What you need to know
- Pre-orders for the Sony Xperia 1 III will open in the U.S. on July 1.
- It has been priced at $1,299, $100 more than last year's Xperia II.
- The Xperia 1 III is the world's first Android phone with a 4K 120Hz OLED screen.
Sony's Xperia 1 III will finally be available to pre-order in the U.S. on July 1. The phone was announced in April, along with the "compact" Xperia 5 III. Besides Sony's official website, you'll be able to pre-order the Xperia 1 III from B&H, Adorama, and Focus.
Like its predecessor, the Sony Xperia 1 III will be more expensive than nearly all its rivals. Sony has priced the phone at $1,300, making it $100 more expensive than Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra. The Xperia 1 II was launched in the U.S. at $1,200 last year.
The Xperia 1 III is the first phone to feature a 4K OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. As you would expect from a flagship Android phone in 2021, it is powered by Qualcomm's 5nm Snapdragon 888 processor. Xperia 1 III is also Sony's first phone to come equipped with a periscope zoom lens that can switch between 70mm and 105mm focal lengths.
It uses a custom dual PD sensor and includes a BIONZ X processor for impressive low-light performance. Another key feature that differentiates the Xperia 1 III from its rivals is the ability to use it as a "professional-grade display" with Sony's professional Alpha cameras.
Unlike the best Android phones from Samsung and OnePlus, however, the Xperia 1 III doesn't support mmWave 5G. It will only support sub-6GHz 5G networks in the U.S., already a step up from its predecessor, which did not support 5G connectivity stateside.
Sony Xperia 1 III
Sony's latest Android flagship touts a 4K OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and camera tech borrowed from the company's Alpha cameras. It also happens to be one of the few modern Android flagships to include a headphone jack.
