Sony has lastly taken the first steps of directly connecting that world to the long-suffering Xperia mobile phone lineup. And though the outcome isnt a crowning achievement, the Xperia 1 II lastly provides something to recommend beyond great appearances.
Compared to an iPhone 11 Pro, the Xperia 1 II is extremely high.
Every mobile phone brand name tries to develop its own ecosystem– or at least its own experience. You certainly comprehend what its like to live in Apples iPhone world, Googles Pixel world, or Samsungs Galaxy world. However theres long been an entire Sony world thats simply as well-defined, and it has a community of users thats just as devoted. Its simply that Sonys world wasnt about mobile phones; it had to do with its Alpha line of video cameras.
Sonys brand-new Xperia 1 II smartphone is purpose-built for one really specific thing: to make your phone work a little bit more like a standalone Sony Alpha electronic camera. Its a long period of time coming: Sony has made lots of Xperia phones since its very first one in 2008, however up until now, none of them have had an identity this clear or compelling.
Bad Stuff
Too pricey
Missing crucial flagship features like 5G (in the US), high refresh rate screen
Slippery, awkward body
To round out the remainder of the smartphone basics: it has the usual flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, IP65/68 dust and water resistance, and a 4,000 mAh battery. The battery life is enough to get me through a day of fundamental usage. If you hope to use this phone intensively for either video gaming or shooting images and videos, strategy on topping up in the late afternoon.
Minimalist aesthetics
Handbook camera experience
Very little Android customizations
Beyond looks, Sony has had a hard time in the past to separate itself from other phones. This time, it succeeds with a number of unusual functions. The finger print sensing unit is elegantly integrated into the side-mounted power button, theres microSD storage expansion, there are double front-facing stereo speakers, theres a devoted physical camera button, and– holy of holies– theres a genuine headphone jack.
The entire point of the Sony Xperia 1 II is the electronic camera system. Sony has actually long made the most popular image sensors inside smart devices– its a relatively sure thing to say that you have owned a phone with a Sony sensor inside it– and yet, Sonys Xperia phones have actually historically had frustrating cameras.
Thats a disappointment due to the fact that, judged on looks alone, its my favorite phone of 2020. Its balance embodied.
Usually, this is the part where I inform American purchasers that, at $1,200, youre paying extra for the 5G modem that you may not necessarily get much usage out of. Thats true with the Xperia 1 II, just Sony isnt enabling 5G at all in the US. Asking users to pay more for 5G of dubious utility bothers me on other phones, however asking them to spend for it without any energy on the Xperia 1 II seems so out of touch regarding be lost in deep space.
That additional height also indicates its inductive wireless charger may be put expensive for some charging docks. It only dealt with flat docks in my tests. Really, it doesnt work there either because the thing is so damn slippery. Even on a dock with some grippy rubber on it, the Xperia 1 II slides right off. In fact, my review unit clattered on to my hardwood floor enough times that it eventually developed a crack on the rear glass. Damned if I know which fall did it, however I do know that all of them had to do with three feet. Get a case.
Its a mystery with a fairly basic explanation: picture processing. For whatever factor, Sony has actually never had the ability to equal Apple, Google, Samsung, or even OnePlus when it pertains to converting what the sensor enters into a terrific photo.
Its a shame that you have to invest $1,200 to reside in Sonys brand-new mobile phone world.
In 2015s Sony Xperia 1 set Sony down the course of a brand-new style language for the Xperia lineup: minimal and high. The 1 II looks exactly like in 2015s phone, only larger. Its a squared-off, all-black glass piece with a big 6.5-inch screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio.
Utilizing the default camera app on the Xperia 1 II, thats still the case. The images I get out of all three lenses– the routine, the telephoto, and the ultrawide– are all qualified but feel simply a little lifeless. Theyre quite great, but compared to other phones in the class, theyre not excellent. Sonys electronic camera system doesnt shine up until you take things into manual mode– in a completely various, preinstalled camera app.
Great Stuff
The tall aspect of this phone suggests that its all at once more comfortable and more uncomfortable to use. Its simple to hold in one hand and lets you see more content without scrolling, however quit on any strategies to reach the leading with that very same hand, no matter your grip.
The Sony Xperia 1 II has 3 camera lenses.
It has a basic 60Hz refresh rate, a disappointment on a phone of this class. Theres a “Motion Blur Reduction” alternative thats supposed to make it feel more like a 90Hz display screen, however it doesnt hold up to real high refresh rate alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy S20 or Pixel 4.
Sony desires you to utilize its phone video camera more like a mirrorless cam, for better or even worse
Grid View
Sony doesnt provide you direct control over the shutter speed, but you can control everything else (consisting of ISO, a reasonable sufficient stand-in since the lens aperture is repaired). As of now, its an odd miss out on, and well require to see how Sonys guaranteed execution works at launch later on in July.
Compared to every phone Sony has actually made previously, it has enhanced a lot on the Xperia 1 II that I cant help but feel a little thrilled about it. Where once Xperia phones had no differentiating reason for existing, now theyre focused on a new electronic camera experience. Where other Android phones try progressively arcane techniques to fix their images, the Xperia 1 II merely puts the control in the hands of the professional photographer.
Sonys Photo Pro app even goes so far as to imitate the real user interface of Sonys Alpha cameras. As a Sony electronic camera user, I like this, however I am likewise mindful that numerous cam people hate it (or rather, they abhor the menu system that typically lies behind it). And if you are a Sony electronic camera world citizen, wait to see what the upcoming Xperia Pro can do.
Thats a great deal of technical cam talk– which is exactly the point. Where Google and Apple will regale you with stories about how their video cameras take numerous frames and then integrate them with enhanced HDR calculation, Sony wants you to treat your phone like its a standalone mirrorless camera.
Theres an app called Cinema Pro that provides a lot of the same video functions you d expect from a standalone video camera. Instead of simply dumping whatever into your cam roll willy-nilly, it lets you believe of your videos as distinct movie projects.
Last years Sony Xperia 1 set Sony down the path of a new design language for the Xperia lineup: high and minimal. Sonys video camera system doesnt shine up until you take things into manual mode– in a completely different, preinstalled video camera app.
What Google found out first (followed carefully by Apple, Samsung, and a couple of others) is that its much better to make a fantastic smart device video camera that leans into a smartphones strengths than to make a smartphone that tries to replicate the experience of utilizing a DSLR or mirrorless camera. The trend of computational photography isnt almost compensating for the constraints of tiny sensors and lenses; its creating a new kind of video camera.
Theres another set of electronic cameras with terrific sensing units that do not make it automated and dead-simple to get great photos: standalone DSLRs and mirrorless electronic cameras. They put more of the onus on the user to find out their settings– however they likewise provide that user drastically more control over them.
The Xperia 1 IIs camera runs in the opposite instructions. I am genuinely interested to see what type of brand-new instrument Sony could make here, however primarily, I wish the default cam experience was stronger.
It starts with an enormous 1/1.7- inch Exmor RS 12-megapixel sensing unit set behind a Zeiss lens at a 24mm comparable focal length. Sony has enhanced the entire electronic camera stack for high-speed photography: it can focus at 60fps and burst-shoot at 20fps. It also borrows the much-loved autofocus feature from its Alpha cameras, continually focusing on a human or even an animals eye.
With the Xperia 1 II, Sony has finally found the right instructions for its smart devices. Now it simply needs to move a little additional without tripping over its own cost.
Sonys Photo Pro app even goes so far regarding imitate the real interface of Sonys Alpha electronic cameras. As a Sony video camera user, I enjoy this, but I am also mindful that many electronic camera individuals abhor it (or rather, they hate the menu system that often lies behind it). In any case, its more familiar to me than a number of the pro electronic camera apps Ive tried.
Thats the instructions Sony is taking with the Xperia 1 II. Rather of fighting a losing computational photography fight against other mobile phones, Sony is taking the fight back to its house grass: the Alpha cam line.
I enter it more deeply in the video above, but the cold truth is that as much as we d like to believe that phones have changed the need for standalone cameras, they are different things. Just as you make different kinds of music depending upon what instrument you pick, you alter kinds of pictures depending on the video camera.
In spite of all of that, though, I cant advise the Xperia 1 II to any but the most dedicated Sony world devotee. The high $1,200 cost integrated with the weird absence of 5G in the United States makes it a complicated device at best. Phones that include now-standard flagship features like high refresh rate screens and stronger auto-mode photos can be had for hundreds less. And if you are a Sony camera world person, wait to see what the upcoming Xperia Pro can do. (It will have HDMI-in, so you can utilize it as an appropriate screen on a standalone camera.).
Sonys Photo Pro app uses a user interface thats similar to Sonys mirrorless Alpha cams.
The Xperia 1 II is an elegant device, but it costs a lot more than many of its competitors.
The full manual technique just actually deals with the primary 12-megapixel sensing unit, which is of a greater quality than either the wide or tele sensor. You can get pictures and videos that are actually sensational– but you have to work for it when you stick to it. I dont generally desire to work for it when Im utilizing a smartphone.
Left: iPhone 11 Pro in night mode. : Xperia 1 II in utilizing Photo Pro manual settings. Although the Xperia is worse completely vehicle in the dark, the manual choices provide you more artistic control.
It sounds ridiculous, but the mere addition of a dedicated physical shutter button goes a long method towards making this device feel more like a professional cam.
The canonical example is catching motion blur during the night. Night mode on other phones wont permit you to do that since theyre trying to do something else: cheer up the scene so you can see whats in it more clearly. The Xperia 1 II gives you enough control to get speculative: you can force a low ISO to keep a long shutter speed and not produce an over-brightened image.
