Sony Xperia Pro-I Smartphone With 1-inch Sensor Launched

Last Updated on October 27, 2021 by Asif Iqbal Shaik

Sony took the wraps off its latest flagship smartphone for 2021: Sony Xperia Pro-I. It crams in a huge 1-inch Exmor RS camera sensor lifted from Sony’s popular RX100 VII digital camera. Sony says it has optimised the sensor to perform efficiently in a compact smartphone. It produces 12MP images with a 2.4um pixel pitch, thanks to its large sensor and Zeiss-Tessar 24mm lens. The Xperia Pro-I’s camera also features PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus) and variable aperture, which goes from an F2.0 aperture in low-light conditions to an F4.0 aperture in bright ambient light. The Sony Xperia Pro-I will go against the top camera smartphones of 2021 like the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, and the newly-launched Google Pixel 6 Pro.

Sony Xperia Pro-I Features, Specifications

The Sony Xperia Pro-I comes in a robust-looking form factor with a metal frame, Gorilla Glass Victus at the front, and a Gorilla Glass 6 protection at the rear. The sides get a ribbed pattern for better ergonomics as this is touted as a camera-centric device. It also gets a dedicated two-stage shutter key which comes with damping for better feedback. The secondary circular button fires up the Videography Pro app. The handset boasts a 6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED screen at the front.

While the mainstay of the Sony Xperia Pro-I is its imaging capabilities, the company made sure it doesn’t miss out on the performance aspect. It is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 processor, built using Samsung’s 5nm fabrication process. It is equipped with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of inbuilt UFS storage. Unlike all other flagship smartphones nowadays, the Xperia Pro-I features a microSDXC hybrid card slot that can take up to 1TB of expandable storage.

Talking about the Sony Xperia Pro-I’s ancillary cameras, it has a 12MP 2x optical zoom, a 50mm telephoto camera (2x optical zoom with an f/2.4 are) which comes with 2X optical zoom, and OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). The third one is a 12MP ultrawide camera with a 16mm lens and an f/2.2, a 124-degree ultrawide camera, which supports Dual-Pixel PDAF. The last one is a 0.3MP ToF (Time of Flight) 3D sensor used to capture depth information. The cameras are capable of shooting 4K@120fps, 1080p@240fps, and slo-mo videos 720p@120fps. There’s a front-facing 8MP camera, which supports Full HD recording at 30fps, and gets 5-axis Gyro video stabilisation.

The Sony Xperia Pro-I comes with an IP65/68 certification for water and dust resistance. It gets stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support. Connectivity features include 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, USB Type-C port, NFC, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Sony Xperia Pro-I Price, Availability

The Sony Xperia Pro-I will be available to pre-order from October 28, 2021, in Europe, the UK, and the US. Shipping will start on December 10, 2021. It comes with a huge $1,800 (around ₹1,35,000) price tag. Sony will also sell a 3.5-inch Vlog Monitor Kit, which costs $199 (around ₹15,000).