Sony Xperia smartphones look so good on paper. So why is it that we don’t recommend them? Here’s our answer to that and a brief 2023 review of the Sony Xperia 1 IV.
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Where’s the article?
There’s an embedded video above the headline. It’s easy to dismiss as an ad. I did, too.
It’s easy to dismiss as an ad. I did, too.
Well, Vivaldi’s built-in in adblock apparently agrees with this categorization. The video shows up if I disable it. Lol
It isn’t much better either. HTG went from a great site publishing tech articles to riddled with paywalls(you will encounter sign in screens if you read multiple articles quickly), Premium options, ad affiliated newsletter links and just constant churning of low quality filler mostly.
I’m gonna be real, I thought Sony stopped making these 5 years ago.
They used to do great phones though. The Xperia Play (and its slimmer Arc cousin) and the Walkman feature phone are still personal favorites of mine.
I got an Xperia 5 IV very recently when my Galaxy S7 died. Been happy with it. Smallest phone I could find with an SD card slot, and while it’s still larger than my old phone, the screen is the same width, just taller. Overpriced? Probably a bit. In the end though, I like it.
I upgraded from an S7 in the past year… I ended up going with a Samsung XCover 6 Pro since Sony doesn’t sell their flagship phones in Canada…
The size is why I keep them in the back of my head. Because when my Pixel 4a dies I’m kinda screwed with how humongous (what?) all those phones nowadays are.
Right, like people want to develop wrist pain over a damn phone. 5&6" is hard to come by.
🤑
Stubborn ideologies, slow to changes, devices get abandoned after 2 years.
Used to be a big fan of Xperia phones up until the Xperia 5.
I loved my XZ premium . Would still use it if it hadn’t come down with an unfixable charging issue.
No entry level options, relatively lower specs for the price asked, mediocre software support. That being said, they are one of the few OEMs in their price segment to still offer headphone jacks.
Yeah headphone jack is a nice bonus, my only method of playing audio from my phone in the car is the aux cable
Me too. I bought a ugreen Bluetooth to aux adapter. Just a USB stick with wire an 3,5mm headphone jack on. Works great and I payed 20€.
They’re also comparatively “small” in this world of bricks.
I miss my Xperia Play, that thing was the bee’s knees.
I was planning on getting an Xperia 1 VI.
Gonna flash LineageOS on it.
I got a 1ii and though LineageOS works great compared to stock, it still has its downsides - on the top of my head screen mirroring is lost and since LOS21 can’t make Magisk w/ zigisk work.
I have the 1 VI, it’s great. No lineage available yet, might take a while
Is it bootloader unlockable?
If it is, try checking treble compatibilty.
If passed, Lineage may be supported.
Yes you can unlock the bootloader (not supported on the Japanese model and there is no US model this time), I’m not sure how well the camera system works on a gsi. On previous models they had to use proprietary blobs to get it to work properly
Flashing Lineage on the 1 II is trivial now compared to a few years ago.
The stock ROM is loaded with shitware in II III and V.
The shape is great not too big for the hand.
The camera is decent, surely better in VI. No stupid AI color boost and faking pictures.
The price is steep as you know.
The screens feel like they could have been brighter.
3.5mm AUX, MicroSD as you know.
Sony ASOP is about the only thing keeping me interested in their lineups.
Better than Sam or Apple. But to be honest all cellphones are trash, satellite StarLink phone and others can’t happen soon enough or a decent Linux phone.
Its a solid plan.
Why People Arent Buying Sony Xperia Phones
because they are fucking expensive
There you have it folks. Its expensive and you pay upfront. Most people don’t have $1500 laying around to wing at a phone yet alone a $500 emergency budget sadly. Especially these days.
S24 Ultra isn’t any cheaper and it’s selling well.
how much of that is due to people actually being able to actually buy a s24, or because that just what happens to be their phone carrier’s option? when selling phone it’s extremely important distinction, most people can get their phones “significantly cheaper” so to speak, via their carrier.
As an ex cellphone salesman I have never seen any carriers here in canada selling phones in like, pretty much the last decade almost now. Canadian here. Rodgers, Bell, Koodo, Fido, off the top of my head, none sell sony phones.
Now I did often try to sell cellphones to folk out right since IMO it’s far better to own the device and pay for a cheap plan, but to do that, phones need to actually be affordable.
And they have a remote control like shape factor
What, because you can use them with one hand? As opposed to all the fat bricks out there?
Yeah and you can read 2 pages of an ebook on the same screen, they fit one on top of the other lengthwise. A win-win situation! Definitely worth the premium price now that you said it. Anyway, good luck reaching the top part of the screen with your stubby thumb without using the other hand on that land strip type of a form factor.
What kind of sasquatch ass hands do you have where you can reach the top of any phone?
I miss my Xperia 5iii, but those screens are too expensive to justify replacing when I get a brand new device for the same cost.
It’s not about the size of the hands that matter but how you use them. ;) Hands size shaming must come to an end. But yeah I can pretty much grab a basket ball single handedly and throw it accurately, no problem.
Yikes. lol
I loved my Xperia XA2, but when the next android update came down the pipe I literally lost features.
Does Sony still make phones ? … The last time I saw someone using a Sony phone was probably 8 years ago
Probably because you buy them upfront and online mostly and not from the service providers.
Marketing and availablity. Unless you watch Phonereviews you probably have no idea these phones exist.
I probably would consider them, but their phones tend to have lackluster US carrier/band support and lack of security updates. Coupling that with the high price tag, no go.
I used to have an Xperia pro, the one with the physical keyboard. It was my last keyboard phone. I absolutely loved it.
Flashed a different OS, cyanogenmod I believe, which broke the governor chip (irreparable; known issue but super buried, would have done the same with any OS of that version number, including stock) so it would read as a dead battery if not on the charger.
Never touched Sony phones again. Don’t trust them at all.
Pixel OS. It’s the best out of the box experience for most users.
