Sony Xperia 1 III buyer's guide: Everything you need to know

Simply put, the Sony Xperia 1 III might be the best 2021 choice for Android enthusiasts. It makes very few compromises in almost all respects and even offers a few features that competitors don’t. Of course, its price, availability, and software might be its ultimate downfalls. In this buyer’s guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about this premium flagship!

Do note that the Sony Xperia 1 III has been superseded by the Sony Xperia 1 IV. However, the 2021 Xperia 1 might still be the better buy for some users.

Sony Xperia 1 III at a glance

Sony launched the Xperia 1 III on April 14, 2021. This phone is Sony’s top-tier premium flagship for that year (that’s directed at the general consumer, anyway). The only phone from Sony that’s universally better for the average Android user is the newer — and much more expensive — Xperia 1 IV.

One of the best aspects of premium Sony flagships is their cameras. While they often lack the versatility of some other brands’ offerings, they usually are terrific at capturing crisp, stunning images and beautiful videos. In 2021, we saw the same formidable results from the Xperia 1 III. Unfortunately, we also saw the same confusion regarding hardware capabilities and software usage — more on that in a bit.

Outside of the camera, the Sony Xperia 1 III features all the usual 2021 premium flagship staples. That includes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 5G support, tons of RAM, plenty of internal storage, wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, and fast wired charging. You’ll also get a 4K-ish OLED display, a microSD card slot, and the oft-neglected headphone jack.

Unfortunately, the Xperia 1 III is a very expensive phone. It is also tricky to get in some areas of the world. Software updates will likely be slow and infrequent as well. These are the trade-offs one needs to make with pretty much any Sony phone.

Is the Sony Xperia 1 III worth buying?

With Sony phones, you need to decide based on what you prioritize. If you want an affordable flagship with frequent Android updates and ultra-fast wired and wireless charging, this likely isn’t the phone for you.

Instead, folks who want a powerful camera, a headphone jack, expandable storage, and one of the highest-resolution displays you can get on any phone would likely love the Sony Xperia 1 III. The headphone jack, in particular, is a feature that pretty much no other OEMs offer with flagships. The only other company that frequently did so was LG, and LG is no longer in the smartphone game. In brief, if you want a Snapdragon 888 phone with a headphone jack, the Xperia 1 III is one of your very few choices.

We have more information on the camera below, but the biggest thing you need to remember is that the software has a reputation for being really confusing. Professionals love it because of its versatility, but people acclimated to the point-and-shoot ease of Samsung phone cameras, Google phone cameras, and iPhone cameras will face a learning curve.

Overall, the Sony Xperia 1 III is an incredible phone that could be worth its very high price. However, the phone appeals to a pretty niche audience rather than the average buyer.

We gave the phone a 4.5/5 and awarded it our Editor’s Choice badge, so we are quite keen on this device. Once again, though, don’t forget that the Xperia 1 IV exists now and might be a superior choice for some buyers. Be sure to read our full Sony Xperia 1 IV review before making any decisions.

What experts think of the Xperia 1 III

In our review of the Sony Xperia 1 III, we gave the phone one of our highest scores: 4.5/5 stars. We also awarded it our Editor’s Choice badge, which is one of the highest-level badges we offer. This is one of our favorite phones of 2021.

We really love the display of this phone. It was easily one of the best displays of the year. We also loved the performance, the battery life, the camera quality, and the headphone jack (obviously).

We were a bit disappointed that Sony’s camera experience is still quite confusing (it is getting better, however). We also weren’t too fond of its slow charging speeds and bloatware. The biggest thing we were disappointed with, though, is its very, very high price tag.

Here’s what other reviewers from around the web think about the Sony Xperia 1 III:

• Allison Johnson from The Verge: Johnson gave the phone a 7.5/10, which is a lower score than we offered. Like us, she loved the display and the camera quality. However, she didn’t care for Sony’s poor history of software support and also severely criticized the phone’s price tag.
• Patrick Holland from CNET: Holland gave the phone a slightly higher score than The Verge at 7.6/10. Holland also loved the display and the camera quality but issued the same criticisms about its pricing. However, Holland criticized the phone’s battery life, which is interesting since we thought it was great.
• James Peckham from Tech Radar: Peckham gave the phone 4/5 stars, which is pretty close to our score. Like us, he loved the display, the battery life, and the fact that it has a headphone jack. Like everyone else, he criticized the high price but also criticized the lack of an in-display fingerprint sensor, which not many other reviewers have painted as a negative thing.

What AA readers think of the Xperia 1 III

In October 2020, we ran a poll asking our readers what they were most excited to see on the Xperia 1 III. There were five preset options and then a catch-all “other” option. You can see how the poll results break down in the chart below:

Interestingly, Sony delivered on pretty much every one of these hopes our readers had. The camera has a very unique telephoto lens which will offer a more versatile experience. The headphone jack stuck around, the display refresh rate is high, and the phone has 30W wired charging. It even works natively with the Sony PlayStation DualShock 4 controller, which fits in with the “Better PlayStation integration” option.

For more poll opinions from our readers, head to the bottom section of this article.

Sony Xperia 1 III specs

The Sony Xperia 1 III features the predictable 2021 upgrades. However, it also boasts a stunning 4K-ish display and a unique telephoto lens setup. See our specs table below, and scroll down a bit for a comparison between the Xperia 1 III and 2020’s Xperia 1 II.

What’s up with these camera lenses?

In the specs table above, you can see that the Sony Xperia 1 III has a quad-sensor array on the back. Predictably, there’s a primary lens flanked by a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens. Rounding it out, there’s a time-of-flight sensor (ToF) that helps with depth perception and focus tracking.

Fun fact: Sony makes the lenses that appear in most high-end flagships. The sensors in the Galaxy S21 lineup, as well as the OnePlus 9 lineup, are all made by Sony, for example. As such, the lenses here are predictably high in quality and help the Xperia 1 III be one of the best camera phones you can get (from 2021, anyway).

The oddball-out, though, is the telephoto lens. In the specs table, you’ll see that this lens has a 70mm and 105mm size label. To be clear, this does not mean it is capable of optically zooming in from 70mm to 105mm. It actually means that it has just those two distinct focal lengths: 70mm (~2.9x) and 105mm (~5x). You can jump from one to the other, but there are no stops between.

How does this work? Sony used a mechanical periscope-style system to physically move the lens to those distinct points. This allows for a true optical zoom of 2.9x or 5x. Interestingly, though, anything between those two focal lengths (like 4x, for example) will involve a digital crop. That’s the big difference between this setup and the one we’ve seen on phones like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which offers 1x, 3x, and 10x optical zoom with hybrid zoom in between.

The bottom line here is that this is a very unique camera setup that is a bit more limited than it might seem. Yes, you’re going to get lossless optical zoom at 2.9x and 5x, but you are locked to those two settings.

For more information on the camera quality of this phone, check out the article below:

Check it out: Sony Xperia 1 III camera tested

How is battery life on the Xperia 1 III?

The Sony Xperia 1 III has a 4,500mAh battery. This isn’t a huge battery when compared to other ultra-premium flagships. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery, for example, and the ASUS ROG Phone 5 has a 6,000mAh battery.

Normally, 4,500mAh would be fine for a phone of this size. The wildcard, though, is that 4K display. A display pushing that many pixels at a 120Hz refresh rate is going to tear through battery power. Interestingly, we came away very happy with the battery life of this phone, even with that 4K panel. We found this is very easily a one-day phone and could even be a two-day device if you dialed down some settings and used it lightly.

Regardless, the phone can charge at a rate of 30W using the in-box charger. That’s the fastest wired charging we’ve yet seen on a Sony phone. Granted, OnePlus has phones that charge more than twice as fast as that, but the entire Galaxy S21 lineup charges slower (and doesn’t have in-box chargers). In other words, Sony’s 30W speeds are faster than some, slower than others. We do wish it charged a bit faster, but it’s not something that makes or breaks our love of the phone.

The Sony Xperia 1 III also features wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. That means you can charge the phone at standard speeds using a wireless charging system. You can also leech power off the phone by placing another wireless charging device on the back, such as earbuds or a smartwatch.

How is the Xperia 1 III performance?

Inside the Sony Xperia 1 III, you’ll find the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset. This is 2021’s second-most-powerful Android chip, trumped only by the Snapdragon 888 Plus. It’s paired with a hefty 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. As one would expect, performance is terrific with this phone.

Granted, hardware only tells half the story. Sony’s Android skin — known as Xperia UI — is a lean system akin to Pixel UI. However, there’s a lot of bloatware on the phone, which might irritate power users. Still, this phone’s performance impressed us and will likely impress most buyers.

Phone software and updates

Sony’s history regarding Android updates and upgrades is pretty dismal. While it might not be the industry’s worst offender, most of its phones languish on older versions of Android even months after the latest launch. Likewise, Android security patches come at a slow and irregular pace.

To its credit, Sony did get Android 12 to the Xperia 1 III by January 2022 and Android 13 by January 2023. That’s not too bad. However, that’s it for Android upgrades — the Sony Xperia 1 III will not get Android 14.

For a lot of our readers, software updates are a big deal. They bring new features and bug fixes, and security patches help keep phones safe. Sony’s historical lack of regard for the importance of software upkeep is a major issue for them.

You, however, might not care much about software updates. You also might be the kind of user who likes installing custom ROMs and relying on that community for your upgrades. You’ll likely be happy if you’re in either of those situations. If official software is important to you, though, proceed with the Sony Xperia 1 III (or any Sony phone) with caution.

Sony Xperia 1 III vs Xperia 1 II: What’s new?

Overall, Sony mostly brought the predictable 2021 upgrades to the Xperia 1 III. The Xperia 1 II has a similar display, a very similar camera setup, and a similar build/design.

The big upgrades compared to 2020 are the Snapdragon 888 processor, a 120Hz display refresh rate, a bigger battery, reverse wireless charging, 30W wired charging, and the more advanced telephoto lens. Outside of those, the rest of the upgrades are pretty subtle.

Check out the specs table comparison below for more.

What are some good Xperia 1 III alternatives?

There are a few aspects of the Sony Xperia 1 III that are unique. This includes the headphone jack, 4K display, and telephoto lens configuration. It will be tough to find those on any other 2021 flagships (or 2023 flagships, for that matter).

That being said, if you can do without those three details, here are some other phones that might be worth a look:

• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra ($1,199): While this phone won’t have the same display resolution, it will be more than good enough. It also will have a more versatile camera system with easier-to-use camera software and a full IP68 rating. It also has an in-display fingerprint sensor rather than a side-mounted one. Of course, there’s no headphone jack, no microSD card slot, and no charger in the box. Do note that the 2021 model — the Galaxy S21 Ultra — is also comparable, but is no longer in production.
• Google Pixel 7 Pro ($899): This phone was one of the hottest of 2022 and also severely undercuts the exorbitant price of the Xperia 1 III. You’ll get a great camera system, a bigger battery, and very frequent and fast software updates. Once again, though, there’s no headphone jack, no microSD card slot, and no 4K display.
• OnePlus 11 ($699): This is OnePlus’ best phone for 2023 so far. It has a display with similar quality to the Galaxy S23 Ultra and features wired charging that’s twice as fast as what we see on the Xperia 1 III. Of course, there’s no headphone jack, no microSD card slot, and no 4K display.
• Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (€1,199 (~$1,415)): This phone features one of the largest camera sensors of any Android phone ever. It also features similar high-end specs as the Xperia 1 III while also offering a larger battery that charges faster. However, this phone will be harder to buy for some folks, especially those in the United States.
• ASUS ROG Phone 6 Pro ($1,299): This phone is a “gaming” phone, so it won’t have as good of a camera system. However, it is one of the very few flagship phones out there with a headphone jack, and it does feature a 144Hz display refresh rate, trumping the Xperia 1 III’s 120Hz. This is a very different phone for a very different consumer base, but still worth a look.

Where to buy the Sony Xperia 1 III

• Sony Xperia 1 III (12GB/256GB) — $1,299 / £1,199

The Sony Xperia 1 III is available in many parts of the world right now. Its starting price is a whopping $1,299. That is $100 more than the starting price of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which is currently Samsung’s top-of-the-line non-foldable phone. It’s also $100 more than 2020’s Xperia 1 II.

Granted, you do get some things with this phone you just can’t get anywhere else. That includes the 4K display, the headphone jack, and the microSD card slot — none of which appear on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. For many folks reading this, the headphone jack alone would be worth an extra $100.

Do keep in mind that, now that the Xperia 1 IV is out, the Xperia 1 III will be available at a lower price from many merchants.

FAQs

Help other readers out