Sony Xperia 1 III review: 4K 120Hz OLED screen, camera shutter button and stereo speakers impress, but price is high for what it is
- The Sony Xperia 1 III has two new hardware features this year: that 4K 120Hz OLED screen and a variable Periscope zoom lens for between 2.9x and 4.4x zoom
- Its Cinema Pro app is aimed at serious photographers and offers granular controls over filming, but it may prove too technical for novices
There’s no better word to describe Sony smartphones than “niche”.
The Japanese tech giant sells so few mobile devices that they don’t even crack the top eight phone brands by market share globally, and even in its native Japan, Sony is a very distant second place behind Apple, according to Statcounter Global Stats.
But things could be changing. Sony’s mobile division made strides in 2020 by turning a profit for the first time in years, and its newest flagship phone, the Xperia 1 III, set sales records in China, where it curiously launched first ahead of the rest of the world. (The unit we tested for this review is the mainland Chinese version.)
How did Sony manage to turn the tide? By double downing on the niche factor and pushing further away from the mainstream.
Design and hardware
Sony’s smartphones have always zigged where others zagged, and the Xperia 1 III continues this trend. From the unusually tall, boxy body to the SIM tray that can be removed with just a fingernail and the still noticeable top and bottom bezel, this is a design that anyone who’s seen a Sony phone in the past half decade will recognise.
