Sony Xperia 1 V
Sony Updates Flagship Phone With New Camera
Sony has announced the Xperia 1 V, a $1,400 flagship phone aimed at professional content creators. The design is a minor iteration of last year's Xperia 1 IV. Specs have been updated, features added, and an all-new main camera sensor promises better photos and videos. The new "Exmor T for mobile" sensor is about 1.7 larger than the sensor in last year's model. Sony promises "approximately double" the low-light performance and "a wider dynamic range that is equivalent to a full-frame camera." The 1 V keeps the adjustable optical zoom tele camera that made the 1 IV so unique. It also keeps the 4K OLED display with 120 Hz refresh. The processor has been updated to the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. New camera features include: high-speed continuous shooting of up to 30 frames per second with AF/AE tracking, a Product Showcase setting that keeps focus on an object instead of a person, and an interactive chat feature for YouTube live-streaming. Most other specs carry over from the previous model, including 5,000 mAh battery, fast charging, wireless charging, IP68 dust/water rating, headset jack, 12 GB of RAM, and the ability to serve as a monitor for certain Sony Alpha cameras. Curiously, the built-in storage is down to 256 GB (from 512 GB last year), although it is expandable by up to 1 TB via memory card. Also, the version announced today does not seem to include mmWave 5G like the previous model. These changes may account for the price that's $200 lower than last year. The phone does have excellent support for almost all other (sub-6) 5G and 4G frequency bands used in the US, including mid-band 5G. The Sony Xperia 1 V ships July 28th and pre-orders start today. It comes unlocked in black from various retailers in the US, or a "khaki green" color (shown) available exclusively from Sony directly. For "a limited time", pre-order customers will be eligible to receive Sony's latest LinkBuds Truly Wireless Earbuds (WFL900/H) with purchase (a $180 value).
