Sony Xperia 1 IV goes official priced at $1,600 w/ Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, headphone jack, more

Damien Wilde | May 11 2022 - 2:13 am PT

Although a small player in the Android smartphone space, for enthusiasts the brand-new Sony Xperia 1 IV could provide everything they are hoping for in a smartphone — but for a hefty asking price.

Announced during an online livestream, the Sony Xperia 1 IV is an out-and-out flagship that follows a familiar path to previous generations while improving in a few notable areas. The boxy chassis retains the 120Hz 6.5-inch 4K OLED with the distinctive 21:9 aspect ratio. However, the display is said to be up to 50% brighter than the panel found on last year’s excellent Xperia 1 III. Internally, the Xperia 1 IV touts the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor alongside 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage that can be expanded via microSD card up to 1TB.

A large 5,000mAh battery is also tucked inside and although no speeds were mentioned, Sony notes fast charging and wireless charging support for the Xperia 1 IV. Biometric security is provided via a power button fingerprint scanner, while there is room for a 3.5mm headphone jack, dual front-facing speakers, plus a dedicated camera shutter button.

At the rear, the triple camera setup looks familiar but includes a number of upgrades. Sony has retained a triple 12-megapixel array, but the telephoto zoom lens is now capable of seamlessly switching between the 85-125mm focal range with no loss in quality or fidelity. On the previous model, this was limited to 70 or 105mm, so this is a notable improvement for zoom shooting.

Android 12 comes pre-installed as standard on the Xperia 1 IV, which is an ultra-lightweight alteration over the AOSP builds of Google’s OS. You’ll find a plethora of features to help boost performance including Game Enhancer, enhanced vibration controls plus more.

As with just about every Sony smartphone release in recent years, fans will have a long wait to actually get hold of the Xperia 1 IV. It isn’t expected to actually go on sale from September 1, 2022, with an eye-watering $1,600 price in two colors: purple or black. If you can hold out, it might offer all of the functions and hardware features you’ve been looking for.