Sony has just announced two phones, namely the Sony Xperia 1 III and the Xperia 5 III. The move by Sony is seen as a way to redefine the entire Xperia brand and associate it with its Alpha digital camera series.
The Japanese smartphone manufacturer is focusing on the camera department once again, with improvements to its already fast and accurate autofocus. According to Sony, it will be the world’s first smartphone with a variable telephoto lens along with a Dual PD sensor. The company, however, did not announce any release date but plans to release both smartphones this summer in the United States.
Coming to the hardware, both phones have top of the line specs, featuring a triple camera setup on the back powered by the Snapdragon 888 processor. Obviously, it has support for 5G unlike the last generation of Xperia phones. One thing to notice is that the phones will only work on Verizon and T-Mobile, lacking the support for AT&t’s 5G network. Like all Sony phones, both phones will be sold directly instead of being available carriers.
The Xperia 1 III features an astounding 4K OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. The dual speakers are louder and work pretty well with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format. Both devices offer Dual-SIM or use can alternatively use SIM and a MicroSD card. Sony has also included the 3.5 mm headphone jack and the camera shutter button. The battery is slated to be a standard 4,500 mAh battery with Android 11 out of the box.
Coming to the Xperia 5 III, the phone has a similar set of specs. Apart from being smaller than the Xperia 1 III, the phone comes with a standard 1080p screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio.
Sony Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III to use the variable Telephoto lens
Talking about the main attraction of the phone, the company says it is using 12 MP sensors on the rear of the phone, with both the normal and telephoto lens supporting Optical Image Stabilization. However, the Xperia 1 III comes with a time of flight sensor.
According to Sony, the three lenses offer a focal length of 16mm, 24mm and 70mm respectively. The telephoto lens can change its focal length and expand up to 105mm.
On paper, all of this sounds really impressive. But we will have to see if it translates to any real-world improvements. One area where Sony struggles is the lack of market share in the United States. Moreover, many of the Xperia smartphones come with a premium price tag compared to the rest of the competition. Having said that, both phones are geared towards camera enthusiasts instead of Android users.
