Sony Xperia 1 II gets release date and absurdly high price - Android

Sony's latest phone is packing some nice specs, but it comes with a price that'll scare most buyers away.

Sony has announced the price and release date for its upcoming Sony Xperia 1 II (or Mark 2) flagship. The device is set to go up for preorder on June 1 and ship to buyers on July 24.

Sony Xperia 1 II price and release date

While nothing is surprising about the release window for the phone, the thing that made us do a double-take is the price. Sony announced that the phone would retail for $1,199.99. That’s a $200 jump from the original Sony Xperia 1, which launched with a $999 price tag.

Perhaps in an attempt to justify the price, Sony is offering anyone who preorders the phone by June 28 a pair of Sony WF-1000XM3 headphones. Those are one of the best pairs of headphones on the market, rivaling the Bose QC 35 II. However, with Sony gearing up to launch the Sony WF-1000XM4 headphones, it appears to be more of an effort to get rid of an older model.

The latest announcement from the company confirmed the Sony Xperia 1 II specs we already knew. It’ll come equipped with 5G support thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset, 8GB RAM, and 256GB of internal storage. It’ll feature a 4,000mAh battery, which is 700mAh more than the previous version of the device. Overall, the phone is right where we’d expect it to be for a modern flagship, but they don’t do enough to justify the Sony Xperia 1 II’s $1,199.99 price tag.

The big thing that makes the Sony Xperia 1 II stand out from the crowd (other than the high price) is its camera. It’s not the best on the market, but it comes with some new features that make it a worthy contender. Specifically, Sony highlighted is the inclusion of 20fps continuous shooting capability, which is a feature no other smartphone has offered previously. This could be a big deal for anyone looking to capture photos of moving subjects, as it makes it easier to get multiple photos in a short timespan.

	Sony Xperia 1 II
Display	6.5-inch HDR OLED 3,840 x 1,644 resolution (4K) 643ppi Motion blur reduction (90Hz equivalent) 21:9 aspect ratio Corning Gorilla Glass 6
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 7nm+ process Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585)
GPU	Adreno 650
RAM	8GB
Storage	256GB
Cameras	Rear cameras - Ultra-wide: 12MP sensor, 16mm, f/2.2 aperture, Dual PDAF - Wide: 12MP sensor, 24mm, f/1.7 aperture, Dual PDAF, OIS - Telephoto: 12MP sensor, 70mm, f/2.4 aperture, PDAF, OIS - Depth sensor: 3D iTOF Front camera: 8MP sensor
Audio	Headphone jack Dual stereo front speakers 360 Reality Audio DSEE upscaling
Battery	4,000mAh 21W USB-PD wired charging 15W wireless charging
IP rating	IP65/68
Connectivity	5G, sub-6GHz
Software	Android 10
Dimensions and weight	166 x 72 x 7.9mm 181g
Colors	Black, Purple

It’ll be interesting to see how buyers react to Sony’s price choice. The Sony Xperia 1 II is shaping up to be a really solid phone, but with such a high price tag, it’s entering the market in a valley that it will need to work hard to climb out of.