Sony is known for making great smartphone cameras and phones with sky-high prices. Given the company’s history with PlayStation, it was odd that Sony hasn’t launched a gaming smartphone, until now.
Before you get too excited, it is not a full-on gamer phone like the Asus ROG Phone 6, but simply a modified version of the Sony Xperia 1 IV. It is called the Xperia 1 IV Gaming Edition, and it comes with more ports, more memory, and active cooling. Other than that, it is completely identical to the original Xperia 1 Mark IV.
If you followed the original Xperia 1 IV, then you know the spec sheet already. It has a narrow and tall 21:9 6.5-inch OLED screen with 4K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It is powered by the original Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 from Samsung, which has a slightly underpowered CPU and GPU, but more than enough for gaming still. Sony has raised the maximum RAM capacity to 16 GB, but max storage remains at 512 GB.
There is a 12MP triple camera setup on the back, whose camera quality is close to modern digital cameras, making it the only gaming phone with flagship-grade cameras. Battery capacity is 5,000 mAh with 30W fast charging. The phone is also bundled with Sony’s recently announced Xperia Stream accessory, letting you play games over the cloud.
Despite being more powerful, the Xperia I IV Gaming Edition is somehow even cheaper at $1,225 compared to the original which was launched for $1,600.
Specifications
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
- CPU: Octa-core (1×3.00 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.40 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.70 GHz Cortex-A510)
- GPU: Adreno 730
- OS: Android 12
- Supported Networks: 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, 5G
- Display:
- 6.5″ OLED with 1644 x 3840 pixels resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 10-bit color, HDR10+
- Memory:
- RAM: 12 GB, 16 GB
- Internal: 256 GB, 512 GB
- Card slot: yes
- Camera:
- Rear (Quad): 12 MP, f/1.7, 24 mm (wide), 1/1.7″, 1.8 µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
12 MP, f/2.3, 85 mm (telephoto), f/2.8, 125 mm (telephoto), 1/3.5″, Dual Pixel PDAF, 3.5x-5.2x optical zoom, OIS
12 MP, f/2.2, 124˚, 16 mm (ultrawide), 1/2.5″, Dual Pixel PDAF
0.3 MP, TOF 3D, (depth) - Front: 12MP
- Rear (Quad): 12 MP, f/1.7, 24 mm (wide), 1/1.7″, 1.8 µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
- Colors: Black, Grey, White
- Fingerprint sensor: Side-mounted
- Battery: 5,000 mAh, 30W fast charging
- Price: $1,225