Review of the smartphone Sony Xperia 1 II with key features

The famous Japanese giant Sony did not delay the presentation of its new advanced smartphone Xperia 1 II. The event was held on February 24, 2024, however, due to the ongoing pandemic in the world, the presentation was held independently, and not as part of the "World Mobile Congress - 2024" - it was canceled. Simultaneously with the Xperia 1 II, the Xperia Pro smartphone was also announced - this marketing ploy only means that the company provides the buyer with some kind of alternative to its flagship Xperia 1 II, which became the successor to the rather fresh Xperia 1 model (which just recently turned one year old) ...

In the old days, Sony felt confident in the mobile market and was in no hurry with the release of smartphones, while the profit from sales was at a fairly high level. But this state of affairs could not last long, and Chinese companies quickly figured out how to move a competitor - they began to sell almost similar models with slightly understated characteristics at bargain prices. And today the Japanese giant is not even included in the top 10 smartphone sales companies. Therefore, Sony management decided to focus its activities on the accelerated development of new models and the constant and rapid replenishment of its "fleet" of mobile devices. The Sony Xperia 1 II has become a part of this strategy, and this device clearly compares favorably with its competitors with an eye-pleasing design and a well-formed camera system. And potential buyers do not need large functions from this gadget. Nevertheless, the model has a number of significant shortcomings, which will be compensated for by its younger brother - Xperia Pro.

Sony Xperia 1 II - general information

It can be argued with all boldness that the Sony Xperia 1 II looks good against the background of its competitors from other manufacturers who have decided to take the path of minimizing screen bezels. The gadget in question has such frames on the left and right, but they absolutely do not interfere in everyday life and are generally quite thin. It also has a positive effect on the absence of "accidental clicks", which modern models with strongly rounded corners sin. In addition, the Japanese decided to make the upper and lower frames symmetrical, which avoided "cutouts" in the display. Even at a professional glance, this solution looks very organic, the display area is used as fully as possible and there are no extra gaps. Such a design will delight discerning buyers who are annoyed by openings and cutouts in the display area - the ratio will seem just perfect for them. And in general, it is strange that Sony's competitors have not come to such performances for a long time and in large numbers.

The performance of the Sony Xperia 1 II smartphone does not give rise to any complaints. And this fact is not something surprising - the Japanese have equipped their flagship with a powerful Snapdragon 865 processor, which is considered the best among the model line from Qualcomm. However, this processor is used by both Koreans and Chinese, so in this market segment the performance of peers is always about the same.

As for the RAM, the smartphone has 8 gigabytes, and the built-in ROM is 256 gigabytes. On the one hand, the current models of smartphones don't need any more, because even the most sophisticated mobile game will require no more than 2 gigabytes of RAM. However, if we talk about the permanent development of technologies in the direction of increasing technical indicators, then here the manufacturers miscalculated a little - a fastidious client could try to lure with a large size of RAM. And this fact is a little frustrating, because everyone would like to get more cool parameters.

At their presentation, manufacturers constantly focused on high-quality cameras, which are actually well-designed and look great. The gadget shoots in high quality, especially in daylight conditions, just beautifull pictures are obtained (and then you can still cool them with the help of the built-in tools). Video filming also deserves special praise: using a smartphone, you can shoot a high-quality video, and then process or edit it, while the image will be at the level of an average-level DSLR camera. In this regard, a smartphone can become an indispensable thing for those who like to often take pictures with their phone and at the same time want to get a high-quality image. In general, if a potential buyer needs a phone specifically for shooting, then the Sony Xperia 1 II model is clearly the best choice. However, it is worthwhile to understand what exactly for the opportunity to take high-quality pictures and conduct excellent video filming, the user gives the lion's share of the price of this device. If the user is not interested in shooting, then it is better for him to take a closer look at other models.

Overview of technical parameters

Sony Xperia 1 II reads correctly in Russian "Sony Experia One Mark Two (or Mark Two)" (English - "Sony Xperia 1 Mark Two"). Compared to last year's model, the gadget has practically not changed in appearance - it still has a glass case in an aluminum frame, it is protected from moisture / dust according to IP65 / IP68 standards. The device can live in water for up to half an hour.

Body and screen

The dimensions of the device are mostly based on the standards of the entire line and are 165x71x7.5, the weight of the device is about 180 grams. Both panels (back and front) are protected by the latest Gorilla Glass. The front screen of the device has a diagonal of 6.5 inches and supports HDR BT.2020 technology. Has 100% color gamut coverage according to the DCI / P3 standard. The aspect ratio of the OLED matrix is ​​21 to 9, and the resolution is 1644 x 3840 pixels, which together is nothing more than a 4K UHD standard. A significant difference from the previous model is the increased screen refresh rate, which is now 90 Hz. But here there is also a "dark side" - this effect is achieved through the use of technology blur and light (Motion blur Reduction).

Despite the OLED-panel equipment of the model, the fingerprint scanner is still located on the end of the right. There are also sound control buttons and a button for calling the camera application.

Camera

As for the camera itself, we can say that now it has "moved" to the upper left corner from the center (where it was in the previous model). It also now features a 0.3 megapixel ToF sensor for depth measurement.

The camera resolution remains the same - three times twelve megapixels. But the lens has undergone some changes: now its two-fold increase (zoom) has been replaced by a three-fold.Minor changes were made to the focal length in the main module. The newest smartphone is now capable of recording video in 24, 25, 26 and 60 frames per second.

Also, the manufacturer announced phase autofocus and optical stabilization (both for the telephoto lens and for the main module). The selfie camera uses an 8MP image sensor. Unlike the competition, it hasn't changed at all since the 2019 model and still can't record in 4K UHD.

The main advantage of the Sony Xperia 1 II camera is the use of professional German optics from Karl Zeiss (ZEISS lens manufacturing technology and its ZEISS T protective coating) - earlier these parameters were available only to professional photo and video equipment. The use of a high-quality lens is noticeable literally immediately - the quality of the images has improved significantly.

Hardware platform

The first English-language sites that published the full technical specifications of the smartphone confirmed the information declared at the presentation by the manufacturer. The new Japanese smart will be overclocked by a 7-nanometer mobile processor called Snapdragon 865, which will be clocked at 1.8 GHz to 2.8 GHz. The kit will also include the graphics accelerator Adreno 650. As mentioned above, the volume of the RAM is a little depressing - only 8 GB. At the same time, the read-only storage device is quite powerful, equipped with a high-speed file system UFS 2.1, the size of the drive is large - 256 GB. The memory card can be used in either of the two SIM slots.

The power supply of the gadget can please the fact that it has seriously increased compared to the 2019 model - immediately by 670 mAh, now the battery capacity is already 4000 mAh. However, as all new powerful smartphones suffer, the battery is still non-removable.

At the same time, it became possible to charge without a wire, the ability to use wired headphones returned, and stereo loudspeakers appeared.

The operating system is in the form of the 10th Android, the wireless connection is represented by "BlueTooth" 5.1 and "Wi-Fi" of the 6th version. The USB-C port can now also work in fifth generation networks.

Europeans will be the first to purchase the novelty under consideration at the beginning of May this year, the price of the novelty should vary between 1200 - 1300 Euro. You won't have to expect any cheerful body colors - only black and dark blue options will be available.

The latest information about the "blood brother"

Sony plans to release another smart soon, which will be designed to form an alternative to the Sony Xperia 1 II. It will be called Sony Xperia Pro and it is also positioned as a flagship gadget. The younger brother will take most of the technical characteristics from the older one. What is known for sure is that the "pro" version will have a micro-HDMI port, the latest Snapdragon processor (if Qualcomm has time to release a new CPU) and 512GB of onboard storage.

This gadget was even presented at the presentation by representatives of the Land of the Rising Sun no longer as smart, but as a full-fledged workstation designed for professionals.

Compared to the "old man"

Summing up this review, it would still not be superfluous to compare the technical characteristics of the Sony Xperia 1 II and its 2019 predecessor Sony Xperia 1. The age difference between them is about 13 months.

• It has 2 SIM card slots;
• Screen refresh rate - 90 Hz;
• The optical zoom of the camera has been increased up to three times;
• RAM volume increased by 33% - from 6 GB to 8 GB;
• Bench tests on "AnTuTu" showed a 28% improvement in performance of the new product;
• Has a more capacious battery - 4000 versus 3300 mAh;
• Supports Wi-Fi 6 standard;
• Equipped with a new version of the operating system - Android 10 against 9;
• An upgraded version of Bluetooth 5.1 is installed.

• He does not know how to conduct super slow motion, unlike his older brother, who does it at a frequency of 960 frames per second.

Detailed specifications

Conclusion

Judging by the scheduled release date for the Sony Experia 1 II on the shelves in Europe, it should not be expected in the near future in Russia. Fans of new gadgets will again have to use gray schemes and ask friends from abroad to bring this smart. Moreover, its price of 92,000 rubles is painfully "biting", so even a professional who wants to use high-quality optics in a smartphone should take care of finding analogues in the Russian open spaces. Thus, the model, in the first minutes of its appearance, will probably become an object of hunting only for collectors. Nevertheless, if you wait a bit and live to see the prices drop, then this device will become quite a worthy purchase.