Sony Xperia 1 IV

Lovely matte design, IP65/IP68 rating.

The screen auto switches to 4K only in certain limited cases; no dynamic refresh rate either.

We really liked this Xperia in spite of its issues, and we see no reason why not to get one. If you find it complicated or overengineered or cannot forgive some of its shortcomings, look elsewhere.

Solid battery life ; Gorgeous 21:9 display ; Strong cameras ; Powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1…

…limited by thermal throttling ; Gets very hot, very fast ; Minor improvements over Xperia 1 III ; Expensive at $1,599

The Sony Xperia 1 IV is another great smartphone for a small audience — offering iterative updates to an already solid experience. But the trade-offs, like thermal throttling and a sky high price tag, may prove too much for some.

Light and comfortable ; Camera records very good video ; Headphone jack, notification LED ; Stereo speakers sound great ; Runs buttery smooth

Exorbitant price ; Camera photos are not as great ; Three different camera apps, none of them feels fully fleshed out ; No charger, no cable, no earbuds in box

Useful continuous optical zoom ; Physical shutter button ; Many creative apps

Photo app will confuse some ; Very expensive ; Angular design

The Sony Xperia 1 IV is a pro-tier device, with lots of features that will be useful to creative professionals – its zoom camera, microSD card slot and camera and video apps give you lots of options for art that you’ll be hard-pressed to find on other...

with its Photographic Styles, ProRAW/ProRes and Cinematic Mode will give you some extra toys to play with when shooting, while hopefully remaining in your budget. Plus you can buy these right now, instead of having to wait a few months if you're a U.S....

The screen is brighter, the battery is bigger and the camera has a few more features, including a telephoto lens that can now zoom freely across the range 85 to 125 mm. And the camera software and all the automated settings have finally been sorted out.

The 21:9 aspect ratio of the screen leads to black bars on some video formats. The phone does not come with a charger.

In reality, Sony already hit the mark last year with the Xperia 1 III, but of course there’s always room for small improvements, and that’s exactly what the Sony Xperia 1 IV is. A small improvement for the discerning.

Non pixel-binning camera handles tricky textures well ; Has a headphone jack and expandable memory ; Optical zoom camera is a neat concept

Inconsistent camera doesn’t match expectations ; Becomes hot frequently ; Suffers from significant thermal performance throttling ; Very expensive

The Sony Xperia 1 IV is a phone that offers benefits that other phones don’t deliver. It says “no” to the notch, “yes” to expandable storage and the headphone jack, and includes an optical zoom camera. However, photo quality doesn’t match the best in...