Sony’s Xperia 1 VI is set to be revealed on May 17 at an upcoming event and feature a new camera app and other various upgrades. In just a few weeks, consumers will officially know everything there is to know about the device with regard to specs, app features, and more. But it wouldn’t be a normal day in the smartphone industry if the details about an upcoming phone from a well-known brand weren’t leaked ahead of time. As is par for the course with devices from companies like Samsung, Google, and of course, Sony.
A huge new leak has popped up today that details tons of the phone’s exciting specifications and features. The rumored Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen3 that was thought to be powering the device appears to be confirmed. This will help fuel performance and power tasks that would normally struggle on devices with less powerful hardware. For example, gaming. The leak, which comes from MSPoweruser, notes that Sony is focusing quite significantly on gaming with this device.
New gaming-centric features like a 240Hz touch scanning rate, and an adjustable white balance so it’s easier to spot enemies in multiplayer games are expected to be present. There will also reportedly be an FPS optimizer. This is suggested to help the device continue putting out high performance. All while maintaining a high frame rate throughout extended gaming sessions. One of the bigger focuses of the Xperia 1 VI appears to be the camera with a new and improved camera app.
The Xperia 1 VI will scrap Sony’s convoluted camera system for a singular app
Sony has always taken a keen focus on delivering a good camera experience on its phones. However, past devices have always had multiple apps. You would use a particular app, such as photography pro or cinema pro, depending on what you wanted to capture, and how you wanted to capture it. Those days are gone. With the Xperia 1 VI, Sony is instituting the use of a singular camera app that is intended to streamline the camera experience.
As MSPoweruser notes it’s modeled after Sony’s Alpha cameras, and will contain new features like Sony’s human pose estimation technology found in the Alpha series. This tech aims to improve focus on subjects even if they’re not facing the camera. Sony is also introducing a new Video Creator app. This will presumably take the place of the old Videography app. But instead of using Video Creator to capture video, it’ll use videos or photos captured from the main singular app instead.
The phone will also feature a triple rear camera setup. This will be comprised of an improved telephoto 85-170mm lens that can zoom up to 7x. There’s also the main lens which is an ultra-wide angle 16mm lens. The third camera is a wide-angle 24mm lens with up to 2x optical zoom.
There will be a new OLED display that’s 1.5x brighter
A phone’s display is almost as important as everything else. After all, you spend all your time looking at it. Sony has improved the display on the Xperia 1 VI by using a new OLED that’s “1.5x brighter” than the one on the Xperia 1 V. There’s also a new ‘Sunlight Vision Mode’ that should make it easier to see outdoors in direct, bright sunlight. Think about how many times you’ve been outside and had to adjust the brightness of your phone’s display, or adjust your positioning to see something better. Then imagine having this new mode to make things a lot more convenient.
That’s the intention behind it. Additionally, the display will have a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. This is fairly common in smartphones these days but still should be appreciated by consumers. As it’ll make scrolling around the UI more smooth and will definitely be beneficial in games. The display will also include Bravia HDR Remaster technology for enhanced visual clarity.
Expect two full days of use with a large battery
Sony isn’t upping the battery capacity with its latest device. It will still come with a 5,000mAh battery as seen in the Xperia 1 V. However, Sony is seemingly improving on the battery life. According to MSPoweruser, Sony is promising that users will get a full two days out of it. That’s nothing to scoff at, especially if you’re familiar with having to charge a phone nightly. There’s a new and improved vapor chamber as well. With a Snapdragon 8 Gen3 inside, the Xperia 1 VI will be a powerful phone for mobile computing.
And no doubt some tasks, such as gaming or long video recording sessions, will cause the phone to warm up. Sony is combating this with the improved vapor chamber that is supposed to prevent the phone from overheating during extended periods of use. Battery health has been upgraded as well. One thing you may not think about with devices is how long the battery can run at optimal performance. A large battery that charges fast and lasts longer between charges is all well and good. But that only matters for as long as the battery can perform as well as it did out of the box.
The leak states Sony’s improved battery health tech will push the battery’s lifespan out to four years. So users shouldn’t experience any sort of heavy degradation for a while. This means the battery should hold a full charge for just as long after a few years as it did on day one.
Better sound for better entertainment
Sony makes a lot of consumer electronic products and audio happens to be a big part of those. In the Xperia 1 VI, Sony is reportedly using a new, higher-quality, and higher-performance audio chip that promises a more dynamic sound experience. The phone will include a 3.5mm audio port which will support Hi-Res audio when plugging in headphones or earbuds. But the phone will also support Hi-Res wireless audio and a range of other audio formats. Such as 360 Reality Audio, LDAC, and DSEE Ultimate.
Additionally, Sony Pictures and Sony Music engineers are said to have tuned the speakers to produce the best possible sound with enhanced bass and clarity. This will come in handy with the movie streaming bonus offered to buyers of the device. The phone is reported to come with a free 1-year subscription to Sony Pictures movie streaming, as well as up to five movies with IMAX video and DTS sound. This bonus will only be available in select regions, however. Unfortunately, it’s not clear what those regions are.
The phone is expected to come in Black and Platinum Silver colors. Additionally, it will have a frosted glass back and “fine slits” on the sides for improved grip. It’s also rumored to be cheaper than the Xperia 1 V, with leaked pricing in Taiwan suggesting it’ll cost around TWD 39,900.
