[Gadgets] Sony Xperia 1 VI review: an old-school flagship that demands some compromise

[Aronus]

The Sony Xperia 1 VI is Sony’s top Android phone, and it will seem pretty familiar to existing Sony fans. Even with a significant change to the screen aspect ratio versus the Sony Xperia 1 V, using the Xperia 1 VI feels like meeting an old friend. 

A lot of the typical Sony strengths and weaknesses are here too. The Sony Xperia 1 VI’s key charm is in the way it rejects several contemporary smartphone trends. It has a headphone jack. It has expandable memory. It doesn’t have a camera cutout in the screen, and Sony hasn’t cut down battery capacity just to make the Xperia 1 VI marginally thinner. 

These will all seem smart moves to a good chunk of the phone-buying audience out for something a little different. And you still get high-end camera hardware, a top-tier chip, good speakers, and an eye-catching screen — just about all the usual elements expected of a pricey Android phone.

The Sony Xperia 1 VI does cost a packet, though, and arguably isn’t hugely competitive considering some of the slightly less advanced parts. 

These include slower-than-ideal fast charging, camera processing that still lags a little behind the best for dynamic range optimization and night-time image processing. I also found the rear disappointingly prone to visible scratches, despite the use of high-end toughened glass. 

A big part of the appeal here is the handful of features that Sony’s Xperia 1 VI shares with much lower-end phones. There’s still a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD slot built into the SIM tray. These are not expensive features to implement, but are vanishingly rare in phones of this level. 

The Sony Xperia 1 VI is a lovely phone, but you had better buy into its specific style for the outlay to be worthwhile.

 

Sony Xperia 1 VI review: an old-school flagship that demands some compromise | TechRadar