Sony has launched its new Xperia 1 VI smartphone, but for all the useful upgrades and top-tier specs, the display has lost its most impressive feature.
Last year’s Xperia 1 V and all four of its predecessors had a screen with a 4K resolution. It left Sony as the only major company releasing phones with such a high-quality panel.
While a niche feature, there was one huge benefit compared to the 1440p or 1080p panels you see on most smartphones: watching TV shows and movies.
If you had access to 4K HDR content, be it via a streaming service like Netflix or your own digital download, the Xperia 1 V was the absolute best phone to watch it on.
Content looked simply stunning on the 6.5-inch OLED panel, especially with a tall 21:9 aspect ratio ensuring there was no letterboxing (black bars above and below the content) for widescreen video.
However, both are gone on the new Xperia 1 VI. It’s now an unremarkable 1080p OLED panel with a more typical 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The strength of the 1080p screen on the Xperia 10 V from last year suggests it’ll be a good display, albeit without anything to stand out from Android rivals such as the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro .
On the plus side
It’s not all bad news, though. The Xperia 1 VI’s screen now supports LTPO technology, meaning it can automatically adjust the refresh rate between 1- and 120Hz, helping to save battery life when not required.
Alongside the lower resolution and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset (known to be more power efficient than the 8 Gen 2 on the Xperia 1 V ), Sony says the 5000mAh cell offers the longest battery life of any Xperia 1 phone – up to two full days.
You can expect better battery life than the Xperia 1 V
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Sony will be hoping it’s one of the best battery life phones as a way of standing out in a tough market.
More room to zoom
The Xperia V I uses the same Exmor T sensor as its predecessor, which crops a 52Mp sensor to create a 48Mp one. It’s still joined by a 12Mp ultrawide and 12Mp selfie lenses, but the 12Mp telephoto has been upgraded.
Its variable focal lengths have been extended to 85-170mm meaning an optical zoom range of 3.5-7.1x. That’s one of the highest on any phone, and means you won’t have to rely on digital zoom for most zoom shots.
This offers plenty of flexibility for portrait-style shots, but Sony also specifically recommends it for close-up macro photos, which can stay in focus up to 4cm away from the subject.
But who’s it for?
It’s difficult to understand who would buy the Xperia 1 VI other than loyal fans. Its predecessor suggests photography will be a step down from the absolute best camera phones , while the display no longer stands out from rivals.
The commitment to three Android OS updates (ships running Android 14 ) and four years of security updates is better than before, but still well behind Google and Samsung , which offer seven on their latest flagships.
And the Xperia VI doesn’t come cheap – it costs £1,299/€1,399, making it one of the most expensive Android phones you can buy.
With that in mind, the new Xperia 10 VI might be a better choice. With a starting price of £349/€399, it’s very much a mid-range phone and retains the 21:9 display, albeit still with a 1080p resolution and downgrades to the chipset and cameras.
Pre-orders for both phones are live now. The Xperia 1 VI will go on sale in “early June”, before the Xperia 10 VI is released in the “middle of June”.
Author: Anyron Copeman, Mobile Editor, Tech Advisor
Anyron is Mobile Editor at Tech Advisor, where he’s been a mainstay of the editorial team since 2019. In his current role, Anyron is responsible for all smartphone, tablet and mobile network coverage on the site. A BA Journalism graduate, he has experience with a wide range of consumer tech products and services, including smartphones, tablets, foldables, wearables and more.
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