3?

Design

In terms of design, both the Z3 and Z4 would be alike in many ways, since Sony has already made the form factor for most Xperia phones the same in each version. Relatively unchanged would be the slim bezels and waterproofing features.

Display

The new Z4's display will be much brighter than its predecessor, since the upcoming phone will have a QHD screen. Those who will note that it might lessen the battery life will be assured that even if the Z4 will come out with the same 3100 mAh battery like the Z3, the new phone's 810 processor will work efficiently to conserve power. Moreover, the new z4 will still retain its 5.2-inch display, but this time encasing it in a Corning Gorilla Glass 4.

Camera

One of the features which makes Sony handsets stand out is its camera. In the Xperia Z3, users were thrilled to have a 20.7 MP shooter that can capture HDR and ultra HD videos. Observers note that this same camera may be retained for the new Z4, but with upgraded Exmor features such as an additional autofocus points, much reduced noise, and much clearer details.

Processor and software

The new Z4 is expected to take a whole leap over the Z3's 801 chipset by using the new Snapdragon 810 processor, in a 64-bit architecture. However, the RAM would still be the same at 3 GB. Also, the new Z4 would come with native Lollipop on board, to take advantage of the new Android's Voice over LTE (VoLTE) features.