The Sony Xperia 1 IV is in many ways one of the most interesting phones of 2022 so far, with features you won’t find anywhere else.
But it’s also a phone with flaws and one at a very high price, so there are definitely changes we want to see in the Sony Xperia 1 V, and we’ve listed them below.
Before that, though, we’ve included details about when the Sony Xperia 1 V will launch, how much it will cost, and what specs and features it might have. We haven’t heard much yet, but as more leaks and rumors circulate, we’ll be sure to update this article.
cut to chase
- What is this? The next flagship phone from Sony
- When does it come out? Maybe mid 2023
- How much will it cost? Expect a very high price
Sony Xperia 1 V: Release date and price
Sony hasn’t been terribly consistent with the releases of the Xperia 1 line, so we can’t be very sure when the Sony Xperia 1 V will land, especially in the absence of any rumors.
For reference, the Sony Xperia 1 IV was announced on May 11, 2022, and then hit UK stores on June 16 – but the US didn’t get it until September 1, and Australia didn’t get it at all.
The Sony Xperia 1 III was announced a little earlier than a year earlier, in April 2021 – but the phone didn’t go on sale anywhere until August. For the two models before that, we’ve seen the February announcement and the May sale date.
So what can we take away from this? The Sony Xperia 1 V is likely to be announced in the first half of 2022. It’s likely in May that it will be a year after the Xperia 1 IV, but that’s far from guaranteed.
It’s hard to guess the actual release date, as there’s sometimes a long delay after the announcement, but some regions may get it in June or sooner, and Australia probably won’t get it at all.
For the price, the Sony Xperia 1 IV costs $1,599 in the US, which gives you a model with 512GB of storage. In the UK, only a 256GB version is available, and that costs £1,299.99.
So the Sony Xperia 1 V might be priced similarly, but we’re not sure. Hopefully it won’t be more expensive anyway, as the Xperia 1 IV is already one of the most expensive non-foldable phones you can buy.
Sony Xperia 1 V: News and Leaks
There aren’t any Sony Xperia 1 V leaks yet, but there is evidence that the camera could be a big focus for Sony.
For one thing, Sony usually focuses a lot on its flagship phone cameras, but on top of that, the company said it expects the quality of still photos from smartphones to exceed that of DSLRs by the end of 2024.
That suggests it expects major smartphone camera improvements in the next couple of years, some of which are likely to be evident in the Sony Xperia 1 V.
One of those improvements could be a new sensor – likely a new 1-inch sensor the company revealed, which will be used for the first time in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra.
Sony Xperia 1 V: What we want to see
There are a few key things that Sony can do to make the Xperia 1 V noticeably better than the Sony Xperia 1 IV. It includes the following.
1. Lower price
The Sony Xperia 1 IV is a surprisingly expensive phone, and it comes at a higher price even than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
While it has some specs and features that Samsung and Apple phones lack, it’s inferior in some ways and certainly priced in a way that it’s not likely to be a truly flagship phone.
So for the Sony Xperia 1 V, we want to see a lower price. Obviously, this phone will still be horribly expensive, but if Sony can lower its price by a few hundred dollars/pounds, it could convert more units.
2. Better fingerprint sensor
Paying big money doesn’t guarantee a good fingerprint sensor, and that’s the case with the Sony Xperia 1 IV, which has a sensor that we found in our review failed more times than it worked.
On top of that, the phone doesn’t even have a phone inside the screen – it’s side-mounted, which makes it look a bit old. So for the Sony Xperia 1 V we want the fingerprint sensor to be more reliable, and also preferably integrated into the screen.
3. More polished software
In our review of the Xperia 1 IV, we found that the software wasn’t quite as polished as the hardware, with apps crashing, an unfortunate amount of bloatware, and worst of all – video playback simply not working on some video apps.
These things can all be fixed with updates, of course, but for the Sony Xperia 1 V we want a smooth, seamless experience out of the box.
4. Faster charging
The Sony Xperia 1 IV supports charging at up to 30W, which isn’t terrible — in fact, it has Apple and most Samsung phones, but it pales in comparison to many others, some of which can now go as high as 150W.
So for the Sony Xperia 1 V, we want to boost the charging power. We’re considering at least 60 watts, but the higher the better, we can get the phone up and running quickly.
5. Zoom in a longer distance
One of the standout features of the Sony Xperia 1 IV is its continuous optical zoom – allowing you to zoom in on anything between 3.5x and 5.2x. This isn’t something you’ll find on other phones, but with this great feature we’d love to see Sony make the most of it and increase the zoom level to around 10x, like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
This phone offers 3x or 10x optical zoom, but if Sony can offer optical zoom at every level within that range, you’ll have Samsung — and every other phone maker — outperform on that front.