Sony's Xperia 1 will reportedly replace its flagship XZ smartphone range

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The rumors and leaks have begun to intensify in the lead up to Sony's showing at MWC 2019, with the most recent one pointing towards a Sony Xperia XZ4 with a very tall screen.

While that design still seems to be on the cards, the company is reportedly planning to drop its XZ naming scheme, opting instead to rebrand the upcoming flagship handset as the Sony Xperia 1, according to a new tweet from trusted leaker Evan Blass. 

• Sony's next flagship smartphone may sport a Snapdragon 855 processor
• That tall screen? It's reportedly a wide screen display for watching films
• Sony's mid-range XA3 could also be getting a cinematic 21:9 display

Along with the device's apparent new moniker, Blass has also included a high quality render of the supposed handset, revealing the previously reported triple camera setup on the phone's rear and a stylish purple finish.

http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EZ9tyFC2LS3rvr2UM6vXnk.jpg

Image credit: Evan Blass

The phone's rumored 21:9 'CinemaWide' display is present and accounted for in the leaked image, and we can also see a series of side-mounted buttons.

We can assume the buttons on the top half of the device are its volume rocker and a combined fingerprint scanner/power button, but the ones on the lower half are more mysterious – could we be looking at dedicated buttons for an AI assistant and camera shutter?

Of course, we expect everything to be properly revealed by Sony as its MWC press conference, which is scheduled for February 25.

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