Sony's Xperia 1 IV has camera features other phones can only dream of

We figured that Sony would uphold its Xperia reputation of being stellar for serious smartphone photography. But, we didn’t expect Sony to make the Xperia 1 IV the seemingly perfect companion for live streaming or mobile gaming.

The Xperia 1 IV still feels like a camera masquerading as a smartphone since it has an 85-125mm zoom lens, Real-Time AF, and the ability to shoot burst shots at 20 fps. However, Sony is looking to expand the Xperia beyond its niche photography range and cater to live streamers or content creators as well.

Half phone, half camera — Sony has largely stuck to the same recipe for its Xperia 1 IV that made it popular with photographers. The latest Xperia has three lenses that were developed with Zeiss, a 16mm ultrawide lens, a 24mm wide lens, and the new 85-125mm telephoto zoom lens.

Like its predecessors, the Xperia 1 IV still has Real-Time Eye AF, a feature that’s borrowed from Sony’s Alpha cameras, and up to 20 fps continuous shooting. It’s just as capable with video since all the rear camera lenses can film in 4K 120 fps and up to 5x slow-mo. There’s also a new, larger 12-megapixel Exmor RS mobile sensor in the Xperia 1 IV that has a 120 fps high-speed readout that allows it to perform better in low-light situations.

Live streaming and gaming — A lot of the camera features translate over to the smartphone’s live streaming capabilities since the Eye AF and Object Tracking features keep the focus on you. If you have a compatible Sony Alpha camera, the Xperia 1 IV can work as an external monitor as you vlog with it.

If you’re more into mobile gaming, the Xperia 1 IV’s 4K 120Hz display has a 21:9 aspect ratio and a 240Hz touch scanning rate for a super responsive screen. Just like how it can act as an accessory for a Sony Alpha camera, you can also plug it into your gaming PC for extra functionality.

The Xperia 1 IV is still a smartphone and it’s powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip and 12GB of RAM. The smartphone has 512GB of storage, and get this: a microSD card slot to expand that. The Xperia 1 IV’s 5,000 mAh battery is compatible with wireless charging and can be quick-charged to 50 percent in 30 minutes. It also has an IP65/68 rating for water resistance and dust protection.

Pro price tag — With features for photography, live streaming, and gaming, the Xperia 1 IV puts all other top-of-the-line smartphones to shame (on paper). Such a “pro” phone comes with a price to match: $1,600, which is up from the $1,300 retail price for the Xperia 1 III.

It’s a little absurd that you can buy a decent Sony Alpha camera at that price, but the Xperia 1 IV does go beyond just photography. Sony says the Xperia 1 IV is launches on September 1; preorders are already up.

The phone comes unlocked in black at authorized dealers, but there’s an option for an exclusive purple colorway online at Sony’s website. To sweeten the deal, Sony is throwing in a pair of its WF-1000XM4 wireless earbuds as a limited-time offer for preordering the Xperia 1 IV.