Sony’s flagship smartphone is still about as cinematic as a phone can be
Smartphone | £1299 | whf.cm/Xperia1_V
Sony’s Xperia 1 has long been our go-to recommendation for a flagship Android smartphone that prioritises AV, and every generation since 2020 has earned five-star reviews. The Xperia 1 V has upgrades to build, features, picture and sound, and we are pleased to see the phone’s price stay the same as last year. It remains a rather expensive piece of kit, though.
The 3.5mm headphone jack makes a welcome return, as does Xperia 1’s trademark 6.5in 21:9 aspect ratio display, with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for enhanced protection. That 21:9 screen means the device is taller and skinnier than your average smartphone. It uses Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset backed by 12GB of RAM. There are two storage options: 256GB and 512GB, and storage can be upgraded further via MicroSD.
In use, the new Sony feels a bit snappier than its predecessor, and overall the experience feels slightly slicker. The Xperia 1 V’s display (crucially, the same aspect ratio that most films are shot in) means when you play supported content from Netflix, Disney+ or Sony’s own Bravia Core app, you should get a full-screen experience with no obstructions, black pillars or letterboxing. What makes the screen even better is that it’s a 4K HDR OLED panel with a pixel density of 643ppi, resulting in incredible detail (the iPhone 14 Pro Max is 460ppi.) The display is 120Hz (as is that of its Apple rival), which means scrolling through social media feeds and mobile gaming both feel smoother than on phones with lower refresh rates.
The Xperia supports hi-res audio with decent wired headphones, and features Bluetooth 5.3 with the LE, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive and LDAC codecs. You can enable Dolby Atmos within the sound settings too. The phone also features a front-firing stereo speaker arrangement.
Subtle upgrades across the board help nudge it slightly ahead of its excellent predecessor. Sony knows how to capture a cinematic feeling on a smartphone. We set the display to Creator Mode, that is designed to deliver content as close as possible to the creator’s intent.
With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story we can see the Xperia 1 V’s medley of visual strengths on display, starting with the impressive three-dimensionality of the image. During the opening scene, as the villainous Krennick looms in the foreground, the phone’s considered handling of contrast, shading and carefully defined (but not overly sharp) outlines results in an image with tangible depth.
Punchier colours
The 1 V’s image i
