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R E V I E W S ( H T T P S : / / W W W. A N D R O I D A U T H O R I T Y. C O M / R E V I E W S / ) July 24, 2020

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app_id=598473026880919&u=https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-
url=https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-
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Positives Negatives xperia-
xperia-

1- 1- Giveaways (/giveaways)
Great 21:9 display Subpar selfie camera
+

ii- ii-
Fantastic performance Relatively slow charging review-
review-
+

Simplistic UI Confusing main camera 1135013/&t=Sony+Xperia+1+II+review%3A+A+Sony+phone+I%26%23821


app1135013/&text=Sony+Xperia+1+II+review%3A+A+Sony+phone+I%26%
+

IP68 water and dust resistance

Headphone jack

Pro camera features

Rating Bottom Line

Battery  


Xperia 1 II
Display  by Sony

The Sony Xperia 1 II is a wonderful smartphone.


Camera  While Sony put a lot of focus into the Alpha-like
camera experience, the rest of the phone is great
Performance  enough to make up for the "just fine" camera quality.

Software 

Design 

Audio 

Value 

Sony is a huge electronics company. It makes TVs (https://www.androidauthority.com/best-40-inch-tvs-


1049718/), cameras (https://www.androidauthority.com/best-camera-phones-670620/), headphones
(https://www.androidauthority.com/best-noise-cancelling-headphones-812275/), game consoles
(https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-ps5-1094322/), and pretty much anything else you could
imagine with a circuit board. It’s also a market leader in many of these categories. Its Bravia OLED TVs
are best-in-class, its headphones are some of the most popular on the market, and you can’t walk
down the street in 2020 without seeing a Sony digital camera.

With all this as background, it only seems natural that Sony would be one of the most well-positioned


companies to make a killer smartphone.(https://www.androidauthority.com/)
Our phones are now TVs and music players. They’re game
Best consoles and cameras. They do almost everything. And Sony makes almost everything. It should be a
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match made in heaven.
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12/26/2020 Sony Xperia 1 II review: A Sony phone I'd love to keep in my pocket (Video!) - Android Authority
(/) But we’ve been waiting for years for Sony to nail it. Every year, it seems like the new Xperia phone
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Xperia 1 II     
lacks the best-in-class quality of the Sony items it is replacing. The screens have been good but not $1,199.99 BUY NOW!
incredible, the cameras have frequently underperformed, and on the last Sony phone I reviewed, the

Xperia XZ2 (https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-xperia-xz2-review- (https://www.facebook.com/android
855876/#:~:text=Sony%27s%20Xperia%20XZ2%20is%20a,sell%20for%20the%20average%20consumer.),
there wasn’t even a headphone jack. None of this makes sense.

So the question that needs answering is this: After all these years, has Sony finally made a phone as
good as its reputation?
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Find out in the Android Authority Sony Xperia 1 II review.
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Sony Xperia 1 II review notes: I used the Sony Xperia 1 II over a period of 10 days. The phone was running
Android 10 on the June 2020 security patch. The phone did not receive any updates during the review Apps (https://www.androidauthority.
period.
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Design and display: Boldly simple
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Giveaways (/giveaways)

Credit: David Imel / Android Authority

. 6.5-inch 4k HDR OLED (3,840 x 1,644) . 166 x 72 x 7.9mm, 181g


. 21:9 aspect ratio . Notification LED
. Small bezels (no notch) . IP68 water and dust resistance
. 60Hz refresh rate . Side-mounted fingerprint reader
. Stereo front-facing speakers . Headphone jack
Sony’s phone designs have always been unique, all the way back to the feature phones of yesteryear.
The Xperia 1 II continues this trend. It’s a phone that, while incredibly simplistic, is bold in its own right.
It’s a very squared-off device with a flat display, back, and sides. There are curves around the edges to
keep the phone from feeling too sharp, but it’s still very boxy, which I appreciate quite a lot. Funny how
making a non-curved phone is unique in 2020, eh?

Making the phone so flat on all sides allowed Sony to include some interesting additions. You’ve got
the standard volume rockers on the right side of the phone, sitting right above the power button. But
(https://www.androidauthority.com/)

Best
this power button is also a fingerprint reader, as we’ve seen in Sony phones of the past. I had a hard
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(/) time getting this fingerprint reader to register my prints consistently, but the reviewer who had this
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Xperia 1 II     
device before me said it was among the most accurate he’s used. Your mileage may vary, depending $1,199.99 BUY NOW!
on your finger, I guess?

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Below the fingerprint reader/power button there’s a dedicated shutter button for the camera, which is
nice to see. This is also a two-step shutter button, meaning you can soft press it to acquire focus, then
press it all the way to capture an image. This is the same way most dedicated cameras work, and it’s
nice to see Sony add a unique interface for taking photos.

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content/uploads/2020/07/Sony-Xperia-1-II-dedicated- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony-Xperia-1-II- Streaming (https://www.androidauth
camera-shutter.jpg) headphone-jack.jpg)
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The top of the phone houses a headphone jack, something which was curiously missing from the
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Xperia XZ2 I reviewed a couple of years ago, as well as the Xperia 1
(https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-xperia-1-review-953719/) from last year. Considering Sony Features (https://www.androidautho
makes some of the best headphones on the market (https://www.androidauthority.com/best-sony-
headphones-1083775/), wired and otherwise, it makes sense for it to include the jack on its flagship How To (https://www.androidauthori
smartphone. While I would have liked to see a quad DAC (https://www.androidauthority.com/lg-quad-
Android Development (https://www.a
dac-1115577/) in this device as we see on many of LG’s flagships (https://www.androidauthority.com/lg-
v60-review-1087190/), the presence of the port is still a big win. Awards (https://www.androidauthori

Giveaways (/giveaways)
The left side of the phone is mostly clean, excluding the SIM card/microSD card slot. Sony has always
been fairly unique with these slots though, allowing you to extract the tray with your finger instead of
requiring a SIM tool. I really like this design, and it makes it easier to swap out SIMs or SD cards on a
whim. As a phone reviewer, I’m almost constantly looking for SIM tools, so it’s nice that I don’t need
one for this device.

The design of the Xperia 1 II is super minimalist


but still stylish.

The bottom of the phone simply houses the USB-C port. The back and front glass are Gorilla Glass 6,
and the frame is made of aluminum.

The Sony Xperia 1 II doesn’t have a notch or hole-punch for its selfie camera. Instead, it opted for some
tried-and-true bezels. Opinions on bezels are split, but they are quite thin, and including them allowed
Sony to use front-facing speakers on this phone. I love front-facing speakers, and they make music and
videos sound great while consuming content. These speakers get quite loud, though they do get
slightly distorted at maximum volume. That being said, they’re quite good for a smartphone.

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One of the defining aspects of the Xperia 1 series is its 21:9 4K HDR OLED display. Sony rocks a 6.5-
Best
Pixel
inch panel on 5 (https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-5-1123659/)
the Xperia 1 II, and while that screen size isn’t HBO Max (https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-hbo-max-1152711/)
quite as large as some other flagships, the OnePlus 8T (https://www.androidauth
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unique aspect ratio gives it a very particular feel. It’s a bit weird at first when you’re not used to holding
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(/) something so narrow and tall. But I grew to like it really quickly. It’s fantastic for multitasking, and Sony
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has a built-in multi-window tool that lets you run two apps at once to take advantage of the tall display.
Xperia 1 II      $1,199.99 BUY NOW!
The 21:9 aspect ratio means you can also watch most movies in the same format you’d see them in the

theatre. (https://www.facebook.com/android

The Xperia 1 II uses an incredibly dense panel, with a resolution of 3,840 x 1,644. On most devices, I
can’t notice the difference between a 1080p and 1440p display unless I look at the pixels closely. With
this device, I can’t even discern individual pixels with my eyes right up against the display. It’s wildly
sharp, and icons often look like they’re floating off the screen. The screen tuning looks great in its
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default mode, but Sony also includes a Creator Mode which supports the BT.2020 color gamut and 10-
bit HDR color.
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SEE ALSO: The Best (https://www.androidautho


The OnePlus 8 Pro has the best display we’ve ever tested
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I should note that this is a 60Hz panel, not a 90 or 120Hz display you may be used to seeing on
Phone Accessories (https://www.and
flagships (https://www.androidauthority.com/phone-refresh-rate-90hz-120hz-1086643/) in 2020. But
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that’s a trade-off Sony had to make to use a 4K display in this thing. I’m fine with it. But if you’re a high-
refresh die-hard, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
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Overall, I think Sony nailed the design of this phone. It’s minimalistic and feels great, but it’s also unique
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and does a great job recalling the popular Xperia devices of the past. I’m impressed.
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Performance & battery: Fantastically average Features (https://www.androidautho

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Giveaways (/giveaways)

. Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 . microSD card expansion


. X55 5G mobile platform (disabled in the USA) . 4,000mAh battery
. 8GB RAM . Qualcomm QuickCharge 4+
. 256GB storage . Wireless charging
The Xperia 1 II is a true flagship device for Sony. That means it sports the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon
865 processor (https://www.androidauthority.com/qualcomm-snapdragon-865-specs-1058483/), 8GB
of RAM, and 256GB of storage, with optional microSD card expansion. It has IP68 water and dust
resistance. It has wireless charging. Honestly, it kind of has it all. And that came through in day-to-day
use as well.

I didn’t see any performance issues or frame drops while using the Xperia 1 II. Sony uses a streamlined
skin of Android which likely contributed to the great performance, but the latest Snapdragon processor
and 8GB of RAM helped the Xperia 1 II blow through any tasks I threw at it.

In benchmarks, the Sony Xperia 1 II performed very, very well, and came out near the top on all phones
we’ve tested.

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content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony-
Xperia-1-II-Geekbench-4-score.jpg) Xperia-1-II-AnTuTu-score.png) Xperia-1-II-3DMark-score.jpg) How To (https://www.androidauthori
Geekbench 4 AnTuTu 3DMark
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The Sony Xperia 1 II notched 4,248 in Geekbench 4 single-core and 13,102 in Geekbench 4 multi-core,
for example, while the OnePlus 8 Pro scored 4,195 and 13,142 in Geekbench 4 single and multi, Awards (https://www.androidauthori
respectively. That’s an incredibly tight race and shows both devices can trade punches. Either way, you
Giveaways (/giveaways)
shouldn’t experience any performance issues with either device.

We should also note that the Sony Xperia 1 II scored the highest of any phone we’ve tested in Speed
Test G (https://www.androidauthority.com/speed-test-g/). It finished the benchmark in one minute and
26 seconds. That’s quite impressive.

SEE ALSO:

The best Android smartphones with the best battery life

Because this phone is sporting the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC and X55 modem, it’s technically a
5G phone. For some reason though, Sony has disabled 5G capabilities in a lot of countries, including
the United States. We’ve reached out to Sony for a response to why this is and haven’t received a
response before press time.

Battery life on the Sony Xperia 1 II was almost exactly average in real-world testing. I got about six
hours of screen-on time, which lasted a bit more than a day. This was about the same battery life as I
experienced on the LG Velvet (https://www.androidauthority.com/lg-velvet-review-1130969/), which is
impressive considering this phone uses a 4K display and has a smaller 4,000mAh cell compared to the
Velvet’s 4,300mAh battery.

Camera: A phone in name only

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Best Credit: David Imel / Android Authority


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(/) . Wide: 12MP, 1/2.6-inch sensor, Dual-PD AF, . 3D iToF sensor
16mm equivalent . Real-time Eye-AF ADVERTISE (HTTPS://PARTNERS.ANDROIDAUT
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. Main: 12MP, 1/1.7-inch sensor, Dual-PD AF, . Up to 20 fps AF/AE tracking burst mode
. 60 calc/second AF calculation 
OIS, 24mm equivalent (https://www.facebook.com/android
. Telephoto: 12MP, 1/3.4-inch sensor, PDAF,
OIS, 70mm equivalent
. Selfie: 8MP
The camera system on the Sony Xperia 1 II is far and away one of the most advanced we’ve seen on a
smartphone. It may not produce the highest quality images, but Sony was targeting a different metric
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with this camera system: speed.
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The Xperia 1 II features three distinct cameras on the back of the device. There is a wide 12MP camera
with a 1/2.6-inch sensor and dual-PD autofocus, a main 12MP camera with a 1/1.7-inch sensor, dual-PDThe Best (https://www.androidautho
autofocus, and OIS, and a telephoto 12MP camera with a 1/3.4-inch sensor, PD autofocus, and OIS. In
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making this camera system, Sony wanted to offer two things: the “holy trinity” of zoom lenses, and the
same 20fps burst mode of the Sony Alpha A9 mirrorless camera. Phone Accessories (https://www.and

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Giveaways (/giveaways)

In photography, the holy trinity of zoom lenses refers to a wide-to-medium zoom, a medium-to-
telephoto zoom, and a telephoto-to-super-telephoto zoom. Here, Sony went with a 16-24mm, a 24-
70mm, and a 70-200mm lens. This range covers most subjects, unless you’re doing ultra-wide
landscape or astrophotography (https://www.androidauthority.com/how-pixel-4-astrophotography-
mode-works-1058430/), or if you’re doing super-zoomed wildlife photography.

Of course, these aren’t optical zoom lenses. It’s still just a 16mm, 24mm, and 70mm. But Sony was still
very deliberate with these focal lengths, choosing them specifically to try and emulate the holy trinity.

Like I mentioned before, Sony wanted to mirror the 20fps autofocus-capable burst mode it sports in its
A9 series of cameras. This is extremely impressive, especially considering the phone will check for
focus three times per frame before it decides where the focus will be. So if you take a full second of
burst images, the phone will take 20 images, with focus calculated 60 times.

To do this, Sony couldn’t use the biggest or highest-resolution sensor it has available. I would have
loved to see the Sony IMX 689 sensor in this device – the same which was used in the Oppo Find X2
Pro (https://www.androidauthority.com/oppo-find-x2-pro-review-
1092058/#:~:text=The%20Oppo%20Find%20X2%20Pro,have%20to%20pay%20for%20it.) and
OnePlus 8 Pro (https://www.androidauthority.com/oneplus-8-pro-review-1104400/). But when I asked
Sony why it didn’t use this chip, it said it had to use a slightly smaller, lower-resolution sensor to
 (https://www.androidauthority.com/)
achieve the 20fps burst mode, and a smaller telephoto sensor helped them achieve the 70mm lens.
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(/) While I understand Sony’s reasoning here, I think a wider audience would be satisfied with better
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Xperia 1 II     
image quality as a trade-off to a fast burst mode. That being said, Sony is clearly targeting this phone at $1,199.99 BUY NOW!
pro photographers and videographers, as I’ll discuss more later.

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(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony-
Streaming (https://www.androidauth
Xperia-1-II-sample-photo-27.jpg) Xperia-1-II-sample-photo-49.jpg) Xperia-1-II-sample-photo-23.jpg)
Gaming (https://www.androidauthor
The main 24mm lens is by far the best of the bunch, due to its fairly large 1/1.7-inch sensor. It has great
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color and clarity in good light and does fairly well in low-light circumstances as well. Sony is very subtle
with its color processing in the standard camera app, not applying any super aggressive color shifts.
Features (https://www.androidautho
Lower-light circumstances do take a couple of seconds to process, but they generally look great once
it’s done processing. How To (https://www.androidauthori

Android Development (https://www.a

Awards (https://www.androidauthori

Giveaways (/giveaways)

(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony-
Xperia-1-II-sample-photo-50.jpg) Xperia-1-II-sample-photo-28.jpg) Xperia-1-II-sample-photo-26.jpg)

The telephoto lens is similar in its great color profile, but it’s certainly softer than the main sensor. I
believe this is due to the sensor being fairly small at 1/3.4-inches, which causes the phone to use a
higher ISO and therefore more noise reduction. That’s not to say it’s bad though – it’s still better than a
crop.

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photo-24.jpg) photo-29.jpg)
Xperia 1 II      $1,199.99 BUY NOW!

The wide lens is great as well, but it’s a bit more washed-out color-wise than the other lenses. It’s still 
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very sharp though, capturing a good amount of detail, even around the edges, where wide lenses
generally get the softest. Either way, the color profiles are fairly consistent over the range – something
that can’t be said of many smartphone camera systems.

(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp- (https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
content/uploads/2020/07/Sony-Xperia-1-II-sample- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony-Xperia-1-II-sample-
photo-15.jpg) photo-45.jpg)

The selfie camera on this phone is probably the Achilles’ heel of the system. It is extremely soft even in
good light and looks terrible in low light. It also tended to capture lens flares, which look pretty bad
when the selfie camera is already very soft. This is an 8MP sensor and extremely small at 1/4-inch, so
it’s no surprise that it’s pretty bad.

If you want to see these sample photos and more in full resolution, I’ve uploaded them to a Google
Drive folder here (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SfF8N_sSsS4ML4C-KKH0oskPSQ_SESM-?
usp=sharing).

(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony-
Xperia-1-II-camera-app-screenshot- Xperia-1-II-camera-app-screenshot- Xperia-1-II-camera-app-screenshot-
1.jpg) 2.jpg) 3.jpg)

The standard camera app on the Xperia 1 II is okay, but it’s not very intuitive. The button to switch to
the selfie camera is on the top, which is pretty difficult to reach on a tall display like this. You can still
swipe down to switch to the front camera, but it feels like the button should be where the Mode button
is, which has settings for things like portrait selfies and color filters. There is also no HDR in the main
app – it can only be found in the Camera Pro app. If anything, the standard app is where HDR should
be, since those who don’t care about having full control of their image make particular use of the
feature.

The phone also won’t switch to the correct lens when you zoom all the way in on the main app. The
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Best
only way to switch to the next lens is to tap one of the three lens options at the bottom of the screen. It
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12/26/2020 Sony Xperia 1 II review: A Sony phone I'd love to keep in my pocket (Video!) - Android Authority
(/)

Xperia 1 II      $1,199.99 BUY NOW!

I initially wanted to title this review “The Alpha phone” because of the “pro” photo and video apps
Sony made for this device. One is called Photo Pro, and the other is called Cinema Pro.

Both of these apps are built to work as similarly to a dedicated Sony digital camera as possible. It
effectively looks like Sony’s menu system is seated right up against its viewfinder. For people who are
new to the Sony menu system, including me, this can be fairly confusing to navigate. But once you get
the hang of it, these apps give you an incredible amount of control over the phone’s cameras.

The Photo Pro app pushes the concept of the holy trinity of lenses by giving you digital zoom rings for
each lens. The 16mm can zoom up to 24mm, the 24mm zooms to 70mm, and the 70mm lens zooms up
to 200mm. While I love the style and attention to detail Sony put into this app, it does have some weird
quirks. I would like to be able to continue zooming and the phone to automatically switch to the next
lens, for example, though I understand that Sony wants people to feel like they’re physically switching
lenses. I understand the sentiment, but the fact remains that smartphone cameras aren’t the same as
dedicated cameras. If you can seamlessly switch leases, do it. Don’t restrict that just because this is a
smartphone.

The Cinema Pro app is similar to the Photo Pro app, but instead of being based on a Sony Alpha
camera, it’s based on the Sony FS series of cinema cameras. It offers an incredible amount of control,
all the way down to shutter speed, resolution, and even shutter angle. Sony also included many of its
picture profiles from the camera line, which are well-known and respected. The Cinema Pro app works
in a project format, allowing you to jump back into a project and retain all the same settings.

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Both of these apps have one big issue though – they only work in landscape mode. While I’m sure
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12/26/2020 Sony Xperia 1 II review: A Sony phone I'd love to keep in my pocket (Video!) - Android Authority
(/) If the Photo Pro and Cinema Pro apps were the only camera apps on this phone, I would say that they

Xperia 1 II     
are much, much too complicated for the average user. And they probably are. But Sony offers them $1,199.99 BUY NOW!
as options for those who want extremely fine control of their phone’s camera. And because the default
camera app is still a mostly standard smartphone camera app, I applaud it for making these Pro apps,
even if I don’t envision many people using them to their full potential.

For more on the Sony Xperia 1 II camera, check out our shootouts with the Huawei P40 Pro and
Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus:

. Camera shootout: Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus vs Sony Xperia 1 II


(https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-s20-plus-vs-sony-xperia-1-ii-camera-1132818/)
. Camera shootout: Sony Xperia 1 II vs Huawei P40 Pro (https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-
xperia-1-ii-vs-huawei-p40-pro-camera-1133594/)

Software: Wonderfully practical

. Android 10
The Sony Xperia 1 II runs Android 10, and it does something that I wish more OEMs would do: use
Google apps as defaults. Immediately when booting up the phone, you’ll see Google Phone, Google
Messages, Chrome, and Google Photos on the dock. Sony doesn’t try to make many proprietary apps
for things Google can already offer, and that makes for a much nicer experience.

(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
(https://cdn57.androidauthority.net/wp-
content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony- content/uploads/2020/07/Sony-
Xperia-1-II-home-screen.jpg) Xperia-1-II-Google-feed.jpg) Xperia-1-II-settings-menu.jpg)
Home screen Google feed Settings menu

Sony’s skin on top of Android is also incredibly lightweight, and it doesn’t feel like it adds things
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Pixel UI, and that’s something I can get behind. There’s a
Best Google Search bar at the bottom of the screen and a Google
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12/26/2020 Sony Xperia 1 II review: A Sony phone I'd love to keep in my pocket (Video!) - Android Authority
(/) Sony does have some cool apps that work well with this device, like the PlayStation app which lets you
attach a DualShock controller natively. This is great for people that love PS4 Remote Play and want to
Xperia 1 II      $1,199.99 BUY NOW!
play on their phones.

Sony Xperia 1 II specs


  Sony Xperia 1 II
6.5-inch HDR OLED
3,840 x 1,644 resolution (4K)
643ppi
Display
Motion blur reduction (90Hz equivalent)
21:9 aspect ratio
Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
SoC 7nm+ process
Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585)
GPU Adreno 650
RAM 8GB
Storage 256GB
Rear cameras
- Ultra-wide: 12MP sensor, 16mm, f/2.2 aperture, Dual PDAF
- Wide: 12MP sensor, 24mm, f/1.7 aperture, Dual PDAF, OIS
Cameras - Telephoto: 12MP sensor, 70mm, f/2.4 aperture, PDAF, OIS
- Depth sensor: 3D iTOF

Front camera: 8MP sensor


Headphone jack
Dual stereo front speakers
Audio
360 Reality Audio
DSEE upscaling
4,000mAh
Battery 21W USB-PD wired charging
15W wireless charging
IP rating IP65/68
Connectivity 5G, sub-6GHz
Software Android 10
166 x 72 x 7.9mm
Dimensions and weight
181g
Colors Black, Purple

Value and competition

Credit: David Imel / Android Authority

. Sony Xperia 1 II: 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage — $1,199.99


There’s no doubt that $1,200 is a lot to pay for a smartphone. It’s certainly up there in price, but the
Xperia 1 II also sports almost all the specs and features you’d want out of a device. With the latest
flagship processor from Qualcomm, ample RAM and storage, IP68 water and dust resistance,
expandable storage, and even a headphone jack, it’s got almost everything. A notable exception is 5G,
if you live in the US, or other markets where it’s not offered.

At its pricing tier, the Sony Xperia 1 II is effectively in direct competition with phones like the Samsung
Galaxy S20 Plus (https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-s20-plus-review-1089687/).
Compared to the Galaxy S20 Plus, the Sony Xperia 1 II has more storage, a headphone jack, and a
taller, higher resolution display. Its cameras are arguably slightly worse than Samsung’s but they still
perform well. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S20 Plus has a higher-refresh 120Hz panel.

RELATED:

Camera shootout: Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus vs Sony Xperia 1 II

If you want to spend a bit less cash, the OnePlus 8 Pro (https://www.androidauthority.com/oneplus-8-
pro-review-1104400/) starts at $899. Like the S20 Plus, the OnePlus sports slightly less storage than
the Xperia 1 II, but has a slightly better main camera sensor and 120Hz refresh rate display.


Ultimately, I think the Sony Xperia 1 II offers a lot, even at its top-tier price point. While many devices
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12/26/2020 Sony Xperia 1 II review: A Sony phone I'd love to keep in my pocket (Video!) - Android Authority
(/)
Sony Xperia 1 II review: Should you buy it?
Xperia 1 II      $1,199.99 BUY NOW!

Credit: David Imel / Android Authority

The Sony Xperia 1 II is a great example of what can happen when a mega-company like Sony pulls
together all its resources to make a smartphone. With a wildly high-resolution 21:9 OLED display, a
versatile camera system, and even a headphone jack, Sony has finally made a phone I’d love to keep
in my pocket.

If you’re looking for the best image quality straight out of the camera, you won’t get that here. Sony
was focused on making this phone a mobile A9 camera, with 20fps shooting with autofocus. Because
of that, it couldn’t include its biggest and best sensor. While I wish it aimed for image quality instead of
image speed, I can understand what it was going for.

While the camera system might be frustrating to everyone except the most dedicated photographers,
the other parts of the phone make up for it. The display is unique and fantastic, the UI is minimal, and it
has all the bells and whistles like wireless charging, expandable storage, and a headphone jack. That
makes this a wonderful phone for everyone, regardless of how much you care about the camera.

So should you buy it? I would say yes. Sony has made one of my favorite phones of the year in the
Xperia 1 II. And that’s saying something.

$1,199.99  BUY AT AMAZON

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