Sony Xperia 1 update brings much needed camera stability improvements

11 September 2019
It's also packing the latest security patches.

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  • Anonymous
  • Lj%
  • 12 Sep 2019

Hildr, 12 Sep 2019To be honest, the only difference between a $400 mid range ... moreLOL ....

1) flagships have better software support. Most midranges do not earn more than 1 new version of android. Most do not get monthly security patch.

2) Flagships have better wifi/mobile connection. Upload and download speeds are far better.

3) Almost all midranges use slower emmc5.1, while flagships have ufs2.1 or 3.0

4) many midranges use slower ddr3 ram. Many chinese phones use 6Gb ddr3 instead of 4Gb ddr4.

5) it is rare to find midranges with stereo speakers or IP rating

6) midranges screen have lower quality, no matter if LCD or oled. Also OEMs do not spend much efforts to calibrate as they would for flagships

7) many midranges use older versions of gorilla glass, like gg3 or gg4

8) weaker cpu and gpu

9) even if you put same camera hardware for midrange and flagship, the software wont be tunned same way. Midranges use cheaper lenses with lower quality. Video stabilization is always weaker.

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    • TuPapi
    • Mh%
    • 12 Sep 2019

    As usual, the Xperia software team is 6 months behind the competition

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      • Anonymous
      • Lj%
      • 12 Sep 2019

      KebabSLO, 12 Sep 2019This is what i'm saying. The Xperia phones are overpriced.... morePrice drops after few months , still barely sell.
      No excuse.

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        • Hildr
        • 0FD
        • 12 Sep 2019

        The Wall, 12 Sep 2019Screen is the most important thing on the mobile device per... morePeople have often a really cheap and badly calibrated 50" screen at home to watch oversaturated content on the TV channel. I'm not sure people really care about natural looking screen. The same goes for the photo, thus the bad review for this Xperia 1 that is just plain natural even if the details are far better than the competition (but HDR sucks).

        On the other hand, majority of the photos taken in the world are from a smartphone, so camera on smartphones are at least as important as the screen. It's far easier to use, it's always in the pocket, and you can even play a little with manual mode with easy access to settings.
        Plus I think it can be right to says that the vast majority of photo are viewed on a smartphone or at best on a laptop, and not on a 70" screen. The composition of the photo will matter far more than the difference of quality between a $800 phone and a $400 camera (yeah, it would not be right to compare with a $800 camera since you still need a phone to do everything else).
        Camera on phone are not snake oil, it's the equivalent of the one-use camera almost everyone bought for holidays before the smartphones gave them easy way to take photo.

        You will not do a Wildlife documentary with a smartphone (well, in fact, you could), but you will not use a dedicated camera to just make a trash photo to share and delete because it's fun. And it's not less useful. Not only know, but 20 years ago we already did that with a Polaroid snapshot cameras.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • Lj%
          • 12 Sep 2019

          Shadocx, 12 Sep 2019I remember when I had my Xperia Z3 with almost 21 MP on the... moreZ series took 8MP as default.
          Using downsampling.
          It has benefits, but also few downsides.

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            • Anonymous
            • Lj%
            • 12 Sep 2019

            A photographer told me it behaves exactly like the RX100.
            Of course not comparing quality, because a 1" sensor can easily beat any cellphone.

            In his opinion most brands prefer artificial looking, no matter if it is far from reality.

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              • LOL
              • YTy
              • 12 Sep 2019

              KebabSLO, 12 Sep 2019This is what i'm saying. The Xperia phones are overpriced.... moreIt's the Sony tax. Either the price is increased or the specs are reduced. Usually both.

              Anyway, Sony's mobile business is shrinking into non-existence. I think Sony is happy to just sell cameras, camera sensors, music, games and headphones. It's a matter of when, not if, Xperia phones are no longer sold.

              No hate, just reality. It's a shame with all the wasted potential at Sony.

                ArchDragoon, 12 Sep 2019Ok... when will 21:9 photo shooting can be available?21:9 photos in cinema alta

                  greenarcher02, 12 Sep 2019Huh... Usually Sony gets security updates first but my Note... moredon't worry when the Xperia 1 update android 10 your note 10 will be missing 4 months to update

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                    • The Wall
                    • LHe
                    • 12 Sep 2019

                    Hildr, 12 Sep 2019To be honest, the only difference between a $400 mid range ... moreScreen is the most important thing on the mobile device period. Truth be told most of the screens are just good enough when they were LCD but with OLED game my god there is some atrocious displays even in so called flagship models. Small OLED is not ready for the prime time unless you are buying a $1,000 device such as S10, Xperia 1, iPhone X, ROG 2, P30 Pro and so on. Midrange OLEDs are disastrous with color shifts all over, huge PWM issues that require you to crank up the brightness, absolute inability to produce whitest white and so on. We are not talking about color properties reproduction, we are talking about basic stuff. Truth be told LCD had the same issue with low end models where viewing angles and washed out colors were present, cheap laptops still have screens like that. But with LCD on mobile they all got to a fair point quite quickly and they were good enough across the range. With OLED I'm not sure we will ever see that point because it's a lot more expensive to manufacture small panel than it is to make a big one, one of the reason why phone screen sizes have been growing and sole reason why we will never see flagship compact OLED phone with flagship like display properties. To hide the horrible OLED properties on midrange phones manufacturers boost contrast and saturation into oblivion and most of the people are OK with that cause they perceive vividness as picture quality.

                    Cameras on phones are snake oil, only useful on small screens. As soon as you put em up on your computer display or 65 4K TV image quality both still and video gets exposed right away. It's junk. Good enough only to be viewed cropped on small pixel dense screens.

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                      • The Wall
                      • LHe
                      • 12 Sep 2019

                      YUKI93, 12 Sep 2019"Additionally, Bluetooth connections to headsets should be ... moreYou would not believe me if I tell you that most headphone jacks on mobile phones (hate the word smartphone cause ain't a thing smart about them) have inferior quality to LDAC Bluetooth connection. Why? Because most, like 99%, of cellphones don't have adequate dac hardware and all they rely on is poor software solutions. That's why music player app will make most of the difference on your phone if you are using cheap/er headphones (up to $75 for wired and $150 wireless).

                      Now LDAC headphones are active headphones and have their own power supply that's way more advanced than what you find in 99% of the phones on the market today. That's the whole story behind the removal of the jack. They sell you more expensive headphones but you do get better sound quality because actual hardware is in them.

                        Hildr, 12 Sep 2019To be honest, the only difference between a $400 mid range ... moreThis is what i'm saying.
                        The Xperia phones are overpriced. If the charged 25-35% less for the phones they would sell much more phones and get good reputation alongside.
                        My last Xperia phone was Sony Xperia SP and it was really for it's times.
                        Unlike phones these days. You can't honestly say you got a phone worthy the money you spent.

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                          • Hildr
                          • 0FD
                          • 12 Sep 2019

                          YUKI93, 12 Sep 2019"Additionally, Bluetooth connections to headsets should be ... moreI just plug my headset to this Xperia1, where's the matter?

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                            • Hildr
                            • 0FD
                            • 12 Sep 2019

                            KebabSLO, 12 Sep 2019Camera is the only weak point of One Plus i agree yes. But ... moreTo be honest, the only difference between a $400 mid range phone and a $800 is the camera. Unless you are a mobile "gamer" (and yet, except 2-3 titles, games are designed to be played on a wide range of phone to get more users), a mid-range proc is far enough for the daily stuff 80% of the people do. So in fact, spec-wise, only the camera, screen (in some extent) and software really matter. 3 point where the Xperia 1 is somewhat good at.
                            But it's true 1000€ for that phone is too much, this phone should be around 750€.

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                              • Hildr
                              • 0FD
                              • 12 Sep 2019

                              Xinito27, 12 Sep 2019the one plus is an obsolete garbage I prefer the Xperia 1 w... moreTo be accurate, it's a diamond pentile screen (so probably a Samsung panel) with the Sony bravia upscaling/image rendering technology.
                              And yes, I have the Xperia 1, I found out about the pentile screen with a magnifier glass (a big one, since the 4k), dunno why we didn't get the panel study here on GSMarena. It's really sharp with the 4k overcoming the inherent blurriness of the pentile matrix.

                                SpiritWolf, 12 Sep 2019You probably don't know the meaning of mediocre. Because if... moreCamera is the only weak point of One Plus i agree yes. But all other specs make it better choice over Xpera 1.
                                The unit sold and hits for Xperia 1 will tell if i am wrong or not.

                                  "Additionally, Bluetooth connections to headsets should be more stable..."

                                  Thanks for proving the fact that the so-called old tech of headphone jack is still relevant in this day and age. No need to worry about stable Bluetooth connection, just plug in your favourite earphone or headphone and off you go.

                                    Huh... Usually Sony gets security updates first but my Note10+ got updated a few days ago. Sony Mobile is getting sloppy.

                                      Nice!
                                      I can read a lot of comments about Sony and the picture quality. Let me say that since the 1, Sony is on part with the best. The gap between past Sony phones and the new ones is huge, like really huge. I tested an XZ1 and a 1 in low light, and the results were night and day!
                                      Now, the pictures that Sony phones produce aren't for everyone, they prioritize a natural look, and a processing that you'll be able to see on a proper camera (like their Alpha cameras).

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                                        • Mike
                                        • LHe
                                        • 12 Sep 2019

                                        FromChinaWithLove, 12 Sep 2019As a xperia phone user and almost a fan( still using a xper... moreThose were all ghosts from the past. XZ Premium was a step in the right direction and from that moment on phones only improved the formula. XZ1, XZ2, XZ3, X1 are all true flagships and very few phones can rival them. Screens are usually the strongest point, build quality, materials used, actual design and color, video shooting capabilities, manual photography capabilities and so on.

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