Best new phones 2016 Sony Xperia Z6

Sony turned it all around with the Xperia Z5, making up for the lacklustre Sony Xperia Z3+ with a far more stable phone. It also benefited from one of the best fingerprint scanners we've seen on a handset and a camera upgrade that made for much clearer photos.

Yet we can't help but feel that Sony could have done even more. There are still missing features and undercooked specs and there's only so many times the company can wheel out essentially the same design, even if it has been increasingly polished.

It's a tough market right now too. If Sony wants to sway people away from the Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5, HTC 10 - and the upcoming iPhone 7 - it needs to make the very best phone it can.

But making the best phone it can might mean ditching the Z line altogether, as Sony currently seems a lot more focused on the Xperia X range and it's unclear whether we'll get a Sony Xperia Z6 at all.


Cut to the chase

What is it? Sony's next Z-branded flagship
When is it out? Not before late 2016, if it launches at all
What will it cost? It'll be expensive, it's a flagship after all
Sony Xperia Z6 or Xperia X?

The Xperia Z6 is a confusing situation. Sony took to the stage at Mobile World Congress 2016 to announce three new phones; the Xperia X, Xperia XA and Xperia X Performance. The eagled eyed among you will note none of that trio bears the Z6 moniker.

The phones feature premium specs, with the Xperia X boasting a fingerprint scanner and a 23MP rear facing camera much like the Xperia Z5 - but the assumption is they will slide in below the flagship Z line. Or so we thought.

Sony didn't confirm whether these are its new flagship devices - thus killing off the Xperia Z6 and the Z line - and since the launch it's not exactly made the situation any clearer.