Serious About Tech

Where we get serious about technology in news, reviews, and discussions.

Sony’s tall Xperia phones & Nokia 9 Pureview – Episode 18


Sony Xperia 1

Cinematic video is often shot in 21:9, but does that mean we need smartphones which can natively view such content? Sony seems to think so since they released their Sony Xperia 1, 10, and 10 Plus smartphones with 21:9 ratio displays.

The Xperia 1 is their flagship offering, with a 6.5″ OLED 4K display, 6GB of RAM, 64 or 128GB of storage with a microSD card slot, and the Snapdragon 855 processor, but misses the 3.5mm headphone jack. It has 3 rear cameras, each having a 12MP resolution, but three different types: normal, ultra-wide, and telephoto. Sony’s flagships are always very powerful with top-of-the-line specs.

The Sony Xperia 1 will be available for purchase later this month. While price isn’t known yet, it will probably be around $1,000.

Sony Xperia 1, 10, and 10 Plus
Image – Sony Xperia 1 & 10 and 10 Plus

Sony Xperia 10 and 10 Plus

Sony’s “mid-range” phones this year are the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus. The 10 Plus has a 6.5″ 1080p display, 4GB of RAM, Snapdragon 636, and 64GB of storage. This phone has a 12MP normal camera on the back, along with an 8MP telephoto sensor. They both have the same 8MP front-facing camera found on the Xperia L3. The Xperia 10 has a 6″ 1080p screen, 3GB of RAM, Snapdragon 630, and 64GB of storage. The 13MP camera on the 10 is accompanied by a 5MP depth sensor. Both phones have a USB-C port, run Android 9 Pie, and a headphone jack, just like the Xperia 1. The Xperia 10 is $349 and the 10 Plus is $429.

 

Sony Xperia L3 smartphone with 18 to 9 ratio display and silver and gold coloring on back
Image – Sony Xperia L3

Sony Xperia L3

Also on Sony’s roster is the Xperia L3, a low-end phone. It has a 5.7″ display with a 720p resolution and a ration of 18:9, not as wide as its siblings. The Xperia L3 sports a MediaTek Helio P22 processor and 3GB of RAM with 32GB of storage expandable with microSD. The L3 flaunts Android 8.0 Oreo, a 13MP back camera and 8MP front sensor, and the same headphone jack and USB-C port of its siblings. It has a 3300mah battery, bigger than the ones in the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus. The L3 will cost $200, similar to the Moto G7 Play I discussed two episodes ago.

 

The Nokia 9 Pureview smartphone
Image – Nokia 9 Pureview

Nokia 9 Pureview

How many cameras do you need in your smartphone? Well, HMD Global, owner of the Nokia brand, created the Nokia 9 Pureview, a premium smartphone with 5 cameras on the back. All of these cameras have the 12MP resolution and specs, but 3 of them are monochrome (black-and-white) while 2 are color. These changes to the camera are claimed to give extra dynamic range, detail, and depth-of-field.

Besides the cameras, the Nokia 9 Pureview also has flagship specs. It comes with last year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and 6GB of RAM with 128GB of storage and no microSD card slot. It sports a 5.99″ 1440p display and Android 9 Pie.

The Nokia 9 Pureview is available at B&H, Best Buy, and Amazon for $599 (Price will jump back to the MSRP of $699).

Poll: which of the phones mentioned this episode do you like best?

Poll results from last episode

Which phone from MWC do you like best? - poll results from episode 17 show that the LG V50 and Huawei Mate X each received 50% of the votes.


Support us on Patreon

Serious About Tech is viewer and reader-supported by people like you. You can support our work on Patreon by giving us a dollar or 2 or 5 on our Patreon page. In return, you will get access to exclusive content like bloopers, and merch to spread the word about Serious About Tech.

Sign Up Today