Sony, has its fair share of expertise when it comes to manufacturing TV sets, audio systems, cameras, and a whole lot of other electronics, but when it comes to smartphones, they haven't really managed to make a mark. There was a time when these phones were fairly popular, but not so much in recent times. All that might change this time with the Xperia 1 ii, which bring some massive camera and sound upgrades, and seemingly better than the competition in this price range. Here we take a look at the Xperia 1 ii, a phone which might just be the success story Sony was looking for.
Recently Sony announced their latest flagship, the Xperia 1 ii (Xperia 1 Mark 2). The phone looks great, with all the features you would want from a 2020 flagship, and a couple more pretty exclusive to this phone. Here we take a look at the specifications.
Design and Build: The phone is extremely premium, with a beautiful glass back, and a tall, cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio. The phone is protected by Gorilla Glass 6, and is also IP65/IP68 water and dust resistance certified. At 181g, the phone is pretty light for its size, and would give a comfortable experience. It is a hybrid dual sim phone, and the second sim slot can be used for an SD card if you want. Surprisingly, the phone comes with a headphone jack this time.
Display: The phone has a beautiful 6.5 inch OLED 4K display, which does have a bit of a bezel on the top and bottom, but does not have a notch. Sadly the refresh rate is still 60Hz. Also the fingerprint scanner is not In-Display, but is mounted on the side. On the plus side, this does lead to a more secure screen lock.
Performance: Being a 2020 flagship, it has to have the latest and greatest processor, and Sony did not disappoint. It has the Snapdragon 865, with an Adreno 650 GPU. This calls for great performance from the phone, without any hiccups even while running heavy tasks or games. Along with the processor, the phone comes with 8Gb of Ram and 256Gb of internal storage. It comes with the latest fast UFS 3.0 storage, enabling fast read/write speeds.
OS: The phone comes with Android 10, along with a custom UI by Sony, which is close to stock android, but with some pre-loaded apps by Sony. Overall a pretty smooth UI, and nothing much to complain about. The update cycle from Sony has been pretty descent, nothing exceptional like OnePlus, but you should be expecting at least two major software updates.
Cameras: The highlight of this phone, Sony comes with high quality Zeiss Lenses, and massive software optimizations this time, bringing a high quality camera performance from this phone. It comes with a 12Mp primary + 12Mp ultra-wide + 12Mp telephoto lens with up to 3x optical zoom and a 0.3Mp TOF 3D depth sensor. The megapixel count though might seem underwhelming, but the camera performance is top notch, right up there with the Google Pixel, and that is really saying something. Even on the video front, there have been massive upgrades, and not with eye tracking and a couple of video enhancements, the phone is capable of even taking on the best iPhones when it comes to video recording, and that again means a lot. The front camera is an 8Mp camera, which again is really great, though nothing as amazing as the rear cameras.
Sound: Another feature Sony appreciated a lot during the launch of this phone was the sound system. It has a dual front facing stereo speaker set up, with a 3-d surround sound capability. This coupled with the cinematic 4K 21:9 display, makes for some amazing multimedia experience. The phone also comes with a headphone jack, for all the audiophiles out there, who might have high quality headphones, and haven't got a chance to use them in recent times.
Battery: The phone comes with a pretty standard 4000mAh battery, along with 21W of fast charging. Neither of these specs are mind blowing, but they are still great. The phone should last you over a day of medium to heavy usage. The phone also comes with wireless charging, so that's an added bonus.
Price: Though the phone has not been officially launched yet, the pricing in India is expected to be somewhere around Rs. 55,000. At this price this phone goes head to head against the OnePlus 8 pro, which is currently the best android phone out there, all things considered.(link)
The Verdict: This phone is a very ambitious attempt by Sony, and all specifications considered, it is actually a pretty great phone. Going head to head against the OnePlus 8 pro, it would only be fair to compare these two. The cameras on this phone are much better than OnePlus, and these cameras might be one of the best cameras on any smartphone today. Although a proper test needs to be done, but it does look very promising. The speakers too, are claimed to be one of the best out there, and the addition of a headphone jack, and the option to add an SD card are all thing which people would appreciate. However, on the design front, the phone still has a noticeable forehead, which in the age of notchless designs and punch hole cameras, does seem a bit outdated. The display also comes with just a 60Hz refresh rate, which does seem underwhelming when compared to the 120Hz on the OnePlus 8 pro.
All in all, this phone is great for those who care about the best cameras in their phone, and love consuming content straight out of their phones. If the design is not all that important to you, and you care about the cameras more, this phone is perfect for you. However, the reputation of Sony has not been all that good in the past few years, and so a certain doubt by the audience is understandable. Nevertheless, in a time when the company almost seemed to be done making smartphones, we see a great revival by a very capable smartphone by the company.
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details and Product Specifications: here.
Design and Build: The phone is extremely premium, with a beautiful glass back, and a tall, cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio. The phone is protected by Gorilla Glass 6, and is also IP65/IP68 water and dust resistance certified. At 181g, the phone is pretty light for its size, and would give a comfortable experience. It is a hybrid dual sim phone, and the second sim slot can be used for an SD card if you want. Surprisingly, the phone comes with a headphone jack this time.
Display: The phone has a beautiful 6.5 inch OLED 4K display, which does have a bit of a bezel on the top and bottom, but does not have a notch. Sadly the refresh rate is still 60Hz. Also the fingerprint scanner is not In-Display, but is mounted on the side. On the plus side, this does lead to a more secure screen lock.
Performance: Being a 2020 flagship, it has to have the latest and greatest processor, and Sony did not disappoint. It has the Snapdragon 865, with an Adreno 650 GPU. This calls for great performance from the phone, without any hiccups even while running heavy tasks or games. Along with the processor, the phone comes with 8Gb of Ram and 256Gb of internal storage. It comes with the latest fast UFS 3.0 storage, enabling fast read/write speeds.
OS: The phone comes with Android 10, along with a custom UI by Sony, which is close to stock android, but with some pre-loaded apps by Sony. Overall a pretty smooth UI, and nothing much to complain about. The update cycle from Sony has been pretty descent, nothing exceptional like OnePlus, but you should be expecting at least two major software updates.
Cameras: The highlight of this phone, Sony comes with high quality Zeiss Lenses, and massive software optimizations this time, bringing a high quality camera performance from this phone. It comes with a 12Mp primary + 12Mp ultra-wide + 12Mp telephoto lens with up to 3x optical zoom and a 0.3Mp TOF 3D depth sensor. The megapixel count though might seem underwhelming, but the camera performance is top notch, right up there with the Google Pixel, and that is really saying something. Even on the video front, there have been massive upgrades, and not with eye tracking and a couple of video enhancements, the phone is capable of even taking on the best iPhones when it comes to video recording, and that again means a lot. The front camera is an 8Mp camera, which again is really great, though nothing as amazing as the rear cameras.
Sound: Another feature Sony appreciated a lot during the launch of this phone was the sound system. It has a dual front facing stereo speaker set up, with a 3-d surround sound capability. This coupled with the cinematic 4K 21:9 display, makes for some amazing multimedia experience. The phone also comes with a headphone jack, for all the audiophiles out there, who might have high quality headphones, and haven't got a chance to use them in recent times.
Battery: The phone comes with a pretty standard 4000mAh battery, along with 21W of fast charging. Neither of these specs are mind blowing, but they are still great. The phone should last you over a day of medium to heavy usage. The phone also comes with wireless charging, so that's an added bonus.
Price: Though the phone has not been officially launched yet, the pricing in India is expected to be somewhere around Rs. 55,000. At this price this phone goes head to head against the OnePlus 8 pro, which is currently the best android phone out there, all things considered.(link)
The Verdict: This phone is a very ambitious attempt by Sony, and all specifications considered, it is actually a pretty great phone. Going head to head against the OnePlus 8 pro, it would only be fair to compare these two. The cameras on this phone are much better than OnePlus, and these cameras might be one of the best cameras on any smartphone today. Although a proper test needs to be done, but it does look very promising. The speakers too, are claimed to be one of the best out there, and the addition of a headphone jack, and the option to add an SD card are all thing which people would appreciate. However, on the design front, the phone still has a noticeable forehead, which in the age of notchless designs and punch hole cameras, does seem a bit outdated. The display also comes with just a 60Hz refresh rate, which does seem underwhelming when compared to the 120Hz on the OnePlus 8 pro.
All in all, this phone is great for those who care about the best cameras in their phone, and love consuming content straight out of their phones. If the design is not all that important to you, and you care about the cameras more, this phone is perfect for you. However, the reputation of Sony has not been all that good in the past few years, and so a certain doubt by the audience is understandable. Nevertheless, in a time when the company almost seemed to be done making smartphones, we see a great revival by a very capable smartphone by the company.
Share this post with your friends.
Leave a comment with your thoughts and opinions.
Follow The Phone Shrink, to never miss another update, when we post detailed analysis, comparisons, our thoughts and reviews of the latest developments in the smartphone world.
-The Phone Shrink
Thoughts, Opinions, Reviews
images:opensource, link provided on clicking an image.
details and Product Specifications: here.
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