Sony may be out of the mainstream smartphone market nowadays, but it’s certainly not done innovating in the mobile landscape. Big camera sensors, high-resolution displays, and even higher price tags are the name of Sony’s smartphone game. The company’s latest smartphone, the Xperia Pro-I, fits that bill perfectly.
The Xperia Pro-I has a massive 1-inch camera sensor, which allows the phone to shoot in dual f/2.0 and f/4.0 apertures and provide less low-light noise, more bokeh, and autofocus that supposedly covers 90% of the frame. This sensor is supported by two additional lenses: a 12MP 1/2.9-inch sensor with an f/2.4 aperture and a second 12MP 1/2.5-inch lens with an f/2.2 aperture for wider shots.
Also read: The best camera phones you can buy
It’s not all about the cameras. The Xperia Pro-I is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 processor and 12GB of RAM. A big 6.5-inch 120Hz 4K display sits on the front of the phone, providing a crisp 3,840 x 1,644 resolution.
So, yeah. This phone rules, at least on paper. We asked you how you felt about the new device, and many of you had some thoughts. Read on to see how our readers feel about Sony’s new pricey smartphone.
Sony Xperia Pro-I series: Hot or not?
Out of 1,414 total votes, 1,174 (83%) of our readers said the Sony Xperia Pro-I is, indeed, hot. Many of the comments in our article pointed to Sony’s camera marketing strategy, which tailors to those who truly want the best camera on a smartphone. Other comments suggested the Xperia Pro-I actually justifies its $1,800 price tag.
Just 240 of our readers, or ~17%, said they’re not fans of Sony’s latest. The price tag was cited by many commenters as a major downside for the phone.
Some of your comments
The chart above gives you an easy-to-digest view of how our readers feel about the Sony Xperia Pro-I. However, a more nuanced view requires reading what our readers have to say. Here’s a selection of your comments!
- Radiohedgefund: Say what you like about Sony but at least they still make phones for grown-ups. They don’t shy away from camera terminology in their marketing, preferring to refer to classic mm reference points rather than a more ambiguous wider-angle. They actively push the manual controls in their promo shots of the device and actually trust the user to *shock* learn about photography to get the most out of their phone instead of relying on an AI to do everything. You’ve always been able to get good night shots out of a phone if you used a long shutter and a tripod. Compare this to our fruit-based friend that makes so-called ‘Pro’ phones but still doesn’t support manual camera modes on their own app and uses a 60mbs lightning USB 2.0 connection to transfer all that 4K video.
- Leroy: How good are Sony’s camera phone photos? I don’t know because I’m not going to waste over $1,000 or $2,000 to find out they’re not better than any other camera phone.
- PhoenixWitti: Not keen on them cropping the sensor though.
- Kacey Hemway: $1800? lol You can buy a used Fuji X-T2 with a kit lens for ~$900 and a brand new phone for ~$900. Bruh, these prices are silly. I suppose if you hate actual cameras and only like phones with sensors size of @ character, then you could wait 6 mo and buy that phone for half off.
- nemo: Kinda disappointed wish sony used this tech on the 1 mark 4 that would give them an edge. also only 12GB ram and 512MB storage? I would have at least wanted to see 16GB ram (or more) and 1TB storage. and maybe more specs to differentiate it more make it more hardcore say for example they increased the batterie size maybe overclocked the chip for more power and at the same time added more cooling to compensate. Question for u guys what actual things would u have liked to see here on this phone where u would be like well shit this really is for the pro…What material is the rest of the phone made of? is it rubbery like last year’s model?
- DBS: Unlike the Fold and the iPhone…at least this one does its best to justify the price tag.
It does lack ANY basic feature and it offers you more for your money than any of the others.
It also doesn’t follow stupid trends like notches and holes or under the display fingerprint scanners. If I was to spend over 1000€ on a phone, I’d way sooner spend it on this than on any Samsung or Apple device. That being said…I don’t care about the price because the phone is still way too big. Unless Sony brings back the Compact line (a proper Compact, not the Xperia 5III which is an enormous 6″+ phone), I have zero intentions of going back to using Xperias.
I loved the Z3 Compact and I still use an XZ1 Compact as a music player…but there’s no way I’m putting up with Sony’s awful version of Android unless there’s an Xperia 1III Compact or Xperia Pro-I Compact. No matter if it has the best camera on any smartphone (which this one likely has). - daftrok: This looks promising. Price is a little insane though. 1″ sensors are not that crazy expensive, it’s just rare to see on a phone. If this launched for $1000 I would be all over it.
If you have any other thoughts about Sony’s Xperia Pro-I, we’d love to hear about them in the comments.
