A new Sony Xperia smartphone has appeared on Geekbench, touting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM and Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

The listing doesn't give away the phone's eventual name, but many are believing it to be an Xperia XZ1, and successor to 2016's Xperia XZ. However Sony laid out its smartphone plans earlier this year, and devices such as this one, were set to be dropped. 

Back in May, Sony told its investors that it would be dropping an entire line of "Premium Standard" phones, such as the Xperia X and Xperia X Compact. The move was intended to leave the true flagship devices, such as the Xperia XZ Premium and XZs for 2017.

Sony Could Be Working On An Xperia Xz1 Flagship Following Geekbench Listing image 2
Geekbench

But it seems Sony just can't help but produce more smartphones than it really needs to, and it's also possible that the XZ1 will be joined by a Compact version, too.

The model number of this device is G8341, while a second device with the model number G8441 has been spotted before. The G8441 is said to be the XZ1 Compact, and will also come with a Snapdragon 835 processor with 4GB of RAM. Where the two devices would differ is in their screen size.

We'd expect phones such as the XZ1 and XZ1 Compact to be "Premium Standard" phones, ones that sit just below the 'proper' flagships, just the type of phone that Sony said it was going to stop making.

If these phones do indeed exist, it's possible they'll be unveiled at IFA, as the company has confirmed it will be holding its pre-show launch on 31 August.