Sony’s next big phone might record 4K video, helping fill 4K content gap

Sony is going all-in with 4K video this year: It’s got 4K TVs, 4K video cameras, 4K content — and soon it may even have a smartphone that records 4K video.

If homemade kitten videos in Ultra HD doesn’t help goose the market for these ultra-high-resolution TVs, I don’t know what will.

Ultra HD, or 4K, video has approximately twice the vertical and horizontal resolution of current HD (or 1080p) screens, giving it four times as many pixels overall (3,840 x 2,160 pixels). That can make for extremely vivid, detailed imagery, especially on large screens or when you’re sitting really close to the TV. On smaller or further-away screens, your eye probably can’t tell the difference.

The big problem — and Sony knows it — is that there isn’t much 4K video out there yet. The company announced a multifaceted strategy for attacking the 4K problem earlier this month at International CES, a big electronics trade show. That plan includes creating more 4K content and providing more tools for everyone from amateurs to professional videographers to create 4K video.

(Read more on VentureBeat’s full coverage of CES 2014.)

Above: A settings panel in the operating system for what appears to be an upcoming Sony smartphone includes a 4K video setting.

Image Credit: Xperia Blog

The latest facet of its strategy appears to be the Xperia D6503, the company’s latest high-end Android phone. XperiaBlog, an enthusiast publication, took a look at the operating system for this phone and found some settings that suggest the phone will have the ability to record video at 4K resolution and high frame rates.

That’s not a conclusive indication that the phone will have this capability: It could be a setting meant for another phone, or XperiaBlog might not have the legitimate software for Sony’s phone. But it is a suggestive hint — and it fits in nicely with Sony’s other 4K plans.

We’ll have to wait until Sony announces the phone to confirm these details, however. That seems likely to happen at Mobile World Congress, another big trade show, happening in February in Barcelona.

Hat tip: Engadget