Sony unveils Xperia 1 III — with a world's first for camera phones

(Image credit: Sony)

After a pretty substantial leak yesterday, Sony has officially confirmed the Xperia one III and Xperia 5 III smartphones today (Apr 14). The early signs are pretty positive as both models sports solid specs and what Sony says is a world'southward outset for camera phones.

We don't notwithstanding have pricing details (but knowing Sony, they'll exist expensive), and the release date has been set every bit a nebulous "this summer". Sony is touting those phones as the "world's first smartphone with variable telephoto lens paired with a Dual PD sensor" plus the phones offer improvements to the Xperia'due south already very strong autofocus system.

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In layman's terms, these photographic camera improvements give the Xperia i Iii and Xperia 5 III a single periscope camera that is able to switch betwixt 3x and 5x zoom (70mm and 105mm focal length) instead of two separate shooters. This is what Sony is claiming is a beginning for a commercially available smartphone.

Sony has historically struggled with camera software and rarely has its devices been capable of matching the photography quality possible on handsets from Apple tree or Google, but information technology seems like the Japanese tech giant is very adamant to correct that reputation hither.

The phones sport three 12.2MP sensors on the rear and both the main and the telephoto lenses support OIS — plus the more premium Xperia 1 III volition besides take a time-of-flying sensor. The front camera will be 8MP.

The improvements go across the core hardware. Support for shooting in 4K with HDR at 120 fps was expected, just notwithstanding welcome, but the new Xperia phones volition also add real-time autofocus tracking and Sony is (at terminal) integrating its pro camera app with the basic camera app, making it much quicker to spring between modes.

Sony Xperia 1 Three: More than a camera phone

Sony Xperia 1 III — (Prototype credit: Sony)

It's not only in the camera department where these Xperia smartphones venture into uncharted waters. The 1 Iii model boasts a 6.5-inch 4K OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, which nosotros cannot await to see it in person. This will exist the first phone to offer such a screen, and it could be the device's biggest selling point.

The Xperia 5 III is downgraded slightly, as it comes with a 6.1-inch screen with a 1080p resolution. This is hardly unexpected every bit information technology'southward an entry-level model and so some caveats need to exist made in the name of price, it does incorporate most of the camera improvements at to the lowest degree.

The two phones will be powered past a Snapdragon 888 processor, paired with 12GB of RAM, what we might consider at this signal the basic specs yous'll encounter on a flagship Android phone such as the OnePlus ix Pro. Full 5G support is existence offered this time, whereas the final Xperia models were oddly incompatible with 5G networks in the US. Though they're still not compatible with AT&T'southward 5G network.

Pattern-wise, the phones are sticking to the distinctive Experia look that has become well established at this point. That ways both phones are alpine and narrow with curved angles and in this example a slightly larger photographic camera bump. Hopefully, neither has issues displaying everything on the screen at once every bit the Xperia ten did.

The phones volition besides contain a 4,500 mAh bombardment, support wireless charging, run Android 11 Os and at that place's even a headphone jack, which is far from a guarantee these days. All in all, the Xperia one Three and Xperia 5 Three sound similar reasonably attractive devices, especially for those who take their photography seriously.

The question will exist whether Sony can gain a strong foothold in the market place compared to the big players like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and iPhone 12 Pro. The Xperia line has ofttimes struggled from a pricing perspective and the lack of availability through carriers in the by hasn't helped either.

We're certainly looking forward to putting both these Xperia phones through their paces later this summertime. Hopefully, these might finally be the devices to take Sony's smartphone game upward a notch.

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Rory is a Deals Editor at Tom'south Guide based in the Great britain. He covers a wide range of topics but with a detail focus on deals, gaming and streaming. When he's not scouring retailers for PS5 restock or writing hot takes on the latest gaming hardware and streaming shows, he can be found attending music festivals and beingness thoroughly disappointed by his terrible football game squad.