Sony has presented its new flagship smartphone, the Sony Xperia 1 II, and the mid-range Sony Xperia 10 II. The successors to the Xperia 1 and Xperia 10 launched in 2019 come with improved screens and cameras as well as 5G support. They will launch this spring, for EUR 1,199 for the Xperia 1 and EUR 369 for the Xperia 10.
The same as its predecessor, the Sony Xperia 1 II (said as Xperia 1 mark two), comes with a 6.5-inch Oled screen with 4K resolution. Sony is also one of the few manufacturers not inserting a notch or hole in the screen for the front camera, with the 8-megapixel camera included in the thin edge at the top of the phone.
The Android 10 smartphone comes with the latest Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 865, and adds 5G support. In the European version, only sub-6 GHz networks will be supported. The Xperia 1 also comes with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage. In addition, Sony has brought back the 3.55mm headphone jack, making it the only flagship on the market with the port. The fingerprint sensor is integrated in the power button on the side of the phone.
The improved back camera comes with four sensors, including Sony's new 1/1.7" Exmor RS. According to the company, the new sensor is 1.5x more sensitive than the previous model, ensuring faster and more accurate auto-focus in low light shooting. The quad back camera includes a 12-megapixel main camera, a telephoto lens with up to 3x optical zoom, an ultra wide-angle lens, and a Time of Flight camera for depth sensing.
Pro photography functions
Using technology developed for Alpha interchangeable lens cameras, the Xperia 1 II offers continuous autofocus and auto-exposure that performs AF/AE3 calculations at 60 times per second. This enables AF / AE3 continuous tracking for high-speed shooting at a maximum of 20 fps, Sony said.
The new Photography Pro function with technology from Alpha brings a user interface that is familiar to Alpha cameras, with manual controls to set ISO, shutter speed, burst mode, autofocus area, exposure control and other functions. The Cinematography Pro function supports 2K 120fps 10-bit HDR cinematic high frame rate shooting and 21:9 4K HDR recording at 24/25/30/60fps.
Sony also announced plans to develop a 5G mmWave compatible Xperia PRO device designed for professional use, such as broadcast video production. The device will include camera and display capabilities from the Xperia 1 II for high-quality video viewing and photography as well as Sony's 4-way antenna technology and low-permittivity materials, increasing the sensitivity of 360-degree omnidirectional communication in the mmWave band. An HDMI port will allow the device to connect to most standard video cameras.
Xperia 10 II gets Oled screen, triple camera
The Sony Xperia 10 II is the company's main mid-range device for 2020. Similar to its predecessor from 2019, the device comes with 6-inch display with Full HD+ resolution, but this time comes with an energy-efficient Oled panel rather than the IPS-LCD in last year's model.
The Xperia 10 II runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, 4 GB RAM, 128 GB storage and a 3,600 mAh battery. The camera offers the biggest upgrade on the 2019 model, going from two to three sensors. These include a main 12-megapixel camera, 8-megapixel wide-angle lens and 8-megapixel telephoto. There is also an 8-megapixel camera on the front, a 3.55mm headphones jack and a side fingerprint sensor.
