Sony unveils camera-centric flagship Xperia PRO-I series phone

As advertised, Sony on Tuesday (October 26) unveiled the new flagship Xperia PRO-I series camera smartphone in Japan.

Sony Xperia PRO-I (meaning Imaging) boasts a 1.0-inch main 12MP sensor, which houses a 24mm glass lens and supports Hybrid OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation)/EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation). The company says that the big primary sensor is same 1.0-type Exmor RS sensor used in award-winning RX100 VII camera and it is well optimized for smartphone. Add to that, it features ZEISS Tessar Optics with T anti-reflective coating.

It also supports variable apertures ranging from f/2.0 to f/4.0. With this, users can capture images with shallowest depth of field while taking portrait to sharpest pictures with details on HDR. It is backed by 16mm ultrawide 12MP camera (with 1/2.5-inch Exmor RS for mobile sensor, 124-degree field-of-view) and a 50mm 12MP telephoto camera (with Exmor RS sensor, 1/2.9-inch lens,, f/2.4 , 48-degree FoV) backed by 3D iToF (intelligent Time-of-Flight) sensor, Real-Time Eye AF (Human, Animal), Real-Time Tracking, CineAlta Cinematography Pro, Videography Pro, Intelligent wind filter, Optical SteadyShot with FlawlessEye, SteadyShot with Intelligent Active Mode (5-axis stabilization).

The new Xperia PRO-I series phone. Credit: Sony

The new Xperia PRO-I promises to take the best possible pictures in low light conditions. It is backed by a BIONZ X imaging processor for mobile and a front-end LSI for clear and noise-free images particularly while shooting in the dark.

Also, The Xperia PRO-I supports high frame-rate internal 4K movie recording at up to 120fps, and for smooth, expressive slow-motion playback at up to 5x and support Slowmotion with 720p at 120fps.

On the front, it features an 8MP camera with a 1/4-inch sensor, f/2.0, and supports a 78-degree field-of-view. It also supports HDR photo, SteadyShot with Intelligent Active Mode (5-axis stabilization), portrait selfie, display flash, and hand gesture.

Sony Xperia PRO-I is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and the company has incorporated the Corning Gorilla Glass 6 shield on the back. Also, the device comes with IP65/68 water-and-dust resistant rating.

It features a 6.5-inch 4K (1644x3840p) OLED HDR Display with a 21:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, and X1 display technology for mobile.

Other notable aspects of the new Sony phone include Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 octa-core processor with 12GB RAM and Android 11 OS. Given the fact it is targeting amateur and professional photographers, Xperia PRO-I comes with a massive 512GB storage, and users can add extra storage up to 1TB via a microSD card.

It houses a 4,500mAh battery, which is more than enough to keep the phone running for a whole day under normal usage. It also comes with a 30W charger in-box and it charge the device from zero to 50 per cent in just 30 minutes.

Sony Xperia PRO-I costs $1,799.99 (roughly Rs 1,34,913) and will be initially available in US, UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Nordic regions in December. Interested customers can pre-order on the Sony website from October 28 onwards.

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