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Sony has a new promotional spot putting the focus on how powerful the camera in its incoming Xperia 1 II is. Featuring 40-year veteran pro photographer Nick Didlick, the newly-reported video showcases special features that set the device apart. Mr. Didlick says that anybody who really loves photography is going to really love the new Xperia 1.
One of the key reasons for that is how the device closes the gap between smartphones and dedicated cameras. As the photographer points out, this camera is designed to work almost identically to the Sony Alpha series cameras.
Another key aspect is its speed. Not only does the Sony Xperia 1 II snap up to 20fps via continuous shooting with focus tracking. It tracks the human eye as well as pets’ eyes. That means that, for photographers, moments can be captured that otherwise wouldn’t even be noticed. But there are a ton of other improvements here as well. And as shown in the video below, the results really speak for themselves.
These changes are the direct result of Sony’s unification efforts
Now, the improvements made to the camera here are a direct result of a decision Sony made under new management last year. Namely, that’s the decision to unify its assortment of divisions for mobile — from imaging to display. The company reiterated that synergy-focused position earlier this year.
Prior to the decision, the company’s units had essentially operated alone. The move was intended to ensure that the best of Sony’s technology could be utilized in a single device. In this case, that’s smartphones since those are already effectively marketed as an all-in-one computing, gaming, entertainment, and photography platform.
The decision appears to have paid off too. Mr. Didlick points out that many of the camera-based features discovered in Sony Xperia 1 II feel as though they come directly from the company’s Alpha line of professional cameras. That’s largely thanks to a powerful Photography Pro app that delivers professional-grade tools. Separated from the primary camera app, that provides adjustments from ISO to shutter speed and white balance.
That experience is further driven by the fact that this is the first Sony smartphone to feature Zeiss optics. The lenses sit over the top of Sony’s 12MP primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and 1.8 µm pixel size. That’s backed by two more 12-megapixel sensors. The secondary sensors are a 135-degree ultra-wide camera and a 3x-optical zoom telephoto camera. But there’s also a 3D ToF sensor, which calculates distances for autofocusing.
Those sensors and the overlying software, via a dedicated hardware shutter button, take advantage of a top-tier chipset too. Sony opted to incorporate a 5G-ready Snapdragon 865 chip with 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a fast wired- or wireless-charging 4,000mAh battery. The storage can be bolstered up to 1TB via a microSD card.
When will this phone finally arrive?
Camera and underpinning hardware capabilities aside, Sony announced its Xperia 1 II back in March. And it isn’t immediately clear just when the 6.5-inch 4K (3840 x 1644) OLED HDR display-enabled flagship will arrive. It’s expected to be sold in Black, White, and Purple color variants and was expected to go on sale sometime this Spring.
In fact, the expectation was that it would arrive, at least in Taiwan, earlier in May. Plenty of details have been outlined in the interim. But that never happened and the company hasn’t provided any updates with regard to when it will begin shipping the devices to users.