It's now been over a year since the Sony Xperia 10 III was released, and Sony has recently announced their MK IV line-up of Sony devices. So far, this consists of the Sony Xperia 1 IV and Sony Xperia 10 IV, and whilst there's no mention of a Sony Xperia 5 IV just yet, we wouldn't give up hope of it making an appearance later this year, but that's for another blog. Today is all about the new Sony Xperia 10 IV.
Now, while Sony's mobile division is more commonly known for its high-end flagship devices and their cameras, Sony's Xperia 10 IV is their affordable alternative to the flagship behemoths and gives average consumers like ourselves the chance to enter the Sony mobile ecosystem without breaking the bank.
Last year's Sony Xperia 10 III launched at £399, but Sony has now raised the price of the Sony Xperia 10 IV, as it's going to now set you back £429. This is a lot less than the £200 increase we've seen between the Sony Xperia 1 III and Sony Xperia 1 IV, but it's still an increase nonetheless for an entry-level phone. So, what has Sony given us this year with the Xperia 10 IV and why has it gone up in price?
Design & Display
The Sony Xperia 10 IV is housed in an almost identical body to its predecessor, with a few minor tweaks. Sony has decided to abandon the Google assistant button on the Sony Xperia 10 IV that was previously seen on its predecessor. We have to say, this is probably a smart move as many fans were left disappointed that they weren't able to re-purpose this button into a shutter capture button, similar to what's seen on the Sony Xperia 1 IV. This, coupled with the fact that Google's voice assistant has seen a steady decrease in users over the past couple of years, is a good indicator as to why Sony has taken this approach. Many of the design elements, as we said, are identical on both models, such as the 6-inch OLED display, a 21:9 aspect ratio (which has become an expectation with Sony devices now), and of course Sony's glorious headphone jack and speaker system.
A double-edged sword with this device is its glass. The Sony Xperia 10 IV is housed in a plastic frame, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus which is a step up from its predecessor, Gorilla Glass 6. The double-edged sword is that the Sony Xperia 10 IV has a matte plastic back, which is a downgrade since the Sony Xperia 10 III came with both glass on the front and the rear. This made for a more premium feel to the device, all at a lower price point! Besides this, the only key thing to note is that the Sony Xperia 10 IV still retains the same side-mounted fingerprint sensor as we've seen on previous models. It's interesting to see that Sony has decided to keep the fingerprint sensor rather than make the switch to facial biometrics. However, if you're a die-hard iPhone 7 fan like I am, you'll come to appreciate the haptic feedback of a fingerprint unlock much more than a facial scan.
Camera & Hardware
As expected the crossover elements from the body of the Sony Xperia 10 IV carry over to its camera setup. The Sony Xperia 10 IV features the same camera specs on paper as the last generation: a 12MP wide-angle lens, an 8MP telephoto lens and an 8MP ultrawide lens. The key differences between these two cameras are in the AI implementations. This year, the Sony Xperia 10 IV has a significant amount of OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) improvement in the main sensor. What's more, Sony has claimed to have made improvements to the selfie camera image quality as well as improved digital zoom and to top this all off, many sources are claiming a major boost in low-light shooting.
Remarkably, Sony has decided to remove any 4K shooting capabilities, which were a feature of previous models. Whilst it's not too clear why they've gone for this approach, our best guess is that they'd like to start reserving 4K shooting for the Xperia 5 and Xperia 1 models only, compelling users to pick one of their mid-range handsets. While this approach makes sense within the Sony ecosystem, it's a questionable decision in the wider scope of things considering most, if not all competitors in the mid-range handset bracket support 4K video, including the Samsung Galaxy A53 which is over £200 cheaper than the Sony Xperia 10 IV. Nevertheless, Sony still prides itself on its one-of-a-kind DSLR-like camera experience and that is something we can't ignore.
Battery
The battery tech on the Sony Xperia 10 IV has seen a considerable upgrade to 5000mAh over the Sony Xperia 10 III 4500mAh battery. This coupled with Sony's 21W fast charging is going to ensure the Sony Xperia 10 IV can get through a full day of usage with ease. In the GSM Arena battery endurance testing, this device managed to get 163 hours which is quite a jump over the Sony Xperia 10 III's 137-hour rating.
All in all, the Sony Xperia 10 IV is a brilliant device! Sony has built on an already solid Sony Xperia 10 III, to bring us a handset with a larger battery, faster chip, and tougher chassis. While there are areas that may dissatisfy a lot of Sony fans, it shouldn't detract from the fact that the Sony Xperia 10 IV is a truly impressive device that photo enthusiasts should come to love. Let us know your thoughts on the Sony Xperia 10 IV in the discussion section below.
