Sony MWC 2019 teaser confirms CinemaWide 21:9 display

Sony’s smartphones haven’t generated much hype for a few years now, hinting at the brand’s declining popularity. Once notorious for having the worst leakage problem among OEMs, it almost seemed that tipsters and leaksters have lost interest in Sony’s upcoming phones. This year could be different, though, mostly thanks to Sony weird design choice. And thanks to its own official teaser for MWC 2019, we can now indeed expect its next smartphones to have ultra-wide, or ultra-tall, screens.

Sony tells everyone willing to listen to “embrace a new perspective”. The video that accompanied that exhortation is pretty simple, just a flowing gradient of colors that could hint at the design that will land on the next Xperia phones’ backs. The video then zooms out to show a wide rectangle and the details for the company’s press event on the 25th.

Naturally, this has been taken as a confirmation of Sony’s newly trademarked “CineaWide” display, a marketing name for the already existing ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio. Of course, that form has mostly been limited to monitors but Sony believes it’s time for phones to have that, too.

Whether that new perspective will make a significant difference is still an open question, but Sony has always tried to stay ahead in displays. It is, after all, the first and so far only OEM to put a 4K display on a phone. The 21:9 screen will make the phone freakishly tall, though, which might not bode well for usability.

The question now is which phones will get this CinemaWide screen. Leaks have all pointed to the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus as the first ones, but there were also older whispers of an Xperia XZ4 in the works. If you’re at all curious, then stay tuned for Sony’s MWC 2019 announcement on February 25 at 8:45 a.m. CET (2:45 a.m. ET).