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How to pre-order the Sony Xperia 1 IV
The new flagship comes bundled with a free pair of WH-1000XM4 headphones worth £279
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Your support makes all the difference.Sony has announced the Sony Xperia 1 IV, the latest entry in its Xperia 1 range of flagship phones.
As we’ve come to expect from Sony, this year’s Xperia 1 is another high-spec, super-premium, no-holds-barred Android device with a big asking price to match. It features a 6.5in 4K AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, 256GB of storage, 12GB of RAM and a giant 5,000mAh battery to fuel the thing.
Though we’ve yet to see it in person, the screen on the Xperia 1 IV is a remarkable achievement on paper, cramming in twice as many pixels as the iPhone 13 pro max.
The camera on the Xperia 1 IV is another huge accomplishment. The phone sports a fully variable optical zoom lens, unique to this handset. Whereas other phones snap between their available optical zoom levels (sometimes using digital zoom to smooth over the snaps) the Xperia 1 IV behaves more like a real camera lens and can continuously zoom in from 85mm to 125mm. The Xperia 1 IV also offers some lesser seen features such as a headphone jack, microSD card slot for storage expansion, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
As a bonus, Sony is throwing in a free pair of WH-1000XM4 noise-cancelling headphones worth £279 with every pre-order. These appear as one of our top picks in our round-up of the best noise-cancelling headphones of 2022, and come highly recommended.
Read more:
Sony Xperia 1 IV (with free WH-1000XM4 noise-cancelling headphones): £1,299, Sony.co.uk
- Screen: 6.5in, 1,644 x 3,840 pixels, AMOLED, 120hz
- Storage: 256GB
- RAM: 12GB
- Expandable storage? Yes
- Cameras: 12MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, 12MP telephoto
- Camera (front): 12MP
- Dimensions: 165mm x 71mm x 8.2mm
- Weight: 185g
- Headphone jack? Yes
- Wireless charging? Yes, 30W
- 5G? Yes
Sony’s fourth-generation flagship is designed to be everything a mobile photographer and filmmaker could want, and features what it calls the world’s first true optical zoom lens in a smartphone. This novel lens construction allows it to smoothly punch in from 85mm to 125mm, just like an SLR or point-and-shoot camera, which could unlock some interesting photography capabilities in the right hands.
In other aspects Sony has continued doing what it does best with the Xperia 1 range, packing the fastest processor, a bogglingly pixel-dense AMOLED screen and a giant battery into a smartly designed, professional-looking chassis.
Release date and price
The Sony Xperia 1 IV launches on 16 June in the UK.
Pre-orders are open now, and available models are the black, purple and white colourways with 256GB of storage.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV costs £1,299, and for a limited time every pre-order comes bundled with a free pair of WH-1000XM4 headphones woth £279.
Where to pre-order the Xperia 1 IV
Sony – Pre-orders are currently available at the official Sony site, where right now you can get the phone with a free pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 noise-cancelling headphones.
EE – You can pre-order the Sony Xperia 1 IV with EE, where you’ll be able to claim a free pair of the WH-1000XM4 headphones.
O2 – Pre-orders are open at O2, where all Sony Xperia 1 IV pay monthly plans also come with a pair of free WH-1000XM4 headphones.
Amazon – Lastly, Amazon has the Sony Xperia 1 IV SIM-free for £1,299, though at the time of writing the WH-1000XM4 headphones cost an additional £279. This could be a listing error, seeing as everywhere else is chucking them around for free.
Sony WH-1000XM4: £279, Amazon.co.uk
These are brilliant headphones: in fact, one of the best examples of wireless headphones we’ve ever tested. The sound profile is delicate and impressive, with options for EQ tweaking in the corresponding Sony app if you want a little more oomph, and the battery life is a massive 30 hours. The PNC does a lot of heavy lifting itself, but the ANC is supreme, immediately shutting off almost all ambient noise, and leaving you with your own thoughts and your music. If you’re a fan of Sony audio, or want more control over your listening experience, then it’s a no-brainer.
Read the full Sony WH-1000XM4 review
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Looking for more headphone recommendations? Here’s our list of the best wireless headphones in 2021