Sony Xperia 1 V

• n
• nmfive
• pI{
• 06 Aug 2023

Just bought this phone. Tried to find some other phone but for some reason Xperia 1 V just gave me the "It´s the one" feeling. And previous phone was Xiaomi Mi 9t (fantastic phone for the price).

Size and holding it in hand - I went to look different phones, big contender was S23 Ultra as it was cheaper at the time. I do like a phone with big screen but S23 Ultra was too large, especially width and this combined with slippery case made holding it quite clumsy. Xperia 1 V on the other hand has quite interesting ratio. It is tall but narrow phone, so fingers will wrap quite comfortably around it. Also it´s back panel is 3d contoured (resembling a metal file) and that with ridged aluminum frame gives quite sturdy feeling when holding it in hand. And it does feel really strong and rigid phone when using it.

Appearance - Lots of high end phones have become quite flashy and eye catching phones, where almost everyone tries to show of their cameras. Xperia 1 V on the other hand has rather subtle appearance. It looks like it is meant for business and doesn't attract to much attention. This was also something that appealed to me (well the mi 9t was quite the opposite with its blue back panel, so a black 1 V is a rather nice change)

Display - 4k is overkill for a smartphone. Yes the picture is fantastic and you can see slightly more detail but the pixels are so- so- soo small, there really isn't that much of a difference from 1080p. Though the colors are wonderful and brightness is also rather good.

Speakers - 2x front facing stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. I was blown away how great such small speakers can sound. Obviously they cant fill the room with pop music low bass but watching a movie it gives surprisingly rich sound.

Performance - Its a flagship, will run pretty much anything you can throw at it, and smoothly. It gets warm to the touch but haven't had any overheating issues.

Cameras - This is a controversial subject. I you are a person who just wants to take their phone out of the pocket, click a button and get a good .jpeg photo, then there are better options than Xperia 1 V. But if you are more experienced user and willing to do some manual adjustments, shooting in RAW format and then editing your photos... Then this is truly amazing camera system. Shooting with 24mm lens resembles quite a lot more of a true camera, not a smartphone camera. And pictures look good even in a computer. Don`t get me wrong, in auto mode it also shoots great images, but contenders are more ahead in this mode with all the AI magic. Also dedicated two step shutter button is also pretty cool addition, I wish that more smartphone manufacturers would use it.

It is an expensive niche phone. Meant for a person who has inclination to photography/ videography and wants a secondary device, when they just don't want to carry their DSLR with them and still have a option to shoot a good picture, when opportunity arises. Also it is a phone that has all the bells and whistles of a flagship phone but doesn't have such a bulky size.

+ Bonus - 3,5mm headphone jack and external memory card slot, two way wireless charging (can charge other devices from your phone battery) etc.

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• TheSnowWinterR7
• tDQ
• 06 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 04 Aug 2023Sorry didn't read everything cuz too tired for jobless... moreSomeone's mad both at me and Sony for not fulfilling his dream and instead keeping Xperia alive 13 years later lol. Here's some KitKat and Snickers, you need them.

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• S
• Supersnake
• 42a
• 06 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 04 Aug 2023There is only two reasons you would get this Sony phone ove... moreAnd flat screen; and no hole punch, or cut out on the display!

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• J
• Jovan22577
• gxB
• 05 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 04 Aug 2023There is only two reasons you would get this Sony phone ove... moreTotally agree on this one.

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• ?
• Anonymous
• nit
• 04 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 04 Aug 2023There is only two reasons you would get this Sony phone ove... morethe ONLY reason? The main sensor on this phone, despite not being as large as perhaps other flagships' main sensors, is the most capable on the market. In the hands of a relatively experienced user, the ability of this phone's camera far surpasses that of literally every other phone currently out even at this price point. Yes, as a point-and-shoot device, it won't hold a candle against the others, but the reason to buy this phone is if you're able and willing to use the features to begin with.

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• A
• AnonymousX
• n${
• 04 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 04 Aug 2023This phone is so bad for it's price even after 1 week ... moreXperia 1V has next generation HDR HLG video recording. Search on youtube and you will find. It's far beyond iPhone 14 Pro level.

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• ?
• Anonymous
• 4NG
• 04 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 04 Aug 2023This phone is so bad for it's price even after 1 week ... moreThere is only two reasons you would get this Sony phone over any of those other Flagship phones. MicroSD card slot and Headphone jack.

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• Anonymous
• pE7
• 04 Aug 2023

This phone is so bad for it's price even after 1 week after release it got a 400euros discount because no one was buying overpriced smartphone. Now tell me why should you buy this instead of competitors in same price range are s23 ultra, pixel 7 pro, iphone 14 pro max, xiaomi 13 ultra. All of those mentioned phones have much better support, more features especially samsung. Camera is no competition pixel 7 pro is the best, only video goes to iphone. What's the main reason why you should buy this instead of others?

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• A
• Anonymous
• pdw
• 04 Aug 2023

TheSnowWinterR7, 03 Aug 2023To answer your question, I am aware that making phones cost... moreSorry didn't read everything cuz too tired for jobless gsmarena geek. They were losing money at launch with playstation 5 and tried to earn more money with games instead and that worked. Sadly they can't do the same with smartphones lineup because that's the only product they have. First they are avoiding some regions, support is pretty bad(only 2 years MAJOR updates? What a joke), missing features, unbelievable price. I rather choose for the same money xiaomi mi 13 ultra, iphone 14 pro max, s23 ultra, google pixel. Even oneplus looks decent compared to this overpriced junk. Poco lineup supports their phones for the same time. Gives better performance, features and price is like 1/3 what sony asks. What a joke.

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• Anonymous
• pdw
• 04 Aug 2023

MakeNokiaGreatAgain, 03 Aug 2023No, it is you who convinced everyone that you have zero bus... moreMany startups starts business with losing money. Do a proper research first. It's not good comparison between a startup and solid old company. Sony is much older than tesla. Personally I've worked in two companies and both of them were losing money for 9-10 years to and then they started to make some. If that's your "fact why it's not going to happen" you don't know what you are talking about.

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• MakeNokiaGreatAgain
• 3Sn
• 03 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 03 Aug 2023sorry didn't read everything. I was convinced that you... moreNo, it is you who convinced everyone that you have zero business logic with your empty rant. For 11 consecutive years until 2020 Tesla was losing huge sums of money. By your stupid logic Tesla needed to shut down a long time ago. Xperia is a technology demonstrator for Sony. With every new Xperia model Sony shows the likes of xiaomi, oppo and vivo who is the daddy in the camera department, and every other department for that matter. Yes, a Sony phone costs a lot, but then it delivers a lot.

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• TheSnowWinterR7
• sS$
• 03 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 03 Aug 2023sorry didn't read everything. I was convinced that you... moreTo answer your question, I am aware that making phones costs a lot of money, planning, and resources, and Sony is also aware of that. However, if Sony has already moved Xperia from a mainstream, mass-product, money-making business division to a niche, limited-product, project-focused division, Sony couldn't care less if Xperia is not making money at all for Xperia at this point, unlike prior to 2019. Sony has other highly profitable businesses to sustain their money, like PlayStation, their financial business, their patents, and the B2B market for Apple (IMX803, Vision Pro Micro-OLED, etc.). Xperia's status right now is just to prove they are able to implement technologies that weren't possible before from Sony's other divisions, such as true optical zoom in a thin body seen in both the 1 Mark IV and V, and to survive in the smartphone world for the long-term shifts they are expecting, Once again, Xperia is THE last holder of the telecommunications tech in Sony Group, so Xperia role here isn't nothing.

This is just like Toyota losing a lot of money for creating Lexus LFA and keeping Toyota Mirai selling for almost 10 years as evidence that they were able to create and implement technology that wasn't possible before, but they have more money-making cars like the Corolla, Camry, Land Cruiser, or Tundra that are able to keep Toyota running profitable until now. Or do I need to give more analogies like Pagani, which doesn't sell a lot of cars with those sky-high prices, but is still able to run their company 31 years later?
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Sure, Sony is still lacking some features that competitors have, and I admit that, but that doesn't mean Sony doesn't have features that stand out from the market that probably only Sony or 1-2 phone markets currently offer. Do I need to break it down again for you? 3 specialized professional apps (Photo, Video, and Cinema Pro) directly from their upper camera and cinema divisions with unmatched customization of manual controls? Music Pro app? Bravia Core? The only flagship with MicroSD expandable storage that no other brand offers anymore? 3.5 mm headphone jack that only Sony and Asus have? An external monitor app to connect to any full-fledged camera? Uninterrupted display that only gaming phones have outside Xperia? Front-firing stereo speakers too? Animal Eye Autofocus? 4K@120 fps HDR recording in its all rear cameras? Rack focus? Proper cinematic ratio? You are implying that Sony doesn't have standout features, when this site and non-biased reviewers have pointed that out since 2019 with the Mark 1.
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One more, Sony Xperia falls into the inelastic market type of product, meaning the target market is niche, the user of this type of product is likely willing to pay more, the demand is mostly stable, and the unit total of this kind of product is limited. Like, have you seen any Sony products that are dirt cheap in your life? Why don't you write an email to Sony, so you can "fulfill your dreams" to halt Xperia at the expense of everything inside Sony?
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I rather pay for the Sony Xperia 1 V that you called "g*rb*g*" that has a MicroSDXC card slot that I can insert all the time when I need it than have other brand flagships that lack a MicroSDXC card slot and need to spend more just to have higher storage. MicroSDXC is the reason I want to buy a flagship phone. Call me old-school or whatever you want, but MicroSDXC saves my phone from hanging due to using most of the internal storage of my old phone just for photos and videos.

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• Anonymous
• pdw
• 03 Aug 2023

TheSnowWinterR7, 02 Aug 2023How's Sony going bankrupt if they have a lot of divisi... moresorry didn't read everything. I was convinced that you don't understand business. You know that sector that makes almost 0 profit or costs you a lot more than you make is not worth?
Do not forget that to make phone you need a lot of money. Developers, designers, buying patents, buying software and other things. Sony is not so popular and you ask 1400euros for that g*rb*ge compared to competitors with way more features and support.

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• TheSnowWinterR7
• sS$
• 02 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 01 Aug 2023you know it's bad when even apple has more features th... moreHow's Sony going bankrupt if they have a lot of divisions in its sleeves that making a lot of money such as their Business-to-business divisions (sensor, display, professional techs, etc.) and their Bank, two of Sony divisions that making the money a lot? Not to mention the other division. Be for real, slowpoke. And Xperia is the last division to hold Sony telecommunication techs that needed for other divisions, yes, it included their Playstation division. Sony Xperia currently on the surviving phase to wait on the next paradigm shift with their techs, so when the time is right, they still have the techs to implemented. If they stopped Xperia right now, when the next shifts happened, they no longer have it and will be massive disadvantages to them. Especially when Sony Alpha and Semicon decided to use Xperia division to fulfil their technology implementation.

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• H
• Hadi38
• pTg
• 01 Aug 2023

There is a magic in every Xperia phone that i can't tell, i love ittttt but it's shame we no longer have Sony in middle east market.

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• Anonymous
• pdw
• 01 Aug 2023

Anonymous, 28 Jul 2023Yes yes. With samsung, you get many more features. You can ... moreyou know it's bad when even apple has more features than sony. 1400euros for 0 support, 0 features. Straight to bankruptcy like HTC did long time ago.

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• tansel
• M}3
• 01 Aug 2023

Sony mobiles are narrow. 6,7 or 6,8 inc must be. And sony mobiles are very very expensive.

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• M
• Mangoon
• jxy
• 01 Aug 2023

Andy, 14 Jul 2023Tempted to get this phone. Amazing build quality and Mark V... moreAs I wrote previously, I'm coming off a 1 Mark III and this feels leaps and bounds improved from that phone. Screen brightness improved, photos and videos SIGNIFICANTLY better. As others mention, there is a learning curve for sure if you want to get into things like rack focus. Image stabilization for video is related to frame rate but at 30 frames per second, it's much better than previous. Selfie camera is not even close to the Mark III, so much nicer. Mark III honestly was pretty pathetic. The screen is stunning. Phone doesn't get hot like the Mark III did. I wrote initially that the battery life is at least 30% better, but it's getting me twice the life as the Mark III. The matte glass backing is crazy. It feels plastic, but I know it's glass. I run a tempered glass screen protector with an aluminum bumper and lens guard and am very happy with that setup. Not for everyone, I understand.

I actually use wired headphones at times, have numerous other bluetooth headphones as well. Bluetooth connectivity, stability, distance better than my Mark III. The wired ability is meaningful to me, maybe not to others. Plus, I have a 1tb card in it for storage. I can move photos and videos to it, download my movies and music to it (except for Netflix for reasons that I can't understand. The option to download to the SD card is in the app, but customer service says "Nah, that's not a real thing that works.") This is the first phone I've had since my LG V30 that I've been excited about. Happy hunting.

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• ?
• Anonymous
• 8pJ
• 30 Jul 2023

One of the sleekest phones available.

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• ?
• Anonymous
• wiX
• 29 Jul 2023

US, 28 Jul 2023I have Xperia 1 (2019) and ordered Xperia 1 V. Considering ... moreWhat do you mean? Sony has been using Li-Po ever since they started making phones and they are still using it (looking at teardowns for the 1 V). Contrary to popular beliefs, Li-Po, or more correctly Lithium-ion Polymer battery, actually has a longer lifespan and cost more to make than Li-ion. It is also safer and less prone to explode or expand over time because they use polymer electrolytes instead of liquid electrolytes. This is why you see Samsung phones expanding over time and I believe Samsung is the only manufacturer using Li-ion.

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