Why it matters: 2019 is poised to be the year that smartphone form factors radically change. From foldable devices and handsets with unusual aspect ratios to creations we haven't even seen yet, how we interact with smartphones is shifting rapidly.

Sony hasn't had much luck in differentiating itself from the plethora of other Android smartphone makers vying for your hard-earned dollars. At Mobile World Congress 2019, however, the company is mixing things up a bit in hopes of attracting some new eyeballs.

The new flagship Xperia 1 turns to Sony's filmmaking heritage for inspiration. Front and center is a 6.5-inch, 4K HDR OLED display with a 21:9 CinemaWide aspect ratio that Sony says delivers a "viewing experience that's true to what creators envisioned."

"The display, together with originally developed image processing, supports wide colour space ITU-R BT.2020 as well as DCI-P3 with Illuminant D65."

Powering the Xperia 1 is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 SoC alongside 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage that's expandable via micro SDXC card support.

Around back is a triple lens camera system comprised of three 12-megapixel shooters - a 26mm f/1.6 lens, a 16mm f/2.4 lens and a 52mm f/2.4 lens. Up front, you get a single 8-megapixel shooter with f/2.0 aperture lens and an 84-degree field of view. It's all powered by a 3,300mAh battery with fast charging technology and Android 9 Pie.

Sony's new Xperia 1 is an unusually tall handset that should look great playing back supported cinematic content. Sony is also putting an emphasis on multitasking with the ability to pin an app at the top of the screen while using the lower section to display a "full-size" app as you normally would on other phones.

Sony intends to ship the Xperia 1 this spring. No word yet on potential pricing.