Sony Xperia 1 Launched With Dazzling 4K OLED Display, Triple Rear Cameras
It seems the smartphone scene is often dominated by Apple, Samsung, and to an extent Huawei, but those are not the only three players in the mobile handset market. Lest anyone forget that Sony makes smartphones as well, the company just unveiled the world's first phone with a 4K OLED display, the Xperia 1.
Sony's new handset wields a spacious 6.5-inch OLED display with a 4K resolution and 21:9 "CinemaWide" aspect ratio, and high dynamic range (HDR) support. That 4K res checks in at 1644x3840 because of the rectangular form factor, as opposed to 3840x2560 as found on most 4K monitors and TVs.
The display is the star of the show, with Sony claiming accurate color reproduction and Bravia TV technologies baked in. Sony also points out that the usable screen area is suitable for running two apps at the same time, with users having the ability to trigger a split screen mode via Side sense, the 21:9 multi-window launcher, or voice command.
For taking photos, there is an 8-megapixel camera on the front and three 12-megapixel cameras on the rear. The ones on back consist of a 26mm main camera with optical image stabilization, a 16mm 135-degree wide-angle lens, and a 52mm (35mm equivalent) telephoto lens.
"Technologies from Sony’s acclaimed α (Alpha) interchangeable lens camera are inherited in Xperia 1 as BIONZ X for mobile. The algorithm enables the world’s first Eye AF (Auto Focus) in a smartphone to bring the sharp focus exactly to the level of eyes and also delivers continuous burst shooting with up to 10 fps AF/AE tracking (Auto Focus and Auto Exposure) to give you precision focus and optimal exposure," Sony says.
Predictably for a flagship Android phone, the Xpera 1 is powered by Qualcomm's peppy Snadragon 855 system-on-chip (SoC). Other features include 6GB of RAM paired with 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage, which users can expand by way of a microSD card slot that supports memory cards up to 512GB, and a 3,330 mAh battery.
As we have come to expect from Sony's premium Xperia handsets, the Xpera 1 is another water-resistant phone (IP65-certified on the front, IP68 on the back). It also features Corning's Gorilla Glass 6 on both sides.
Sony did not announce pricing at this time, but said the Xperia 1 will be available in the spring. It will come in black, gray, white, and purple color options.
