Sony Xperia M4 Aqua arrives with a splash: the new mid-ranger

Introduction

The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua has just made its official debut at MWC 2015. The water-proof Sony handset represent the new and modern, 2015 mid-ranger by one of the best accepted brands globally.

The focus in the Xperia M4 Aqua falls on its water-proof capabilities, as the handset features the beautiful omni-balance design language at a more affordable price point than the current Xperia Z3 flagship and features protection when immersed in water up to 5 feet (1.5-meter) for as long as 30 minutes.

There's more to the M4 Aqua than just its protection from the elements, so let's with the technical details.

Specs at a quick glance:

Platform: Android 5.0 Lollipop

System chip: Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core 64-bit chip

Camera: 13-megapixel rear with f/2 lens, 5MP selfie cam

Colors: White, Black, Coral, and Silver

Battery life: Two-day

Protection: IP65/8 rated

Design and display

The omnibalance design with a sturdy metal body and glass back from the Xperia Z3 makes a trip to the lower price tiers, where the Xperia M4 Aqua holds a comfortable position. The M4 Aqua is sleek and lightweight, tipping the scaled at just 4.8 oz (136g).

All of this is complemented with water protection certified with IP65/8 rating. What does that mean? When you make sure all protective flaps are closed you can easily take the M4 Aqua underwater at the swimming pool and take pictures as long as it's not immersed deeper than 5 feet for longer than 30 minutes.

Performance and processor

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 hums quietly under the hood of thte Xperia M4 Aqua. This remarkable piece of hardware is just a step down from the flagship-grade Snapdragon 810 system chip, but it's also an octa-core design and provides full 64-bit support. The CPU cores are stock ARM ones, and we expect benchmarks to put this handset not too far away from yesteryear's top devices in terms of performance.

With the improvements in Android 5.0 Lollipop, we expect to finally see 64-bit chips like the Snapdragon 615 truly shine.

Camera

Sony has equipped the M4 Aqua with a 13-megapixel camera with Superior Auto Mode that we've seen on the Xperia Z series. Superior Auto does exactly what it says - allows you to take great pictures without having to deal with any manual controls: just point and shoot. With the fast, f/2.0 lens combined with maximum ISO sensitivity boosted to 3200, the M4 Aqua also has powers to do very well in low-lit conditions.

The handset also features a 5-megapixel front cam for better, higher-res selfies.

Price and release date

The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua will arrive on store shelves this Spring in more than 80 countries (no word on U.S. availability, though) and 100 carriers with an official price tag of around $335 (299 euro) off contract.

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