Sony Xperia 1 IV: Smartphone with optical zoom presented
With the Xperia 1 IV, Sony has introduced a smartphone that is primarily designed to produce high-quality photos, videos and audio recordings.
According to Sony, the Xperia 1 IV has the "first optical smartphone zoom lens". The focal length ranges from 85 to 125 millimeters and is not the only feature that makes the camera setup special.
Camera, light and sound
All three rear cameras - 16-mm ultra-wide and 24-mm wide-angle lens as well as the telephoto lens - and the front camera feature an "Exmor RS" image sensor with a resolution of twelve megapixels. This enables all three rear cameras to record 4K HDR videos with 120 frames per second (FPS) - that is, five times slow motion at 24 FPS. This has been limited to single cameras in other smartphones so far.
In the footnote, Sony adds the 120 FPS sensor to the statement about the "first optical smartphone zoom lens". Thus, the Samsung Galaxy K from 2014 with a tenfold optical zoom, for example, should not be considered a competitor - that was also more of a compact camera with Android and phone function.
Sony's Videography Pro is new for videos in the Xperia 1 IV. Sony bundles all settings for videos here. Focus, exposure or white balance can be easily adjusted even during the recording. Optical Steadyshot image stabilization and an eye autofocus are also on board. Cinematography Pro is said to make it possible to record videos "with parameters and color settings similar to those of professionals."
Livestreaming is also possible via the smartphone. In doing so, you can connect Sony's Vlog Monitor or connect the Xperia 1 IV to an Alpha camera. While the camera supplies the image data, the smartphone then serves as an external monitor.
The Xperia 1 IV has stereo speakers and supports 360 Reality Audio, among other things. However, you need a subscription from Tidal or nugs.net for that. If you record sound yourself, "Music Pro" is supposed to provide studio-quality audio recordings with the help of a cloud processing technology.
The most important key data
The rest of the equipment makes the Xperia 1 IV a current top smartphone. The 6.5-inch OLED display has a 4K resolution with 3840×1644 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 hertz. It is also supposed to be 50 percent brighter than the predecessor. The front and back are made of robust and scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass Victus. The casing is IP65/68 certified and can thus survive 30 minutes in 1.5 meters of water without damage.
Sony equips the Xperia 1 IV with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and twelve gigabytes of working memory. You can expand the 256 GB internal storage with a micro-SD card. The 5000 mAh battery is supposed to be charged to 50% in 30 minutes. However, Sony does not include a power adapter or charging cable with the smartphone. As a result, the packaging is supposed to be only half the size and 36 percent less CO₂ emissions.
Price and availability
Sony plans to sell the Xperia 1 IV from mid-June 2022. The recommended retail price is 1399 Euros in Germany and 1399 Swiss Francs in Switzerland.
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