The Sony Xperia 1 V is Sony’s latest flagship smartphone, and it looks to be making a play for our list of the best camera phones, as it’s the camera that’s seen the bulk of the upgrades.

That’s not all that’s changed since the Sony Xperia 1 IV though, as this is certainly a more powerful phone than its predecessor too.

Below then, you’ll find everything you need to know about the Sony Xperia 1 V, including details of its release date and price.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The latest Sony flagship phone
• When is it out? Announced on May 11, shipping from late June
• How much does it cost? Starts at £1,299 (around $1,635 / AU$2,425)

Sony Xperia 1 V release date and price

The Sony Xperia 1 V was announced on May 11, 2023, but when or if you’ll be able to buy it depends on where you are in the world.

In the UK, it’s shipping on June 29 (with pre-orders opening on June 14), but the release timing in the US is yet to be confirmed, and it’s unlikely to be sold in Australia.

As for the price, you’ll be paying at least £1,299 (around $1,635 / AU$2,425), with pricing in other regions yet to be confirmed. That’s the starting price too, so if you want 512GB of storage rather than 256GB then it will cost more.

That said, Sony is cushioning the blow a bit by throwing in a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones with UK pre-orders. These typically cost $399 / £380 / AU$649, and we awarded them five stars. It remains to be seen whether the same pre-order perk will be offered in other regions though.

Sony Xperia 1 V design and display

The Sony Xperia 1 V looks a lot like the Sony Xperia 1 IV, with a similarly tall and narrow design. It’s 165 x 71 x 8.3mm, weighs 187g, and has Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and on its textured glass back, and an aluminum frame.

The phone will be available in Black, Khaki Green, and Platinum Silver shades, and it has both an IP68 and an IP65 certification, making it more water resistant than most handsets.

The display is a 6.5-inch 1644 x 3840 OLED one with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a narrow 21:9 aspect ratio. It’s an unusual display both for that aspect ratio and its extremely high 4K resolution. That said, it’s the same thing as Sony has been doing for years now, so it’s only unusual compared to other smartphone brands.

Sony Xperia 1 V cameras and battery

The cameras are the most interesting part of the Sony Xperia 1 V, and particularly the primary sensor, which is a 52MP f/1.9 one. Except, not really, because only 48 of those megapixels are in the effective area for taking photos, and the resulting shots are pixel binned down to 12MP.

Still, it’s a big upgrade on the 12MP sensor in the Sony Xperia 1 IV, and not just because of the extra megapixels – this camera uses a new ‘Exmor T for mobile’ sensor design, and has a 1.7x larger sensor than the Xperia 1 IV’s main camera, a combination which allows for 2x better low light shots according to Sony.

That’s the big upgrade here, but the other cameras while the same as before remain notable, particularly the 12MP f/2.3 telephoto one, because this offers continuous optical zoom between 3.5x and 5.2x. Oh, and both the main and telephoto snapper have optical image stabilization.

Rounding out the rear cameras there’s a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide one, and the Sony Xperia 1 V also supports 4K video recording, and has a 12MP camera on the front.

As for the battery, that’s 5,000mAh and supports 30W wired charging. There’s also wireless charging, but Sony hasn’t said how fast this is.

Sony claims the battery can last for approximately 20 hours of continuous video playback, and that it can be charged to 50% in 30 minutes.

Sony Xperia 1 V specs and features

The Sony Xperia 1 V has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. That’s up from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the Xperia 1 IV, and along with the main camera is the other big upgrade this year.

It’s also the same chipset as you’ll find in the likes of the OnePlus 11 and the Samsung Galaxy S23 series – though Samsung uses a faster version of it. That’s joined by 12GB of RAM, and a choice of 256GB or 512GB of storage.

The Xperia 1 V runs Android 13, as you’d expect, and it has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, 5G support, and stereo speakers.

• These are the best Sony phones