Sony has been known for its Xperia series of smartphones, which combine the best of Sony’s expertise in various fields such as display, camera, audio, and gaming. The Xperia 1 IV is the latest flagship model in the series, and it boasts some impressive features that make it stand out from the crowd. In this article, we will review the Sony Xperia 1 IV in terms of its design, display, performance, camera, battery, and more. We will also compare it with some of its competitors and see how it fares in the market.
Table of Contents
Design
The Sony Xperia 1 IV has a sleek and elegant design that follows the signature Xperia style. It has a glass front and back with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection, and an aluminum frame that gives it a premium feel. The phone is also IP65/IP68 dust and water resistant, which means it can withstand splashes, rain, and submersion up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes¹. The phone has a built-in strap hole on the bottom left corner, which allows you to attach a lanyard or a wrist strap for extra security.
The phone has a 6.5-inch display with a 21:9 aspect ratio, which makes it ideal for watching movies and playing games. However, this also means that the phone is quite tall and narrow, which may not suit everyone’s preference. The phone measures 165 x 71 x 8.2 mm and weighs 185 grams², which is relatively light for its size. The phone has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that doubles as a power button, and a dedicated camera shutter button on the right side. On the left side, there is a hybrid SIM card slot that can accommodate either two nano-SIM cards or one nano-SIM card and one microSD card. On the top, there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack that supports high-resolution audio and dynamic vibration system. On the bottom, there is a USB Type-C port that supports OTG and video output.
The phone comes in three colors: black, white, and purple³. The black and white versions have a glossy finish, while the purple version has a matte finish that is more resistant to fingerprints and smudges.
Display
The Sony Xperia 1 IV has one of the most impressive displays on the market. It features a 6.5-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 1644 x 3840 pixels, which translates to a pixel density of 643 ppi⁴. The screen supports 1 billion colors and HDR BT.2020 standard, which means it can display a wide range of colors and contrast levels. The screen also has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, which makes it smooth and responsive for scrolling, gaming, and video playback.
The screen has several modes that cater to different scenarios and preferences. The standard mode offers balanced color reproduction and brightness for everyday use. The creator mode “powered by CineAlta” offers unprecedented color accuracy that matches the professional monitors used by filmmakers⁵. The game mode enhances the gaming experience by optimizing the performance, touch response, sound quality, and network stability⁶. The video image enhancement mode improves the quality of videos from streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube by applying noise reduction, sharpening, contrast enhancement, and color correction⁷. The photo pro mode mimics the interface of Sony’s Alpha cameras and allows you to adjust various settings such as exposure, white balance, focus, shutter speed, ISO, and more⁸.
The screen also has some smart features that enhance the user experience. The adaptive brightness control adjusts the brightness level according to the ambient light conditions and your personal preferences⁹. The adaptive motion blur reduction reduces motion blur when watching fast-moving scenes by inserting black frames between frames. The adaptive color gamut adjustment adapts the color gamut according to the content type and your viewing environment¹¹. The adaptive white point adjustment adjusts the white point according to the ambient light color temperature¹².
The screen of the Sony Xperia 1 IV is undoubtedly one of its main selling points. It offers stunning visuals, smooth performance, and versatile modes that suit different needs and tastes. However, it also has some drawbacks that may affect some users. The screen has a 21:9 aspect ratio, which means that some content may not fit the screen perfectly and may have black bars on the sides. The screen also runs at a lower resolution of 1096 x 2560 pixels except for select use cases, such as watching 4K videos or playing games that support 4K resolution. This is done to save battery life and improve performance, but some users may prefer to have the option to choose the resolution they want.
Performance
The Sony Xperia 1 IV is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, which is one of the most powerful processors available for Android smartphones. The chipset is based on a 4 nm process and consists of an octa-core CPU with one Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3.00 GHz, three Cortex-A710 cores clocked at 2.50 GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores clocked at 1.80 GHz. The chipset also has an Adreno 730 GPU that supports Vulkan 1.2 and DirectX 12 Ultimate graphics APIs. The phone has 12 GB of RAM and either 256 GB or 512 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card up to 1 TB.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV delivers excellent performance for various tasks, such as multitasking, web browsing, gaming, video editing, and more. The phone runs on Android 12 out of the box, and it is upgradable to Android 13 in the future. The phone has a clean and simple user interface that does not have much bloatware or unnecessary features. The phone also has some useful features that enhance the performance, such as the smart stamina mode that optimizes the battery usage according to your usage patterns, the battery care mode that prevents overcharging and extends the battery lifespan, and the heat suppression power control mode that prevents overheating and throttling by bypassing the battery and using only the power from the charger when gaming or streaming.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV is a speedy and powerful smartphone that can handle any task you throw at it. However, it also has some issues that may affect some users. The phone tends to heat up when performing intensive tasks, such as recording 4K videos or playing demanding games. This may cause some discomfort and reduce the performance over time. The phone also does not have a stereo speaker setup, which may disappoint some users who expect a better sound quality from a flagship device.
Camera
The Sony Xperia 1 IV has a triple camera setup on the back and a single camera on the front. The rear camera consists of a 12 MP main camera with an f/1.7 aperture, a 24 mm focal length, a 1/1.7 inch sensor size, a dual pixel phase detection autofocus (PDAF), an optical image stabilization (OIS), a Zeiss optics, and a Zeiss T* lens coating; a 12 MP telephoto camera with an f/2.3 aperture, an 85 mm focal length, a f/2.8 aperture, a 125 mm focal length, a 1/3.5 inch sensor size, a dual pixel PDAF, an OIS, a Zeiss optics, a Zeiss T* lens coating, and a continuous optical zoom between 3.5x and 5.2x; a 12 MP ultrawide camera with an f/2.2 aperture, a 124 degree field of view, a 16 mm focal length, a 1/2.5 inch sensor size, a dual pixel PDAF, a Zeiss optics, and a Zeiss T* lens coating; and a 0.3 MP TOF 3D depth sensor. The front camera is a 12 MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture, a 24 mm focal length, a 1/2.9 inch sensor size, and an HDR mode.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV offers some impressive features for both photography and videography enthusiasts. For photography, the phone has several modes that cater to different scenarios and preferences. The photo pro mode offers manual controls over various settings such as exposure, white balance, focus, shutter speed, ISO,and more. The photo pro mode also has a real-time eye autofocus feature that can track the eyes of humans and animals and keep them in focus. The basic mode offers a simple and easy-to-use interface that automatically adjusts the settings according to the scene. The basic mode also has a night mode that can capture bright and clear photos in low-light conditions. The portrait mode offers a bokeh effect that can blur the background and highlight the subject. The panorama mode allows you to capture wide-angle photos by stitching multiple shots together. The macro mode allows you to capture close-up details of small objects.
For videography, the phone has a cinema pro mode that offers professional-level controls over various settings such as exposure, white balance, focus, shutter speed, ISO, and more. The cinema pro mode also has a 21:9 aspect ratio, a 24 fps frame rate, and a cinematic color preset that mimics the look of Hollywood movies. The cinema pro mode also has a real-time eye autofocus feature that can track the eyes of humans and animals and keep them in focus. The basic mode offers a simple and easy-to-use interface that automatically adjusts the settings according to the scene. The basic mode also has a steady shot mode that can stabilize the video and reduce the shakiness. The slow motion mode allows you to capture videos at 960 fps for super slow motion effects. The time-lapse mode allows you to capture videos at a lower frame rate for fast-forward effects.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV has a remarkable camera system that can produce high-quality photos and videos in various situations and modes. However, it also has some limitations that may affect some users. The camera does not have a periscope lens that can offer higher optical zoom levels, which may disappoint some users who expect more zoom capabilities from a flagship device. The camera also does not have a dedicated macro lens or a dedicated depth sensor, which may affect the quality of macro shots and portrait shots. The camera also does not support 8K video recording, which may be a deal-breaker for some users who want to future-proof their videos.
Battery
The Sony Xperia 1 IV has a 4500 mAh battery that supports fast charging, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. The phone comes with a 30 W charger that can charge the phone from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes. The phone also supports Qi wireless charging up to 15 W, which means it can charge wirelessly on any compatible pad or stand. The phone also supports reverse wireless charging up to 5 W, which means it can charge other devices wirelessly by placing them on the back of the phone.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV has a decent battery life that can last for a day of moderate use. However, the battery life may vary depending on the usage patterns, settings, and features. For example, using the screen at full resolution, full brightness, and high refresh rate may drain the battery faster than using it at lower settings. Similarly, using the camera, gaming, streaming, or other intensive tasks may consume more power than using the phone for basic tasks. The phone has some smart features that can help extend the battery life, such as the smart stamina mode that optimizes the battery usage according to your usage patterns, the battery care mode that prevents overcharging and extends the battery lifespan, and the heat suppression power control mode that prevents overheating and throttling by bypassing the battery and using only the power from the charger when gaming or streaming.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV has a satisfactory battery performance that can meet most users’ needs. However, it also has some room for improvement that may enhance some users’ experience. The phone does not have a very large battery capacity compared to some of its competitors, which may limit its endurance for heavy use. The phone also does not support very fast charging speeds compared to some of its competitors, which may affect its convenience for frequent charging.
Conclusion
The Sony Xperia 1 IV is an impressive flagship smartphone that offers some unique features and advantages over its rivals. It has a stunning display with a 4K resolution, a high refresh rate, and various modes that suit different scenarios and preferences. It has a speedy performance with a powerful processor, ample memory, and storage, and a clean user interface. It has a remarkable camera system with a continuous optical zoom feature, various modes that cater to different scenarios and preferences, and professional-level controls over various settings. It has a decent battery life with fast charging, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging support.
However, the Sony Xperia 1 IV is not without its flaws and drawbacks. It has a tall and narrow design that may not suit everyone’s preference. It has a screen that runs at a lower resolution except for select use cases, which may affect the visual quality and user experience. It has a phone that tends to heat up when performing intensive tasks, which may cause some discomfort and reduce the performance over time. It has a camera that does not have a periscope lens, a dedicated macro lens, a dedicated depth sensor, or 8K video recording support, which may affect the quality and versatility of the photos and videos. It has a battery that does not have a very large capacity or very fast charging speeds, which may limit its endurance and convenience.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV is a great smartphone for those who value the display, performance, and camera quality above all else. It is especially suitable for those who enjoy watching movies, playing games, and capturing photos and videos in various situations and modes. However, it may not be the best choice for those who prefer a more compact and ergonomic design, a more consistent and flexible screen, a more cool and stable performance, a more zoom and macro capable camera, or a more long-lasting and fast-charging battery.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV is priced at $1,199.99 for the 256 GB version and $1,299.99 for the 512 GB version. It is available for pre-order from April 1, 2023, and will start shipping from April 30, 2023. It is compatible with most GSM and CDMA carriers in the US. It also comes with a free pair of Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless earbuds worth $279.99.
If you are interested in buying the Sony Xperia 1 IV, you can visit the official website of Sony or check out some of the online retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, or B&H Photo Video. You can also read some of the reviews from reputable sources such as CNET, The Verge, or Android Authority.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it useful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
