Peter, 25 February 2019

The Sony Xperia 1 is the evolution of the XZ Premium phones. It features the first-ever 4K OLED display with an extra tall 21:9 aspect ratio as well as Sony’s first triple camera.



Sony Xperia 1

The 6.5” display is dubbed CinemaWide for more than its aspect ratio. It combines the X1-style image processing (borrowed from premium Bravia TVs) with the color calibration of Sony’s professional master monitors.

The display has 3,840 x 1,644px resolution and supports HDR (BT.2020). Amazon and Netflix already have 21:9 HDR content for you to enjoy and the experience will be further enhanced by Dolby Atmos sound (a first for Xperia) coming from the stereo speakers (earpiece + bottom firing speaker).

The rear camera features three 12MP modules. The main shooter sports a 1/2.6” sensor coupled to an f/1.6 lens with Optical SteadyShot (OIS+EIS) and Dual Pixel autofocus. The other two cameras allow you to zoom in (2x telephoto lens, 52mm) or out (ultra-wide lens, 16mm).

Eye autofocus has been lifted from the α division, it tracks the subject’s eye and if the subject leaves the frame, it will reacquire the lock once they come back. Sony taps into another professional division – CineAlta – which helped create the Cinema Pro app. It features 24fps recording, color profiles and project management.

There’s too much to cover here, head to our hands-on review for more details – the accurate Creator mode for the screen, RAW noise reduction, continuous burst shooting and a lot more.

The Xperia 1 is powered by the Snapdragon 855 chipset with 6GB of RAM. The storage options are 64GB and 128GB, expandable with up to 512GB microSD cards.

The new Game Enhancer mode can set a balance between performance and battery life, it can record gameplay video (and your commentary through the 8MP selfie camera) or – if you’re stuck – it can automatically find a walk-through for the game on YouTube and play it in a floating window.

This is just a part of the multitasking features on the phone. The Pair shortcut helps you launch two apps on the screen.

The phone runs on a 3,330mAh battery with an Sony-developed Battery Care (slower overnight charging) and Smart Stamina mode. The phone supports USB Power Delivery, though there won’t be such a charger in the box.



Sony Xperia 1 in Purple, Black, Gray and White

The new flagship is IP68 waterproof as is tradition and it upgrades to Gorilla Glass 6 for the front and back (the chassis is metal, of course). There’s a fingerprint reader on the side and this time around it’s separate from the Power button.

The Sony Xperia 1 will be in stores in late Spring. Pricing and a more exact availability date will be announced later on.