Sony Xperia 1 VI review: excellent, excessive, expensive

You may think you know what Sony phones look like. They’re the distinctive tall skinny ones that are quite expensive, and which you don’t see in the wild as often as Samsung or Google alternatives. The Xperia 1 VI changes some of that - it’s no longer tall and skinny. Sony has opted for a more conventional aspect ratio this time around that makes the new phone wider than you might expect.

It has also had a camera upgrade, including a periscope optical zoom that moves through  85-170mm in full frame terms and has telephoto macro capabilities, a new camera app with AI eye tracking and subject recognition, plus a 30fps burst rate if you hold the button down. Elsewhere, the screen has had a downgrade - with a 1080 x 2340 resolution instead of the 1644 x 3840 on the previous model, but it’s a marvellous HDR 120Hz OLED so you probably won’t mind too much.

At £100 more than an iPhone 15 Pro Max and £50 more than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, however, Sony’s expectation that you’ll choose this phone rather than Apple’s, or any of the best Android phones, could be a bit of a stretch.

Sony Xperia 1 VI: Key specifications

Design and build

Sony phones are always well made, and the Xperia 1 series is the best of the bunch. The changes that have been brought in for this year’s model have resulted in a phone that feels light and easy to hold, the textured aluminium frame sitting firmly in the hand and much less likely to be dropped than a glass or ceramic phone. The screen is protected by the latest Gorilla Glass, and there's IP68 ingress protection.

The change in shape from the previous versions of the Xperia 1 is unexpected, and might even be controversial in some circles, but has resulted in the best Sony phone yet. Our review model is in ‘platinum silver’, though black and khaki green models are also available, and it’s a very nice looking thing, though part of us mourns the loss of a distinctive feature like that 21:9 aspect ratio.

For a phone with such powerful camera hardware on board, you might expect there to be a large bulge around the lenses on the back, but Sony has held back here, designing a slim bulge and keeping the three lenses in a straight vertical line. The dedicated shutter release button on the side of the phone is a nice touch, as it’s used to trigger pre-release autofocus in a way that tapping on the screen can’t. You have to be careful when carrying the phone that you don’t tap it by mistake, though, as this triggers the camera app, and you have to be sure you’re holding the phone the right way up when you want to use it.

Features

 As a 2024 flagship, you’d expect the Xperia 1 VI to be a fully featured all-rounder, and that’s exactly what it is. There's no task the phone can’t handle, there's vapour chamber cooling, front-firing speakers for those times you can’t find a pair of cans to enjoy streaming with, and a 3.5mm headphone socket and Bluetooth 5.4 for when you can. 

The phone is bang up to date, offering Wi-Fi 7 connectivity if you’ve got a compatible router, while its ability to use a microSD card for expandable storage (rare in a top-end phone) means you’ve got plenty of space for lots of lovely video footage. The SIM/SD tray can also be opened with a fingernail rather than a special tool, making it easy to get your video files off, which ties into the creator-friendly features elsewhere on the phone. 

If you’re a Sony Alpha user (and have the right, recent model) then you can use the phone as an external monitor for the camera just by plugging it into the USB-C port and firing up the right app, from where it can livestream the mirrorless camera’s video feed to YouTube (or RTMP services) over 5G or Wi-Fi. There are camera features that Sony is very proud of, like the way the video autofocus system will lock onto a product being held up to the camera rather than retaining focus on the face of the person behind, while the S-Cinetone colour profile should make it easier to grade footage that’s captured alongside other Sony cameras.

There's no denying that the drop in the screen’s resolution from the previous model feels like a step backwards on paper, but the pixel density of the new wider display remains respectable at slightly less than 400ppi, though it’s lower than that of the S24 Ultra (505ppi) and the iPhone 15 Pro Max (460ppi). The vibrant LPTO OLED panel - 50% brighter than last year’s model - makes up for any perceived drop in sharpness with excellent colours and a 120Hz refresh rate. Activate Creator Mode in the screen settings, and the display switches to the 10-bit BT.2020 colour gamut, though it’s still a small screen for making decisions about colour on.

Performance

The Xperia 1 VI scores lower than other Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones we’ve tested in Geekbench 6, such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Honor Magic 6 Pro and Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra. There are only a few percentage points in it, however, and this is still the top Android chipset for 2024, and Gen 2 phones such as the Honor Magic V2 are left behind. The 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage are what we expect from a flagship, but the greatest performance features of this phone aren’t found in the internal workings, but in the software and cameras.

Sony has poured a lot of its Alpha mirrorless camera know-how into the phone, and while nothing here is going to rival the A7R V’s 60MP full-frame sensor or the A9 III’s AF and framerate, it does perform better than the average phone camera. Part of that comes down to the versatility of the zoom. There are three lenses on the back, a 16mm equivalent, 24mm, and the 85-170mm optical zoom - the phone also has a 48mm option, which is probably a crop of the 24mm view, but oddly Sony wasn’t able to tell us for sure. 

The 48MP sensor behind the main camera produces 12MP files, but can be put in hi-res mode if you need the extra megapixels. Images are generally sharp and well exposed, but the revelation is the shutter button, which if used activates an autofocus system not dissimilar to those in Alpha mirrorless cameras, with 399 AF points. 

Putting the camera app in Pro mode enables focus peaking, a 30fps burst rate, along with eye tracking and portrait bokeh. Video sees 4K capture at 120fps, and various Creative Looks are available alongside the S-Cinetone profile, which even the front camera can shoot in. There's wind noise reduction available for the microphone, and object tracking is particularly clever, a tap of the screen identifying what you want to keep in focus as it moves around the screen.

While the ultrawide lens isn’t quite as wide as that on the S24 Ultra, the periscope zoom is nice to have (though does lose out in terms of light-gathering capability, dropping to f/3.5 at its longest end) and Sony has put the camera’s macro-focus capability on this lens instead of the wider lenses, mimicking the way DSLR and mirrorless macro lenses are usually in the short telephoto range. Sony has also added a manual focus slider so you can really nail those tricky macro images.

And then there's the battery life, which is exceptional. Sony claims a two-day endurance from the 5,000mAh cell in the back of the Xperia 1 VI, and our tests bear that out. Sony reckons it can manage a huge 36 hours of non-stop video playback, but in our tests, with the screen at 50% brightness and made to work until it dropped, the phone kept going for almost 19 hours. 

You’ll be able to extend this a lot longer just by keeping it in sleep mode in your pocket. There's reverse wireless charging, and you can juice the battery up at 30W, which translates to about an hour and a half to fill from empty. Neither a charger nor cable are included in the box, Sony assuming (probably rightly) that this isn’t your first rodeo.

Price

This is an expensive phone, and with rivals like the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra coming in at slightly less outlay, you might wonder why Sony has bothered. And for most people that will be a fair question, but if you’re a content creator already invested in the Sony camera ecosystem, the extra money might be worth it for something that ties in so well to your existing gear.

It should last well too, thanks to the power of that chipset which should keep it competitive for at least a few years. Despite asking, we were unable to get an answer from Sony as to how many years of software updates the phone will receive. The Xperia 1 V got a disappointing two years of OS updates and three of security - online speculation about the Xperia 1 VI are that it will be getting longer support, but a confirmation from Sony had yet to arrive at the time of writing.

Who is it for?

Vloggers, streamers and other content creators should take a hard look at this phone, as should anyone who likes the idea of having such a powerful camera system in their pocket. The phone has a lovely screen and decent performance, so could appeal to gamers too if it weren’t so expensive. The creator features are the headline, however, so this definitely deserves a place on any list of the best camera phones.

Should I buy it?

Buy it if: 

You like the camera features

You want a strong all-rounder

You’re not tempted by an iPhone

Don't buy it if:

You want something cheaper

You won’t use its photo and video features

The Galaxy S24 takes your fancy instead

Also consider

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Slightly larger, cheaper, and with a camera array that’s good enough for most.

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Apple iPhone 15

It’s the best iPhone yet, and the camera won’t let you down.

View Deal

Honor Magic V2

If you want a big phone, this is the way to do it. A huge folding screen and plenty of performance.

View Deal