Mats Hellqvist
Sony has just unveiled its new flagship Xperia 1 V with the first stacked Exmor T mobile sensor. The typical 4K OLED display with a 21:9 aspect ratio and the currently fastest Snapdragon chipset are also on board. The display measures 6.5 inches and refreshes at 120Hz. It retains the Xperia 1 IV’s X1 for Mobile engine, which primarily monitors video quality via software. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects the panel, while the selfie camera, which has a resolution of 12 megapixels on a 1/2.9 inch sensor, is located in the upper frame as usual.
The back is also protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and has a non-slip surface. In addition, Sony built in corrugated sides for optimal grip. Thanks to the IP65 and IP68 certifications, there is no need to worry about dust and water either. Inside the Xperia 1 V works a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Unlike almost every other premium smartphone, the Sony phone also comes with a microSD slot for storage expansion. Overheating issues should be a thing of the past thanks to a 60% larger vapor chamber and lower camera power consumption.
Despite this, the 1/1.35-inch sensor is 70% larger than the chip in the Xperia 1 IV. It’s a 52-megapixel multi-aspect sensor under an f/1.9 lens. Multi-aspect means that the sensor has an aspect ratio of 4.3:3. This puts it exactly between the 4:3 normally used for images and the 16:9 of most videos. So you can’t use the full resolution in both cases. But in both cases there is only a slightly smaller section instead of having to crop the area very much in one of the cases.
Sony Xperia 1 V with Stacked Pixels
The individual pixels of the Sony Xperia 1 V are 1.12 μm, which after 4-in-1 binning results in 12 megapixel images with 2.24 μm pixels. But what really makes the sensor unique is the stacked pixel structure, where the photodiode and transistor are stacked on top of each other in two separate layers. This allows the main camera to maximize the amount of light while reducing noise. According to Sony, the new sensor performs twice as well as its predecessor in low light conditions. We also finally get a night mode.
Apart from the main camera, the new Sony Xperia 1 V has the same 85-125mm, f/2.3-f/2.8 telephoto camera with 12 megapixels and continuous zoom as the 1 IV. Another 12 megapixel sensor sits underneath the 16 mm ultra wide camera with auto focus. The ToF sensor is no longer on board. According to Sony, the AI algorithms are now so good that the ToF chip is simply no longer needed. Sony has also updated its Photo Pro and Video Pro apps with a vertical interface and focus peaking. Streamers now have the ability to monitor live chat directly from the Sony smartphone display.
On the audio side, the Sony Xperia 1 V offers improved stereo speakers with more volume and richer bass. The 3.5 mm headphone jack is also here to sty, which is a rather rare feature in the premium segment. Power is supplied by a 5,000 mAh battery, which charges at 30 watts via a cable. This means that 50% capacity arrives in the battery in 30 minutes. The 1 V also features wireless and reverse wireless charging, and Sony says it will retain at least 80% of its battery capacity after three years of use.
The Sony Xperia 1 V will be available in black, platinum silver and khaki green color options at the end of June. Exact availability will be announced later. It is priced at €1,399 in Europe, £1,299 in the UK and $1,399 in the US. Sony also introduced the Xperia 10 V today.
