When it comes to its phones, the one thing that Sony takes great pride in is the design. With the launch of its latest phone Xperia 1, Sony hopes to stand apart from the competitors. Sony is pinning great hopes on the Xperia 1 which is a successor to the Xperia XZ2 premium. The most noticeable feature of this latest phone offering by Sony is the 21:9 aspect ratio screen.  This gives the Xperia 1 a tall and slender frame. What was the purpose of this and what else does the Sony Xperia 1 feature? Let’s find out.

Is Sony Xperia 1 the New Best Friend of Vloggers and Filmmakers?

Although the Sony Xperia 1 has a lot of other features, the 21:9 screen is that one feature of the phone that Sony has been aggressively pitching to potential buyers. The basic idea behind the 21:9 screen is to enhance the video viewing and gaming experience on the phone. However, the target audience is actually vloggers and filmmakers who would want to create content for 21:9 screen.

A phone with a great display, the Sony Xperia 1 sits at the very top of the smartphone portfolio of Sony. However, the question is that can the Xperia 1 compete with other Android phones such as Huawei and Samsung phones? Perhaps, we will have a better idea of this once we’ve gone through the design, display, cameras, and performance of the Sony Xperia 1. So, let’s begin.

1.     Design and Display

The Sony Xperia 1 has a narrow and slender body. The design of the phone is similar to the Motorola One Vision and if you’ve used a type 19:9 phone, then you’ll find the Xperia 1 is a little thin. The phone’s dimensions are exactly the same as that of Xperia 10 plus: 167 x 72 x 8.2mm. The back of the phone has a Corning Gorilla Glass covering with a metal frame in the middle.

The phone is a bit fragile on the rear side and may feel very delicate at time. So, you would have to handle the Xperia 1’s rear side with extreme care. The read side of the phone is specs heavy and features a camera shutter button, small power button, fingerprint sensor, and a volume rocker. The shutter button and the sensor are especially worth mentioning since they give the Xperia a unique look and feel.

In addition to the above, you will find on the phone a SIM card tray and a USB-C port. Another noticeable feature of the phone is the OLED HDR display. While this looks good in writing, you would barely be able to view the screen when you take out the phone in the sun to take pictures. This is because the screen has a surprisingly low brightness. However, the color accuracy of the Xperia is fine.

All in all, although the Xperia 1 has a 4k resolution, it may not be great for taking pictures when you step outside of your home and into the sun. Considering the phone has a premium price, we would say that the display of the phone is disappointing. As for the design, we would say it is decent enough.

2.     Cameras

The rear of the Xperia 1 features three 12-megapixel cameras. Two of the cameras have an ultra-wide angle while the third one has a telephoto lens. In the past, we have seen Sony’s focus a lot on megapixels in its phones. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case with the Xperia 1. Also, this is the first time a Sony phone features a triple lens camera.

According to Sony, its phone applies the Alpha algorithm to a raw image which significantly reduces noise. Additionally, the eye tracking autofocus of the camera allows users to keep better track of the person/ thing they’re capturing. The phone allows you to shoot video in 24 fps.

The camera results are still a bit of a mystery because the phone was launched only a few days ago. So, we will have to wait a bit before we can a full review of the Xperia 1’s camera performance. It will be interesting to see how Sony’s new camera system works.

3.     Performance

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset is used to operate the Xperia1. However, the phone is not 5G compatible. Other hardware features of the Xperia 1 include an internal storage of 128GB, a 6GB RAM, and support for microSD up to 512GB. Additionally, you can replace the microSD card with a dual SIM.  The Xperia 1 has a battery capacity of 3330mAh. This seems quite low when you consider that the phone is designed for shooting footage in 4k resolution.

In addition to the above, there are several features that benefit from the 21:9 screen. This includes the Multi-Window user interface (UI). This new user interface allows users to run two apps on the phone at the same time. One screen runs at the top of the screen and the other at the bottom. Another great thing about the phone is that you can launch Facebook and Album in Multi-Window by giving the instruction to Google Assistant.

To add to the above, there is also the Side Sense feature. This feature makes it possible for users to double tap the screen’s right side to see their most frequent apps on the screen. This ensures quicker access to frequently used apps. Also, there is a games enhancer with a Focus Mode that you can select when playing an interactive game such as Fortnite. With this feature, you can choose between battery life and performance and also disable notifications to play games without disturbance.

While the Xperia 1 has a great display and features, it does not live up to its price. However, it may be worth a try if you like watching videos or playing games on a ‘Big’ screen.

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