The reason for my “satisfaction” with “Xperia 1 VI” despite the low specifications is what I gained at the expense of “exclusivity” (Page 2/1) – ITmedia Mobile

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Sony's latest smartphone “Xperia 1 VI” attracts attention due to its large screen ratio and resolution changes. This time, as someone who has used the entire Xperia 1 series, I would like to write down my thoughts about the latest Xperia 1 VI.

Big changes like “cancel 4K display” and “camera app integration”

What attracted a lot of attention about the Xperia 1 VI is the change in screen ratio and screen resolution. On the Xperia 1 VI, the screen ratio has been changed to 19.5:9 and the screen resolution has been changed to Full HD+ which is 1080 x 2340 pixels. Previously, the resolution was 4K with a 21:9 ratio and 1644 x 3840 pixels, so there were many opinions that this change was a “downgrade.”

As a writer, I felt that the choice to scrap 4K resolution, which was the identity upon which the Xperia 1 series as well as the “Xperia Z5 Premium” released in 2015, was built, was a loss of one of Xperia's strengths.

When 4K smartphones started to be released, they attracted attention as the only smartphones that could record in 4K and play back in 4K, but this feature will be lost at the same time.

I also felt that this decision was a metaphor for “there was no need for 4K displays on smartphones yet.” This can almost be inferred since no other manufacturer other than Sony has followed suit, but it's still unfortunate that Sony, the company that led the charge for 4K displays, has come to this decision on its own.

The 21:9 display on the Xperia 1 and later manages to play cinema-sized videos without black bars, and the screen can be split 1:1, making it easier to use as a smartphone. Because it is vertically oriented, it can display a large amount of information for browsing and SNS, so it is suitable for displaying vertical text content.

Some foldable smartphones, including the Galaxy Z Flip5, now use a ratio close to this. He had the advantage of being able to shape the show, and looking back on it now, that was prescient.

One of the big changes this time is the camera app integration. The Xperia 1 series has three options: Cinema Pro, Photo Pro, and Video Pro that can be used depending on the purpose. This is the power that only Sony can deliver, improving the UI (user interface) of professional smartphone equipment and enhancing the ability to shoot in similar environments. They were aiming to reach a level where professional photographers could use it as “sub-equipment”.

With the Xperia 1 VI, these applications are combined into one app. It may sound nice to say that it has become more popular, but the essence has completely changed. As a result, some operating screens have been changed and some functions have been deleted. The operability changes are particularly annoying for traditional fans who were looking for a “camera-like UI.”

The concern was resolved by touching the actual device Was the 4K resolution exceeding specifications?

Now, there has been a lot of concern about the Xperia 1 VI due to the many changes based on prior information. I headed to the Sony store to try out the actual device. A developer talk show was also held at the same time, and many of my concerns were eased by hearing directly from the people involved in the development of the Xperia 1 VI, and by checking out the actual device in my hands.

The change in screen resolution was a major concern, but there were very few scenes that really felt like it. The Xperia 1 VI is set to reflect BRAVIA technology, and has a nice enough screen.

Looking back, although the current Xperia 1 series was equipped with a 4K display, most content was displayed at the equivalent of Full HD. Therefore, it is understandable that when installing a 4K display with high specifications, the trend has become to adopt a more practical display.

Additionally, some fans suggested, “Why not use QHD widescreen instead of Full HD?”, but the development team responded, “There's not a lot of content being produced at this resolution.” “Between Full HD and 4K, even from the creators' point of view, it's incomplete, so I decided not to adopt it.” This commitment on the part of creators is typical for Sony.

The traditional Xperia 1 series' screen ratio was also a plus when viewing 21:9 content. There are also many other text sites and social media sites. This had the advantage of being able to see (view) more areas in the game.

On the other hand, considering that black bars are noticeable when watching videos and images are not displayed at a large size, I feel that 19.5:9 is more suitable for general users' needs for content-focused experiences.

In fact, when the Xperia 1 was launched, it adopted a 21:9 aspect ratio in anticipation of “more 4K content being released in the future due to the rollout of 5G.” It's been five years since then, and the amount of 4K content is lower than expected at the time, and most of it is still in Full HD. They also cited an increase in vertical video content, primarily on SNS, and an increase in the number of creators using smartphones as reasons to change the screen aspect ratio.

In addition, the previous 4K display was the same “in many respects”, so at this time of overhaul the company decided to change the aspect ratio of the Xperia 1 VI.

On the other hand, the mid-range Xperia 10 VI will continue to use a 21:9 screen. The reason for continuing this aspect ratio was that there was a stronger need for a “smartphone with smaller display” than the screen ratio, so they continued with this aspect ratio this time.

In addition, the maximum screen brightness has been improved due to the change to a common resolution display. This is the part that you can clearly experience compared to the old model. It also supports LTPO, which allows you to flexibly control the refresh rate, and the low screen resolution contributes significantly to battery life. Many fans will probably feel this is better when they actually pick it up and try it out.

When you actually use the camera app, you can see that it has become accessible to the general public. In the past, Camera app users generally complained that they didn't know which app to use, but it seems to have become more organized.

As for the hardware, the image sensors remain the same, but the lens design and coating have been improved. In fact, as much as I tried it in the store, it was able to take better photos than the Xperia 1 V. This time, new features have been added, such as the telemacro function.

Other updated features include improved cooling performance thanks to the adoption of a vapor chamber and improved sound quality from the headphone jack and stereo speakers. I felt it had many elements that even traditional model users would be satisfied with.