Sony Xperia 1 IV review: The first smartphone with real optical zoom, 4K OLED & jack

After the dual telephoto lens of the Xperia 1 III, Sony is going one step further in its flagship for 2022. The Xperia 1 IV uses a periscope lens for the first time in a smartphone, allowing for real variable optical zoom. In contrast to the Galaxy S22 Ultra , he Sony phone does not only use a fixed focal length for the zoom, but can continuously zoom in on the subject between 85 mm and 125 mm.

That said, the Xperia 1 IV offers more than just exceptional camera hardware. Sporting a 6. 5-inch 21:9 OLED display with 4K resolution and 120 Hz, support for microSD cards and a 3.

5 mm headphone jack, the Japanese flagship takes a slightly different route than its competitors in the high-end smartphone segment. But the Xperia 1 IV does have one thing in common with the competition: its high price. The Sony smartphone with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is largely available with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage for a RRP of between US$ 1250—1399 (depending on your location) and is thus around US$100 cheaper than its predecessor .

In the US, a 512 GB variant is available for $1,599. 99. The glass and metal case of the Xperia 1 IV leaves a strong impression with its very good build quality.

For a flagship smartphone in 2022, the Xperia 1 IV is relatively light at 185 grams despite the high battery capacity of 5,000 mAh and is quite slim at 71 millimeters due to its elongated 21:9 display. However, the 8. 2 millimeter thin and IP68-certified Gorilla Glass Victus sandwich case looks sharp-edged due to the flat black and is thus less ergonomic than other representatives in the high-end segment.

The flat 6. 5-inch OLED panel is limited by thin lateral edges, but the size ratio between the display and the device’s front only amounts to 84. 2% because the upper and lower display edges are rather large.

Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra, for example, uses the available surface much more efficiently at over 90 percent. At least Sony’s flagship does not have a notch or a punch hole on the front. Besides the usual volume and power buttons, the Xperia 1 IV has a dedicate shutter button that starts the camera app and can be used as a shutter release.

With its Xperia 1 series, Sony continues to go unusual ways for a high-end phone. No other flagship smartphone offers a package consisting of a status LED, a 3. 5 mm jack for headphones and an expansion of the internal memory via a microSD card.

The latter has a capacity of 256 GB, although the actual available storage is lower at 219 GB due to the operating system and the preinstalled apps. The 5,000 mAh battery is charged via the Type-C port with the USB 3. 2 specification, which recognized external peripherals (such as memory sticks) without issue via USB OTG under testing.

In addition, the USB port allows for image transfer (via USB-C to HDMI adapter cable) at a maximum of 4K60. Wireless transmission of display content to external monitors via Miracast or Google Cast is also possible. Video content from streaming services can be viewed in HD quality, since the smartphone has undergone the Widevine L1 certification process.

The integrated microSD slot masters the current SDHC and SDXC standards up to 1 TB. In combination with our AV PRO V60 reference card, the microSD performance in the Cross Platform Disk Test is limited; the read rates in particular are low. The Xperia 1 IV’s copy speed of less than 15 MB/s is also below average.

The Xperia 1 IV ships with Android 12, which, according to Sony, will be provided with security updates and two Android upgrades for at least three years after the initial release. Considering the price range, this is very little. Samsung’s top models for example, are supposed to receive new Android operating systems for four years and even five years of security updates in the future.

As usual, the Japanese manufacturer combines the Android system with its in-house user interface, Sony UI, version 5. 71. During the review period, the security patches were from June 2022.

For home WLAN, the Xperia 1 IV offers the fast 802. 11ax standard with WiFi 6E, which ensured very high transfer rates in our measurements. We registered over 1700 MBit/s in the 6 GHz frequency band in combination with our Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 reference router.

The smartphone also manages a very strong 1600 MBit/s in the 5 GHz frequency range. The values are stable overall, even if the start-up phase is lower in our measurements. In addition to the fast WLAN, Sony’s flagship also makes use of Bluetooth 5.

2, dual-SIM and 5G, but without mmWave support, as well as an NFC chip for contactless payment. On top of the 5G standard, the Xperia 1 IV also supports access to a total of 24 LTE bands – all relevant LTE frequencies for the German-speaking region, including band 28, are covered. The Xperia phone is also well equipped for trips abroad, such as in the US.

In order to better assess positioning accuracy in everyday use, we took the Sony smartphone on a short trip and recorded the route in tandem with a Garmin Venue 2 for comparison purposes. The positioning module of the Xperia 1 IV uses satellite systems ranging from GPS (L1), GLONASS, QZSS to Galileo (E1) for positioning, but only in single-band. The satellite-based supplementary system SBAS also comes into play The Sony flagship’s positioning capabilities are not always perfect.

The deviations in the detailed view of the GPS record are quite significant for a high-end smartphone, so minor inaccuracies are often visible. But such deviations should not be a big issue for car navigation. There is little to criticize about the voice quality of the Xperia 1 IV.

Voices are reproduced intelligibly and our conversation partner also characterized them as clear. Users who require dual-SIM functionality can connect an eSIM to Sony’s flagship in addition to the physical nanoSIM card. Thanks to Wi-Fi calling, the Xperia Phone can be used to make calls via the Wi-Fi network when mobile reception is limited.

In addition, calls can be made via the LTE network using the VoLTE feature. The 12 MP front-facing camera with its in-house IMX663 takes solid selfies, but they are relatively blurred. The exposure does not function well, especially in portrait mode, and bright areas of the image are overexposed.

In addition, the subject appears very strongly “filtered” (i. e. “prettier”) ex works.

The IMX557 is installed in the main camera, as in the predecessor . The lens are optically stabilized and offer good results in daylight, even if subjects are heavily resharpened. In dark surroundings, photos are reasonably illuminated, but with lots of noise and the image sharpness is not very pronounced – not really ideal for this price range.

On the other hand, the image quality can still be optimized via the very extensive camera software. Like the Xperia 1 III, the current Xperia flagship not only offers numerous parameter adjustments, but also the well-known Alpha camera features, such as eye autofocus with real-time object tracking and continuous HDR shooting at 20 fps. The highlight of the Sony flagship is clearly the variable periscope optics with a loss-free zoom between 85 mm and 125 mm.

Behind the variable telephoto lens is an optically stabilized 1/3. 5-inch sensor that works steplessly between a magnification of 3. 5x and 5.

2x. However, we are not very impressed by the image quality. The sharpness could be much better and details are not accentuated either.

Even an iPhone 13 Pro with the 5x hybrid zoom (3x optical) produces a sharper picture of our test subject than the Xperia 1 IV. The 16 mm ultra-wide-angle camera of the Xperia 1 IV has good dynamics and a solid level of sharpness. However, the camera optics with EIS also produce some image flaws and other high-end smartphones offer more in terms of details.

Where Sony’s flagship stands out is in videography, since all three lenses allow for recording up to 120 fps in UHD quality, and the front-facing camera now allows for 4K HDR videos. The Xperia 1 IV also offers the Videography Pro app known from the Xperia Pro-I for more professional videos and a wide array of adjustment settings. You can also switch between the lenses during a running video recording, but subjects with the main and ultra-wide-angle cameras are displayed much more warmly than with the periscope lens.

We used ColorChecker passport to check the color calibration of the 12 MP main camera on the back under controlled lighting conditions. We analyzed color representation in comparison to the actual reference colors under standardized conditions – once in full studio lighting and once in 1 lux light intensity. The colors are very well reproduced for a smartphone.

No serious flaws are present: only two DeltaE deviations of over 10. However, the white balance still leaves room for improvement and black tones also have a gray haze. Sony does not provide the matching 30-watt power adapter (RRP: ~US$50) together with its flagship smartphone upon purchase.

A USB cable and the usual information material are included. Similar to the Xperia Pro-I, the Vlog Monitor (RRP: ~US$200) is offered as an accessory for the Xperia 1 IV, with which the rear-facing camera can be used for vlogging. In addition, the manufacturer’s homepage offers a matching style cover with a stand (RRP: ~US$35) and a recording grip with wireless remote control (RRP: ~US$200).

Sony provides a 24-month warranty for the Xperia 1 IV in Germany. This may vary from region to region, so be sure to check with your supplier before purchasing. Inputs on the 6.

5-inch OLED display are implemented swiftly and accurately right up to the corners of the touchscreen. A high refresh rate of 120 Hz also ensures buttery-smooth image changes when scrolling. The built-in vibration motor provides nice haptic feedback and makes typing very pleasant.

The Xperia 1 IV does not have an optical or ultrasound-based fingerprint sensor underneath the OLED screen. Instead, the fingers can be placed on the power button, where the biometric recognition functions quickly and very reliably. There is no face recognition unlock option via the front camera.

Presumably, Sony considers a FaceUnlock function via 2D method to be unsecure. The Xperia 1 IV possesses a 6. 5-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 3840×1644 and a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz.

Users wanting to save energy can also run Sony’s flagship at 60 Hz. However, the Xperia 1 IV does not offer adaptive adjustment like LTPO panels , which negatively impacts runtimes. Not only the pixel density of over 600 ppi, but also the achieved luminance is very good.

The high-end smartphone from Sony achieves an average of 890 cd/m² with a full white display. In the APL18 measurement, however, this drops slightly to 870 cd/m² – a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra achieves 1,788 cd/m² here. The panel of the Xperia 1 IV is thus bright enough for rendering HDR content, but not optimally suited.

Due to the OLED technology, we observed screen flickering that varies between 161 and 481 Hz. A DC dimming mode does not appear to be available in the settings. Sony’s UI of the Xperia 1 IV offers a manual white balance as well as the well-known “Creator Mode” that is compatible with the large BT.

2020 color space and 10-bit colors. In addition, the standard mode for individually configurable apps can be expanded with the BT. 2020 color gamut, which means that compared to other standards, a significantly larger part of the color spectrum perceptible to humans is supported.

We examined the color calibration of the OLED panel with the CalMAN analysis software. In Creator mode, the sRGB color space is almost completely covered. The large color space may only be supported in certain applications (video editing, etc.

). The DeltaE values indicate minor deviations in the colors, only minimal differences can be seen in the blue tones. The representation of grayscale is also very accurate.

The Xperia phone is well equipped for outdoor use. Its high brightness stands up well to bright ambient light. Only the highly reflective surface prevents better readability in direct sunlight.

Unfortunately, the Xperia 1 IV does not have the large brightness reserves of a Galaxy S22 Ultra . The viewing-angle stability of the AMOLED display is very good. The typical brightness drop is seen at flat viewing angles, and we also noticed a faint purple haze on the OLED panel.

In the graphics tests, the Xperia 1 IV is clearly below the values of a Xiaomi 12 Pro . That the onscreen results would be lower due to the 4K panel was to be expected, but the large gap in the GFX benchmark offscreen values was not. The waste heat of Sony’s flagship seems to have a negative impact here.

The Xperia 1 IV makes an excellent impression in everyday use as well as during browsing, since thermal issues are insignificant here. System performance and benchmark values are first class. The write and read rates of the UFS storage in Sony’s flagship are on par with other competing high-end smartphones.

The read speed in particular is very strong at almost 2,000 MB/s. Sony also thought of gamers, providing a touch sampling rate of 240 Hz, a game optimizer, and the Snapdragon Elite gaming features. In addition to the benchmark tests, we checked the Xperia 1 IV’s graphics performance with Android games from the Play Store.

Frame rates were logged during gaming sessions with the GameBench tool. In good display quality (HD), PUBG Mobile is consistently rendered at 60 fps. A very solid 40 fps is also playable in UltraHD.

Strong drops in the frame rate are not really noticeable, even under the highest graphics settings. However, the values for Armajet are surprisingly weak, probably due to a limitation on the part of the Japanese manufacturer. Here we would have expected over 100 frames per second, at least for a short time.

The case’s surface temperatures of over 40 °C are clearly noticeable. We used the 3DMark stress test to check how consistently the Xperia 1 IV performs. In both test scenarios, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 throttles significantly – as does the Qualcomm competition.

A reduction in the refresh rate also occurs under high load, which could become a problem during long gaming sessions. The stereo speakers of the Xperia 1 IV sound very good and are sufficiently loud. In addition to High-Res Audio, DSSE Ultimate and 360 Reality Audio, users are offered Music Pro, a recording service that can be used to record music without any external equipment.

In the case of the latter, however, the cloud-based audio functions are subscription-based. Music output via the two front-firing speakers hardly has any bass, but the mids are linear. Dips can be seen in the pink noise diagram in the super high tones.

The audio jack of the Xperia 1 IV offers a solid noise level with an SNR value of 81. Music playback via Bluetooth 5. 2 is made possible by the SBC, AAC aptX, AAC, LHDC and LDAC codecs.

The 5,000 mAh battery only charges at a maximum of 30 watts via USB-C-PD and wirelessly at a maximum of 15 watts. The power consumption is not particularly efficient, but not conspicuously high either. At an average of 1.

7 watts, we still see room for improvement, particularly when idling. The runtimes of the Xperia 1 IV are not very long due to the permanent 120 Hz and high resolution. Our comparison devices are best compared with an adjusted display brightness of 150 cd/m².

In the practical WLAN test, Sony’s flagship manages only 7 hours and 10. 5 hours with the WLAN module disabled during unending video playback. The Xperia 1 IV also has below-average endurance values under full load, but the differences to an Oppo Find X5 Pro or Xiaomi 12 Pro are not so significant.

Users who take a lot of pictures with Sony’s flagship and play the occasional Android game during the day will not be able to avoid intermediate recharging of the 5,000 mAh battery. The Xperia 1 IV is the individualist in the high-end smartphone segment. Sony’s flagship is high-quality and very well equipped, but it does not perform on the same level as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra or the Oppo Find X5 Pro .

n certain areas (camera, battery life, display brightness). On the other hand, the Xperia 1 IV caters to a niche for fans of a 3. 5 mm jack and memory expansion – at least in this price range.

Moreover, Sony throws in the near-forgotten status LED on top. The very nice OLED panel with its high resolution is also a unique selling point of the Xperia 1 IV, but it has to concede defeat to the LTPO competition, such as the Xiaomi 12 Pro , in terms of brightness and energy efficiency. The Xperia 1 IV does a lot things differently than the competition.

Thanks to the high-quality cameras and the extensive software, users are very flexibly equipped, especially in the field of video recording. Furthermore, vloggers will benefit from the extensive setting options in combination with the optional accessories, which again caters to a niche. However, the Xperia 1 IV is less suitable for point-and-shoot pictures than the competition because the photos in automatic mode are only partially satisfactory – the variable zoom in particular is somewhat disappointing.

Users who only want to press the shutter button will not be satisfied with the results of the Xperia 1 IV. In the US, the 512 GB variant of the Sony Xperia 1 IV is available on pre-order via Amazon for $ 1,599. 99 .

Otherwise, the availability of the Sony Xperia 1 IV appears to vary from location to location. We found, for example, that our reviewed configuration is available via Amazon UK for £1,299. 00 , Amazon France for 1 398, 98 € and Amazon Spain for 1.

249,00€ . Searches via Amazon’s websites in Canada, India and Australia proved unsuccessful, though this does not mean that the smartphone is not available via other distributors. Prices are as of 06.

08. 2022 and are subject to change. .