Verdict
The Sony Xperia 1 VI takes a more consumer - friendly approach than previous pro - focussed entries , with an easier - to - use camera arrangement , meaningful presentation pinch and impressive battery life-time . It ’s just a picayune too expensive for most consumers .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Sony does n’t betray as many telephone set as Samsung or Apple , but it keeps hit them .
Most years , I ’m torn between being glad it still makes them – for variety alone – and confused as to the business sense of it with decline gross revenue even in its home commonwealth sign a apparently inevitable demise .
In those class , I ’ve often found the focusing on making it a pro photographic camera phone alienates any other general phone buyer . But for 2024 , things have changed , and I ’m glad this phone exist .
Design
It ’s always refreshing when a smartphone maker does affair a piffling differently from the average . Especially when it comes to figure , and especially when there are genuine pain sensation points to speak that can be deal with a dissimilar approach .
For instance , most smartphones have shiny or smooth metallic element edges and rear glass panels . For some , that can make keeping grip of them about as promiscuous as spellbind onto a alive eel .
So what ’s the solution ? Sony is handling those striking stop very other than .
There are subtle groove running all the way around the edges of the phone , sum up grip to the sides . And the intact rear of the phone is wrap up in elevate dimple , again , adding bobby pin .
Every part of the phone that comes into contact with your palm help oneself keep it in your hired hand . It wo n’t slip well , and you wo n’t discover it sliding off the sleeve of your couch as easily as most other smartphones .
In fact , a huge amount of its design is made in an attempt to be practical .
require to keep using your old wired headphones ? No problem , there ’s a 3.5 mm port for that . Need access to your SIM , and do n’t keep a SIM ouster instrument on you at all times ? Sony ’s got you ; you may dispatch the tray without a tool , just pull it from the bottom boundary with a fingernail . And , by the agency , there ’s a microSD card one-armed bandit in there too for expanding storehouse .
These are n’t the only throwbacks to simpler times . Sony rest one of the few with a dedicated photographic camera button for launching the app and snatch the photo . If nothing else , it adds a pleasant tactile experience to using a phone .
You even get a physical fingerprint sensor built into the side so you do n’t want to swear on an in - display one . It ’s right where my right ovolo rests naturally , for the most part , and unlocks promptly .
But here ’s where some of the efforts to be a practical gadget start to fall away a small . That fingermark sensor is difficult to debar when you take hold of your speech sound . I ’d often find it register fail reads because it had brushed against a finger’s breadth , or part of my hand .
likewise , Sony ’s move to a wider display with much skinny bezels has led to a lot of inadvertent pinch on the display . For the first few twenty-four hours using it , I ’d find myself tapping and abstract on the concealment , for it to completely disregard my input . I realised after a little while that it was because the small part of my thumb or finger was come to the screen near the edge .
As for overall durability , it ’s got a dual weewee resistance rating against splattering and submersion , which is great . But on the other script , the aluminium frame and nimble , lightweight look of the gadget do make it seem a small weak compared to the heavier competition .
In fact , when I try and twist the frame lightly , it gives out a very hearable creak , just get me know it ’s not peculiarly enjoying itself . Still , with a weight comfortably lower than the the like of theGalaxy S24 Ultraand theiPhone 15 Pro Max , there ’s very little fatigue from have got it one - handed .
Screen
In the past times , Sony has really push the sauceboat out with the display , typically offer a 4 M panel on late version of the Xperia 1 . And , really , there was no particular welfare to having that many pixels on a display this small-scale . So for 2024 , it ’s kick the bucket back to a more virtual choice . All the way back , to Full HD+ .
It ’s also made it a less minute prospect ratio . Yet another pragmatic move . The 21:9 cinematic look is go , and now we have a 19.5:9 aspect instead , which is the same as what you ’ll get on the Samsung Galaxy serial phones .
It ’s far better , visually , give birth that extra surface area for displayed content , especially when gaming , watching 16:9 or 18:9 video , or even viewing picture which are typically much all-encompassing . So as much as I liked that the narrow screen on old models meant a minute phone that was easy to hold , its bring versatility mean consuming or create media is a far less compromise experience .
You could argue that it should be QHD+ , to append sharpness , but , in reality , with almost 400 pixel per inch , the 6.5 - inch OLED display is enough penetrating enough .
text edition and details are crisp , and there ’s no direction to discern individual pixels , not at arm ’s duration . Plus , the step-down in pixel count , and the addition of an effective LTPO panel for adaptive refresh rate entail it consumes less DOE , which has major welfare for shelling life .
My only real complaint with the show is machine cleverness . It ’s dim to respond when ambient kindling conditions modify , particularly when locomote between shade and shiny direct daytime outdoors , and that can make it grueling to see .
As is distinctive for Sony , there are very Sony - like tools in the display preferences . Like the power to manually adjust the white balance to a really granular story , or tack on Creator Mode or artificially sharpening videos with the ‘ figure of speech Enhancement ’ toggle .
Cameras
In the past times , Sony ’s television camera experience has been entirely tuned to the needs and skills of professional or amateurish photographer . Those who want fine - tuned control over everything . This fourth dimension out , Sony ’s made things much easier , build on the simplicity it introduced with theXperia 1 Vin 2023 .
The tv camera app now defaults to a to the full automatic mode , without any complicated restraint on the screen beyond temperature and light / demarcation sliders . So you’re able to just point and shoot .
It ’s reasonably wonderful , and have an reflexive look / eye recognition ability to focus on the near eye of your field of study , whether it be an animal or a homo , and then snaps and serve the shot quick and easily .
The thing I love about it in general is that it does n’t have that extreme processing you ’d find oneself on the likes of Pixel or Samsung phones . Colours look middling much like they do to the defenseless middle , and there ’s no overstated contrast or sharpness .
There is a downside to that sometimes , in that with the HDR effect being minimum , brighter parts of images might get a little dampen out at time , and the shadow can remain pretty dark , bestow a contrasty flavor .
What ’s really great about this finical camera system though is the variety and versatility extend by the focal lengths . You get your chief and ultrawide camera as normal , but there ’s also a periscope zoom which can shift from 3.5x to 7.1x continuously , and optically .
Most phones hit 5x rapid climb , and then have to rely on digital cropping and AI processing to sharpen images beyond that . There ’s a lot less of that processing and taper with Sony .
In theory then , that should think of brilliant , penetrating images all the elbow room up to 7.1x , but the world – likely down to the 12 - megapixel sensing element used – is that picture at that remnant of the scale do get a bit grainy - looking , peculiarly in the shade away from bright , verbatim light .
I also get hold that because it does n’t do lots of extra sharpening , details in some parts of the image get a minute muzzy almost blurry - looking . But the colours are brilliant , not go so far into saturation that it looks hyperreal , instead keeping things vibrant and penny-pinching to what the naked eye sees .
This camera array also enables one of the good macro photography implementation in late eld . And this is a feature I dead adore in my meter testing the earphone .
It ’s all quite manual , in that you have to switch to a dedicated macro mode and then slide a manual focus luger on the covert until the part you want in focus is highlight with yellow .
You also have to keep a very steady hand . But if you do , you ’re rewarded with incredibly sharp , clean images of small objects from within a few centimetre . Whether it be the smiley face on a Lego miniature , diminutive bugs , or the woven grain of a clothbound book , it ’ll wait great . And you may shoot video in this musical mode too , all the way up to 4K.
It ’s the case of feature that gets you to be right there , fully present in the experience of photography , ignore the human beings around you or thoughts running through your fountainhead . I like it a destiny .
likewise , there ’s the 2x rapid growth option which crops into the main detector aim you pretty close to modest object , or shooting really courteous - looking portraits .
With all of that combined with the ultrawide , you get so much power here . Whether you ’re inject spacious landscapes , tiny bug and Chuck Berry , or portrait of ally and family , the Sony is equipped for it all . It ’s one of my favored all - rotund sound camera system to particular date .
It ’s not all rosy though . Sony still has a bit of a failing when it hail to shoot handheld at night time . Where other television camera manufacturing business have exquisitely - tuned their Nox musical mode algorithmic program so that you’re able to just point and shoot , then get an in - focus , piercing , vibrant shot easily , Sony ’s resultant role are n’t as reliably sharp .
I sometimes establish the camera skin with focusing at night time , and end resolution were often grainy or noisy , but also , Sony ’s night fourth dimension algorithm do n’t always wholly get free of the motion blur that comes from shooting completely handheld .
I did like that Sony does n’t seek to rage up the luminousness and color to wait like day , like Samsung and Pixel might , but at the same sentence , it still needs the basics improved .
Performance
The Xperia 1 VI feels and act like a flagship headphone thanks to the inclusion of the top - end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 . With such a capable chipset , game and apps launch quickly and even in benchmark examination , the Xperia compared jolly much bang on with the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus .
Under uttermost load , it ’s not proceed to manage farsighted gaming least sandpiper as consistently as something like the S24 Ultra , or the Asus ROG Phone , but for everyday employment , there ’s a lot of power here and it lay down light study out of pretty much anything . It ’s tight , suave and gets the line of work done .
The only time I feel it get warm was when I was running utmost stress exam in benchmarking platforms for an extended full point . seldom during play , if ever , even on strong days did it get noticeably warm to the tinge .
Software
As far as software goes , Sony has something of a light mite – which is fresh in the existence of Xiaomi , Honor and Samsung phones that all wish to pull off things visually and preload phone with a carload of spare stuff you do n’t need .
For the most part , the UI count and feels very exchangeable to what you ’d encounter on a Pixel . There are additional options in the preferences for doing things like tweak the show colour preferences , enabling Creator Mode and enhancing HDR and sharpness , which is very , well , Sony .
It also comes preloaded with some additional God Almighty - focused apps . If you have a Sony Alpha camera , you’re able to use the external monitor feature to use the phone as a bigger tv camera screen , or use the Creator ’s App , Video Creator and Music Pro app all aimed at give pro videographers and musicians something a little more worthy for recording and redact video and audio with . You even get a Headphones app for enhancing the audio experience of your earbuds or over - ears .
In short – Sony just likes to keep prodding us with reminders that it really cares about the medium experience on its phone , and want to make it as high - quality as it can .
If that all sound good , one domain does leave the phone tactual sensation a little abruptly - change , and that ’s the update promise from Sony . You ’ll get three major update and four yr of security measures patches – which is some agency from the seven years of o updates Samsung and Google hope on their Galaxy and Pixel devices .
Battery life
If I order you to foretell what the unspoiled affair about this Sony Xperia phone is , there ’s a very good opportunity – based on previous model – you ’d probably pick the presentation or the camera . With the Xperia 1 VI , those are both great this time too , but it was the battery animation that really blow me away .
I ’m a pretty light user in general , and I live in an area that still does n’t have 5G. And so my phone shelling using up is n’t unremarkably vast . get near to the end of a second day with a swelled flagship phone is commonly what I ’d consider good functioning for my own use case . But Sony ’s Xperia blow past that .
It ’s promote as a two - day battery – despite lark a pretty standard 5000mAh call – but at a energy , with light economic consumption , I could push it to the end of a third twenty-four hour period , and only involve to charge it on the aurora of the 4th when it eventually complete drained .
Even compare to other Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 - power phones – which are generally great at make battery power last longer – the Xperia goes for a farseeing time . I suspect even the heavy users might just be able-bodied to push through two days , or at the very least , through a day and a one-half before reaching for a courser .
Even measuring thing objectively , a one - hour Netflix stream only drains around 5 % shelling , as does a thirty - minute stint on Mario Kart Tour .
Once empty , charging it up again is a breeze , but only if you already have a fast Power Delivery charger and a cable television , because , the phone comes with neither in the box . Not even Type - C cable . You get the phone , the box , the paperwork , and nothing else .
It still takes more than an hr to fully refill , but 29 second is enough to get a 50 % thrill which , with this assault and battery , is more than enough to last until the end of a day .
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Should you buy it?
From design to screen , to camera technical school and even battery sprightliness , the Xperia 1 VI tick off a heap of box for what a truthful flagship should offer .
The Xperia 1 VI is closelipped to theSamsung Galaxy S24 Plusin full term of its technical school offer , a telephone set that be £ 300 less and offers a much longer software program promise .
Final Thoughts
In the end , the Xperia 1 VI represents one of the first Xperia telephone to come with no major via media . It ’s no longer a phone that will only invoke to Sony photographic camera drug user , or professional photographers and videographers .
Yes , it ’s get a camera with lots of those pro tools still , but the sluttish reflexive television camera mode , combined with some brilliant final result , market - leading battery biography and flagship performance – wrapped in a grippy , weedy , lightweight headphone – are thing anyone can appreciate .
What you might not appreciate , however , is the £ 1300 toll tag . Sony is asking for a lot of outlay for a phone that is , in most ways , about the same as aGalaxy S24 Plus . Cameras apart , that is a top - notch Samsung phone which be £ 300 less , comes with a longer software dedication , reliable security patch and a wider variety of third - political party case and accouterment .
As brilliant as it is , at £ 1300 in the UK , and no availability in the US , it ’s probably the best phone nobody will bribe .
Trusted Score
How we test
We essay every nomadic speech sound we reexamine good . We expend industriousness - stock mental test to compare features properly and we utilize the speech sound as our main gadget over the review full stop . We ’ll always evidence you what we observe and we never , ever , bear money to survey a product .
FAQs
No , not only do you not get a charger , you do n’t get a USB - 100 cable either . You ’ll have to source both severally .
Sony has committed to three class of OS upgrades and four years of certificate plot for the Xperia 1 VI .
Test Data
Full Specs
