The Sony Xperia 1 III is an Android

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

manufactured by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

. Designed to be the new flagship of Sony's Xperia series, the phone was announced along with the compact flagship Xperia 5 III and the mid-range Xperia 10 III on April 14, 2021.

Design

The Xperia 1 III improves on the design used on its predecessor, the Xperia 1 II. It now features a matte frame and slightly smaller bezels all around. The phone has Corning

Gorilla Glass Gorilla Glass is a brand of chemically strengthened glass developed and manufactured by Corning, now in its seventh generation. Designed to be thin, light and damage-resistant, the glass gains its surface strength, ability to contain flaws, and c ...

Victus protection on the front and Corning

6 on the back with a frosted glass finish as well as IP65 and IP68 certifications for water resistance. The build has a pair of symmetrical bezels on the top and the bottom, where the front-facing dual stereo speakers and the front camera are placed. The left side of the phone contains the SIM card tray and microSD card slot, while the right side contains a fingerprint reader embedded into the power button, a volume rocker, a customisable shortcut button, and a shutter button with an embossed finish. The rear cameras are arranged in a vertical strip like its predecessor. The phone will be available in three colors: Frosted Black, Frosted Gray, and Frosted Purple.

Specifications

Hardware

The Xperia 1 III has a

Qualcomm Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...

Snapdragon 888 This is a list of Qualcomm Snapdragon systems on chips (SoC) made by Qualcomm for use in smartphones, tablets, laptops, 2-in-1 PCs, smartwatches, and smartbooks devices. Before Snapdragon SoC made by Qualcomm before it was renamed to Snapdr ...

SoC and an

Adreno Adreno is a series of graphics processing unit (GPU) semiconductor intellectual property cores developed by Qualcomm and used in many of their SoCs. History Adreno (an anagram of AMD's graphic card brand '' Radeon''), was originally developed ...

660 GPU, accompanied by 12GB of RAM, 256 GB storage space (which can be expanded up to 1 TB via the

microSD Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...

card slot), and single/dual-hybrid nano- SIM card slot depending on region. The phone features a 21:9, world's first CinemaWide 4K HDR 10-bit 120Hz

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...

display in a smartphone. The phone has a 4500 mAh battery, and supports 30W Fast Charging alongside Qi wireless charging with reverse wireless charging support. The phone has front-facing dual stereo speakers with support for 360 Reality Audio, which Sony claims is now 40% louder than the predecessor. There is also a 3.5 mm audio jack up top just like its predecessor. The Japanese carrier and SIM-unlocked versions of the Xperia 1 III support the Japanese mobile payment standard

Osaifu-Keitai , literally "Wallet Mobile", is the ''de facto'' standard mobile payment system in Japan. Osaifu-Keitai services include electronic money, identity document, identity card, Loyalty program, loyalty card, fare collection of public transits (includ ...

in conjunction with the Sony-developed mobile

smart card A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

standard Mobile FeliCa as well as regular

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

, however, unlike the vast majority of carrier-branded flagship Android phones sold in Japan, the Xperia 1 III does not support the 1seg

mobile television Mobile television is television watched on a small handheld or mobile device. It includes service delivered via mobile phone networks, received free-to-air via terrestrial television stations, or via satellite broadcast. Regular broadcast stan ...

standard.

Camera

The phone has a triple 12 MP camera setup and a 3D iToF sensor on the back, and an 8 MP camera on the front. The rear cameras comprise the main lens (24 mm ''f''/1.7), the

ultra wide angle lens An ultra wide-angle lens is a lens whose focal length is shorter than that of an average wide-angle lens, providing an even wider view. The term denotes a different range of lenses, relative to the size of the sensor in the camera in question. ...

(16 mm ''f''/2.2), and the world's first variable

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

telephoto lens A telephoto lens, in photography and cinematography, is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a ''telephoto ...

that can switch between 70mm and 105mm; all of which use ZEISS' T✻ (T-Star) anti-reflective coating. Digital zoom can now reach the equivalent of 300mm, compared to 200mm on the Xperia 1 II and 5 II with a new enhanced algorithm which Sony calls "AI super resolution zoom". The phone still has support for 4K video recording for up to 120

FPS FPS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "F.P.S." (''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''), an episode of the TV show ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' * '' fps magazine'', a defunct magazine about animation * ''The Fabulous Picture Show'', a televi ...

and 2K for up to 120 FPS like its predecessor. Sony introduced "Realtime Tracking" which now allows users to tap on a subject and have the phone continuously track it without ever losing focus of what is important.

Software

The Xperia 1 III runs on

Android 11 Android 11 is the eleventh major release and 18th version of Android, the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. It was released on September 8, 2020. The first phone launched in Europe with Android 11 ...

. It is also equipped with a "Photo Pro" mode developed by Sony's camera division α (Alpha) and a "Cinema Pro" mode developed by Sony's cinematography division

CineAlta CineAlta cameras are a series of professional digital movie cameras produced by Sony that replicate many of the same features of 35mm film motion picture cameras. Concept CineAlta is a brand name used by Sony to describe various products in ...

, just like its predecessor. The old camera app has been integrated with "Photo Pro" and was renamed as "Basic Mode".Updates are provided for two years..

Color

Reception

The Xperia 1 III has been described by Engadget as a "love letter to photography nerds" because of its camera features.

Notes

References

{{Sony phones Android (operating system) devices Smartphones 1 III Mobile phones introduced in 2021 Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras Mobile phones with 4K video recording