Sony Xperia 1 review

08 June 2019
Sony has completely revamped its Xperia series yet again, and this year the common denominator is the cinematic screen. Every new Xperia smartphone gets a 21:9 panel for the most immersive viewing experience, but the Xperia 1 is special. It is the Xperia Premium reborn, with a large 6.5" OLED 4K HDR display and today we'll get to know it better.

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Cesri, 08 Jun 2019Please stop criticizing no autofocus in ultrawide camera. I... moreOne thing I hate about my S10's camera is the fact that its ultra wide angle lens lacks AF. It could've been great for a macro shot if it had one, but for some reason most companies straight up remove an ability to AF from it.

    Shanti Dope, 08 Jun 2019Exactly, that's why I said go shoot in RAW format (the Xper... moreRAW format is not the practical solution as many people nowadays just prefer to have more natural looking image straight out of the camera. As I already stated in Nokia 9-related articles for several times - it should be available as an option, not a necessity. This is why companies like Google, Apple and Huawei are quickly moving towards more natural processing with more realistic color saturation and texture processing, heck even Samsung is trying to deliver it too as they do on Snapdragon S10+ (albeit held back by the lack of software optimisation for the Exynos variant).

    "Even the very popular Galaxy S10+"
    Yeah, and I've been criticising(Exynos variant of) S10+'s camera for destroying fine details completely in favor of high dynamic range regardless of the lighting conditions.

      • C
      • Cesri
      • 0Qc
      • 08 Jun 2019

      Please stop criticizing no autofocus in ultrawide camera. If you know at least basic concepts in photography you should be aware that at 16 mm everything is nearly on focus. There is no need of autofocus in a ultra wide cellphone camera.This is why most of the smartphone manufacturers don’t put it on their devices.

        Shanti Dope, 08 Jun 2019That unknown Japanese or Chinese site or GSMArena's words: ... more"I did. Only the P30 Pro defeats the Xperia 1 ever so slightly"
        So you decided to look over the strong sharpening halo and contrast boost that Xperia 1 applies? The comparison chart doesn't really tell you about how textures are handled in real life, check those samples yourself and tell me which one applies least amount of sharpening and leaves the most textures.

        Pixel 3: https://timgm.eprice.com.tw/tw/mobile/img/2019-05/27/5336538/innocences_5_84d8d9b8e67822149695bd5a68f495e6ori.jpg
        iPhone XS: https://timgm.eprice.com.tw/tw/mobile/img/2019-05/27/5336538/innocences_5_745145f8ffc0a115339e4e1e3950385dori.jpg
        P30 Pro: https://timgm.eprice.com.tw/tw/mobile/img/2019-05/27/5336538/innocences_5_6668d690069aeb62db382457b1a3d309ori.jpg
        Xperia 1: https://timgm.eprice.com.tw/tw/mobile/img/2019-05/27/5336538/innocences_5_f33a1db8c050244d2d88b43d1fa1f5afori.jpg

        Pixel 3: https://timgm.eprice.com.tw/tw/mobile/img/2019-05/27/5336538/innocences_5_cfccb8d6aa1c701fdee22011931c65d1ori.jpg
        iPhone XS: https://timgm.eprice.com.tw/tw/mobile/img/2019-05/27/5336538/innocences_5_1054f7662a949e65cd7704b223310558ori.jpg
        P30 Pro: https://timgm.eprice.com.tw/tw/mobile/img/2019-05/27/5336538/innocences_5_674663095e5957239a0c36776471efaeori.jpg
        Xperia 1: https://timgm.eprice.com.tw/tw/mobile/img/2019-05/27/5336538/innocences_5_c95c2d298bf02c0349a6321726ebf49fori.jpg

        "as the images tend to gain even more detail"
        Extra sharpening will NEVER give you an extra detail. End of story.

          • D
          • Dometalican
          • B45
          • 08 Jun 2019

          Nick Tagataka, 08 Jun 2019So to sum up this review: -Excellent 4K OLED display, easi... moreGlad I wasn't the only one thinking this way. This was a major step up for Sony, I applaud them for it but this was not enough for that rating given the battery life being overall bad for media-consumption/power users, lack of headphone jack and even plugging in headphones via type-c not producing good enough audio, some camera noise, being bloody expensive, and lack of wireless charging along with lack of being able to reduce the resolution for some who don't care about watching anything in 4K or to save battery. 4.2-4.3 at best. A great phone; no doubt but unless software updates fix a few of the things I stated above, it falls short of other phones in that price range (or...even cheaper).

            Nick Tagataka, 08 Jun 2019Read my reply to your other comment once again: "Well, the... moreExactly, that's why I said go shoot in RAW format (the Xperia 1 already can) and do your own processing.
            All phones nowadays have oversharpening. Even the very popular Galaxy S10+ and Huawei P30 Pro do. And they're just about as bad as on this one (if you think it's really that bad).
            Some things are really not going to go well according to your likings, because not everything is tuned to everyone's preferences, but correcting a problem as simple as this one doesn't even take that much effort and requires absolutely no need for long-paragraphs of complaint.

              • S
              • Shui8
              • tZk
              • 08 Jun 2019

              About time, Sony.

              Glad that theres a lot improvement. Your fanboys been defending a single camera on your previous phone for a long time now. i can say its the best screen ever on any smartphone right now. Xperia 1, its a true competitor to others, definitely a flagship worthy. Its not without flaws of course, while low lights is improving, overblown highlight is still all over the place (Gsmarena, u have to provide Xperia 1 low lights with HDR on to increase dynamic range & less blown highlights). P30 & Mate 20 still the king of low light photography to my eyes. Afterall Huawei got the better Sony camera sensor than on the Sony phone itself.

              Auto HDR is still limited to 'backlit' scene, makes the reviewers give an average impression on point & shoot using Superior Auto. Sony has to add the Auto HDR on more environment such as 'high contrast' scene, 'indoor' & whenever it detects 'low light' situation. Its more natural & provides 'what our eyes sees'.

              To make this as a perfect phone:
              - headphone jack
              - ditch the st00pid dynamic vibration, put larger battery
              - ditch the Side Sense, using full screen gesture instead the stock pill gesture as its more stretchable on a tall screen ratio device.

              Theres a pros & cons on every phone of course. But Sony beginning took the right path now, hopefully for the better future.

                Colors that camera takes are on another level. No dxo needed, they just look real not like painting. Who dislikes per pixel detail should still be able to shoot raw and even stack those. Should be named Xperia Alpha.

                  sohail shafayat, 08 Jun 2019what if I'm disappointed at battery life? I don't want 4K a... moreThen it's your choice, but you don't have to shave up to us your opinion that we never asked for.
                  Why do you have to leave a negative comment on something that you're not interested in anyway?
                  You're wasting time, effort, internet, and productivity by doing just that.

                    [deleted post]"Then you give a link to the comparison based on the tool "
                    Is searching for Photo Comparison Tool Chart a very difficult task for you to ask me to do it for you?
                    GSMArena's review of the Xperia XZ3 stated that the phone could take some amazing images when it's placed on a tripod in Auto Mode, while Xperia 1 can take great pictures regardless of the circumstances, which is why I'm saying that the Xperia 1 is more practical, as it will be very good in all environmental shooting conditions, as opposed to last year's flagship which would only be great in certain scenarios.

                    And I don't know what the actual f**k are you saying below.
                    I don't even know if it's anything related to the topic.
                    One thing I have to say is, the problem with you guys is that you are too quick to assume and make false claims.
                    You speak out something you can't even back up with proofs, and whenever you are already losing an argument, you just cyber-bully the opponent instead. Is that the right attitude of a real grown-man? Think again.

                      Shanti Dope, 08 Jun 2019Alright, time to flex my knowledge against the major basher... moreRead my reply to your other comment once again:
                      "Well, there are some noises in the image and they only appears around the edges of the subject"

                      If the noise is apparent across the frame them I would be perfectly fine with it, but the problem here is that the noise appears ONLY AROUND the edges of the subject, as this means that the camera is applying strong sharpening to make photos more pleasing to your eyes in very small size and hide some optical/image stacking imperfections. I never said the noise is annoying on Xperia 1 photos because that's definitely not the case this time around, but I'm rather talking about the oversharpening which hurts the overall image quality that would've been otherwise excellent.

                        • n
                        • namla
                        • IWS
                        • 08 Jun 2019

                        They had been proven that "king of the smartphone"

                          Nick Tagataka, 08 Jun 2019Apparently the display runs at FHD resolution unless the hi... moreThat unknown Japanese or Chinese site or GSMArena's words: "And unlike previous Xperia Premium phones, the 4K output is always on, and not just when compatible content is visualized."?

                          Make up your mind as to which one to trust. I do the latter.


                          "Well, there are some noises in the image and they only appears around the edges of the subject, indicating that there is some strong sharpening going on to hide the lens imperfection."
                          What imperfection exactly? Noise is part of any image from a camera. Sharpening is actually doing more good than bad in this particular case, as the images tend to gain even more detail with still acceptable amount of noise in return.
                          I don't get why you really hate having noise so much. Even a full-frame sensor would fail miserably at producing clean photos in extreme low light scenarios, so why do you expect smartphone cameras to do better? I'd take detail over cleanliness any time of the day, but it's never a worse thing to prioritize something.

                          "S10+ has a horrible detail rendering(of course, unless you live in US).. you should compare Xperia 1 to something like P30 Pro, Pixel 3, iPhone XS to see how well it fares."
                          I did. Only the P30 Pro defeats the Xperia 1 ever so slightly.
                          https://m.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=5&idPhone1=9256&idPhone2=9543&idPhone3=9319

                            Shanti Dope, 08 Jun 2019Battery life isn't disappointing by any means, given that i... morewhat if I'm disappointed at battery life? I don't want 4K also since the display width is just about 65mm. 1080p is enough for this display. I don't even like this remote control.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • qJ}
                              • 08 Jun 2019

                              if you look at low light pics in the comparator the xperia 1 destroys the other phones. its about 10 times better? i'm surprised gsma isnt mentioning that even more. its not that it aces night shots. its a game changer.

                              and its not a nightsight style feature. its clearly just that much higher quality - completely different level from the S10 or pixel

                                Nick Tagataka, 08 Jun 2019I think you're mistaking a higher perceived sharpness as a ... moreAlright, time to flex my knowledge against the major bashers here.
                                The sharpening on the Xperia 1 is just as typical as on any other phones. The only thing that made its noise more visible is the less aggressive noise reduction, which pursued to maintain the details despite the more grainy look, at which it did very well in this regard.
                                Against the Pixel, this one is far more natural at rendering the overall image. It tries its best to eliminate noise, and while it certainly does a great job, the details are simply lost along the way, and makes things even harder to be recovered.
                                And supposedly, a sharper image from afar would be more ideal, which is why Sony has set the parameters to maintain more detail regardless of the effect.
                                Honestly though, the noise isn't even that much of a problem in this case.
                                I mean, you don't really lose anything with it, heck you even gain more from it, and if you don't like it, then just shoot in RAW and filter out the noise later on.
                                It's as if having some extra noise will make things unusable anyway.
                                I tried the iPhone XS Max already a couple of times, and that one also captures a lot of noise, perhaps even just as much as this Xperia 1 does, but I never found it anything of an issue, because my main concern about it is the detail instead, which is not as good as on the Xperia 1 despite the same amount of noise.

                                  Anonymous, 08 Jun 2019Are the General Mobile phones good? Are popular in Turkey?... moreI would recommend GM 9 pro only, camera is good as you said, it has long battery life, it is android one and cheap. The company is little problematic with their warranty services and their late updates although the phone is Android one. I wish gsmarena makes a review on it.

                                    Great! Now we have a film full of comments about just-reviewed Sony Xperia 1 here. Pass me a butter popcorn bag, I desire to enjoy it! I'm wondering how long before this comment section could pass the >1200 comments barrier on the Xperia XZ Premium "The Showstopper" review back in 2017, which is enormous for a review LOL.

                                    BTW, I did, was impressed with the overall performance of Xperia 1 this time, by overdriving the old-school Xperia into a new one and did way much better this time. Sure, it has some flaws there, over and under ratings, and much more. I acknowledged it, I acknowledged it. But, I'm still impressed for sure.

                                      • M
                                      • Mike
                                      • LHe
                                      • 08 Jun 2019

                                      Nick Tagataka, 08 Jun 2019My point is that if they have a hardware that can encode 4K... moreYou know what's a sad truth? Current mobile cameras are still at their best when shooting 1080p in 30fps when it comes to output quality. You do get lower bitrate, you do get less details than in 4K but you do not get frame drops, freezes, weird stabilization issues. Shooting 4K is great when in still or slight panning cause it's detail rich but more you record more dropped frames you will get on any phone. In other words 4K is not there yet.

                                        Shanti Dope, 08 Jun 2019Battery life isn't disappointing by any means, given that i... moreApparently the display runs at FHD resolution unless the higher resolution is being specified by individual apps. So in most cases the contents on the display is NOT rendered at 4K.
                                        https://sumahoinfo.com/post-31697

                                        "There's no image taken by a camera that has no noise"
                                        Well, there are some noises in the image and they only appears around the edges of the subject, indicating that there is some strong sharpening going on to hide the lens imperfection.

                                        "even the S10+ can't achieve"
                                        S10+ has a horrible detail rendering(of course, unless you live in US) in the first place and being better than that means pretty much nothing.. you should compare Xperia 1 to something like P30 Pro, Pixel 3, iPhone XS to see how well it fares.

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