IT168 Review: Most of the current mobile phones adopt full touch screen design, so the screen has almost become the only medium for users to interact with the mobile phone. As for the width of the style, naturally the less the better. So we can see that mobile phones are developing in the direction of thinness, lightness and high screen-to-body ratio, but this has actually become two "shackles" in the industrial design of mobile phones. We can see that Meizu holds a lot of press conferences a year and releases a lot of mobile phones, but there is almost no recognition between each mobile phone, resulting in serious aesthetic fatigue among consumers.

Faced with such industry trends, some manufacturers choose to attract consumers through emerging technologies produced through cross-border cooperation, while others win consumers' attention by changing the color or material of the fuselage. The former includes the dual-camera technology developed by Huawei and Leica; the customized audio technology developed by Coolpad and Harman Kardon, etc. The latter includes a series of black gold, aurora blue, ceramic white and other versions customized by Nubia for its flagship phone Z11, as well as OPPO’s latest red and black color version of the R9s. But when it comes to taking both into account and bringing consumers a refreshing experience, there are not many manufacturers. The first mobile phone manufacturer that comes to my mind is Sony.

Sony’s latest flagship mobile phone Xperia The double-sided glass has been replaced by a metal back cover, which is like a completely new model. For such a heavyweight product, it naturally has multiple selling points, such as triple image sensing technology, five-axis anti-shake, battery protection, IP68 dustproof and waterproof, etc. In this article, the author mainly talks to you about its body material ALKALEIDO?, which is magnesium-lithium aluminum alloy.

Transforming from glass to metal

In fact, everyone knows that Sony is best at playing with glass. The frosted glass of Sony Xperia Z5 and the mirror glass of Z5 Premium Edition are both unforgettable. Now that you have switched to metal, can you bring anything different to the mobile phone industry? The answer must be yes.

As we all know, HTC is the most famous for making mobile phones with metal bodies. Whether it is the fledgling HTC One or the pinnacle HTC One M8, their appearances are enough to amaze people. With the continuous evolution of metal technology, the technical threshold is gradually lowered, allowing metal-body mobile phones that were originally only available in flagship phones to be used in the thousand-yuan phone market.

▲Sony Xperia Z5

With the depreciation of metal craftsmanship, many manufacturers have begun to explore ceramic materials. Is Sony's entry into the metal camp at this time a bit of a loss for itself?

So-called mobile phones with metal bodies are basically made of aluminum alloy metal, because aluminum itself is very light and is suitable for use in the field of consumer electronics. However, although aluminum is light, it is also soft and easily oxidized, so all metal alloys used in mobile phones are metal alloys. In fact, the metal material is well known to everyone thanks to the iPhone’s “bending door”.

▲iPhone “bending door”

The 6000 aluminum used in iPhone6/iPhone6 ??Plus is not hard enough and can be easily bent, resulting in constant complaints from netizens on the Internet . Apple also learned its lesson in time and used 7000 aluminum on the iPhone 6s/6s Plus, which has greatly improved its hardness compared to the previous generation. However, high hardness is a double-edged sword. Although it is not easy to bend when used by users, it is also more difficult to process and the manufacturing cost also increases. In addition, poor corrosion resistance is also a major shortcoming. Many netizens have reported that the surface of their iPhones has been oxidized, which greatly affects the appearance. Furthermore, the surface adhesion ability of 7000 aluminum is poor, which will also affect its final coloring process.

Refreshing ALKALEIDO? material

The body material used by Sony Xperia XZ is different from that of ordinary mobile phones. It is a magnesium aluminum lithium alloy. It is officially called ALKALEIDO? and registered. trademark. This material is not only thin but also has better stability and thermal conductivity. Since Xperia XZ is a waterproof mobile phone, users will definitely come into contact with water frequently during use. Therefore, there are extremely high requirements for the oxidation resistance of metals, and ensuring good stability must be the first priority.

▲Sony Xperia not easy to bend) and enhance the corrosion resistance of the alloy. Magnesium often appears in the metal body of mobile phones, mainly because magnesium-aluminum alloys can meet the requirements of mobile phones for high integration, thinness, miniaturization, impact resistance, electromagnetic shielding and heat dissipation.

What is more special is that after the magnesium-lithium aluminum alloy back cover of Sony Xperia XZ has been sandblasted and polished, its surface has a very high metallic gloss, even comparable to that of a glass body, and is not susceptible to fingerprints.

▲Sony Xperia XZ (liquid silver, deep powder)

Since you have chosen a metal body, in order to ensure good overflow of wireless signals, it is necessary to leave an opening. Currently, there are basically only two solutions on the market to solve the signal problem of mobile phones with metal bodies. One is a three-section body, with the middle of the back panel made of metal and the upper and lower ends made of plastic. The second is to use nano-injection molding technology to put two "white strips" on the back panel of the mobile phone. There are also micro-slit antennas similar to OPPO R9s, but they are also based on the evolution of nano-injection molding technology. They are essentially designed to provide an outlet for wireless signals.

Sony Xperia XZ designs the antenna overflow port at the bottom of the fuselage. It should be called a two-stage fuselage, which is an improvement of the three-stage fuselage. Adding plastic material to the back cover of the fuselage is actually not common on high-end mobile phones, mainly because it is difficult for the two materials of metal and plastic to be completely consistent in color. But we can see that on the Xperia XZ mobile phone, Sony has handled it very well. The color difference between the two materials is not obvious, and there is still a high degree of integration. At the same time, it has also launched Liquid Silver, Phantom Black, and Silent Blue. , deep powder four colors.

▲Sony Xperia XZ (Phantom Black, Silent Blue)

Although Sony’s transformation in body material this time has certain risks, it will dismay those who once loved glass bodies. Have regrets. But whether judging from the results of JD.com’s crowdfunding or overall market feedback, consumers are still happy to accept Sony’s changes.