Sony has no intentions of slowing down following its successes over the past year. A study shows that PlayStation dominated TV advertising impressions at the start of 2021. However, Sony recently released a phone with a crazy-high price tag specifically due to its built-in HDMI port.

Sony is primarily known today for its grip on the gaming market, although they have a shaky history when it comes to smartphones. Back in 2015, Sony announced it was shifting its focus to the PlayStation brand, partly due to massive competition from the likes of Apple and Samsung in the mobile market. Despite this, Sony kept a hand in smartphone development, steadily releasing phones as part of its Sony Xperia mobile lineup.

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With the release of the Sony Xperia Pro, the company mostly revisited its 2020 flagship, the $1,300 Xperia 1 II. They share a lot of the same aspects, including the same display and processor, as well as sharing a camera and battery. The Xperia Pro has slightly more RAM and storage along with 5G compatibility, with the HDMI port being responsible for the shockingly high price - a whopping $2,500.

The most interesting fact regarding the HDMI port is that it's designed for input rather than output. With this, it appears that Sony is aiming toward content creators and filmmakers, suggesting that users can hook up the camera they use to their phone as a display screen, or for high-quality livestreaming. There are better, cheaper loopholes that utilize software and other inexpensive tools to achieve a similar result, though those that can afford the high price may appreciate how straightforward it appears.

The Sony Xperia Pro is far from being the first smartphone with such a high price tag. A few phones on the market carry price tags over $2,000 due to their experimental features, such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Unlike the Fold, the Xperia Pro cannot be compacted, nor does it have any additional displays. Because of this, the phone is essentially the same as its previous version, just with the addition of the HDMI port.

HDMI ports in phones isn't entirely a new concept, as manufacturers experimented with them as early as the 2010s. However, as these were HDMI output ports, they died out with the introduction of modern casting technology like Chromecast. The Sony Xperia Pro has more of a niche audience, meaning it may still see ample success among the right communities.

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Source: GameSpot