Sony Xperia 1 IV: New camera giant has a 40 MP sensor from the Huawei P30 Pro and the Sony IMX557 from the Xperia 1 II

The first reviews of the Xperia 1 IV have arrived, just over two weeks before the smartphone starts shipping in many regions. For some reason, Sony elected against providing too many details about the camera sensors in its latest flagship smartphone, despite its focus on the Xperia 1 IV's camera prowess. Thankfully, ePrice and GSMArena have delved into what camera sensors on which the Xperia 1 IV relies.

As the screenshot below shows, the Xperia 1 IV only features Sony IMX sensors. However, Sony has elected to equip the device with some older sensors, such as the IMX557 as the Xperia 1 IV's primary camera. For reference, Sony also included the IMX557 in the Xperia 1 II and the Xperia 1 III, While we imagine that Sony has made some software improvements in the last few years, it still means that the Xperia 1 II and Xperia 1 IV rely on the same 24 mm equivalent sensor with 1.8 µm pixels and a 1/1.7-inch optical format.

Additionally, HWiNFO reports that the telephoto in the Xperia 1 IV is the IMX650, a camera sensor last seen in the Huawei P30 and P30 Pro. For context, the IMX650 is a 40 MP sensor with a 1/1.7-inch optical format, not a 12 MP one that has a 1/3.5-inch format. On the one hand, HWiNFO could be reporting incorrect data, which seems unlikely. On the other hand, the Xperia 1 IV may be using a 12 MP crop of the IMX650, similar to Sony's antics with the Xperia PRO-I.

Still, Sony has also included the IMX563 as an ultra-wide-angle camera, which takes over from the IMX363 in the Xperia 1 III. Moreover, the Xperia 1 IV utilises the IMX663 as its front-facing camera, matching the Google Pixel 6 Pro. In comparison, the Xperia 1 III and Xperia PRO-I use this sensor as their telephoto camera. Furthermore, the Xperia 1 IV uses the IMX316 as its 0.3 MP ToF camera.

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