Sony Xperia 1 IV packs the ‘world’s first true optical zoom lens’ in a smartphone

[ UPDATE 10/06/2022 16:00 ] The Sony Xperia 1 IV is officially priced at RM6,099 in Malaysia. Pre-orders are now available and Sony is offering free WF-1000XM4 headphones while stocks last.

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Following some teasers at the end of last month, Sony has finally unveiled what they’ve been keeping under wraps this whole time: the Sony Xperia 1 IV. It’s the Japanese giant’s new flagship smartphone and comes with some significantly powerful camera hardware along with its signature 21:9, 4K display. Also tagging along for the ride meanwhile is the Sony Xperia 10 IV, their midrange offering.

Sony Xperia 1 IV and Xperia 10 IV pricing and availability

So far, it seems as though there’s only one configuration of the Sony Xperia 1 IV available, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Pre-orders are already available in some markets and costs £1,300 (~RM6,975.02) in the UK while in the US it’s priced at USD1,600 (~RM7,013.28). We certainly expected the price increase, but that’s quite a steep price considering that the Xperia 1 III launched at USD1,300. Meanwhile, Sony Malaysia has not confirmed any local pricing just yet, but they did say it’ll be available from July 2022 onwards.

As for it’s little brother, the Xperia 10 IV also only has one configuration with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There’s no local pricing just yet too but we understand it’ll be available in Malaysia from August onwards. In the UK though, it’s priced at £429 (~RM2,301.03).

Sony Xperia 1 IV specs

At first glance, you might wonder if there’s actually any real difference between the Sony Xperia 1 IV and the Xperia 1 III. You’re still getting a 6.5-inch, 4K OLED display in a 21:9 aspect ratio running at a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch scanning rate, complete with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus over it for scratch protection. It weighs nearly identical to the Xperia 1 III too at 185g, a gram below its predecessor.

However, the real magic with the Xperia 1 IV is in its camera setup. It has a triple rear camera setup, with a main 12MP 24mm wide camera, a 12MP 16mm ultrawide shooter and a 12MP 85-125mm telephoto zoom lens offering true 3.5-5x optical magnification. They pack 1/1.7″, 1/2.5″ and 1/3.5″ sensors respectively and like Xperia phones of yesteryear have a shutter button on the side too. The three cameras feature Sony’s Optical SteadyShot, eye autofocus, real time tracking as well as 4K video at 120fps. You’ll also find ZEISS T* coating over all three rear lenses. The selfie camera has also been upgraded to a 12MP front camera, up from last year’s 8MP selfie shooter.

Under the hood meanwhile there’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 system-on-chip mated to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Expandable storage is also an option with up to 1TB supported. It comes with Android 12 out of the box running a near stock UI. Keeping the lights on is a 5,000mAh battery with 30W fast charging that Sony says will charge your device up to 50% in just 30 minutes. Unfortunately though, Sony has decided to join the trend of not bundling a charger in the box, calling it part of their ‘Road to Zero’ green initiative.

Other features of note include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, front facing stereo speakers as well as Bluetooth LE Audio support. It also has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Another cool feature that we first saw on the Xperia Pro-I is the ability to live stream using the Xperia 1 IV directly along with the optional vlog monitor accessory. Alternatively, you can use the Xperia 1 IV as an external monitor for your Sony Alpha camera. The Sony Xperia 1 IV will come in two color options, namely black and purple.

Sony Xperia 10 IV specs

As for the Japanese giant’s midrange smartphone, the Xperia 10 IV has a 6-inch, FHD+ OLED display in a 21:9 configuration. There’s no fancy high refresh rates here though you still get a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus over it for scratch resistance. Sony does however tout it as the world’s lightest 5G smartphone at just 161g, while also featuring IP68 dust and water resistance.

Under the hood there’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor mated to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, running Android 12. It’s an incremental but still solid upgrade over the Xperia 10 III’s Snapdragon 690 chip. Powering it meanwhile is a 5,000mAh battery that Sony says will last you ‘from dawn to dusk and beyond’. Again though, Sony will not be bundling a charging brick nor cable in the box with the Xperia 10 IV.

As for cameras, while there’s no flashy optical zoom lens and what not you’re still getting a pretty respectable triple rear camera setup here. It has a 12MP main camera flanked by an 8MP ultrawide lens as well as an 8MP telephoto camera offering 2x optical zoom. Selfies meanwhile get taken care off by an 8MP front facing camera. You won’t be able to match the 4K at 120fps video capabilities of the Xperia 1 IV though, with the Xperia 10 IV limited to just 1080p at 30fps.

Other features of note include a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 3.5mm audio jack, though there’s no stereo speaker setup here. The Xperia 10 IV comes in two colour options too, which are black and mint.