Sony hasn’t withdrawn from the smartphone market. But it also doesn’t launch many smartphones in a year. This is because the Japanese company just wants to keep its finger on the pulse. You should know that it supplies some important components to the big names in the field and it has to know what’s going on. In this sense, every new flagship the company launches is a demonstration of what this brand is capable of. So the rest of the manufacturers can order displays, camera sensors, and other components from Sony. Today, following the schedule, the Japan-based first-tier tech firm unleashed a new flagship smartphone dubbed the Sony Xperia 1 IV. That’s not difficult to guess that this phone comes with powerful hardware inside and a strong camera and an amazing display.
Sony Xperia 1 IV Camera
The biggest highlight of the Sony Xperia 1 IV is its camera. The three cameras on the back of the machine all stick to a 12-megapixel resolution. The primary camera uses a 1/1.7-inch sensor and supports OIS (optical image stabilization). The ultra-wide-angle camera is a 1/2.5-inch CMOS that supports autofocus. The periscope telephoto camera is a 1/3.5-inch sensor that also supports OIS and autofocus. In addition, the new phone still retains Sony’s traditional two-stage shutter physical button. It is located on the side of the fuselage.
It’s worth mentioning that Sony introduced a telephoto camera with variable focal length in last year’s Xperia III. However, the latter can only switch between 70mm and 105mm focal lengths. Thanks to a revolutionary new design, the Sony Xperia 1 IV’s telephoto camera offers continuous optical zoom. What’s more important, the new zoom range is expanded to vary between 85mm and 125mm, giving it a 3.5-5x optical zoom range.
All three cameras share some of the same features, including 4K video capture at 120 frames per second, optical image stabilization with FlawlessEye, eye autofocus, and real-time object tracking and autofocus. All cameras are capable of utilizing image stacking to expand dynamic range and are capable of 20 fps burst shooting with autofocus/AE and HDR enabled. An RGB infrared sensor on the back feeds the AI algorithm that controls the camera’s white balance. Plus, there is a 3D ToF sensor.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV also upgrades the selfie camera to 12MP and uses a new 1/2.9-inch ExmorRS sensor. It supports 4K video recording as well as HDR but is limited to 30 frames. Also, the camera still lacks autofocus.
Screen and Performance
The Sony Xperia 1 IV still uses the same 6.5-inch 4K AMOLED display as the previous generation. It comes with the familiar 21:9 screen ratio, supports 120Hz refresh rate, and 240Hz touch sampling rate, and has also made some upgrades. For example, the screen brightness is increased by 50%.
Inside, the Sony Xperia 1 IV uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 flagship processor, supplemented by Adreno 730 GPU, and has two versions of 12+256GB and 12+512GB. However, there is an option for expanding the storage through the microSD slot. Agree that this is quite rare in the premium smartphones market.
The phone runs pure Android 12.
This year Sony increased the Xperia 1 IV’s battery capacity by 500mAh, bringing the total capacity to 5,000mAh. The latter supports 30W fast charging, which can be charged to 50% in half an hour. What’s more interesting, it supports Qi protocol wireless charging. It is worth mentioning that the new phone will not come with a charger. Sony said that this is for environmental protection and will make the retail box smaller. Sony also said that the box does not contain any plastic. Overall, this reduces CO2 emissions by 36%.
What Else?
Additionally, the Sony Xperia 1 IV has a 3.5mm headphone jack. The drivers for the front-facing stereo speakers have been improved, with only a 10% increase in maximum volume. Overall, the sound is much better as they add 20-50% more bass. For wireless audio, the phone is one of the first phones to support the new Bluetooth LE Audio technology, which supports LDAC Bluetooth audio transmission.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV features Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and back and is available in black, silver, and purple color variants. Another change is that Sony has used a matte finish. It comes with IPX5 / IPX8 water resistance and IP6X dust resistance.
Like the Xperia Pro and Pro-I, the Sony Xperia 1 IV has a new live broadcast function. In addition to mobile phone live broadcast, it can also be paired with a Sony micro-single. Only one USB cable is required to achieve a high-quality outdoor live broadcast.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV is priced at 1,400 euros in Europe and will be available for pre-order in the next 24 hours, with deliveries starting in June.
