Last week we told you that B&H was taking pre-orders for the unlocked Sony Xperia 1 II (pronounced One Mark Two) at a price of $1,198. B&H quickly stopped the pre-order process and took down the listing as those enamored with the handset's 4K screen and photography features hoped that the pricing was mistakenly too high. Sony today officially confirmed the phone's release date and MSRP of the Xperia 1 II which stands at $1,199.99; pre-orders will begin on June 1st. Those who reserve a unit by July 28th will receive a free pair of Sony's noise-canceling WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds, a $230 value.

The Sony Xperia 1 II will be released on July 24th

The Sony Xperia 1 II is equipped with a 6.5-inch AMOLED display with a 4K resolution (1644 x 3840) and a 21:9 aspect ratio. This means that the screen will be tall and thin and will deliver an improved viewing experience for those who enjoy streaming video content. It also allows the Multi-window feature to divide the screen into two sections for browsing and watching videos at the same time. The phone features stereo speakers in front and it does come with a 3.5mm headphone jack. It also offers a wider field-of-view for mobile games. Speaking of mobile games, the phone connects to the PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 Wireless Controller, and motion blur reduction technology provides smoother gameplay. In addition the Game Enhancer mode optimizes the performance of the processor while "Competition Set" pins a game to the screen. This turns the device into a dedicated game-playing machine making it ideal to use for ESports.


The 7nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform is under the hood delivering a 25% improvement in CPU and GPU performance over Sony's previous flagship model. The phone comes with 8GB of memory and 256 GB of expandable storage. The microSD slot can expand the user's storage capabilities by up to 1TB (with a microSD card, of course). The triple camera setup on the back includes a 12MP primary camera, a 12MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a time-of-flight depth sensor. There is also an 8MP front-facing punch-hole selfie snapper. Sony has been releasing videos that show off some of the phone's features for taking photographs and recording movies.

The Xperia 1 II is equipped with a 4000mAh battery that supports fast charge and can be replenished to 50% in just 30 minutes. The phone also is compatible with a Qi wireless charging pad. Battery Care uses AI to remember when a user normally takes his phone off the charger and will wait until just before that time to bring the charge to 100%; this reduces the trickle charge that is usually needed to keep the battery at 100% until you are ready to use the phone for the day. Reducing the use of trickle charging can extend the longevity of a phone's battery.

With an IP65/68 rating, the Xperia 1 II is protected from both low-pressure water sprays and submersion up to nearly 5-feet. The phone comes unlocked in Black with Android 10 pre-installed and is compatible with U.S. carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket, and MetroPCS. The device will ship starting on July 24th from Sony authorized resellers.

Sony says, "Whether users are listening to music or watching movies, Xperia 1 II is finely tuned for an immaculate entertainment experience. Motion blur reduction technology is equivalent to that of a 90Hz display and reduces frame lag for a clearer image quality. It also features Dolby Atmos sound, tuned in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment, to deliver a multi-dimensional surround sound experience. Drawing on Sony’s expertise both in audio hardware and music entertainment, Xperia 1 II has been engineered to deliver a truly authentic listening experience with the audio tuned in collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment."