Our quick take

Sony Xperia 1 IV - 4.0 / 5

Design and build

  • 165 x 71 x 8.2mm; 185g IP65/IP68 water and dust resistance Gorilla Glass Victus (front and rear)

Display

  • 6.5-inch; OLED; 120Hz 3840 x 1644 pixels; 642ppi

Hardware and performance

  • Snapdragon 8 Gen 1; 12GB RAM 256GB storage + microSD (1TB) 5000mAh battery; 30W wired charging; 15W wireless charging

Camera performance

  • Triple rear camera Main: 12MP, f/1.7, 1/1.7in Ultrawide: 12MP, f/2.2, 1/2.5in Zoom: 12MP, f/2.3-2.8, 1/3.5in, 3.5x-5.2x optical Front: 12MP, f/2.0, 1/2.9in

  • Main: 12MP, f/1.7, 1/1.7in Ultrawide: 12MP, f/2.2, 1/2.5in Zoom: 12MP, f/2.3-2.8, 1/3.5in, 3.5x-5.2x optical

To recap

The Sony Xperia 1 IV keeps much of the same approach as the Xperia 1 III. The camera is designed to appeal to those wanting to avoid AI and over-processing, with lots of manual options - but lacking basic point-and-shoot functions to make it competitive in all conditions. There’s loads of power, along with the advantage of a 3.5mm headphone socket and microSD card slot, but this is an expensive phone. There’s a premium design paired with a lot to love, but there’s plenty to think about, too.