The Sony Xperia 5 smartphone lets you play Fortnite with a PS4 controller

Sony unveiled Thursday its new smartphone, the Xperia 5, which works with a PlayStation wireless controller for mobile games.

The Japanese tech giant's new device is a compact version of Xperia 1 from last year and comes with the same 21: 9 format screen as the one used to watch movies. It has a 6.1-inch screen, while the Xperia 1 came with a 6.5-inch panel.

Sony's senior vice president, Shigeki Ishizuka, explained at a press conference in Berlin that users would be able to connect the Xperia 5 to a PlayStation DualShock 4 wireless controller.

Ishizuka added that the phone would work with the famous "Fortnite" Royal Battle Game of Epic Games. "We are excited to see the growing trend of esport evolving into the mobile space," he said, adding that controller support would also be added to Xperia 1.

The company said last year that she was working with developer Fortnite and other companies to offer 21: 9 video game experiences.

Sony had previously offered DualShock compatibility with its Xperia phones, but not for the Xperia 1. Sony said wireless controller support would be added to this device via a software update.

The new phone will be available in four colors – black, white, blue and magenta – and will be available in Europe in October. A spokesman told CNBC that the phone would cost £ 699 ($ ​​863), making it cheaper than its predecessor.

Smartphone manufacturers have struggled to find ways to encourage consumers to buy their new versions because it has been proven that market stalls and people keep their phones longer. The industry is trying to innovate in the field of folding screens. Samsung and Huawei, for example, are looking to deploy foldable phones.

Samsung announced Thursday that its folding device, the Galaxy Fold, would be shipped to South Korea on September 6th. The company, which initially targeted a launch date in April, encountered a problem with this timing after critics reported issues with the product.

While companies such as Samsung and Huawei are looking to expand their phones with huge foldable screens, Sony seems to be going in the opposite direction, thus reducing the size of a previous version that, they say, fits in the palm of the hand of a user.

While Sony's CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida, said in the past that he considered the company's smartphone industry as "necessary" for his brand of hardware, the mobile unit has been overshadowed in shares of market by likes such as Samsung and Apple. The company is also facing the challenge of Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo, who have managed to sell cheaper devices.