Sony Xperia 1 V

Speedy performance with top-notch internals ; Brilliant sound with a dedicated headphone jack ; Superb stamina with multi-day battery life

It’s as expensive as non-folding phones get ; Bloatware is insulting in a phone this expensive ; Textured glass back feels a lot like plastic

The Sony Xperia 1 V is a superb phone that barely puts a foot wrong. It’s lightning-fast with a great screen, enviable battery life and a superb camera array. You might quibble with the design, which remains an acquired taste, but it does everything...

Premium styling ; Great performance ; Advanced camera features ; 3.5mm headphone jack

Very expensive ; Complicated camera system ; Battery is good – not great ; No Android update commitment

The Xperia 1 V is Sony's first do-it-all flagship in a while with no red flags – except for that price tag. Costing more than either the S Pen-toting Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or Apple iPhone 14 Pro, the Xperia 1 V needs to be superb to beat them. In...

Cinematic picture for a smartphone ; New design looks and feels great ; Wired and wireless audio compatibility

Tall screen can be awkward at times ; Expensive

Sony’s cinematic flagship smartphone impresses us once again, with upgrades in all the key areas

Textured back and grooved sides make it easy to grip ; Fantastic OLED display ; Smooth performance and good battery life ; Really versatile camera system

It's expensive ; Ultrawide camera could be better ; Complicated camera software

The Sony Xperia 1 V is designed for something of a niche audience. It's too expensive and has a camera system that's pretty complicated. However, if you find true-to-life camera results preferable to the mainstream saturated approach, or want...

Excellent performance ; Beautiful slim, textured design ; Stunning 4K HDR display

Camera is complicated and difficult to use well ; Slow charging ; Uncertain long-term software support ; Needlessly expensive

The Xperia 1 V is more of the same from Sony: a powerful, expensive flagship phone that’s destined to only appeal to a small niche. If you love Sony’s proper cameras and want a phone that mimics them, you may well love it – but otherwise you should...

All the manual modes a pro snapper or videographer could want ; Stunning screen and great sound ; Last of the old guard for fan favourite features

Cameras not as point-and-shoot friendly as rivals ; Charging speeds are merely average ; Serious money

Another zero-compromise flagship that borrows its best bits from each Sony division. Shoots fantastic stills and videos if you put in the effort – but not everyone will want to.

Classic design, lightweight, top-notch ingress protection.

No charger and no cable in the box.

Everything boils down to whether the Xperia 1 V checks the most boxes on your list - if it does, we are sure you will not regret getting it.

Gorgeous 4K display. Incredibly grippy. Good battery life. Headphone port and microSD card slot. Physical camera button and manual mode.

Too expensive. Nothing else comes in the box. Camera app is confusing. Lackluster software update policy.

Stylish, classy, and light — great design ; Plethora of manual camera modes for fine-tuning video and photos ; Eye tracking autofocus is super-fast and responsive ; MicroSD slot and headphone jack ; Stereo speakers sound pretty good (though a bit boxy)

Price is well above any other premium phone (sans foldables) ; For all its focus on camera, its image quality is not ahead of the competition ; Two years of Android updates?