The Xperia 1 IV is Sony’s latest smartphone to lure enthusiasts and is full of multimedia potential.
But when it comes to creating a phone that professionals and media types love to use, Apple is the king of the hill. Its iPhone 13 Pro Max is in the race to be named the best flagship phone on the market for its all-round excellence.
Does Sony have the key to access the same exclusive club? Let’s take a look.
Sony Xperia 1 IV vs. iPhone 13 Pro Max price and availability
Sony announced the Sony Xperia 1 IV on May 11, 2022, but the phone will not be available for purchase until June 16 in the UK and Europe and September 1 in the US. In the US, the only 512GB option will cost $ 1599; The United Kingdom and Europe will receive a 256GB model for £ 1299 / € 1399.
There is still no information on availability in Australia, but we do not expect that. Sony does not usually sell its phones in the region.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max hits stores on September 24, 2021. Prices start at $ 1,099 / £ 1,049 / AU $ 1,699 for the 128GB model; go up to $ 1,199 / £ 1,149 / AU $ 1,869 for 256GB; then up to $ 1,399 / £ 1,349 / AU $ 2,219 for 512GB; and reaches $ 1,599 / £ 1,549 / AU $ 2,569 for the new 1TB model.
Overall, this is a profit for the iPhone 13 Pro Max in terms of both price and availability.
Design of Sony Xperia 1 IV against iPhone 13 Pro Max
Sony Xperia 1 IV looks almost identical to Sony Xperia 1 III, with the same flat sides and strangely high form factor.
With the iPhone 13 Pro Max, Apple also adheres to the design language of its previous phone. Like the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the 13 has a flat stainless steel frame and equally flat front and rear surfaces.
The Sony phone measures 165 x 71 x 8.2 mm and weighs 185 grams. This makes it taller and thicker than the iPhone 13 Pro Max (160.8 x 78.1 x 7.65 mm), but also narrower and significantly lighter. There is no heavy stainless steel here.
The main reason for the height of the Sony Xperia 1 IV are the high frames of the forehead and chin. Unlike almost any other current flagship, it places its selfie camera above the screen, not in a slot on the display.
The iPhone, of course, has the mother of all the screen slots that eat at the top of the display. Apple claims to have reduced the slit size by 20%, but it is still a bit painful.
Sony always complements the edges of its phone with points of interest, which explains the physical button on the camera and the 3.5 mm headphone jack – these should appeal to photographers and audiophiles, respectively.
At the back, the iPhone 13 Pro Max organizes its camera’s sensors into a square configuration; Sony are configured in something like a vertical lozenge.
You can get Sony Xperia 1 IV in black, white or purple. The country of the iPhone has a wider range of color options: graphite, gold, silver, sierra blue and alpine green.
Both phones are suitably dust and water resistant. iPhone 13 Pro Max has an IP68 rating, while Sony Xperia 1 IV receives an even more in-depth IP68 / IP65 certification.
There is Gorilla Glass Victus, which protects the Sony screen; Apple has equipped the iPhone with its ceramic shield, which is made by embedding ceramic nanocrystals in the glass through a process of high-temperature crystallization.
Sony Xperia 1 IV display against iPhone 13 Pro Max
The Sony Xperia 1 IV comes with the same 6.5-inch 4K OLED display as the Xperia 1 III. The distinguishing part of this is the figure “4K”, which is equivalent to a huge resolution of 3840 x 1644.
In contrast, the display of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is 6.7-inch OLED with a resolution of 2778 x 1284. This is more than a match in size and vitality, but not so sharp.
This means that the Sony Xperia 1 IV is the only current flagship that can play 4K content. Obviously, this is what Sony is aiming for here, along with this 21: 9 aspect ratio and continuous canvas.
Both displays are refreshed at a maximum of 120Hz, so they are equally liquid.
Sony has increased the brightness of its display by 50%. It remains to be seen whether this will help him compete with the iPhone’s dashboard, which remains one of the best in the business.
Sony Xperia 1 IV against the camera of iPhone 13 Pro Max
Both phones feature triple 12MP cameras and both manufacturers are known for their natural color science. But that’s where the similarities end.
Apple and Sony use radically different approaches to photography. iPhone is about the experience of fire and forgetting, unencumbered by complex menus and the need to think through your own framing.
Sony’s Xperia 1 line is linked to professional-level control, with an in-depth camera app that reflects its line of high-end Alpha cameras, and a physical two-stage shutter button on the right end of the camera.
The big improvement with the Xperia 1 IV is with this telephoto system. This time you get a continuous magnification between 70 mm and 125 mm, which is approximately equal to the optical magnification, which can fall somewhere between 3.5x and 5.2x. This is the first time.
In contrast, the 3x magnification of the iPhone 13 Pro Max looks a bit tired.
However, the camera image quality of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is well recognized at the moment. This is probably the best smartphone camera system on the market right now.
This is led by a large (and wide open at f / 1.5) main sensor, which can capture some seriously impressive images in all lighting conditions, aided by an incredibly stable system to stabilize the displacement of the sensor. Even the ultra-wide can take sharp night photos this time as well.
Aside from the hardware, much of the fantastic image quality comes down to Apple’s leading image processing technology, which helps deliver excellent results with minimal involvement. Sony phones have never been able to achieve the same, although they offer unparalleled control over your photos.
Apple’s cameras have always outperformed the competition in video, but Sony is looking to make progress with the Xperia 1 IV. Sony’s latest phone captures 4K 120 frames per second recording in slow motion up to 4K / 60 frames per second on the iPhone; and Sony has also forced the Xperia 1 IV with wider dynamic range and Videoography Pro mode for live streaming.
iPhone 13 Pro Max has its own video tricks, including cinematic mode, which allows you to apply portrait bokeh effects to your shots and adjust the focus point in the post.
Both phones have 12MP selfie cameras, but the Xperia 1 IV is the larger sensor of both.
Specifications and performance of Sony Xperia 1 IV vs. iPhone 13 Pro Max
We all know the story so far. Android phones may continue to improve performance, but they still won’t keep up with Apple’s latest.
We still haven’t been able to fix the Sony Xperia 1 IV, but we can confidently tell you that it won’t be as fast as the iPhone 13 Pro Max. This is because it works with the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip that powers most of its rivals, from the Xiaomi 12 Pro to the Oppo Find X5 Pro.
And in all our tests and comparisons, these phones are ashamed of the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The key to this is Apple’s latest custom A15 Bionic chip, which is a monster.
Leaving aside the benchmarks, however, you won’t notice the performance difference between the latest iPhone and each Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phone. Both chips are much more capable than they should be for any modern task, from juggling multiple apps to gaming of high-end 3D games.
The Sony Xperia 1 IV has twice as much RAM as the iPhone 13 Pro Max, for what it’s worth (12GB vs. 6GB). However, this is not much, given the fundamental differences between the ways iOS and Android handle resources.
Apple’s device comes with many more storage options than Sony’s. You get a choice of 128, 256, 512 or 1TB, wherever you are. With the Sony Xperia 1 IV you get 256GB in the UK and Europe or 512GB in the US.
Sony Xperia 1 IV battery life vs iPhone 13 Pro Max
Sony has increased the capacity of its flagship battery to 5000 mAh. This is a healthy size for a leading Android phone and is much larger than the cell of the iPhone 13 Pro Max of 4352 mAh.
However, as we just said, iOS and Android deal with their hardware resources very differently and we hope for a rough parity between the two.
However, the Sony Xperia 1 IV will have to take the cat out of the bag to match the iPhone 13 Pro Max. With the Xperia 1 III we usually stayed about 10% in the tank at the end of a long day. With the iPhone 13 Pro Max we have one third of the tank left. We hope that the increase in capacity of Sony with brute force, along with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and software improvements, will fill this gap.
No phone is among the most impressive when it comes to charging speeds. Sony equips its latest phone with the same support for 30W cable charging as before, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max can take a similar 27W.
When rivals boast 80W, 100W and even 120W charging, these features are not very good. However, both manufacturers claim that their phones can be charged up to 50% in just 30 minutes.
No manufacturer includes a charger in the box, but at least Apple gives you a cable.
Take-out
Sony seems to have created the dream of another media enthusiast with the Sony Xperia 1 IV. It continues where the Sony Xperia 1 III stopped, with an even more flexible camera system, a brighter 4K display and shorter battery life.
It remains to be seen whether these updates are enough to close the 1-point difference difference between its predecessor and the iPhone 13 Pro Max. We were seriously impressed with Apple’s latest for its superb shooting and forgetting camera, excellent battery life and unmatched performance.
One thing seems certain – Sony will always take the place of a certain type of fan, obsessed with serious photography, sound accuracy and proper video playback. But can this time mix it with the iPhone in the mass stream?
https://www.techradar.com/news/iphone-13-pro-max-vs-sony-xperia-1-iv-which-flagship-phone-is-the-real-pros-choice/
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8964133/acastro_170731_1777_0006_v1.jpg "Two more executives are leaving Apple")
