Sony Xperia 1, still worth it?
January 28, 2020Rating: 8/10
Specifications
Display: 6.5-inch OLED (643 ppi)
Performance: Snapdragon 855, 6GB RAM
Storage: 128GB
Camera: rear, 12MP (Wide, Ultrawide, Telephoto). Front, 8MP
Battery: 3330mAh
Sony employs a peculiar approach when it comes to smartphones. The company’s priorities are centered around the user experience rather than flashy features. This is a contradictory approach to that of other main stream smartphone makers, most notably, the Chinese ones. For them, it’s the only way to entice would-be-buyers.
Most new flagships feature near bezeless displays that accommodate a pill-sized cutout for their front cameras. Sony, however, chose to retain a thin bezel on the top and bottom – the top one houses the selfie camera. But, despite being rather minuscule, the bezels still stick out. And sadly, this is what most critics choose to harp on.
What they fail to notice is that the Xperia 1 features an intuitive UI, a stunning 4K display, blisteringly fast performance and ample storage space. In addition to this, it has narrower dimensions, which allow one to easily grip and use the phone with one hand (fingerprint reader on side mounted power button). Through the use of one handed gestures, users can easily access ‘hard to reach’ sections of the screen.
The Screen
And because of this narrow but tall, 6.5-inch screen (1644 x 3840 pixels), most webpages and apps fit quite well. In fact, most of the content fit on a single screen, negating the need to constantly thumb the display to scroll down. And as an extension of this, multitasking with two separate apps is an absolute breeze.
It’s a godsend to someone like me who is constantly sifting through articles while keeping tabs on my social media feeds. sadly, this doesn’t hold true for videos, though. Most content don’t fully utilize the screen’s odd aspect ratio (21:9). So, what you end up with are substantially large black bars on both sides of your videos.
How Does it Perform?
The Snapdragon 855 chip and 6GB RAM, makes the entire user experience, buttery smooth. Apps open instantly and react effortlessly to your every whim. Games, even the most demanding ones, rarely misbehave. Nothing seems to tax this chip enough to have it trip over itself. It’s possible that Sony’s less demanding, minimalist UI had a hand in improving the experience.
Surprisingly, the 3330mAh battery is able to cope with these arduous tasks quite well. In my tests, I was consistently getting a full day of use from the Xperia 1, despite running multiple apps, taking pictures and playing games. It’s a testament to the power-sipping abilities of the Snapdragon 855 chip. It can accomplish more, with less.
The Camera
The triple camera setup on the rear is far more capable than the specs would lead you to believe. Despite only having 12-megapixels, the wide, ultrawide and telephoto, are able to capture shots with immense detail. They have a natural colour balance, which will be quite pleasing to those who appreciate ‘realism’ – what you see, is what you get.
Coming back to the minimalist UI. It’s exceptionally easy to use, offers helpful tips and is devoid of bloatware. One of Sony’s major strengths, is its interactive software. It’s your virtual caretaker, that allows you to set individual profiles, prompts you with useful advice and keeps tabs on your battery’s health.
There’s very little that I can fault the Xperia 1 for, and believe me, I’ve tried. If you can get past the ‘2018 bezels’, it’s an exceptionally competent device. And will prove to be most beneficial to those who are constantly glued to their social media apps or enjoy browsing the web.
Should I Buy This?
If you can find it at a discounted price, and are prepared to look past the dated bezels, then the answer is a resounding, Yes! It’s easy to hold with one hand, offers great performance, captures incredible pictures and is built rather well. In fact, Sony smartphones are built to withstand harsh punishment – and I’m speaking from experience.
