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.

Sort by:

  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • LQv
  • 08 Jun 2019

2019 scores GSMA

Sony 1 : 4,6
Honor 20 Pro : 4,0
Oppo Reno Zoom : 4,5
Asus 6 : 4,5
Oneplus 7 Pro : 4.4
Xiaomi 9 : 4,4
Samsung S10+ : 4,5
Samsung S10: 4,4
Huawei P30 Pro: 4,7
Huawei P30: 4,4
HMD 9 Pureview: 3,9
LG G8: 4,2

Except G8 and N9P, any of these phones will satisfy you well if you decide to buy it.




    • D
    • AnonD-429807
    • PEI
    • 08 Jun 2019

    Dometalican, 08 Jun 2019For those trying to give Sony a pass by comparing it to the... moreI'm rather comparing it with the G8, similar scores despite the latter having bigger battery and more importantly, GSMA put "not very good battery life" as a cons in the X1 but not on the G8.

    Comparing with an iOS phone is out of league considering iPhones with much smaller batteries can do better than most android phones.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • LQv
      • 08 Jun 2019

      I heard the Steadyshot works better when you aet H265 instead of H264.

        • D
        • AnonD-429807
        • PEI
        • 08 Jun 2019

        alvinzm, 08 Jun 2019Still, who has the better battery, despite being the one wi... moreNot really, the G8 has 3500mAh and less power hungry screen and yet it cannot score better than this.

          Perfectly capable and super exciting phone, ruined by the battery capacity.

            Cir90, 08 Jun 2019Xperia 1 with 3300 MAH And 4k display has more autonomy tha... moreStill, who has the better battery, despite being the one with 'worse optimisation'?

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • LQv
              • 08 Jun 2019

              New firmware released on thurday is june patch + camera

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • LQv
                • 08 Jun 2019

                Dometalican, 08 Jun 2019For those trying to give Sony a pass by comparing it to the... moreCheck on internet with those who have the device. People are satisfied with battery.

                It did better than previous Premium despite being 4K all the time and smaller battery.
                Z3 that could last almost 2 days score 82h here.

                Device have almost 2 million pixels to push than s10+. It plays 4K videos that are more than 25% higher resolution than WQHD+. If it was 1080p like chinese phones it would score above 90h easily.

                  battery life is not attractive, rather disappointing. Grainy & oversharpened images. Disappointed again.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • LQv
                    • 08 Jun 2019

                    Shanti Dope, 08 Jun 2019Different processings I suppose. Xperia 1 has a bigger len... moreThere is something called Crop Factor.

                    Aperture diameter and FOV changes with the sensor size.
                    Larger sensor with f2.0 can have aperture with bigger diameter than smaller with f1.6
                    People wrongly think that f1.6 is same no matter if from phone or camera.
                    Cellphone with 1/2.6" f2.0 for example is like Full Frame + f14.

                    If you set same iso and shutter for P20 Pro f1.8 and S9 f1.5, the Huawei will gather more light even using f1.8 because sensor is 2x the size.

                    Sensor of 1 is almost 20% smaller than sensor of XZ2.

                      • D
                      • Dometalican
                      • 7BB
                      • 08 Jun 2019

                      For those trying to give Sony a pass by comparing it to the iPhone XS Max's battery life need to stop. As a power user, BOTH batteries are disappointing and the only people ok with the battery of the XS Max are die-hard fans of iPhones no matter the shortcomings and they are also the same people who get battery cases for them. They don't have much of a say since battery life is more important than ANY other feature unless the user spends their lives driving (thereby constantly charging the phone).

                        • g
                        • guv94
                        • d%c
                        • 08 Jun 2019

                        Finally a perfect low-light performer from Sony. Upgrading from Z5C will be a huge physical-shock for me, but I want it so bad!

                          • D
                          • Dometalican
                          • 7BB
                          • 08 Jun 2019

                          Shanti Dope, 08 Jun 2019Because the rating is defined by the overall assessment of ... moreI appreciate the explanation (especially woth coherent words and no 5-year-old insults). I understand. I guess I'm thinking too much into the battery life needing to be the MOST important aspect in a phone rather than display and camera because, you know, what's the point of all the flashy features when the battery barely lasts to make use of them?

                          Makes sense so thanks anywho. I'll still be on the wait for HTC's next flagship, Razer if they're making a 3rd phone, or for what Pixel is gonna do. Good work Sony. Very close to perfection but not quite for me.

                            • T
                            • Truthy
                            • Q}4
                            • 08 Jun 2019

                            "The camera experience is a little bit rough around the edges but finally on par with the competition in the things that matter"

                            Conclusion: It has "enough" camera quality. Not bad, but also not spectacular.

                            For an Expensive Flagship-Grade phone, this is a disappointment.

                              Popop971, 08 Jun 2019Battery life is very disappointing ... I'll pass.Okay, but just so you know, iPhones also scored similarly to this, maybe even worse, but are still fine to most people.

                                Anonymous, 08 Jun 2019Killed by the awful battery life.Oh really?
                                Last time I've checked, iPhone XS Max with the same screen size and even lower screen resolution scored worse, but is still fine by most people's standards.
                                What's to cry about a sub-80h endurance rating, which is better than even some flagships today?

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • LQv
                                  • 08 Jun 2019

                                  No AF from UWA is a con for 1 and S10+. But it was not a con for G8 nor P30 Pro that lack AF too.

                                    Just Asking, 08 Jun 2019Are you sure your Xperia 1 photo in Comparison Tool is not ... moreDifferent processings I suppose.
                                    Xperia 1 has a bigger lens, which absorbs more light, but also somehow degrades the overall sharpness of the image.
                                    The benefit is in low light, where the 10 Plus just doesn't stand a chance.

                                      Dometalican, 08 Jun 2019That's a heck of a high rating for a phone that falls very ... moreBecause the rating is defined by the overall assessment of a certain matter.
                                      You see, it may be not the most impressive in battery life (though not terrible enough to greatly affect the final score), but it excels in other aspects, such as the display (it's pretty much the best one could find in a smartphone today), camera, software, etc.
                                      Calculating all those factors, the pros easily outperforms the cons, but GSMArena still listed the things that may not be the best for people that are looking forward to it.
                                      That's why it's called 'overall rating' and not 'battery rating,' perhaps you could try to understand that (which I already did expect you knew ever since).

                                        • S
                                        • Soymilk
                                        • TQJ
                                        • 08 Jun 2019

                                        Anonymous, 08 Jun 2019Few cons are ridiculous 1) nobody puts AF for UWA , it ... moreThere are 8 pros, so they had to make 8 cons.

                                          29 of 30