Sony have announced a new flagship smartphone Xperia 1 with the “world’s 1st” 4K HDR OLED 21:9 display in a smartphone. Sony call it a 6.5-inch CinemaWide display with a staggering 21:9 aspect ratio. The stunning display, 10bit colour support and life-like colour rendition has been achieved thanks to the Xperia 1 development and engineering team borrowing heavily from Sony’s proprietary image technologies employed in their BRAVIA range of 4K TVs, as well as the “Alpha” mirrorless and “CineAlta” digital cine camera divisions.
The smartphone business is extremely saturated, and unlike the full-frame mirrorless camera segment, which Sony dominates, when it comes to flagship smartphones they have a lot of catching up to do. And looks like with their latest Xperia 1, they are setting their eyes on content creators and more precisely those looking to get some seriously cinema-like images destined for the big screen. Or at least break the mould of how we consume media on a mobile device.
Xperia 1 is powered by the Snapdragon 855 processor and has 6GBs of RAM; internal storage is expandable to 512GB via microSD. Xperia 1 has three camera lenses with different fields of view – 16mm, 26mm and a 52mm lens. Each one has a 12MP sensor and a specially developed UI you can choose the right lens for the situation and your subject.
The Xperia 1 has some incredible technology under the hood such as being the 1st smartphone to support Eye AF with triple lens camera and up to 10 fps burst shooting with AF/AE tracking for precision focus and exposure.
Creator mode allows ITU-R BT.2020 and DCI-P3 support and 10bit colours as well as gives access to the new cinema recording function Cinema Pro “Powered by CineAlta” which gives you access to 4K HDR at 24fps as well as 8 Presets/Colour management “Looks” (one of which emulates the colour of the VENICE full-frame digital cinema camera), which can add some more “flair” to your footage and photos.
Audio functionality is given some serious boost thanks to the multi-dimensional Dolby Atmos sound for an authentic theatrical experience tuned in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Xperia 1 also lets you grab 21:9 still image off the live view or recorded clips, even with or without the “Look” colour management presets. The Xperia 1 has a unique hybrid stabilisation system running Optical SteadyShot with a unique algorithm to ensure smooth and shake-free recording.
Images by Sony
For those of you, who like to stream content from Netflix and other platforms onto a mobile device, the 21:9 CinemaWide 6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED display has certainly lots to offer and has the potential to transform what we know today as a “smartphone” into a mini movie theatre in the palm of your hand. Some may call it sacrilege (such as the legendary David Lynch), but others have different views on consuming “sacred” media such as “films” on anything else than a 30 foot white sheet reflecting a projector.
Xperia 1 delivers a cinema aspect ratio and accurate colour reproduction that films are created in, for a viewing experience that’s true to what creators envisioned.
The crazy 4K OLED display is powered by Sony’s award-winning BRAVIA TV technologies. The X1 for mobile engine brings HDR (High Dynamic Range) remastering technologies ensuring everything you watch, including streamed content, can be enjoyed with more contrast, colour and clarity.
The sleek metal frame encases durable Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on front and back, while IP65/IP68 certified water resistance guards against the elements.
Check out the official unveiling below:
The Sony Xperia 1 is scheduled for a Spring 2019 release in select markets. For more specifications and info head over to Sony.
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