Sony has announced the price and release date for its upcoming Sony Xperia 1 II (or Mark 2) flagship. The device is set to go up for preorder on June 1 and ship to buyers on July 24.
Sony Xperia 1 II price and release date
While nothing is surprising about the release window for the phone, the thing that made us do a double-take is the price. Sony announced that the phone would retail for $1,199.99. That’s a $200 jump from the original Sony Xperia 1, which launched with a $999 price tag.
Perhaps in an attempt to justify the price, Sony is offering anyone who preorders the phone by June 28 a pair of Sony WF-1000XM3 headphones. Those are one of the best pairs of headphones on the market, rivaling the Bose QC 35 II. However, with Sony gearing up to launch the Sony WF-1000XM4 headphones, it appears to be more of an effort to get rid of an older model.
The latest announcement from the company confirmed the Sony Xperia 1 II specs we already knew. It’ll come equipped with 5G support thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset, 8GB RAM, and 256GB of internal storage. It’ll feature a 4,000mAh battery, which is 700mAh more than the previous version of the device. Overall, the phone is right where we’d expect it to be for a modern flagship, but they don’t do enough to justify the Sony Xperia 1 II’s $1,199.99 price tag.
The big thing that makes the Sony Xperia 1 II stand out from the crowd (other than the high price) is its camera. It’s not the best on the market, but it comes with some new features that make it a worthy contender. Specifically, Sony highlighted is the inclusion of 20fps continuous shooting capability, which is a feature no other smartphone has offered previously. This could be a big deal for anyone looking to capture photos of moving subjects, as it makes it easier to get multiple photos in a short timespan.
| Sony Xperia 1 II | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.5-inch HDR OLED 3,840 x 1,644 resolution (4K) 643ppi Motion blur reduction (90Hz equivalent) 21:9 aspect ratio Corning Gorilla Glass 6 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 7nm+ process Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 585) |
| GPU | Adreno 650 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 256GB |
| Cameras | Rear cameras – Ultra-wide: 12MP sensor, 16mm, f/2.2 aperture, Dual PDAF – Wide: 12MP sensor, 24mm, f/1.7 aperture, Dual PDAF, OIS – Telephoto: 12MP sensor, 70mm, f/2.4 aperture, PDAF, OIS – Depth sensor: 3D iTOF Front camera: 8MP sensor |
| Audio | Headphone jack Dual stereo front speakers 360 Reality Audio DSEE upscaling |
| Battery | 4,000mAh 21W USB-PD wired charging 15W wireless charging |
| IP rating | IP65/68 |
| Connectivity | 5G, sub-6GHz |
| Software | Android 10 |
| Dimensions and weight | 166 x 72 x 7.9mm 181g |
| Colors | Black, Purple |
It’ll be interesting to see how buyers react to Sony’s price choice. The Sony Xperia 1 II is shaping up to be a really solid phone, but with such a high price tag, it’s entering the market in a valley that it will need to work hard to climb out of.
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