Roughly a year after the Xperia 1 III, Sony announced an updated version with the Xperia 1 IV. This time around, the Xperia 1 IV feels like a middle child between the Xperia 1 III and the expensive, pro-focused Xperia Pro-I.
Sony kept the majority of the Xperia 1 IV similar to its predecessor, but the brand gave it substantial internal upgrades. Aside from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, an improved overall brightness of its 4K OLED panel, and slightly tweaked speakers, the biggest upgrade of the Xperia 1 IV lies in its telephoto camera.
If the Xperia 1 III offered a variable telephoto camera, the Xperia 1 IV is touted as the first smartphone to have a telephoto camera with continuous optical zoom. This means that with its new focal range of 85mm to 125mm (3.5x-5x optical zoom), users can select their own focal length between the short end and long end of the telephoto camera just like in a normal camera.
Other improvements include a higher-resolution 12-megapixel selfie shooter, a bigger 5000mAh battery, Gorilla Glass Victus (the back panel having a matte finish), and support for Bluetooth LE Audio.
Sony Xperia 1 IV specs:
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor
- 12GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 storage, expandable via MicroSD
- 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/2.3-2.8 variable telephoto camera with 3.5x-5x zoom, PDAF, and OIS; Eye AF, Zeiss Optics, 3D ToF sensor
- 12-megapixel f/2.0 selfie camera
- 4G, 5G
- WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1
- IP65/68, LDAC, Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers
- 5000mAh battery
- 30w USB-PD charging, wireless charging
- Android 12
With all the features it has to offer, the Xperia 1 IV is one pricey flagship at 1400 Euros(~Php 77.3k). Pre-orders are ongoing in Europe, with deliveries expected by June.