Sony Xperia X Performance leads the pack with power and waterproofing (hands-on)

Sony has taken the wraps off three models in its new Xperia X series of smartphones here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. They are the Xperia X, the XA and the X Performance, which we're looking at here.

The Performance, as you might have guessed from the name, is the top-end model in the range -- although it hasn't yet been priced -- thanks to the more burly specs shoved inside by Sony. It's packing Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor, a quad-core chip backed up by 3GB of RAM. That puts it neatly above its two X-range siblings, which pack lower-powered chips.

Sony's waterproof Xperia X Performance comes wrapped in metal (pictures)

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The other thing the Performance has over the other X models? Waterproofing. I was very disappointed that the X and XA don't have waterproof designs -- something I've come to expect of all of Sony's Xperia line -- so it's a relief to see it on at least one out of the three. X Performance owners can rest easy around swimming pools, sinister children with water pistols or clumsy friends chugging beer.

The Performance's specs are otherwise pretty much on par with the standard Xperia X -- they both have 5-inch, full HD displays, both have 23-megapixel rear cameras, 13-megapixel front cameras and both run the latest Android Marshmallow software. There's 16GB of storage and you can slot in a microSD card too.

There's no word on pricing as yet, and Sony has been vague on exactly where it's going on sale. Although it originally told me it was set to be an "Asia-only phone", it's since said it'll be heading to the US. In Australia Sony says local availability will be revealed "at a later date". We'll keep you updated if we hear any more about where this phone might end up.