The Xperia 1 III cost a lot at MSRP, but the price has since dropped. It’s the only phone with a 4K OLED 120-Hz screen, which makes it great for watching movies (it’s great as a small phone screen. It has front-facing stereo speakers with great sound and a headphone jack when you need to plug it in. The camera system isn’t the best, but It empowers you to have more control over photo and video settings. Results. If you’re a photo tinkerer, this one’s for you. You’ll find every feature found in a high-end phone here, including wireless charging.
However, 5G is limited to sub-6 5G (the slower kind), and is only available on Verizon and T-Mobile—sorry, AT&T subscribers, stuck on 4G LTE. The 4,500-mAh battery is also not outstanding. It only lasts a day, sometimes less if you use it a lot. It also gets only one more update.
What about the Xperia 1 IV? Yes, Sony has a new version. Unfortunately, the Xperia 1 IV (6/10, WIRED Review) costs $1,598, even though it’s often discounted to $1,398. The 4K OLED screen is much brighter, fixing one of the gripes I had with the Xperia 1 III, and the battery now easily lasts all day. The cameras are better and share many of the same features, so they are consistent, but the image quality is still not on par with the competition. It doesn’t help that Sony still hasn’t committed to more than two years of software support.
