Supposed renders of Sony’s upcoming flagship, the Xperia 1 IV, have surfaced online, revealing a familiar design that has been a mainstay on Sony phones for quite some time. Sony eventually delivered the Xperia 1 III to the United States less than a month ago, nine months after its formal announcement. The phone is a good bundle, but at $1,000, it’s not the most appealing high-end Android phone on the market.
While the classic design has its supporters and detractors, delivering a Snapdragon 888-powered phone for that price when competitors such as Samsung are offering Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phones for a lesser price makes little sense. With the impending Xperia 1 IV flagship, whose renders have already made their way to social media, Sony appears to aim to upset the status quo in 2022.
@OnLeaks provided the leaked renders, while Giznext revealed some additional details regarding the future phone. Sony has kept the large 21:9 aspect ratio screen on its upcoming device, promising a ‘cinematic’ movie viewing experience. Furthermore, the large display allows for a little more content for doomscrolling, but the slim profile makes one-handed use easier. The screen is said to be 6.5 inches, which is the same size as Sony’s camera-focused Xperia Pro-I, which had a 1-inch camera sensor and a slew of other features. If Sony’s prior flagships are any indicator, this one will be a hit. Then there’s the OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a sprinkle of proprietary display technology acquired from Sony’s Bravia TV range.
Internal Upgrades, Hopefully, Will Be Worth It
The removal of a dedicated Google Assistant button, which could also be customized and assigned a shortcut on prior Sony flagships, appears to be the only design modification made by Sony. The vertical, pill-shaped profile of the camera lens island has not changed. There’s no information on megapixel counts yet, but a rectangular lens hint that one of them is a periscope-style telephoto camera that zooms in and out using a folding lens mechanism. Apple is said to be looking into the same camera technology, but it’s unclear whether the iPhone 14 Pro versions would be the first to use it. The rest of the internal hardware is yet unknown.
However, the general trend of 2022 flagships predicts that the Xperia 1 IV will come with amenities like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, plenty of RAM, fast charging, and some camera upgrades. After years of decline, Sony’s smartphone sales suddenly increased last year, and the firm attributed the increase to higher unit sales in its financial results. Unfortunately, Sony’s price approach hasn’t been appealing enough to entice more purchasers, but the main issue is a pattern of market delays. One can only hope that Sony provides the Xperia 1 III at a competitive price and releases it in time to compete with phones from Samsung, Apple, and Google.
