Sony Xperia 1 II review: specs, battery & used prices

Summary

The Sony Xperia 1 II is a 2020 flagship on the Snapdragon 865, with a 6.5-inch 60 Hz OLED, a 4000 mAh battery with 21 W charging, and an IP68 body at 181 grams. Our catalog scores it 91 on compactness, with the 8/256 GB trim listed new near $1200 and a single used example around $399. A triple rear array of three 12-megapixel modules with optical stabilization records 4K60 video. The Sony Xperia 1 III is the successor, and the Sony Xperia 1 VIII carries the line today.

Display and design

The 6.5-inch tall-format OLED refreshes at 60 Hz with peak brightness listed at 580 nits in our records, and the cinema-style aspect was the line's signature for media without notches. The 181-gram IP68 glass-and-metal body is slim and balanced, and our compactness score of 91 makes it one of the easiest flagship slabs to hold of its year. The 60 Hz refresh was the dated compromise even at launch.

Performance

The Snapdragon 865 earns an everyday axis of 66 and a gaming axis of 18 in our model: everyday speed remains serviceable for 2020-class apps, while the 4000 mAh cell and heat envelope cap long sessions. Tracked trims carry 8 to 12 GB of RAM. Our records do not list a software window for this model.

Camera

Three 12-megapixel modules with optical stabilization cover main, ultrawide and telephoto duties, recording up to 4K60, with the line's photography-oriented manual controls. The camera axis of 32 reads modest today: the three-module optics delivered natural color and a genuinely useful telephoto range, but processing consistency and low light trail later flagships clearly.

Battery and charging

The 4000 mAh battery scores 20 on our battery axis, the smallest cell in this wave, a full day only at light use, and the 21 W charger scores 3 in our records, meaning refills approaching two hours. Endurance and refill are the dated parts of the package. Carrying a top-up bank was part of the ownership experience.

Verdict

The Xperia 1 II is the media-and-photography purist flagship of 2020 at about $399 used per our single tracked listing, a third of its launch price: the tall OLED, the balanced 181-gram IP68 body and the triple stabilized camera remain its character. The 60 Hz screen, the small battery and the slow refill are the dated trade. It fits media lovers and Sony loyalists, with the Xperia 1 III as the next step of the line.