The world's first HDMI-equipped smartphone is coming to Europe. The Sony Xperia Pro – which has an HDMI input – launched in the US and Japan in January, and is now available to preorder in the UK, Germany and the Nordic countries.
It's aimed at creative professionals looking to "streamline their workflow". In other words, you can hook it up to your pro-grade camera or video camera and use it as an external monitor. And because it has 5G connectivity, you can livestream or upload snaps and vids straight to a website or social network of your choosing, wherever you are (as long as you have signal).
Just keep an eye on your data usage, as big file sizes will eat through it in no time.
The dedicated External Monitor mode gives you a screen lock function, screen brightness adjustment, zoom capabilities, adjustable grid lines and more. The 6.5in display is a lot bigger than most camera's screens, and because it's a 4K OLED it should be nice and bright and clear, so it should provide lots more detail.
The Xperia Pro has the same cameras as the awesome Xperia 1 II – currently sitting pretty atop our list of best smartphones for movies and music. And you know what they say, the best camera is the one that's always with you.
Its screen also has the same 21:9 aspect ratio, making it better for watching movies. Fire up its creator mode and you'll have a specially calibrated D65 white point, referencing the colour reproduction of Sony's professional colour monitors. So colours should be on point.
And it should last you out in the field, with IP65/68 water- and dust-resistance and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on the front.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chip will keep things moving nicely, and the 4000mAh battery is equipped for fast charging.
But such power and connectivity doesn't come cheap. In the UK, the Xperia Pro costs £2299 – that's over twice the price of the Xperia 1 II. It goes on sale next week
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