Sony Xperia 1 V review

You definitely couldn’t name Sony inconsistent. 

The Xperia 1 V is the fourth Sony flagship telephone in a row to look basically equivalent. It’s not simply the design that’s stayed comparable both, with a essentially comparable ethos which means this shares the identical strengths and weaknesses because the telephones that got here earlier than. 

Anticipate a slender construct, an in depth show, and a strong chipset on the coronary heart of the telephone – all held again by gradual charging, a sophisticated digicam, and an excessively excessive value level. 

If Sony’s idiosyncrasies line up with your individual then you definately would possibly nicely love the Xperia 1 V, but when their former flagships have left you chilly then this newest mannequin will do nothing to vary your thoughts. 

Design & construct 

• Tall, skinny physique 
• Dimpled, grippy glass end 
• IP65/68 

From the entrance, the Xperia 1 V seems precisely the identical as final yr’s 1 IV. The telephone is nearly precisely the identical dimension, form, and weight – which means you get an unusually tall, slim machine that’s designed to be snug to make use of with one hand. 

The one actual change is to the again, the place Sony has changed its earlier matt end with a brand new textured impact. It’s nonetheless completed in toughened Gorilla Glass (Victus, with the newer Victus 2 customary on the display screen), however the glass is now dimpled throughout. 

It sounds somewhat odd, however the impact is that the telephone feels grippy and textured moderately than slick – the truth is, it doesn’t actually really feel like glass in any respect, which is sufficient to screw along with your head somewhat. 

I’m a giant fan of the impact, which is delicate however definitely distinctive, and makes my black mannequin really feel somewhat extra fascinating. The telephone can also be obtainable in silver or inexperienced for those who desire. 

The telephone is waterproof too, with Sony’s uncommon IP65/68 ranking. This makes extra sense than it appears – the 2 rankings are technically totally different, with the previous guaranteeing a sure stage of splash safety and the latter safety from being immersed in water. With a ranking towards each, that is the most effective water-resistance assure available on the market. 

Display screen & audio system 

• 4K, 120Hz OLED panel 
• Not LTPO 
• Stereo audio system 

Few areas of the Xperia 1 V name again to its predecessor as a lot because the show, which Sony itself admits is strictly the identical. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

For essentially the most half, that’s not a foul factor – this can be a 6.5in OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh fee and still-rare 4K decision – Sony surprisingly stays basically the one producer kitting its flagships out with 4K panels. 

The draw back is that it additionally means Sony nonetheless hasn’t jumped on the LTPO bandwagon – the more moderen improve to OLED tech that permits excessive refresh fee shows to dynamically scale their refresh fee, dropping low to preserve battery when applicable. It’s de rigueur for Android flagships now, and Sony’s display screen – whereas good in different respects – feels a contact behind right here. 

It’s additionally uncommon in sticking to a cinematic 21:9 side ratio, although this quirk is one I’m a fan of. It makes this an important telephone for watching films on, however it’s additionally merely extra snug to make use of, and it suits in further content material vertically whenever you need to doomscroll by way of Twitter or Instagram. 

The stereo audio system right here aren’t too unhealthy, with a properly balanced sound profile, however the most quantity is somewhat restricted and slight distortion units in as you get near that mark. There are higher on the market, which is odd given Sony’s audio credentials. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The place the telephone does set itself aside is the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack. Chances are you’ll not care for those who’re already dedicated to Bluetooth cans, however for those who’re an audiophile for whom solely a bodily connection will do, that is the premium telephone for you. 

It additionally helps the LDAC codec for Hello-Res audio over Bluetooth, for audiophiles who’ve ditched their wires. 

Specs & efficiency

• High-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip 
• 12GB RAM as customary 
• Unreliable fingerprint sensor 

It’s no shock that one of many particular upgrades to the Xperia 1 V is the bounce to the newest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip.  

This places the telephone among the many strongest Android fashions available on the market proper now, bolstered by 12GB of RAM as customary and both 256GB or 512GB of storage, various by market. 

The lengthy and in need of it’s that the telephone is quick and fluid, dealing with day-to-day duties with ease. This shall be an excellent choice for on a regular basis customers, dedicated players, or the productivity-focussed hoping to make use of the telephone to energy their work life on the go. It doesn’t get a lot better. 

Connectivity comes within the type of 5G assist, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6E, and NFC – all as much as the newest requirements. 

It solely helps a single bodily SIM card, however you need to use two SIMs if one in every of them is a digital eSIM. There’s, nonetheless, a slot for a microSD card, which helps as much as 1TB of additional storage – and is accessible with no SIM instrument, for simple swapping out on the go. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

As for biometrics, you get the choice of face unlock or fingerprint utilizing a scanner constructed into the facility button. These was extra dependable than under-display choices, however the tables have turned now and Sony feels left behind – this scanner is somewhat sluggish, and sporadically fails to recognise my thumbprint in any respect. Different telephones are merely higher right here. 

Digicam & video 

• Triple rear digicam 
• Variable telephoto lens 
• Complicated digicam apps require pictures expertise 

The Xperia telephones have lengthy been a contradiction in terms of cameras, and the development continues right here. 

For one, Sony makes arguably the most effective smartphone digicam sensor on the earth proper now, within the 1in IMX989, present in telephones just like the Xiaomi 13 Extremely and Vivo X90 Professional – however you gained’t discover it right here. 

As an alternative, the primary shooter within the Xperia 1 V makes use of a special, customized sensor – referred to as the Exmor T – cropping a 52Mp sensor barely to make use of a 48Mp part of it. 

That’s a giant change from the 12Mp predominant digicam final yr, and Sony says the improve ought to allow a big efficiency bounce, particularly in low mild. 

I’ll be trustworthy: I’m not offered. Photographs out of the primary digicam look nice in good mild, however that’s true for each high-end telephone round proper now. 

The 1 V nonetheless holds its personal in dim however easy lighting – taking pictures at golden hour or snapping photographs of your dinner in a candlelit restaurant, for instance.  

However as soon as it will get genuinely darkish, high quality drops dramatically, and isn’t helped a lot by the telephone’s devoted evening mode – astonishingly, in 2023, the primary time Sony has ever supplied one. 

Photographs in low mild are grainy and missing element, and if there’s any mild supply in body – a bulb, or the night sky – you’ll be able to anticipate it to be blown out and too vivid. The pictures I took at an Alvvays live performance are among the many worst I’ve had from a flagship telephone at a gig. 

It is a good digicam, however it’s clearly under the extent of different telephones at this value. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The corporate has caught with 12Mp sensors for the telephone’s ultrawide, telephoto, and selfie cameras, all three of which seem to have been lifted instantly from the 1 IV.  

The spotlight stays the telephoto, which has a variable zoom able to hitting 3.5x or 5.2x optical zoom – although in apply, these two are so shut that you just’re unlikely to note a lot distinction between them. 

It’s nice at these optical zoom ranges, however element drops sharply for those who push it additional, with blurry, gentle pictures – and a great deal of noise for those who attempt to use it in low-light, like at a live performance. 

The issue lurking behind each lens is the Sony software program, which is unnecessarily sophisticated.  

Your predominant digicam app is known as Images Professional, however accommodates inside it a separate set of professional instruments modelled on Sony’s Alpha digicam software program.  

It’s also possible to shoot video in right here, but when that doesn’t fulfill there are two separate video apps pre-installed on the telephone – Video Professional and Cinema Professional – every modelled on totally different Sony digicam strains. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

One of the best case situation could be that having all these apps would merely be a bit complicated – however it’s unimaginable to flee the sensation that the one method to get the most effective out of those cameras is to dive into the professional settings and go handbook. 

I think {that a} photographer keen to dive into the small print may use the 1 V to take pictures on a par with a Pixel 7 Professional or Galaxy S23 Extremely, however that’s not how most of us use our telephones. In case you simply need to have the ability to level and shoot, you’re higher off elsewhere. 

Battery & charging 

• Stable day-and-a-bit battery 
• Wired and wi-fi charging – however slowly 
• No charger included 

Regardless of the slim body, the Xperia 1 V packs a surprisingly chunky 5000mAh battery inside. 

Mixed with its pretty environment friendly Snapdragon chipset that simply delivered a full day of battery life in my testing, and a good few hours the following day too. 

I wouldn’t fairly belief the telephone to run for a full two days with out actually stripping again my utilization and dropping down the refresh fee or decision, however so long as you’re glad to cost every day you ought to be free from battery nervousness. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Charging will be both wired or wi-fi, however there are downsides. The primary is that Sony is among the firms that doesn’t ship any charger with its telephones any extra, so that you’ll should already personal a USB-C charger from one other machine. 

The second is that even the wired charging is restricted to pretty sluggish 30W speeds. Testing with one in every of my very own third-party chargers, within the absence of an official Sony one, that was solely sufficient to revive 41% of the battery in half an hour, which is fairly poor by fashionable requirements. 

Software program & updates 

• Ships with Android 13 
• Minimal Sony tweaks 
• Probably restricted long-term assist 

The Xperia 1 V ships with Android 13, the newest model of Google’s working system on the time of writing.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Sony doesn’t modify the expertise as a lot as many rivals. The truth is, it leaves the core OS alone for essentially the most half, focussing on tweaks like further show high quality settings and its ‘Aspect sense’ shortcut bar, an non-obligatory mode that hovers alongside the sting of the display screen with fast entry to apps and different capabilities. 

Sony does set up a good few of its personal apps nonetheless. There are the three aforementioned digicam apps, a recording app referred to as Music Professional, the Bravia Core movie streaming app (don’t fear, you’re not the one one who’s by no means heard of it), and a pair extra apart from. Most can’t be uninstalled, although fortunately you’ll be able to punt Bravia Core off the telephone. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Sony hasn’t publicly promised how lengthy it would give software program assist to the Xperia 1 V, or answered our request for clarification, however we will guess. The 1 IV was promised a paltry two Android variations and three years of safety patches, and a repeat of that appears doubtless. 

That will see the telephone obtain Android 14 and 15, with its final main Android replace coming in late 2024 and safety assist ending in 2026. That’s high quality if you recognize you’re the kind to improve typically, however not adequate for individuals who anticipate a telephone to final an excellent few years. Samsung, Apple, and Google provide at the least 5 years of safety assist every.

Value & availability 

The Xperia 1 V isn’t truly out but – it goes formally on sale from 28 July within the US, or an earlier 29 June within the UK, although you’ll be able to pre-order the telephone already at the least. 

It’s costly, setting you again $1,399/£1,299/€1,399. That’s a value drop for the US at the least, the place final yr’s telephone was an exorbitant $1,599, however it’s nonetheless proper within the higher echelons of smartphone pricing. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

You may decide up any of the Pixel 7 Professional, Galaxy S23 Extremely, or iPhone 14 Professional Max for lower than an Xperia, and I might fortunately advocate any of these telephones over this one for nearly any purchaser. 

Try our rating of the most effective telephones for extra alternate options. 

Verdict 

Sony has doubled down on its uncommon determination to pitch the Xperia 1 sequence firmly at creatives who already personal Sony gear. 

In case you shoot with Sony cameras and need a telephone with the identical really feel – and some particular compatibility options – then chances are you’ll nicely love the Xperia 1 V. 

However that doesn’t describe me, and it gained’t describe most individuals. For almost anybody else there’s little motive to pay extra for a telephone that usually delivers much less due to a sophisticated digicam and gradual charging. 

The one actual space it excels is its 4K show, however that’s outdated information now and of restricted use – there’s a motive no different telephone producer has ever bothered to equal it. 

Sony’s {hardware} stays as slick as ever, however at this value there’s little motive for most individuals to place up with the compromises. 

Specs 

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 
• 6.5in 120Hz 4K HDR OLED show 
• 12GB RAM 
• 256/512GB storage 
• Cameras:
  • 48Mp, f/1.9 predominant digicam
  • 12Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam
  • 12Mp, f/2.3-2.8 3.5-5x telephoto digicam
  • 12Mp, f/2.0 selfie digicam
• 30W wired charging 
• 15W wi-fi charging 
• 5000mAh battery 
• 3.5mm headphone jack 
• Gorilla Glass Victus (rear) and Victus 2 (show)
• IP65/68 
• Black, silver, inexperienced 
• Android 13