Sony today presented its two new bets to continue waging war in the smartphone segment. His new Sony Xperia 1 IV is accompanied by a somewhat more modest version, the Sony Xperia 10 IV.
The firm has given little technical details about the camera, and instead focuses on the weight of the device. Even with a 5,000 mAh battery, the terminal weighs 161 grams. The claim doesn't seem like enough when you take a look at the rest of the specifications.
Sony Xperia 10 IV data sheet
Sony Xperia 10 IV
Screen
6 inch 21:9 OLED
Triluminos
Gorilla Glass Victus
Processor
Snapdragon 695 5G
Memory
6GB
Storage
128GB
Rear Cameras
Triple, with OIS on the main sensor
Frontal camera
8MP
Sound
360 RealityAudio
DSS Ultimate
High Res Audio
Headphone jack
Waterproof
IP65/68
Battery
5,000mAh
Operating system
Android 12
Dimensions and weight
153 x 67 x 8.3mm
161g
Price
€499
Sony cares about weight
The Sony terminal is located in an ambitious mid-range, at least for the price of the device: its 499 euros should raise a much more ambitious bet in many sections, and especially in the cameras.
However, Sony hardly offers technical information about the three cameras that make up its system on the back. The firm does speak of an automatic HDR in low light, an improved night mode with improved noise reduction and a digital zoom that is also apparently promising, but all of this will have to be validated with its own tests.
Meanwhile, what we do not know is the resolution or aperture of its sensors, something that would at least allow us to have a first reference. We do know that the front camera is 8 Mpixels and that it has the help of artificial intelligence algorithms to improve selfies.
The 6-inch screen without a notch or hole for the camera has a 21:9 format, but Sony does not specify if the refresh rate is higher than 60 Hz —which suggests that it is not— nor other options such as its brightness, although they claim to be 15% brighter than their previous devices. We do know that it is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus glass, and that the mobile has IP68 resistance.
The 5,000 mAh battery does have a curious option: Xperia Adaptive Charging technology that minimizes battery degradation "even after three years of use," they say at Sony. This technology monitors the state of the battery during charging to ensure that it is not supplying more than adequate power at any given time.
The Sony Xperia 10 IV supports Hig-Resolution Audio even with wireless headphones, and has a 3.5mm headphone jack. The LDAC codec used allows three times more data to be transmitted than conventional Bluetooth audio, which improves sound quality.
The commitment in the field of audio is completed with the support of DSS Ultimate —which improves sound quality through artificial intelligence— and with 360 Reality Audio technology that is used in services such as Amazon Music, Deezer or Tidal.
The terminal seems like a minimal evolution from last year's model: there is a slight improvement in the battery and in the processor, but there is hardly any gain in sections such as weight (the Xperia 10 III weighed 169 grams). It remains to be seen whether those improvements can convince buyers, especially considering that the segment is closer than ever.
Price and availability of the Sony Xperia 10 IV
The new Sony Xperia 10 IV will be available from mid-June 2022, and will be priced at 499 euros.
