Sony’s next flagship Xperia smartphone is reportedly coming to Sprint

A lot changed at Sprint over the past few weeks, a new CEO, new service plans and phones from new hardware partners. It looks like that last item might continue being a trend going forward, as Reuters reports that the SoftBank-owned US wireless carrier is preparing to carry its first smartphone from Sony. The device in question is a “soon-to-be launched Xperia flagship,” which immediately makes us think of the rumored Z3.

Expected to be announced next week at IFA in Berlin, Sony’s new flagship will reportedly offer a 5.15-inch 1080p display, a 2.4GHz Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 20.4MP rear-facing camera. Historically, Sony hasn’t brought many of its smartphones to US carriers, with T-Mobile offering the Xperia Z1 and Verizon recently picking up the Xperia Z2 Tablet, the push to Sprint makes sense.

Sprint recently announced that it will exclusively carry Sharp’s AQUOS Crystal, another Japanese-related first for the wireless carrier. As Sprint tries to rebound from an unsuccessful acquisition of T-Mobile, the company may continue leaning on SoftBank’s relationships with different hardware manufacturers.