Sony Xperia 1 II, is anyone else excited about it?

[bhatech]

Am I the only one excited for the Sony phone? The camera looks promising and I'm tempted to get back to Sony. It pretty much has everything and high refresh rate is the only thing missing which I don't see that much of a difference between all my phones. So not a deal breaker for me. No 5G in US sucks if you plan to keep the phone for long.

But I'm kind of excited about this, as usual Sony announcement, pre order, release etc is all so messed up. Pre order opens up June 1st and releases July 24th

I'm considering to place a pre order and anyway have couple of months to decide if I want to cancel or not

 

[RaRa85]

Nope I'm extremely excited about it as well. So much so that I'm considering buying it outright which is something I never do for a smartphone. So far seems to be the unicorn device for me in terms of design, hardware features, and camera system. Just about everything I complained about that Sony was failing at they actually sat down and corrected. The Alpha team working with the mobile division is the dream come true. And the fact that they separated the apps means you're not forced to use them. I have long complained about manufacturers including pro mode but only allowing you to select the main lens only or both the main and ultrawide but never the telephoto. And third party apps on Android never give you that selection. Even Sony was guilty of this in the past. So finally we get a little longer zoom lens and the ability to select it in the camera pro app. I can't wait to use this. Don't really care about the lack of 5G as I'm not really sure it will benefit me on the way I use my phones(mainly the camera and YouTube) anyway. The headphone jack is no where near LG V60 territory which is ok for me since they at least brought it back. 256gb of storage and micro SD expandable. That is just insane. And surprisingly you can fill up 256gb if you shoot a lot of high quality video which I did on my 256gb OnePlus 7 Pro using Filmic Pro a lot. I'm gonna pre-order and if I see any glaring faults from reviews, I'll cancel but from what I've seen from early hands on, I don't think that will happen. I mean just look at these early samples. I'm really hoping the shipping date is just a placeholder as a last resort and they actually ship faster cause it's pretty much been half a year already Sony. Get the dang phone in people's hands already.

https://youtu.be/U3Lc4oF7LGw

 

[bhatech]

Nope I'm extremely excited about it as well. So much so that I'm considering buying it outright which is something I never do for a smartphone.

Nice !!! For me it's the opposite. I only consider devices that I can buy non carrier without any carrier involvement. One reason why I didn't even consider V60. No non carrier official version in the US then no buy from me. Same applies to Motorola Edge+ and any other phone that has carrier only version. I may be in the very small percentage but I'm not even going to touch carrier branded version even if they give me free


Also, I don't think they will release it early. Sony is known to have long pre order and releasing phone after announcing months before. So not really surprised pre order on June 1st and release on July 24th.

 

[B. Diddy]

The name reminds me of the old HTC One Mini 2. I really wish tech companies would stop calling their stuff "One," because it leads to either confusing or silly naming conventions with further iterations.

The phone itself looks good, but Sony's market share is virtually nonexistent in the US nowadays (just like HTC), so it's unlikely we'll see much of it around here. I wonder what software support will be like -- Sony used to have a poor record of updates, and then they suddenly picked up their game.

 

[Grabber5.0]

I'm excited to see it, but unless there are some great deals, I won't be buying it. Phone prices have just gotten out of hand.

 

[RaRa85]

Nice !!! For me it's the opposite. I only consider devices that I can buy non carrier without any carrier involvement. One reason why I didn't even consider V60. No non carrier official version in the US then no buy from me. Same applies to Motorola Edge+ and any other phone that has carrier only version. I may be in the very small percentage but I'm not even going to touch carrier branded version even if they give me free


Also, I don't think they will release it early. Sony is known to have long pre order and releasing phone after announcing months before. So not really surprised pre order on June 1st and release on July 24th.

Yeah I don't have anything against carriers so I don't really mind. The reason I buy from carriers and not outright is a simple fundamental truth for me:there are way more important things I could spend my money on than a smartphone. In fact I'm only considering buying it now cause for once in a long time I'm able to afford to buy it without worrying about any other responsibilities. If I do end up buying it I know I still have some extra money for anything else that comes up and that gives me a little peace about spending my money. As a father that's more important to me and usually why I stick with the carrier model. I can hardly notice $33-37/month but $1200 all at once, yeah I might notice that.lol But I'm blessed this year so we'll see. If I end up going forward with this purchase, this will be it for at least two years. At least. I've been looking for a phone that ticks all the boxes for a long time and the V60 came oh so close but ended up returning it. I think the Xperia 1 ii could really fill that role for two to three years. I also think about the current condition of the world and if I'll really be able to use this phone the way I want to which is outside making and capturing memories with my kids who matter the most to me. How will things be going forward? When will be able to take a trip next? Those questions play a role in making a decision as well. But I'm still putting in my pre-order.

 

[bhatech]

Yeah I don't have anything against carriers so I don't really mind. The reason I buy from carriers and not outright is a simple fundamental truth for me:there are way more important things I could spend my money on than a smartphone. In fact I'm only considering buying it now cause for once in a long time I'm able to afford to buy it without worrying about any other responsibilities. If I do end up buying it I know I still have some extra money for anything else that comes up and that gives me a little peace about spending my money. As a father that's more important to me and usually why I stick with the carrier model. I can hardly notice $33-37/month but $1200 all at once, yeah I might notice that.lol But I'm blessed this year so we'll see. If I end up going forward with this purchase, this will be it for at least two years. At least. I've been looking for a phone that ticks all the boxes for a long time and the V60 came oh so close but ended up returning it. I think the Xperia 1 ii could really fill that role for two to three years. I also think about the current condition of the world and if I'll really be able to use this phone the way I want to which is outside making and capturing memories with my kids who matter the most to me. How will things be going forward? When will be able to take a trip next? Those questions play a role in making a decision as well. But I'm still putting in my pre-order.

Yeah for sure, Sony generally isn't planning to sell many devices. For whatever few thousands they will sell the want to have a good profit margin. In terms of value this is definitely not it.

Just FYI, this is a common trick and works work with Amazon gift bundles. Amazon usually charges separately for the phone and free gifts when they ship. Meaning you can return the free Sony wireless earbuds and get back the cost of that. I have done that every time with Amazon and doing the same for this as well since I have many earbuds with me already and the price will be $1199 - $250 ( or whatever that buds cost) + tax. With Amazon store card I get 5% off on Amazon orders as well. So overall it'll end up being closer to $1000 instead of $1320 after tax.

So buying from Amazon US is better than buying from best buy or B&H

 

[RaRa85]

Oh yeah ok I like that. Thanks for the tip. I will be looking into that. But if the US version comes with the over the ear headphones, I'm definitely keeping them and selling my Audio Technicas.

 

[bhatech]

Oh yeah ok I like that. Thanks for the tip. I will be looking into that. But if the US version comes with the over the ear headphones, I'm definitely keeping them and selling my Audio Technicas.

They come with Sony WF-1000XM3 noise cancelling wireless in-ear buds as part of the pre order promo, not the over the ear ones.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T81554...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU6796843

 

[Mike Dee]

They come with Sony WF-1000XM3 noise cancelling wireless in-ear buds as part of the pre order promo, not the over the ear ones.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T81554...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU6796853

Interesting.... Unbox Therapy stated they came with the over the ear headphones at around 59 seconds in his review

https://youtu.be/LvttOM9-dqA

 

[bhatech]

Interesting.... Unbox Therapy stated they came with the over the ear headphones at around 59 seconds in his review

https://youtu.be/LvttOM9-dqA

He misspoke or has no clue which isn't surprising .. What he showed was the current ones he was having. And he thought the Xperia 1 II also comes with that. Last year Xperia 1 pre orders came with them so that probably confused him a bit. Generally the YouTubers aren't going to dig too much into price, promos etc since they get free stuff and don't care about the finer details

"Sony’s new flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1 II (pronounced “mark two”), will ship in the US starting July 24th for $1,199, the company announced. Pre-orders start on June 1st. And if you pre-order by June 28th, you’ll get a free pair of Sony WF-1000XM3 noise canceling earbuds."

Sony issued a release to all the bloggers and pretty much every tech site confirmed that they come with WF-1000XM3 earbuds.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/24/21268097/sonys-xperia-1-ii-ships-july-24th-1199-us-united-states

https://www.xda-developers.com/sony...pricey-1200-with-free-wf-1000xm3-earbuds/amp/

You can also go look at the B&H photo listing with the free earbuds.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...tml/BI/20079/KBID/13844/SID/UUacUvbUpU6796864

 

[Mike Dee]

He misspoke or has no clue which isn't surprising .. What he showed was the current ones he was having. And he thought the Xperia 1 II also comes with that. Last year Xperia 1 pre orders came with them so that probably confused him a bit. Generally the YouTubers aren't going to dig too much into price, promos etc since they get free stuff and don't care about the finer details

"Sony’s new flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1 II (pronounced “mark two”), will ship in the US starting July 24th for $1,199, the company announced. Pre-orders start on June 1st. And if you pre-order by June 28th, you’ll get a free pair of Sony WF-1000XM3 noise canceling earbuds."

Sony issued a release to all the bloggers and pretty much every tech site confirmed that they come with WF-1000XM3 earbuds.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/24/21268097/sonys-xperia-1-ii-ships-july-24th-1199-us-united-states

https://www.xda-developers.com/sony...pricey-1200-with-free-wf-1000xm3-earbuds/amp/

You can also go look at the B&H photo listing with the free earbuds.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...tml/BI/20079/KBID/13844/SID/UUacUvbUpU6796882

I didn't doubt you, just found it interesting that Lew got that wrong.
The ear buds are also great except they lack the Sony proprietary LDAC protocol which I think was to conserve the battery.

 

[bhatech]

I didn't doubt you, just found it interesting that Lew got that wrong.
The ear buds are also great except they lack the Sony proprietary LDAC protocol which I think was to conserve the battery.

Yeah the earbuds have great reviews in terms of sound quality. Definitely a good pre order bonus for someone looking for a great pair of earbuds. But personally with so many earbuds lying around it's nice I can send them back to Amazon and get the discount on phone instead. It's good option via Amazon if I decide to pull the trigger since I rather pay reduced price for the phone instead of phone plus buds.

Also, since the phone has headphone jack may be I can take out my wired headphones to listen for a change

 

[Mike Dee]

Yeah the earbuds have great reviews in terms of sound quality. Definitely a good pre order bonus for someone looking for a great pair of earbuds. But personally with so many earbuds lying around it's nice I can send them back to Amazon and get the discount on phone instead. It's good option via Amazon if I decide to pull the trigger since I rather pay reduced price for the phone instead of phone plus buds.

Also, since the phone has headphone jack may be I can take out my wired headphones to listen for a change

I assume that phone is not Verizon friendly.

Edit....it appears Verizon sells Sony so I guess it's compatible. I wonder if the advanced calling features will work on unlocked model

 

[bhatech]

I assume that phone is not Verizon friendly

It will most likely work as LTE only device like the OnePlus 7/8 pro if you enable them as CDMA less device. But yeah they won't have any carrier related feature like WiFi calling, VoLTE, CDMA or 5G support.

They do list on their website that it supports LTE on most US carriers.

Networks

2GGSM GPRS/EDGE (Bands 850, 900, 1800, 1900)

3GUMTS HSPA+ (Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19)

4GLTE Cat19/Cat13 (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66) / LTE 6CA/2CA (Supports carrier service on Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Cricket Wireless, and MetroPCS.)

5GBands n1, n3, n28, n7726, n78

 

[Mike Dee]

It will most likely work as LTE only device like the OnePlus 7/8 pro if you enable them as CDMA less device. But yeah they won't have any carrier related feature like WiFi calling, VoLTE, CDMA or 5G support.

They do list on their website that it supports LTE on most US carriers.

Networks

2GGSM GPRS/EDGE (Bands 850, 900, 1800, 1900)

3GUMTS HSPA+ (Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19)

4GLTE Cat19/Cat13 (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66) / LTE 6CA/2CA (Supports carrier service on Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Cricket Wireless, and MetroPCS.)

5GBands n1, n3, n28, n7726, n78

I thought that since they sell a Verizon version of the previous Xperia they might

 

[RaRa85]

They come with Sony WF-1000XM3 noise cancelling wireless in-ear buds as part of the pre order promo, not the over the ear ones.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T81554...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU6797058

Oh yeah I can get a refund back for those then. I have never had any luck with any in-style buds outside of the ones with the Apple shape.

 

[Mike Dee]

Oh yeah I can get a refund back for those then. I have never had any luck with any in-style buds outside of the ones with the Apple shape.

So are you thinking this is the camera to end all cameras? I do like Sony products and I hate that the company that used to be number 1 in all things electronic has never really gotten their smartphones off the ground.

 

[RaRa85]

So are you thinking this is the camera to end all cameras? I do like Sony products and I hate that the company that used to be number 1 in all things electronic has never really gotten their smartphones off the ground.

I know from a feature and layout standpoint, this is absolutely it. The fact that their Alpha division collaborated with the mobile team which is something I have wanted for so long has happened has me excited. I just need to see some real extensive camera samples before I make a decision but the 70mm lens used on the Xperia 1 ii is one of the best focal lengths for portraits IMO. That's a mode I used a lot with my kids when we went out when I had my OnePlus 7 Pro and it had a similar focal length. The programmable focus racking is mouth watering. The flip side is that even the Pixel 3a has been serving me well in the meantime and with the Pixel 5 on the horizon for much less, it gives me something to think about. But this really is like my dream device on paper so I'll wait and see.

 

[Mike Dee]

I know from a feature and layout standpoint, this is absolutely it. The fact that their Alpha division collaborated with the mobile team which is something I have wanted for so long has happened. I just need to see some real extensive camera samples before I make a decision but the 70mm lens used on the Xperia 1 ii is one of the best focal lengths for portraits IMO. That's a mode I used a lot with my kids when we went out. The programmable focus racking is mouth watering. The flip side is that even the Pixel 3a has been serving me well in the meantime and with the Pixel 5 on the horizon for much less, it gives me something to think about. But this really is like my dream device on paper so I'll wait and see.

I'm a big Sony Camera fan. I have a DSLR but I don't remember the model number. It was one of the last ones before they added video. I also have NEX6 and a pocket camera. Love the NEX 6 because most venues don't know it has a removable lens. I was going to a concert once and someone questioned the chrome ring but I bluffed her. I have to get a new battery for it.