'Xperia 1 V' exterior review: equipped with an image sensor 1.7 times larger than the previous model, giving it overwhelming image quality

The Xperia 1 V (Xperia One Mark Five) will be released in June 2023 as the flagship model of Sony's Xperia smartphone series. This time, I was able to borrow the device prior to its release, so I actually took it out and tried out various things. Note that the device I borrowed was a test device, so the specifications may differ from those of the actual device.

Xperia 1 V | Xperia official website

Xperia 1 V SO-51D | Android Smartphone | Products | NTT Docomo

The device fits in pretty snugly.

This is the Xperia 1 V, with dimensions of approximately 71mm x 165mm x 8.3mm. On the right side of the screen are the shutter button, power button, and volume button. The physical shutter button for taking photos is one of the features of the Xperia series. The power button supports fingerprint authentication, so you can unlock the phone or authenticate payments by simply touching it lightly with a registered finger. The display is organic EL and is approximately 6.5 inches in size. The resolution is 4K (3840 pixels x 1644 pixels).

On the bottom are the SIM card and microSD card slots and a USB Type-C port. As external memory, microSDXC cards up to 1TB can be used.

There are no buttons on the left side of the screen.

The headphone jack is located on the left side of the top panel. The slight tilt of the device is due to the protrusion of the camera lens.

Back side. Past Xperia series models often had smooth glass or metal panels, but the Xperia 1 V has a grainy finish, and combined with the grooves on the sides, it feels quite slippery even when handled without a case. This device is the SO-51D for NTT Docomo, with the SONY logo in the center, and the NTT Docomo logo, Xperia logo, and model number at the bottom. The camera is arranged vertically in the upper left corner on the back: a 16mm ultra-wide-angle lens, a 24mm wide-angle lens, and an 85mm-125mm telephoto lens. The wide-angle lens sensor is equipped with the 'Exmor T for mobile' 1/1.35-inch two-layer transistor pixel stacked CMOS image sensor, which is about 1.7 times larger than the previous model.

The corners have been rounded off to prevent the camera from getting caught when taking it out of your pocket, etc. However, if you place it on a desk as is, the protrusion will interfere with the phone, so if you want to use it by placing it flat on a desk, you will need a case that adds thickness to the back.

The actual weight was 186g without the SIM card or microSD card.

Next, we'll take the device outside and check out the camera's capabilities.

[to be continued]