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Sony doesn’t plan to release the Xperia 1 VI in the US. The new camera-oriented Android flagship is available for pre-order in Europe but the Japanese firm has no intention to bring it stateside. This tells a lot about the company’s ambitions for its smartphone business.
Sony won’t officially sell the Xperia 1 VI in the US
Despite a shrinking market share, Sony regularly launches new Android smartphones. The company introduces multiple devices at various price points every year. Last week, it launched the Xperia 10 VI and Xperia 1 VI as its latest mid-range and flagship offerings. Considering its history, the former was unlikely to arrive in the US. However, Sony did launch the Xperia 1 V in the US last year, so its successor was expected to follow.
Unfortunately for Sony phone enthusiasts, that isn’t happening. The company confirmed to The Verge that it has no plans to launch the Xperia 1 V in the US. The Japanese tech biggie is unlikely to change its mind later, so this is probably final. There will be no official way to buy the new Sony flagship in the US. You may be able to import the phone from other countries, but there are some risks you should be wary of.
Sony isn’t bringing the Xperia 1 VI to the US because of network incompatibility. As noted by PhoneArena, the device doesn’t officially support some of the telecom networks in the country. It’s not like the Sony phone won’t catch the network at all. However, you may not always get the same signal or network performance as other phones officially sold in the US. Considering the premium price, this might be a too big risk to take.
The new Sony flagship is an expensive smartphone
The Xperia 1 VI is an expensive Android flagship. It starts at £1,299 in the UK and €1,399 in other European countries, pitting it directly against Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra. The two phones feature the same chipset, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. While the Galaxy is an ultimate productivity powerhouse, Sony’s focus is camera performance. It has always been like this for flagship Xperia smartphones.
The latest model has a 48MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 12MP telephoto camera with 3.5x-7.1x continuous optical zoom. Sony has also included a dedicated shutter button and a new camera app with the Xperia 1 VI. Other notable advantages over the competition include a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD card slot (uses a shared SIM slot). Unfortunately, this camera-oriented phone isn’t coming to the US.