A RECEPTIONIST SPEAKS ON A PHONE UNDER A SONY CORP LOGO AT THE COMPANY'S HEADQUARTERS IN TOKYO
A receptionist speaks on a phone under a Sony Corp logo at the company's headquarters in Tokyo, in this file picture taken February 6, 2014. Sponsors Adidas, Sony, Visa and Coca-Cola on June 8, 2014 called on soccer's rulers to deal thoroughly with allegations of bribery to secure the 2022 World Cup for Qatar, an issue overshadowing this week's kickoff in Brazil. Reuters

Images of the next Sony flagship smartphone device, the Xperia Z3 has made it to the online world, sparking wild speculation as to what new features it would be packed with. From the looks of it though, the upcoming Z3 continues with the same design theme as its immediate predecessor the Z2 except for its curved edges. Interestingly, Apple too has gone for a somewhat curved edge with its next iPhone 6.

The images that first made its online debut in a few Chinese sites such as Digi-wo also reveal what can be said as the return of the dedicated camera button for the Z3. Then there are also the flaps covering the micro USB, micro SIM and microSD card slot.

Sony also seems to have new thoughts with the smartphone's music credentials as exemplified with the relocation of the speaker grill to the left side of the device. However, it might not be a stereo speaker this time for the Z3, speculates XperiaBlog considering its just a singlespeaker the device now sports. Sony has always been the one to harp on the music capabilities of its devices and experts wonder if there is a surprise awaiting us on this front from Sony.

As for its specs, the Z3 is least expected to offer anything too radical, speculated Xperia Blog. Rather, it could be incremental improvements that Sony might have planned for its next flagship. These include the addition of the Snapdragon 805 chip which though is not expected to offer any huge performance boost over the Snapdragon 801 that powers the current Xperia Z2. An Adreno 330 GPU is also in the picture to take care of graphic files.

Also, it will be the same 5.2 inch sized display upfront though the toss here could be between either HD or QHD display. Leaked images also reveal it's a 20.7 megapixel rear shooter that the Z3 will come with much like the Z2. As for its OS, it could again be a toss between Android 4.4 KitKat or Android L considering the device is expected to be launched later in the year. In any case, Sony is expected to come clean with the X3 during the IFA event in September.