Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium going up for pre-orders July 9

Amazon and Best Buy will begin pre-sales for the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium from July 9 with a suggested retail price of $999.99.

Sony remains the only major manufacturer to consistently release a smartphone with a 4K HDR display. The Xperia Z5 Premium started the 4K side of things back in 2015 with a price tag of about $800. This continued with the new HDR-enhanced Xperia XZ Premium in 2017, priced also at $800. That makes this update, incredibly, the first one to feature a price hike and a 25 percent increase at that.

Perhaps the company is hoping that a new design language and a beefed-up camera will bring things to a new level with consumers, but that remains to be seen.

For Amazon pre-order customers, reservations also come with a free pair of Sony’s new Xperia Ear Duo devices — earbuds that don’t rest in the canal but direct audio through it, leaving wearers open to hear the outside world.

First shipments will officially start on July 30.