The Xperia 1 III costs more than its MSRP, but its value comes later. It’s the only phone around with a 4K OLED 120-Hz screen, which makes it great for watching movies (as great as a small phone screen can be). It has great-sounding front-facing stereo speakers and a headphone jack when you want to plug it in. Its camera system isn’t the best, but it does encourage you to tweak photo and video settings so you have more control. results. If you are a photo tinkerer, this is for you. You can find here any features available in high-end phones including wireless charging.
However, 5G is limited to sub-6 5G (the slower kind), and it’s only available on Verizon and T-Mobile — sorry, AT&T subscribers, you’re stuck with 4G LTE. The 4,500-mAh battery isn’t a standout either. It only lasts a day, sometimes less if you use it a lot. It will only receive one more year of updates.
What about the Xperia 1 IV? Yes, Sony has a new version. Unfortunately, the Xperia 1 IV (6/10, WIRED review) costs An absurd $1,598, although it frequently drops to $1,398. The 4K OLED screen is much brighter, fixing one of the issues I had with the Xperia 1 III, and the battery now easily lasts a full day. The cameras are better and share many of the same features, so they’re consistent, but imaging quality still isn’t on par with competitors. It doesn’t help that Sony still hasn’t committed to more than two years of software support.
