Sony Xperia 1 IV in the Techstage test: Extremely expensive smartphone with a professional camera Sony has been concentrating on a few smartphones for years – the new model of the 4th generation should actually be perfect. But it is not. 4:45 p.m. tech stage

Sony’s withdrawal from the smartphone business has been discussed several times, but in the end the Japanese cult manufacturer has not withdrawn completely, but only partially. For years, the focus has therefore been on a few models for the middle class, but also for the upper class.

A representative of the latter category is the new Sony Xperia 1 IV, which like its predecessor Xperia 1 III (test report) wants to score with an angular design without a notch, great software and a real zoom camera again. Unfortunately, with all the quality that the top-of-the-range smartphone undoubtedly brings, there are still a few unanswered questions that caused us to frown.

Sony stays true to its angular design and thus definitely has a unique selling point on the smartphone market. Because this goes hand in hand with the omission of a notch, i.e. a bulge or a hole on the edge of the display, which allows a front camera to look outside. Instead, Sony also uses “chin and forehead” for the Xperia 1 IV, i.e. a wider edge above and below the large screen. According to Sony, the reason is still the desire not to have to give up a single pixel from the display and not to disturb media enjoyment. And the fact that the Sony flagship is designed for “really big cinema” is already shown by the form factor of the OLED display, because it is not at 16:9, but as with the predecessors at 21:9 – cinema format.

This has the disadvantage that a smartphone without a notch, but with comparatively wide edges at the top and bottom of the display, looks a bit antiquated and unnecessarily large. In fact, Sony could save part of the 165 millimeters in length if the manufacturer built its smartphone just as bezel-free as the upper-class competition. In return, you have to give Sony and the Xperia 1 IV credit for not wasting the space pointlessly. Front-facing stereo speakers are embedded at the top and bottom, and there is also a notification LED and the front camera at the top. So the space is mostly used sensibly. Either way, the elongated design is not a disadvantage, but even has an advantage: the top-of-the-line smartphone looks almost handy despite its size. The reason for this is the small width of the device, which means that the cell phone fits surprisingly well in the hand despite all its angularity. Because the length doesn’t bother you, thanks to the narrow width, the model can also be comfortably wrapped around with normal-sized hands – this is much more difficult with the competition.

Of course, the excellent build quality of the Xperia 1 IV also contributes to the good feeling in the hand. The matt aluminum frame offers a chic and practical cut edge on the edges. As a result, the glass on the front of the display and the matte glass on the back (Gorilla Glass Victus) smoothly blend into the metal and there are no sharp edges. The few antenna gaps are perfectly embedded in the aluminum and the hardware keys have an optimal pressure point and short key drop. This applies to the volume rocker protruding from the frame as well as to the embedded power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor and the dedicated camera button. It is not only ribbed and thus differs haptically from the other control elements, but is also designed in two stages: Half depress – focus. Press all the way down – take a photo. Just like a real camera. No other manufacturer offers that anymore. The same applies to the 3.5 millimeter connection of the Xperia 1 IV in the upper class.

In terms of design, there is also nothing to complain about, as long as you like the monolithic design language. It definitely looks high-quality, especially the back with the matte glass looks very classy. It also doesn’t attract fingerprints, which means it stays stylish longer than many of its competitors. The optical highlight is the camera. It looks much more filigree than the competitors, who like to present their picture banners in a particularly impressive way. With Sony, you only see a narrow, slightly protruding glass strip with several lenses and sensors. Only at second glance does a rather unusual lens in an almost rectangular shape like its predecessor catch the eye in the glass strip – the zoom camera. A bit unfortunate: In our test device, the lens is not inserted quite straight – that doesn’t match the otherwise flawless workmanship of the device. All in all, the IP68-certified housing, which is therefore protected against dust and water, is designed to be more reserved than extroverted and should therefore appeal to the majority of prospective buyers.

As already mentioned, the form factor is exceptional with its 21:9 ratio and the resolution is also not exactly commonplace. While the competition – including the high-flyer Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (test report) – stop at 1440p, Sony gives its 6.5-inch OLED panel a full 3840 x 1644 pixels and thus an outstanding image sharpness of 643 pixels per inch (ppi) – this is great. Combined with a playback frequency of 120 Hz, the screen of the Xperia 1 IV not only looks sharp, but also appears absolutely smooth – not least because of the sheer power of the built-in processor.

We really liked the natural color reproduction (especially in Creator mode) and strong contrasts, where Sony manages not to oversaturate the drawing. The white balance does a good job too. We were a bit worried about the brightness, which was already the case with the predecessor Xperia 1 III (test report) .was under criticism. With a measured 570 cd/m² in manual mode and 840 candela in automatic mode, the values ​​are okay, but the premium class competition is sometimes significantly stronger here. Nevertheless, we are not dissatisfied with the screen of the Sony smartphone, even if it could be better given the high price of the device. After all, the screen can still be read properly in direct sunlight and there is also a real always-on display. So there is definitely reason to complain, but the complaining is on a high level.

Let’s get to the highlight of the Sony Xperia 1 IV, the camera. Unfortunately, you always have to be a bit careful with Sony. Because although Sony builds and uses high-quality camera sensors and has decades of experience with its own cameras, the manufacturer has always managed in the past to get the competition with the same Sony sensors to get better results from its cameras. This is sometimes deceptive, but let’s first take a look at the technical specifications of the camera.