The Xperia 1 III and 5 III Get Variable Telephoto Cameras

Sony updates its flagship smartphone portfolio with two models: the full-sized Xperia 1 III, and the compact Xperia 5 III. Both phones share a number of features like a unique telephoto camera and 120hz OLED displays.

Sony Xperia 1 III specs:

Snapdragon 888 processor
12GB LPDDR5 RAM
256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 storage
6.5-inch 4K OLED display, 120hz refresh rate, 21:9 aspect ratio, HDR10 support, Gorilla Glass Victus, 97% DCI-P3, 10-bit color
12-megapixel f/1.7 main camera with PDAF and OIS, 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera with AF, 12-megapixel f/2.4/2.8 variable telephoto camera with 2.9x and 4.4x zoom, PDAF, and OIS, Eye AF, Zeiss Optics, 3D ToF sensor
8-megapixel f/2.0 selfie camera
4G, 5G
WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1
IP65/68, LDAC, Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers
4500mAh battery
30w USB-PD charging, wireless charging
Android 11

Sony Xperia 5 III specs:

Snapdragon 888 processor
12GB LPDDR5 RAM
128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 storage
6.1-inch Full HD+ OLED display, 120hz refresh rate, 21:9 aspect ratio, HDR10 support, Gorilla Glass 6, 97% DCI-P3, 10-bit color
12-megapixel f/1.7 main camera with PDAF and OIS, 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera with AF, 12-megapixel f/2.4/2.8 variable telephoto camera with 2.9x and 4.4x zoom, PDAF, and OIS, Eye AF, Zeiss Optics
8-megapixel f/2.0 selfie camera
4G, 5G
WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1
IP65/68, LDAC, Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers
4500mAh battery
30w USB-PD charging
Android 11

The unique feature of both phones is the telephoto camera, which is a folded periscope design. This setup allows it to do either a 70mm f/2.3 (2.9x) or 105mm f/2.8 (4.4x) focal length. The main camera is still the same at 12-megapixels, and the same goes for the ultra-wide-angle camera. All three cameras do have autofocus and Zeiss T* coating, while the main and telephoto cameras have OIS. The Xperia 1 III adds a ToF sensor, allowing it to do real-time autofocus tracking (the Xperia 5 III is limited to a still-good real-time Eye AF).

As for the display, the Xperia 1 III gets a 4K 6.5-inch panel with Gorilla Glass Victus, while the smaller Xperia 5 III has a Full HD+ 6.1-inch panel with Gorilla Glass 6. Both phones support 120hz refresh rates and have that tall 21:9 aspect ratio.

Both phones also get a Snapdragon 888 processor, 4500mAh battery, and 30w wired charging, though the Xperia 1 III has support for wireless charging. You also get flagship features on both phones like an IP68 rating, 120FPS 4K HDR video recording, and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio for their stereo speakers.