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Sony Xperia Pro-I debuts with a big main camera and a price tag to match
June 13, 2025
Sony‘s pretty adept at crafting compact yet capable mirrorless cameras. It’s not too bad at making smartphones either. So effectively, it would be a shrewd idea to meld the two into one device, right? That’s seemingly what the company’s new Xperia Pro-I is.
The Sony Xperia Pro-I isn’t a direct successor of theoriginal Xperia Pro, which debuted earlier this year. Instead of packing an HDMI out port that few seemingly embraced, the Xperia Pro-I brings in a 1-inch primary camera sensor that dominates the phone’s rear plate. It sits behind a 24mm lens which can shoot at f/2.0 and f/4.0. It’s by no means the first 1-inch camera phone we’ve seen out in the wild, but it might be more accessible to most than the Sharp Aquos R6, or Leica’s Leitz Phone 1.
Sony’s claiming a laundry list of advantages using such a large sensor, too. Less low light noise, more bokeh, autofocus that covers “90% of the frame,” and suppressed rolling-shutter effect while snapping moving objects. In terms of video, the Sony Xperia Pro-I can shoot 4K at 120fps with HDR and employs optical image stabilization throughout. There’s a vlogger mode, too, which includes object tracking up to 120fps in 4K and eye-focus smarts within video modes. Sony’s also pushing a shooting grip accessory and a vlog monitor (see below).
Sony Xperia Pro-I: Hot or not?
Beyond the primary sensor, Sony’s tacking two additional sensors to the Xperia Pro-I. A 12MP 1/2.9-inch sensor sits behind a 50mm f/2.4 lens for portraiture, while an additional 12MP 1/2.5-inch sensor is used with a 16mm f/2.2 lens for ultra-wide shots. Notably, there’s no long-reaching telephoto camera here which might be a disappointing omission for some. An 8MP selfie camera is positioned within the top bezel up front.
See also:The best camera phones
Sony Xperia Pro-I specs
In terms of core specs, the Sony Xperia Pro-I is primarily based on the Xperia 1 III. It uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 SoC as a base with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS storage alongside. Also, dual-SIM slots with a shared microSD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack feature.
The familiar 6.5-inch 4K OLED display can be found up front, with a 3,840 x 1,644 resolution. A 240Hz touch sampling rate joins its 120Hz refresh rate, and it also packs 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut. Powering all this is a 4,500mAh battery which tops up at 30W via USB-C.
Other niceties include Bluetooth 5.2 support, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, NFC, a dedicated camera shutter button, a camera strap mounting loop, and Gorilla Glass Victus slathered across the display. “Full-stage” stereo speakers also feature alongside support for Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format.
Sony Xperia Pro-I pricing and availability
While Sony’s previous Pro smartphone packed key features only a tiny portion of the population would use, its real issue was its price. At$2,500, it was far too expensive to make an impact on the market. Sony’s seemingly learned from its mistakes this time around.
The Sony Xperia Pro-I is much more accessible albeit still pricey. It will retail in the US for ~$1,800. That’s still a pretty penny for a smartphone and puts it well intofoldable territory. Pre-orders begin on October 28, while shipping commences in December.
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