Sony Xperia 1 IV Review: An Absurdly Priced Android Phone

It is a good thing that the Sony phones are different. It has a tall 21:9 aspect ratio with a 4K screen, and Sony offers up more manual controls so your photos and videos look exactly how you want. There is a problem. If you're in the UK and Europe, you'll be able to get the newest Sony Xperia 1 IV for as little as 1,299/1,399.

This phone needs to be foldable or at least be perfect in every way for that kind of money. It is either. For the first time, a phone camera with true optical zoom can be seen on a phone, as part of the changes to the previous generation of the device. You are left scratching your head because little else has been changed.

There is a tall order.

The design of Sony's phones has been the same for many years. The flat edges on the sides were a thing of the past before Apple and SAMSUNG came back to it. When compared to other new phones, the bottom and top of the phone are a tad smaller, but you might prefer that over a hole-punched camera.

One of the most important features is the headphones jack. It is sad that the 3.5-mm jack is no longer used by high-end phones, but this is one of the few high-end phones that still has it. It's the same for the card slot. The US variant has more storage than the UK/Europe model, but both have the card slot so you can add more space at a moment's notice.

The screen is pretty good. It has a 4K resolution but it still looks great. There is a lot of detail in the colors and they are very true to life. Every animation on the phone looks smooth thanks to the 120-hertz screen refresh rate. Next to the S22 Ultra's screen, you're not getting as much punch, but that might be a good thing for color accuracy. On sunny days, the screen is more than enough to see.

The tall 21:9 aspect ratio makes watching movies feel cinematic, but it makes it difficult to use the phone. There is a one-handed mode that you can use to reach the top of the screen.

The performance of the device is pretty good. The back of the phone gets warm when you push it with demanding games. When using features like split-screen mode and browsing day-to-day, you will find no problems. The side-mounted fingerprint scanning device is also clunky. It didn't always accept a tap to unlocked on the first try.

The battery life makes up for this. The cell lasts a full day and a bit more on a single charge. You can top it up with a wireless charging option, but Sony doesn't include either, so you'll need to provide your own 30- watt charging cable and accessory.

It's the vision.

The photography know-how you need to get the best out of the Xperia 1 IV's cameras is more complex than you might think. Sony expects you to want to tinker with the camera settings rather than just pressing the shutter button.

There are three 12-MP cameras here, a main lens with OIS, an ultrawide, and a telephoto sensor. There is a new feature this year. In between the zoom levels of 3.5x and 5.2x, you're still getting a good photo, because the zoom levels mechanically move between 3.5x and 5.2x. It's a small window to play with and it may not matter much.