The Sony Xperia Thread

flazio · 14-04-2021 5:59pm #1

You know, individual threads for Sony Xperia phones never seem to get much traction here so you know what, with three new devices announced today. Let's launch a catch all thread for all comments questions and news about all Sony Xperia products. (Knowing my luck they'll go the way of LG by the end of the year.)

So, today Sony announced three new phones.
Xperia 1iii
Xperia 10iii
and the unexpected 5iii
(the 'i's are roman numerals and are known as 'Marks' so basically we are onto the "mark threes)

Full rundown of what each phone is packing is available at all the usual websites like this one for example.

https://www.pocket-lint.com/phones/news/sony-mobile/155785-sony-xperia-1-iii-release-date-rumours-features-specs-price

Sony make very good products. I just suspect that because of who they are and what the make elsewhere, people expect more of that great tech in their phones.

billbond4 · 17-04-2021 10:00pm

Yeah the 5iii was a surprise, I have the 5ii and it has great battery so bigger battery and better camera in the 5iii looks like a nice upgrade.

flazio · 28-04-2021 6:21pm

Making money. Always a good sign.

https://www.xperiablog.net/2021/04/28/sonys-smartphone-business-reports-first-profit-in-years/?amp=1

flazio · 06-05-2021 5:13pm

The Xperia Pro, once exclusive to Japan and the US is making its way to select European markets.
If you are looking for a cheap high end phone, this most certainly is not it. Not by a long shot.
https://www.xperiablog.net/2021/05/06/xperia-pro-gets-an-unexpected-european-launch/?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true

Tree · 15-05-2021 1:01am

Anyone know what's the deal w/ dual sim Xperia 1 ii not being available in Europe? Are they reliable enough to pick up non-EU models from reselllers without warranty?

billbond4 · 11-06-2021 9:39pm

Tree wrote: »

Anyone know what's the deal w/ dual sim Xperia 1 ii not being available in Europe? Are they reliable enough to pick up non-EU models from reselllers without warranty?

Operators don't want people using dual sim phones as it undercuts their price reduction on phones

Gremlinertia · 11-06-2021 9:45pm

Been a sony phone devotee for many years. Mostly prepay bought in store, my latest one (2 years old i think) is an xperia z5, bought online, now looking to upgrade, battery and OS both don't meet my requirements anymore so thanks to OP for starting the thread

flazio · 11-06-2021 10:52pm

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Been a sony phone devotee for many years. Mostly prepay bought in store, my latest one (2 years old i think) is an xperia z5, bought online, now looking to upgrade, battery and OS both don't meet my requirements anymore so thanks to OP for starting the thread

I think the Z5 is about 5 years old at this stage, it's what I had before the XZ2. The Xperia range consists of the 1 range, the tall flagships with a pricetag well north of €1000, the 5 range which are a little smaller, a little less speced but still above mid range, coming in around €700 to €900, the 10 range which are right in the mid range €200 to €300. This, in my opinion, is where Sony are falling down because plenty of Chinese makers are getting better specs out at this price range.
Finally there's the budget L range, again there's nothing stand out about Sonys entry into this range.
When it comes to electronics, like phones, headphones, speakers, watches etc, Sony are always the first brand I consider, but not always the brand I go for. For example, I want to get wireless ear phones soon and the new Google Pixel Buds A seems good value at €99. Doesn’t look like Sony has a direct competitor. The latest set of buds are getting good reviews but come with a €200+ price tag.

flazio · 22-06-2021 4:57pm

Prime day deals Xperia 5ii down to €641.92
With call of duty points and a mount for a game pad.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B093XTLXWZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_0BWJ70AWRRQEGHHJ861K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

youcancallmeal · 22-06-2021 5:14pm

flazio wrote: »

Prime day deals Xperia 5ii down to €641.92
With call of duty points and a mount for a game pad.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B093XTLXWZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_0BWJ70AWRRQEGHHJ861K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Gas it was around the same price last year during the Black Friday deals and came with free Sony headphones(the noise cancelling ear ones). Wish I got it then but bottled it at the last minute for some reason

billbond4 · 02-07-2021 5:43pm

Xperia 1iii for August 19 release and 5iii for September

SmithJames84 · 11-08-2021 10:19pm

any idea which networks will be offering the xperia1 iii ?

flazio · 12-08-2021 12:20am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117740257#Comment_117740257

The only Sony phones listed on any network are the L4 and the 5ii on vodafone. I think Three might have had the mark 1 xperia1 in the past but nothing advertised at the minute. Customer importing seems to be the way to go now.

SmithJames84 · 12-08-2021 1:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117740764#Comment_117740764

That sucks.

Rket4000 · 12-08-2021 6:12pm

Sometimes when a new model is issued, one network will have exclusivity for the 1st 6 months but they often don't announce it or have it on offer until very close to the launch date.

flazio · 12-10-2021 6:09pm

Unexpected product announcement incoming.

https://www.xperiablog.net/2021/10/12/sony-teases-new-xperia-product-announcement-on-26-october/?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true

flazio · 25-10-2021 12:24pm

https://twitter.com/XperiaBlog/status/1452595763620495362?t=9ngRDYkamH0zxz-nFqkLSQ&s=19

I think it's going to be an over expensive flop unfortunately.

flazio · 26-10-2021 9:18am

OK, the official launch has happened it's called the Xperia Pro-I (that's "eye" rather than "Mark 1") and it's marketing itself as the ultimate camera phone. GSM Arena can go through the specs better than I can but needless to say this quite a niche market Sony are aiming at, doubt we'll get any Pixel 6 Pro orders cancelled. It's starting at €1800 for the phone, which is cheaper than the original Pro, but if you add on accessories like the front facing vlog monitor you get past the €2K threshold. In summary, not for me but maybe some more keen amateur photographers would be tempted.

https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_proi_brings_10inch_sensor_with_variable_f_2040_aperture_for_1800-news-51572.php

Poochie05 · 16-11-2021 7:41pm

Hi folks, another Sony phone fan here.

I’m looking for a 5ii, anyone seen any decent Black Friday deals from reputable suppliers?

flazio · 28-02-2022 10:00am

Leak renders of the 1 mark 4 coming out.... and I don't see anything different.

https://twitter.com/OnLeaks/status/1498192186709524482?t=wDKnvY02owFbDbHeoQXZAQ&s=09

flazio · 14-03-2022 6:01pm

Android 12 incoming to my Xperia 5ii right now 🙂

Gremlinertia · 14-03-2022 6:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118784463#Comment_118784463

Do you have that on bill pay? If so, with who? I'm currently considering my next move and bill pay seems a must now.

flazio · 14-03-2022 7:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118784573#Comment_118784573

Upgrade with Vodafone November 2020. Sadly no longer available and no networks are carrying any of the Mark iii models and when you select Ireland on the Sony website the phone section contains out of date information on the Mark ii ranges. Sony appear to have quietly snuck out of the Irish market for the time being. So while I remain a big fan of what are still excellent phones, I'd be hard pushed to recommend anyone buying one at the moment. If the Mark ivs aren't easily available in UK/Ireland spec come November, I reckon I could be switching to Pixel. Silly as it may sound, I'm not too keen to support Chinese brands at the moment and I like staying near stock android.

billbond4 · 15-03-2022 6:31pm

Yip, the Android 12 upgrade on the Xperia 5ii is a nice improvement.

Sony has exited a few European countries temporarily, and i wonder will they return to them due to stock not going to Russia

Rket4000 · 17-03-2022 12:41am

The only thing I've noticed from the upgrade that I don't like is that the "screen shot" option is gone when you press the power button.

It's a shame that Sony are gone from Ireland - I've had at least 4 Xperia phones and don't know where I'll go the next time.

flazio · 17-03-2022 9:46am

Screen shot is now down and power together. The new version of one handed mode is the big disappointment for me. Instead of shrinking the screen towards your thumb they now scroll the top of the screen down to the bottom.

Full run through here.

https://youtu.be/MQ8UPTiMFao

Rket4000 · 17-03-2022 11:43pm

Very useful. Thank you.

flazio · 27-04-2022 1:51pm

New phone launch, Monday 11th of May at 8am Irish time. Expected to be the Xperia 1 mark IV.

https://twitter.com/sonyxperia/status/1519230395363037184?t=tVBMICcegpwPNMajRrq8_Q&s=19

flazio · 11-05-2022 5:18pm

OK so the 11th is a Wednesday not a Monday 😳 as it is today. Best person to pre review it is one of the biggest tech YouTube channels at the moment.

https://youtu.be/otcZMrWQKSE

rizzee · 28-05-2022 11:28pm

Anyone using the 1ii? Picked one up today, it hadn't been used since January and it was only a month old at that stage. It had 6 updates to install which took quite a while (Android 12, few security patches, play store updates etc)

After this I set it up the way I wanted it and charged it up to 100%, its now on 94% after messing around with it a little more and says "about 6 hours 14mins remaining ". Surely that can't be right? Is this a known issue? Have the standard dark mode, reduces brightness, location off and other caveats... I'll stick it on DND and see what it's like in the morning. Doesn't look good?

Edit - all good - messed around last night and just left overnight (4% drain overnight). 78% now and 1day17hrs.

enough_about_me · 10-06-2022 1:18pm

Hi,

I use an old Xperia and want to replace it. I want an FM radio that doesn't need a data connection - does anyone know if FM radio can be enabled in the Xperia 10 iii or Xperia 10 iv sold in this region? There's a *#*#6484#*#* hack that seems to work on some phones (maybe Xiaomi only?) even when FM isn't enabled out of the box

If not, is there another region that I can buy for an Xperia 10 iii or 10 iv that will work here (voice calls and 3G / 4G here on our bands etc.)?

Thanks for any info.

flazio · 10-06-2022 1:57pm

The hardware for FM radios hasn't been on Sony phones since the Z range. Once the XZ range stopped putting headphone jacks on the devices, there was no means of putting an FM antenna on the device. Although the current 1,5 and 10 ranges put it back. The hardware wasn't put back.

enough_about_me · 10-06-2022 3:15pm

Ah, thanks for that reply, I didn't expect to read that it isn't in the hardware. Some regions must have it though, or maybe GSM Arena is wrong.

I can't post links yet, so I've had to truncate these at the start: GSM Arena says both 10 iii and 10 iv have FM radio region dependent...

gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_10_iii-10698.php

gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_10_iv-11522.php

... so I expected that the functionality was built in (to one of the Qualcomm 6350 / 6375 chipset's LTE modems) and just not enabled in Ireland / EU by default. Since the 10 iii and 10 iv have headphone jacks I expect that the headphones would act as antannae if either had FM radio.

Do you reckon GMS Arena have made a small mistake there? It would be a pity if they did :-(

youcancallmeal · 16-06-2022 1:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119184329#Comment_119184329

No mistake, the FM functionality is limited to certain regions like Japan. Only way to get it on a device bought in the EU would be to flash firmware from a region that has it. There is a lot of downsides to doing that though

Caranica · 02-07-2022 8:18pm

I have a 10 and a 10ii. The original 10 has a FM radio, the 10ii doesn't. Both have headphone jacks. The ii was advertised as having a radio on Amazon Spain (where I bought it) but it definitely doesn't so not expecting it on the iii.

flazio · 25-08-2022 11:17am

New product launch on September 1st. Likely to be the Xperia 5 iv.

Not holding much hope it's going to be marketed to Irish consumers. Only "Very" are carrying any Sony phones and they are way over RRP. Not available on any carrier contracts.

https://m.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_5_iv_launching_on_september_1-news-55527.php

flazio · 14-10-2022 6:54pm

Well, the end of the Vodafone contract that saw me get the Xperia 5ii on upgrade is coming up next month, and although Vodafone did offer me an early upgrade a month ago I haven't bitten yet as 1, probably better to go monthly rolling and buy the phone unlocked at retail and 2, I thought I'd hold out for a while and see if the 5iv becomes available without importing from the continent. Obviously the UK is out because of the Boris Brexit Bonus Customs charges for everything coming from there. But in general, not only are Sony phones harder to buy, it's near impossible to get accessories such as cases for them as companies have stopped making them. Early on in my 5II ownership I managed to drop my phone from toilet bowl height to a hard floor and crack the screen, took over a month and €250 to get repaired as both a repair shop and the replacement part were hard to find. It was wearing the official Sony phone cover which consists of a sheet of plastic covering the back, holding on at the 4 corners. That's it. Thankfully Spigen had a much more rugged rubber cover available which the phone went straight into once repairs were completed.

It's not looking good for Sony availability. None of the carriers offered the Mark IIIs. Go to the Sony website on Irish location setting and under mobile there's nothing except a link that brings you to the UK site for the mark iv range. It's a shame because I've been using the range since the last Ericsson collaboration, the Xperia S (branded as Sony alone but still had plenty of Ericsson touches). You'd think that now chargers aren't bundled anymore, the fact the manufacturers don't have to worry about how many 3 pin UK / Ireland or a continental 2 pin plug packs they have to make would make them easier to introduce back into smaller markets.

The over €1000 RRP is also putting me off. Had a network offered the phone in or around €500 on a €40pm contract for 24 months I'd consider it but 1K is a threshold I don't want to cross.

I'm not in a huge hurry to change, the 5ii is working pretty well, but once Android 13 becomes more widespread (doesn't look like the 5ii is getting that upgrade but who knows) then it looks like Pixel is about to get a new customer next year.

flazio · 11-02-2023 6:33pm

Looking at the sites and I spotted that Harvey Norman and Refurbbed.ie are selling the mark iv ranges. At €1040 for the 5iv you'd want to be some dedicated idiot to pick this over phones like the Pixel and the like. <sheepishly raises hand>

flazio · 20-02-2023 11:26pm

So, an update none of you asked for but here it comes anyway. Set on buying the Xperia 5iv and narrowed it down to refurbbed.ie and Harvey Norman who had a phone online each for around €1040. However refurb had the price including delivery and HN didn't and it pushed the price up to over €1050 so refurb wins, also bought the same style of Spigen case as what I have on the 5ii because it has definitely saved that phone on occasion of some hard knocks. PayPal done, phone ordered, happy out. Only when the German company refurb were using sent an invoice on Monday morning (phone ordered previous Friday) did I spot my error. It wasn't a 5iv I had just ordered, it was the 1iv. Now ordinarily you might think this would be like getting a pixel pro for the standard Pixel price, happy accident but the size of the 5 series suits me better than the 1 so I have reluctantly sent it back.

Waiting for the refund to PayPal then it's hopefully over to HN.

flazio · 27-04-2023 12:05pm

New phone announcement on the 11th of May.

Not so subtle hint it's going to be the Xperia 1 V.

https://twitter.com/sonyxperia/status/1651497401071419395?t=P6tx5tgp8pEs5wUU5t8-Ww&s=19

billbond4 · 11-05-2023 5:10pm

Saw Low light camera samples with the new senor, looks to be a very good improvement

But its a pity they didnt introduce the matrix camera for selfies, maybe that will be added to the 5V

flazio · 12-05-2023 5:46am

The 10V finally brings in stereo speakers, but lacks a fast refresh rate.

Tough market but looks to have good specs.

https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_10_v_in_for_review-news-58529.php

moonboy52 · 18-11-2023 6:39pm

Hello Xperia owners.

Thinking about picking up a 10 V to replace a Pixel 3aXL. (it is 309 on Amazon UK at the minute)

Does anyone know if Vodafone supports VoLTE.

From a search another user on Boards stated "WiFi Calling and VoLTE need to use operator specific servers called IMS (IP Multimedia Service)"

As no operator sells the Xperia 10V here from what i can see, my guess it will not be supported?

flazio · 19-11-2023 12:48am

I had the Xperia 5ii on Vodafone and I got WiFi calling just fine. I've since migrated to 48 with an Xperia 5iv and it's a no go there. I think that's more on 48s side then Sony

Harvey Norman stock Sony phones as far as I know.

moonboy52 · 19-11-2023 2:58pm

Thank you for the reply flazio. Appreciate it.

Ordered the 10 V from Amazon Germany last night for around 290.

There are faster phones out there and some have a longer update schedule, but the Sony has its place i feel.

Battery life and a lovely selection of bluetooth codecs, SD card and headphone jack won the day. Plus basically stock Android and the ability to limit the charge to 80%

flazio · 16-05-2024 12:56pm

The mark vi (6) of the Xperia 1 and the Xperia 10 were announced this week. The 10 joins the 5 series in dropping a camera and the 1 gets a new wider slightly shorter form. €1399 for the Xperia 1vi and about €400 for the 10vi. Seen on sale from Harvey Norman and Amazon with free Bluetooth headphones thrown in.

By the way since my post above, switched to GoMo and WiFi calling is back in action (on a 5iv). I suspect 48 now support WiFi calling as well since they launched 5g coverage.