The Sony Xperia 1V is Sony’s newest flagship smartphone, and it looks like it’s playing on our best camera phone list as it’s the camera that’s seen the most upgrades.
That’s not all that’s changed since the Sony Xperia 1 IV though, as it’s certainly a more powerful phone than its predecessor.
So below, you’ll find everything you need to know about the Sony Xperia 1V, including details on the release date and price.
To the point
- What is this? Sony’s latest flagship phone
- when is it coming out? Announcement on May 11, shipping from the end of June
- How much is it? Starts at $1399.99 / £1299 (around AU$2100)
Sony Xperia 1 V release date and price
The Sony Xperia 1 V was announced on May 11, 2023, but when and if it will be available for purchase depends on where you are in the world.
In the UK it will ship on June 29 (pre-orders will open on June 14), while in the US it can be pre-ordered now, but it won’t ship until July 28 and is unlikely to be sold in Australia.
As for the price, you’ll pay at least $1,399.99 / £1,299 (around AU$2,100). That’s the starting price too, so if you want 512GB of storage instead of 256GB, it’s going to cost more. Although this larger model may not be available everywhere.
That said, Sony is softening the blow a bit by throwing in a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones with UK pre-orders. They typically cost $399 / £380 / AU$649, and we’ve given them five stars. Instead, in the US, you’ll get LinkBuds wireless earbuds (worth $179 / £149 / AU$299) and a $50 voucher.
Sony Xperia 1 V design and display
The Sony Xperia 1 V looks very similar to the Sony Xperia 1 IV, with a similarly tall and narrow design. It measures 165 x 71 x 8.3mm, weighs 187g and has Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and textured glass back and an aluminum frame.
The phone will be available in black, khaki green and platinum silver colors and is IP68 and IP65 certified making it more water resistant than most phones.
The display is a 6.5-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1644 x 3840 with a refresh rate of 120Hz and a narrow 21:9 aspect ratio. This is a remarkable display for both this form factor and its extremely high 4K resolution. That said, it’s the same thing Sony has been doing for years, so it’s remarkable compared to other smartphone brands.
Sony Xperia 1V cameras and battery
The cameras are the most interesting part of the Sony Xperia 1V, especially the main sensor which is 52MP f/1.9. Only not quite, because only 48 of these megapixels are in the effective area for taking pictures, and the resulting photos are pixelated up to 12 MP.
Still, it’s a big improvement on the Sony Xperia 1 IV’s 12MP sensor, and not just because of the extra megapixels – this camera uses the new “Exmor T for mobile” sensor design and has a 1.7x larger sensor than the Xperia Main Camera 1 IV, a combination that Sony says allows for 2x better low-light photos.
It’s a big improvement here, but the other cameras, while the same as before, remain noteworthy, particularly the 12MP f/2.3 telephoto lens as it offers continuous optical zoom between 3.5x and 5.2x. Oh, and both the main and telephoto snapper have optical image stabilization.
Rounding out the rear cameras is a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle, while the Sony Xperia 1 V also supports 4K video recording and has a 12MP front-facing camera.
As for the battery, it’s 5,000mAh and supports 30W wired charging. There’s also wireless charging, but Sony hasn’t said how fast it is.
Sony claims that the battery can last around 20 hours of continuous video playback and that it can be charged to 50% in 30 minutes.
Sony Xperia 1 V Specifications and Features
The Sony Xperia 1 V has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. That’s more than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the Xperia 1 IV, and along with the main camera is another big upgrade this year.
It’s also the same chipset found in the OnePlus 11 series and the Samsung Galaxy S23 – although Samsung uses a faster version of it. Added to this is 12 GB of RAM and a choice of 256 GB or 512 GB of memory.
As expected, the Xperia 1V runs Android 13 and has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, 5G support, and stereo speakers.