Sony is once again entering the high-end smartphone game. Its Xperia 1 VI has just been made official and presented, a double-sided device, as comfortable in photography as in gaming.
The Xperia 1 VI visually marks a turning point in Sony’s mobile strategy. With it, the Xperia range abandons two characteristics that made it unique. Exit the 21:9 format and goodbye 4K! Sony reverses its position and conforms to the majority of its competitors. Its 6.5-inch Oled panel is Full HD+ and has a 19.5:9 ratio, the same as that of a Galaxy S24 Ultra, for reference. According to Sony, this is the brightest Xperia panel. It adopts a progressive refresh rate from 1 to 120 Hz.
Abandoning 4K is probably a good thing. This definition on a smartphone was of little interest in everyday life, at least for ordinary people, except for its increased precision for photo/video editing. At the same time, 4K was rather energy intensive. Losing in detail to gain autonomy is a bet that we consider a winner.
Moreover, Sony assures that the 5000 mAh battery of its smartphone is capable of keeping it active for two days. His presentation video featuring him on a hike with friends aims to reinforce this nomadic aspect.
A textured smartphone
Regarding the appearance of the Xperia 1 VI, Sony talks about “tactile design”. He made an effort on textures with a honeycomb back and ridged edges. There is no doubt that this will provide comfortable handling with an effective grip that will appeal to photo camera users. Both sides are covered by Gorilla Glass: Victus on the back and Victus 2 on the front.
IP68 certified, the Xperia 1 VI is water and dust resistant. Around its edge, it accommodates a fingerprint sensor and two buttons: one for volume placed on the upper third of the right edge and a second called “Shutter button” located much lower and dedicated to shuttering in photos. And as a stylish addition to the Xperia 1 VI, it features a 3.5 mm jack output (Hi-res Audio compatible), a rarity on high-end smartphones in 2024.
And the best part is the measurements of the device. Despite all the technology it packs, it only weighs 192 grams and is 8.2 mm thick.
The Xperia 1 VI upgrades its optical zoom
Photography is an essential element of smartphones and Sony has never tried to beat around the bush. Taking photos is his hobby and he is well placed to talk about it with his range Alpha. In mobile, it supplies many manufacturers with its own sensors.
Its new top of the range must be impeccable in this area. It is therefore equipped accordingly with an Exmor T for mobile main sensor supposed to produce “quality equivalent to a full format camera”. Here is the organization of the sensors:
- 48 MP wide-angle (1/1.35”; ƒ/1.9; PDAF; OIS), 24-48 mm equivalent
- Ultra wide-angle 12 MP (1/2.5”; ƒ/2.2), 16 mm equivalent
- Telephoto lens x3.5 x7.1 (1/3.5”; ƒ/3.5), 85-170mm equivalent
- 12MP selfie (1/2.9”; ƒ/2.0)
The big novelty, it is the optical zoom which increases to x7.1 compared to x5.2 on the Xperia 1 V. A great development for this already muscular photo section. And if you’re interested in macro, the Xperia 1 VI has a dedicated mode on its telephoto lens. It is available up to x2 and at a maximum distance of 4 cm.
Added to this are various artificial intelligence functions including AF tracking which detects the human skeleton to ensure greater focusing precision. In video, it can film in 4K at 120 frames per second.
Sony is also taking advantage of this new generation to combine its three photo/video applications into one. A wise choice which will bring more simplicity to the use of this new Xperia. Hoping that the result doesn’t look too much like a gas factory.
Gaming, the other side of the Xperia 1 VI
Yes, as surprising as it may seem, the Xperia 1 VI is made for gaming. Combined with a BackBone One controller, it could be as good as a PS Portal in Remote Play.
Sony chooses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the most powerful SoC currently on Android smartphones. 12 GB of RAM comes with it, as well as 256 GB of storage. A microSD port allows you to expand this space up to 1.5 TB.
Stamp Snapdragon Elite Gamingit benefits from an improved vapor chamber to manage long gaming sessions without the risk of overheating.
The display supports a 240Hz touch refresh rate, which means it checks 240 times per second if it detects movement on its surface. A great asset for competitive games such as CoD Warzone.
A series of software functions reinforce its gaming capabilities:
- THE FPS Optimize Improves system performance by stopping non-essential processes and applications when you launch a game.
- THE L-γ increaser illuminates details in dark areas in-game, making enemies easier to spot.
- An audio equalizer allows you to manually intensify certain sounds
- Four game modes allow you to promote performance or autonomy
- A set of tools allows you to customize the settings of a stream
The Xperia 1 VI will be available next June. Three colors will be offered: Khaki Green, Black and Platinum Silver. His price : 1399 euros. At Sony, it’s all one, all the other since alongside this Xperia 1 VI the Xperia 10 VI was also presented, sold for 399 euros. In 2024, the Japanese manufacturer covers the very high and mid-range and therefore leaves a hole at the high-end level.