Sony today announced two new phones: its latest flagship, the Xperia 1IV, and a mid-range one called Xperia 10 IV.
Regarding availability and price, you will be able to purchase the Xperia 1 IV from September 1, 2022 for an approximate price of €1,399. The Xperia 10 IV will go on sale in mid-June 2022, for about 499 euros.
Sony Xperia 1 IV
With the Xperia 1 IV, Sony has focused on improving the camera system, audio playback, display quality, and even gaming performance.
The Xperia 1 IV has a telephoto camera equipped with the world’s first true optical zoom lens with a varifocal length of 85-125mm. This means that the camera can gradually increase and decrease its optical magnification.
In addition to its telephoto camera, the Xperia 1 IV also features a 16mm ultra-wide angle and a 24mm main camera. All three have a 12 MP “Exmor RS for mobile” image sensor, which allows them to record in 4K at 120 fps and 5x slow motion video.
Additionally, all camera lenses are coated with a ZEISS coating that contributes to accurate rendering and contrast by reducing reflections.
The front camera also features “Exmor RS for Mobile,” which enables better low-light noise reduction and 4K HDR selfies.
The phone is capable of “Eye AF” (eye centered autofocus) and “Object Tracking” while recording videos and taking photos to keep the subject in focus. Both features also help when live streaming to YouTube, for example via Sony’s Videography Pro app.
The Xperia 1 IV features what Sony calls stereo full-stage speakers“, which according to the company improve the reproduction of the phone’s bass. It is also compatible with 360 Reality Audio sound, which supposedly offers a better sound experience when listening to music from apps that support this type of audio.
In addition, there is also support for DSEE Ultimate, which can improve the sound quality of streaming services. There will also be support for Bluetooth LE Audio which can reduce lag when using Bluetooth audio devices, which will come later via a software update.
Sony Xperia 1 IV comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It brings 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage on board, as well as a 5,000mAh battery which can fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes.
Sony’s new flagship phone features a 4K HDR OLED displayable to offer a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a touch scan rate of 240 Hz. The screen, as well as the back of the phone, are protected by glass Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.
The Xperia 1 IV will be available in a matte design and in three different color options: Black, Ice White and Purple.
Sony Xperia 10 IV: the new mid-ranger
As for the Xperia 10 IV, Sony has focused on making it compact and as light as possible without sacrificing the size of the phone’s battery, which in this case is 5,000mAh. In fact, Sony claims that it is the lightest 5,000 mAh 5G smartphone in the world.
The Xperia 10 IV camera system features three cameras: 16mm ultra-wide, 27mm main, and 54mm telephoto. There’s also optical image stabilization (OIS) and HDR, however Sony doesn’t specify if they work on all three cameras or just the main one.
There’s also a mention of improved noise reduction in the selfie camera and an improved version of digital zoom, both of which are powered by AI.
Probably one of the most notable features/specs of the Xperia 10 IV is that it has a 3.5mm headphone jack. Apart from that, it is also compatible with the Hi-Res Audio and 360 Reality to optimize the sound while listening through headphones. It works with both local audio files and streaming services.
The Xperia 10 IV comes equipped with the chipset Snapdragon 695 from Qualcomm, which is the same mid-range chip.
The phone has a 6.0″ 21:9 OLED screen, with no notch or camera hole to hinder the view. The screen is 15% brighter and is protected by the same Victus Gorilla Glass found on the more expensive model.
The Xperia 10 IV comes in 4 different color options: Black, White, Mint and Lavender.
