If you’ve had your eyes on the Sony Xperia 1 IV, today (June 16) is the day you’ve been waiting for, as the phone has finally shipped. Or, at least, it has for buyers in the UK and Europe – those in the US will have to wait until September 1, while Sony’s Australian fans aren’t getting anything.
That means if you pre-ordered the phone in the UK, we expect it to arrive on your doorstep today. Maybe it’s already there. Maybe you’re reading this article about it. If you haven’t pre-ordered it, you can just walk into a store and buy it – assuming they have stock.
Be aware that the Sony Xperia 1 IV is a very, very expensive phone, costing £1,299.99 in the UK and $1,599.99 in the US. These are for different storage capacities – 256GB in the UK and 512GB in the US – but these are the only versions that arrive in each region.
Either way, that’s more than the cost of the Sony Xperia 1 III at launch, more than the costs of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra or iPhone 13 Pro Max, and more than any other phone that doesn’t double the cost.
For some users – mostly creative professionals – the Sony Xperia 1 IV could really justify its price as it offers features like continuous optical zoom on its camera, tools for game streamers, professionally focused video recording mode, audio recording tools and a lot more. It goes beyond those fronts, but these are niche features as well.
The rest of the Sony Xperia 1 IV is a pretty standard – if impressive – flagship, complete with a high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, 12GB of RAM, a 6.5-inch 1644 x 3840 OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 5,000mAh battery with 30W charging, and a quad-lens camera.
This camera consists of a 12MP primary sensor, a 12MP ultrawide, a 12MP telephoto that can switch between 3.5x and 5.2x optical zoom (and all stages in between), and a depth sensor.
Review: A standout phone that’s not for everyone
While Samsung’s flagship handsets and iPhones can appeal to just about anyone and everyone, the Sony Xperia 1 IV seems to be targeting creatives, particularly photographers, videographers, streamers, musicians and podcasters.
While the phone as a whole feels accomplished enough to be good for anyone, it’s the areas where it seems to stand out and stand out, and the areas where it aims to justify the high price.
If you’re not interested in these things, you can get a handset that largely matches the Sony Xperia 1 IV in terms of specs for less money and a bigger name. So make sure you know what you’re buying before you spend on it – and maybe wait for our full review.
