SONY

Unique features and a paywall: Sony Xperia 1 VII stands out from the crowd

Sony is setting priorities with its new smartphone flagship, the Xperia 1 VII. With an MSRP of almost €1500, it’s not a mainstream device, but designed for camera enthusiasts. That said, users who choose the Xperia 1 VII also have to live with a few quirks.

Those who spend €1499 on the Sony Xperia 1 VII likely expect the highest image quality, just as the manufacturer advertises. Our review confirms that this is not an empty promise. However, users should ignore the camera’s automatic mode, because Sony’s smartphone only delivers better results than its high-end competitors if you manually adjust all settings. For the target audience, this might not be a disadvantage.

In terms of cameras, the Sony Xperia 1 VII utilizes a triple-lens setup consisting of a 48MP main camera, a 48MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 12MP telephoto lens with up to 7.1x optical zoom. Sony didn't copy Apple’s dedicated camera button on the right side, since this has been a feature since the very first Xperia 1.

Thick display bezels, microSD, 3.5mm headphone jack...The fact that Sony is swimming against the current with its flagship is also evident in several other areas, such as the chassis. At 6.9 oz (197 grams), the Xperia 1 VII is pleasantly light for a 6.5-inch phone. On top of that, it's well-built, very grippy, and water and dust resistant according to IP68. The aluminum and glass design apparently wasn’t the top priority, which is noticeable when looking at the comparatively thick display bezels at the top and bottom. This allows the Xperia 1 VII to immediately stand out visually from the current flagship competition. Also unusual for a smartphone in this price range is the internal storage, which has a rather modest capacity of 256GB.

However, the storage can be expanded by up to 2TB via microSD, which is a feature that is now almost impossible to find on other high-end devices. The microSD slot also holds a SIM card and can be opened without a tool. Just like the microSD slot, the 3.5mm headphone jack on the Xperia 1 VII falls into the "exotic" category these days. With a signal-to-noise ratio of 99.84 dBFS, the jack is very low-noise. If you have high-quality headphones or external speakers, Sony's premium phone delivers very good audio quality.

Camera monitor only available for a fee...Another special feature is the USB-C port of the Xperia 1 VII, which offers USB 3.1 Gen.1 speeds. In our test with an external Samsung 980 Pro SSD, it hit a respectable 316.5 Mbps. Furthermore, the USB-C port of the Sony Xperia 1 VII can be used for wired video output to HDMI or DisplayPort monitors or TVs. However, Sony has put a feature for camera purists behind a subscription paywall. The ability to use Xperia phones as an external monitor for Sony cameras via USB-C is still available in Sony's Monitor & Control App, but only for a fee. Anyone who wants to use this feature must pay €4.99 a month for the so-called "Basic" subscription.

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