Sony has just announced the follow-up to its flagship device, the... why does it feel like I've written this story before? Oh, because I have. So a month after making its Xperia Z4 official in Japan, Sony is taking that device and releasing it with a more appropriate name for the global market: Xperia Z3+. Let's face it, the changes compared to the Z3 are minimal enough not to warrant a full number increase, so the switch back to the Z3+ is more honest on the company's behalf.

On the outside, the Z3+ looks almost exactly like the Z3, give or take a few slots and speaker grill placements. The most significant improvement is in the MicroUSB port, which is capless, despite the device being waterproof. Finally Sony figured out how to keep its phones' IP ratings without requiring you to fiddle with a port cap every time you want to charge them.

At 6.9mm, the Z3+ is also slimmer than the Z3, but with a smaller 2930mAh battery (it was 3100mAh on the Z3). It does, however, have Qualcomm's QuickCharge 2.0 for faster charging. The Z3+ keeps most of its predecessor's inside specs as well: a 5.2" 1080p display, 3GB of RAM, 20.7MP camera (with a new ISO12800 sensitivity), and plenty of connectivity options. The processor has switched from the Snapdragon 801 to the 810, the front camera has gone from a meagre 2.2MP sensor to a 5MP shooter with wide-angle and digital stabilization, and the default storage option is 32GB instead of 16GB. In addition, two variants of the Z3+ will be available: a single SIM one that supports LTE Cat 6 a dual SIM one with LTE Cat 4.

Like its Japanese counterpart, the Xperia Z3+ will run Lollipop 5.0 out of the box and will be available this summer in white, black, copper, and aqua green with no word on pricing, supported operators, or exact country release dates.