Bizarre Xperia 1 V rumor claims irregular camera setup for Sony's 2023 flagship as lower price point is also predicted

Every now and again a tidbit of information about a Sony Xperia 1 V emerges, and, of course, it pays to take a pinch of salt with every one of these rumor snippets. Two of the latest claims about the Xperia 1 V have focused on the camera setup and potential starting price for the premium device. There have been rumors reported about the Xperia 1 V cameras in the past, and it appears this new claim follows on from recent news suggesting the phone will have enhanced primary sensors.

An unverified source on Weibo (via Reddit) has offered up a statement about the Mark 5 variant of the Sony Xperia 1 that can be machine-translated as follows: “the next generation of Xperia may have more front cameras and fewer rear cameras”. It’s as typically vague as the majority of Weibo-sourced leaks get, but it has been opined by another source that the “more front cameras” actually points to the rumored front-facing “ultra-micro-hole” camera array that has been previously discussed.

But this statement could also mean that the Xperia 1 V is going to be lumbered with a dual selfie camera (possibly like the Galaxy Z Fold4 or OPPO Reno3 Pro) while having its triple-camera system on the rear reduced to a beefed-up dual-lens setup. In a separate post, a user on Esato has suggested that Sony might plump for a lower pricing strategy for the 2023 Xperia 1, with “various factors” allowing the company to cut the price tag a little.

At the moment, the Sony Xperia 1 IV is priced at a hefty US$1,599.99 in the company’s official US store, and price tags for the Xperia 1 range have witnessed some eye-watering rises over the lifetime of the series. If Sony released an Xperia 1 V at a “cut-price” level of around US$1,200-1,300, the phone would still be classified as a premium device but coming at a more competitive point, which the Japanese company should consider with the Galaxy S23 series looking strong for the first half of next year and a potential USB-C iPhone 15 waiting in the wings for late 2023.

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