With Sony’s new flagship phone arriving soon, here’s how it compares in specs and features to Samsung’s most powerful handset
When the Sony Xperia 1 III goes for sale in early summer, its powerful chipset and gorgeous display will rival some of the best phones available. So for shoppers considering pre-ordering it, we’re matching it up against the best of the best: the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. Both give you tons of screen real estate powered by the same cutting-edge chipset, at a similarly massive price. Gamers who want a fast-refreshing screen, or Android power users who like to split-screen demanding apps, probably can’t go wrong with either of these phones. We can’t speak specifically to how the Xperia 1 III will perform until we get our hands on a review unit. For now, we’re focusing on Sony’s official Xperia specs to break down how the two phones will compare. The Samsung Galaxy S21 debuted at $1,199 / £1,149 / AU$1,849. Since then, Samsung has frequently sold it at a discount; less than three months from the S21 release date, you’ll already find several S21 Ultra deals for $200–$300 off. Sony hasn’t yet revealed what the Xperia 1 III will cost, but its predecessor (the Xperia 1 II) cost $1,199 / £1,099 / AU$1,840. It’s a fair bet that Sony’s initial price for its new flagship will stay consistent and match Samsung’s initial asking price for its most powerful phone. We also know that the Xperia 1 III will arrive in ‘early summer’ but don’t have a hard date from Sony yet. Assuming it ships in late June or July, the Galaxy S21 Ultra will have been out for five to six months by that point. It originally shipped in late January 2021. Both the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Xperia 1 III have a glass front and back surrounding an aluminum frame. Each has IP68 water/ dust resistance and Gorilla Glass Victus protection for their respective panels; on the back, the Ultra has a slight protective edge with GG Victus, while the Xperia uses GG 6. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a curved edge-to-edge display that maximizes screen real estate and hides its bezels, while the Xperia 1 III is more traditionally flat and rectangular. Sony’s phone also has large top and bottom bezels, which house the selfie camera and stereo speakers. This makes the display unimpeded by cut-outs or notches and the front-firing sound more powerful, but also makes the phone very tall. Samsung, for comparison, uses a single-lens punch-hole camera and a speaker vent near the USB-C port – fairly traditional for most modern phones. Assuming you can find them in stock, you can buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra in Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy or Phantom Brown. So far, Sony has announced two colors: Frosted Black and Frosted Purple. As we already mentioned, Samsung and Sony tend to fall on opposite sides of the curved vs flat display debate.
