Sony Xperia SL new snaps show off samey Xperia S sequel

Snaps showing the upcoming Xperia SL in the wild have surfaced, giving us a glimpse of the follow-up to this year's Xperia S smart phone.

GSMArena was sent the images by an anonymous tipster, who seems to have confirmed the specifications of the Xperia SL as well, which look to match those we reported just yesterday. Don't get too excited though, because this smart phone is shaping up to be more of the same.

While Sony is yet to confirm details (or even the existence) of the Xperia SL, it's expected to be a beefed-up version of Sony's current Xperia S flagship, with the current model's 1.5GHz dual-core processor ramped up to a slightly more impressive 1.7GHz.

Other than that, the Xperia SL is set to mimic its predecessor with the fervour of an obsessive method actor. The chunky design remains the same, though leaked press shots suggest the SL will come in purple and pink options, while a 12-megapixel camera and 32GB of storage are also expected to make an appearance.

The display is set to be the same 4.3-inch affair that's found on the Xperia S. We were impressed with the panel on that earlier blower when we gave it the full review treatment, but the size is looking a smidge on the small side compared with the likes of the 4.8-inch Galaxy S3.

No Jelly Bean?

So far, so samey, but most dismaying of all are rumours that the Xperia SL will arrive running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, instead of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the newest version.

Jelly Bean has only just come out, so perhaps it's too soon to expect brand new software. But the Xperia S launched with Android 2.3 Gingerbread well after Ice Cream Sandwich had been released, and was only recently updated to that very software iteration. So I'm not confident the Xperia SL will be getting a nibble at Jelly Bean any time soon.

Last year's IFA trade show in Berlin saw Sony -- which is also cooking up an Xperia tablet -- unveiling the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, a faster version of the Xperia Arc. I'd expect the Xperia SL to debut at roughly the same time, which means we're likely to go hands-on with the SL at the end of this month.

Not long to wait, but will it be worth waiting for? Tell me if you think this is enough in the comments or on our Facebook wall.

Image credit: GSMArena