Sony packs in yet more dizzying specs, but is it enough to make Apple worry?
The Xperia 1 IV is Sony’s latest enthusiast-baiting smartphone, and it’s packed full of multimedia potential. But when it comes to creating a phone that pros and media types love to use, Apple is the king of the hill. Its iPhone 13 Pro Max is in the running to be dubbed the best flagship phone in the current market because of its all-round excellence. Does Sony have the key to access that same exclusive club? Let’s take a look. Sony announced the Sony Xperia 1 IV on May 11, 2022, but the phone won’t be available for purchase until June 16 in the UK and Europe, and September 1 in the US. Over in the U.S., the sole 512GB option will cost $1599; the UK and Europe will get a 256GB model for £1299/€1399. There’s no word on Australian availability just yet, but we’re not holding out hope for any. Sony usually doesn’t sell its phones in the region. The iPhone 13 Pro Max hit shops on September 24, 2021. Prices start at $1,099 / £1,049 / AU$1,699 for the 128GB model; move up to $1,199 / £1,149 / AU$1,869 for 256GB; then on to $1,399 / £1,349 / AU$2,219 for 512GB; and top out at $1,599 / £1,549 / AU$2,569 for the new 1TB model. All in all, it’s a win for the iPhone 13 Pro Max in terms of both price and availability. The Sony Xperia 1 IV looks nearly identical to the Sony Xperia 1 III, with the same flat sides and oddly tall form factor. With the iPhone 13 Pro Max, Apple has also stuck with the design language of its previous phone. Like the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the 13 has a flat stainless steel frame and equally flat front and rear surfaces. Sony’s phone measures 165 x 71 x 8.2mm and weighs 185g. This makes it taller and thicker than the iPhone 13 Pro Max (160.8 x 78.1 x 7.65mm), but also narrower and significantly lighter. There’s no hefty stainless steel weighing it down here. A key reason for the Sony Xperia 1 IV’s height is its tall forehead and chin bezels. Unlike virtually every other current flagship, it houses its selfie camera above the screen rather than in a display notch. The iPhone, of course, has the mother of all screen notches eating into the top edge of its display. Apple claims to have reduced the size of the notch by 20%, but it’s still a bit of an eyesore. Sony always packs its phone edges with points of interest, which explains the physical camera button and the 3.5mm headphone jack – these should appeal to photographers and audiophiles respectively. Around back, the iPhone 13 Pro Max organizes its camera sensors in a square configuration; Sony’s are configured in something like a vertical lozenge. You can get the Sony Xperia 1 IV in Black, White, or Purple. Over in iPhone-land, there’s a wider range of color options: Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue, and Alpine Green. Both phones are suitably dust and water-resistant. The iPhone 13 Pro Max has an IP68 rating, while the Sony Xperia 1 IV gets an even more thorough IP68/IP65 certification. There’s Gorilla Glass Victus protecting the screen of the Sony; Apple has fitted the iPhone with its Ceramic Shield, which is made by embedding ceramic nanocrystals into the glass by way of a high-temperature crystallization process.
