Sony Xperia 1 V - Early Impressions

[ExInferis]

TL;DR

 Poor value if you don’t get the pre-order XM5 headphone bonus, but a highly competent phone with a gorgeous (unnecessary 4K) display. It also has a proper fingerprint reader and a proper dedicated proximity switch in a bezel (boo hiss!) which stops it unlocking in my pocket.

 

Preamble

I have usually gone for flagships on Android over the years, mostly because you used to need horsepower to minimise jank/lag. My last one was a Galaxy Note 10+. When it came time to change, the flagships were all now well north of £1000 and I couldn’t justify it for my typical phone use. Mid-range phones have plenty of horsepower now for most uses, so I decided to try them. Three disastrous phones in two years later, I am giving up and going back to mainstream premium ones from established manufacturers. Sort of. 

 

Requisites

• No in-screen fingerprint reader. I hate them with the burning passion of a thousand suns and cannot get on with their 50/50 success rate. It is a technology which in no way is superior to what came before it. I have tried both optical and ultrasonic implementations. It also rules out most third-party screen protectors as those make it even worse. The phone must have the reader in the button or on the back. I will not move on this.
• No hole punch camera. This is not an aesthetic choice. This is because of what saw off the last 3 phones: They simply cannot stay locked in my pocket! This I think is because they have had to ditch the traditional dedicated light and proximity sensors that normally lived in a top bezel. No bezel – no sensors. I suspect they are trying to detect “pocket mode” with the cameras and g-sensors. It doesn’t work. The number of pocket-dials, random setting changes, and photo gallery full of black photos of my pocket has become too much. This simply wasn’t a problem before our obsession with deleting bezels. Android phones stayed locked in your pocket 2008 to 2020. Now form is killing function.   
• No more budget Chinese brands with bloatware, poor future OS update/security update support, and slow 4G/5G modems. My Xiaomi 11T Pro is infuriatingly slow on even a perfect 4G/5G signal.

When you consider the above it didn’t leave me a lot of options. After ignoring them for years, I started to look at Sony offerings. I avoided the previous generations as all reviews pointed to them being either a pocket toaster, flawed camera firmware (frustrating when they make the sensors!) or overpriced. There was always something pooping the Xperia party.   

Well, they are still overpriced but at least it seems they have solved the heating and camera issues. The support commitment isn’t as good as others, but it is way better than the Chinese budget crowd. I snagged the Xperia 1 V pre-order deal that bundled a pair of “free” Sony XM5 premium headphones, which at the time of writing are selling for £350. A nice value-add for me as my XM3 headphone’s battery is about shot and I was looking to replace them anyway, and it brings the value back in line with flagship offerings from Samsung/Motorola/OnePlus.   

 

Out Of The Box

Sony have spared no expense….on things like cables, chargers, cases….you get just the phone. That’s it. The phone doesn’t even come with a factory-fitted screen protector. Not great for a phone in this price bracket. A condom/bumper case would have at least been something. If not this Sony, perhaps take a page out of Nokia’s book and offer one free ‘no quibbles’ screen replacement in the first year? In case I drop it waiting for cases to become available? 

 

Phone & Firmware Version

Sony Xperia 1 V – 256GB, Black, UK model (XQ-DQ54)

Build number 67.0.A.1.127

 

Set-up and First Impressions

It is lovely to hold. The narrow-yet-tall form-factor is very pleasant for long browsing/reading sessions. It is not slippery. There is no discomfort in using the full-width keyboard. There is a setting that allows a double-tap of the home button to drop down the top notification area, so you do not need black belt thumb-fu to bring that down. By default a swipe down on a home screen also brings it down. The phone got a bit warm during initial charging and set-up, but so does every other phone I’ve had, and it runs cool off charge after initial set-up. I do not game on phones so no idea how that holds up. 

I find myself really missing the outrageously fast charging of the Xiaomi 11T Pro. It has made all other “fast” charging look glacial, including the Sony. It does have 30W fast-charge but it doesn’t hold a candle to the 120W fast-charge of the 11T Pro. It was incredibly convenient being able to fully charge in the time it took to have a shit, shower and shave, but I suppose I simply have to revert to being more careful about letting levels get low. Sony say this is to preserve battery life, so you get 3 years before capacity drops below 80%.

Thankfully with theme set to dark and brightness to auto, the Xperia 1 V easily gets me through two days with light use. This equates to ~8 hours screen-on time and on a strong Wi-Fi connection at home, and a strong 4G signal at work. I still do not use 5G as my provider has over-sold it, and it is still too inconsistent indoors. In my area 4G is just faster and more reliable. I can stream Netflix in HDR 1080p on 4G. Why do I need more?  The 4G modem in the Xperia 1 V leaves my 11T Pro in the dust. Everything just loads up way faster.   

The haptics are OK. Just like most phones lately, I do miss some vibration notifications when in loose-fitting trousers or shorts, but I don’t think you can blame a phone for that. The motor required to get my attention when the phone is essentially in a hammock would be crazy expensive to run and add bulk.

The fingerprint reader is solid. So far not a single miss in unlocking. There is also the useful option to have it unlock with a ‘click’ of the power button, not just a light press. This stops you accidentally unlocking it as you put it back in your pocket.  

It stays locked in my pocket! Hooray! All it took was £1300! That felt stupid to type but here we are. I no longer pocket dial the wife or the emergency services 6 times a day. The Xperia 1 V functions as a reliable communications device! Of course, some of this could be down to the dimensions meaning I have to take it out my pocket when I sit down to avoid it stabbing me in the giggle-berries. It is a tall phone. 

 

Display

Utterly gorgeous but in no way needs to be 4K. A vast majority of the time it will be rendering at 1080p and you still can’t tell. Next time Sony, stick with 1080p and slice off a few £££. Maybe that power saving will entice me to turn on 120Hz. I have stuck to 60Hz refresh as I am used to it, consider it smooth for general use, prefer longer battery life, and I do not game on a phone. Unless you can read like Johnny 5 do you need clear text when scrolling that fast?  

It goes plenty bright enough outdoors on a sunny day, and low enough for reading in a blacked-out bedroom. However, occasionally at night the auto-brightness ‘sneezes’ and burns out my retinas. Hoping for a firmware fix for that. Until then I recommend either manual brightness or a welding mask for bedtime reading. 

 

Camera

I am no pro photographer, but I know how to manipulate manual controls to suit a scene. This is not a camera for those who want fast point-and-click simplicity. The basic full auto mode at default regularly overexposes the shot. This might wear you down if you just want perfect shots with one click. The two pictures are from basic auto, no corrections. One indoors, one outdoors when overcast. 

I adore having a dedicated two stage shutter button.   

Night modes are OK but inconsistent. You are way better off using manual ISO and shutter speeds and a tripod if you want good results.  

When you take the time to get things adjusted, you can get some truly amazing photos for a phone camera. It is puzzling as if Sony got this auto mode dialed in a little better, they could offer the best of both worlds and destroy the competition. Instead, they seem intent on making it only for prosumers. It is like they are taunting you for not knowing how to correct a scene.

Video is godlike. Easily the best I have ever had on a phone.

 

Audio

Yay headphone jack! This phone has no issues driving my Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pros up to a comfortable listening volume and slightly beyond. Amazon Music HD sounds superb. The integral EQ is able to take the sting out of the 8.5KHz peak these headphones possess.

The speakers are excellent and remind me of my beloved HTC One M7. When listening to the WAN Show in my kitchen, I can now feel Luke’s laugh reverberating through my kidneys. OK that might be hyperbole, but they are top class. They clip slightly at max volume, but you really don’t need max volume.  

 

Android Auto

I feel it worth mentioning as the last three phones have also been a buggy mess in this regard, but this phone hooks into my car’s infotainment system and runs Google Maps navigation without shitting the bed halfway through the journey. Maybe something to do with having a full-fat USB-C port? Dunno. Just glad I no longer have to rely on my car’s poor integral sat-nav. 

 

Security

All recent previous phones have had some capacity for locking down certain apps. Samsung has Secure Folder, and Xiaomi and Asus have an app locker. This Sony flagship has none of this. They are relying entirely on anybody who robs me not cutting off my thumb. A minor short-coming but this phone is £1300 so mentioning everything I miss.

 

Call Quality

Why is this so far down? Huh. Needless to say it performs phone calls well. Voices are clear and can go loud enough to be heard even over a Lafreniere explosion. The wife reports my voice as coming across clear yet can’t hear the desk fan wafting at me and the phone mic from 0.5m away. Good stuff.

 

Misc. Bugs/Annoyances

The aforementioned auto-brightness epilepsy check.

Now it has a proper upper bezel, it would have been nice to have a notification LED back. Hate having to use AOD in lieu of this.

Would be nice to change the icon shape to square. I get the circle is the Xperia flavour, I simply prefer square icons.

I was hoping for something like Samsung’s Bixby Routines. Switch phone features/radios based on locations/states etc. Tasker is a thing but I liked Samsung’s ‘lite’ implementation. Google assistant has something similar, but still insists you use voice to trigger it. I am not talking to my phone. I want automation.

The on-line manual does not cover many features. Having to rely on YouTubers and wading through settings isn’t the best.  

There is a battery saving mode (Stamina mode) but you can only turn it on based on battery level or manually. Most previous phones have let me set this on a timed schedule so it sips power overnight. Please add this Sony.

The main annoyance is the AOD. You get no permanent notifications displayed with AOD off. It only briefly wakes up with a notification, then goes blank again. If you turn AOD on, even with ‘double-tap to wake screen’ off, the screen will still wake up with a double-tap. This WILL cause more accidental pocket swipes. Surely this is a bug. All I want is something to let me know I have a notification that isn’t going to go ape-shit in my pocket. You know, like a notification LED. Third party apps cause the same problem.

 

Conclusion

If you are not getting the XM5 headphone offer, wait for this to come down in price. If you want flawless point-and-click photos for the Gram, look towards Samsung. However, if you want a well-made, pleasing to hold phone with a gorgeous screen and powerful photography options, excellent 3.5mm and speaker audio, and fast fingerprint unlocks, give it a go. At the end of the day I shopped for reliability, and by coincidence I was looking to replace my headphones else I would have gotten a lower spec Sony. But still a Sony. Bezels were important and served an important function: dedicated proximity sensor.   

This is my first impression with the phone so will update when more time has passed, and any honeymoon confirmation bias has faded. Hope it helps someone. I will answer any questions if I can.

[bezza...]

does the ltt forum compress pictures posted on it?

[ExInferis]

5 minutes ago, bezza... said:

does the ltt forum compress pictures posted on it?

Not sure. I have not been here long. Probably?

[saintlouisbagels]

When saving the picture of the flowers, it's saved as a 12MP 1.4MB JPEG.

What's the original size of the photo before the upload?

[ExInferis]

22 minutes ago, saintlouisbagels said:

When saving the picture of the flowers, it's saved as a 12MP 1.4MB JPEG.

What's the original size of the photo before the upload?

The OG file is 12MP 3.4MB, so yeah the LTT forum seems to take a big bite. It still conveys the exposure and detail you get from auto point-and-click though.