Sony Xperia 1 II gets more expensive, ships July 24th for $1199 with a big problem
by Jared Peters
We’ve been pretty curious about the launch details of the Sony Xperia 1 II since it was announced. Sony didn’t say much, and the phone seemed to totally fall off the radar nearly immediately.
The good news is we’ve got a date now, but the bad news is Sony is doubling down on unnecessarily expensive price tags.
Sony Xperia 1 II launch pricing
The phone itself will be shipping in the US on July 24th, which is still about two months off. Sony says it’ll cost you an eye-watering $1199, which sits right next to Samsung’s Galaxy S20 and somehow manages to cost $100 more than an Apple iPhone 11 Pro. That seems to be the trend for flagship Android phones these days, but it’s hard to imagine Sony being the one to pull it off.
If you pre-order by June 28th, you’ll get a free set of Sony WF-1000XM3 noise canceling earbuds, though. So that’s something.
What does your $1199 get you? The Xperia 1 II packs a triple camera system with quite a bit of Sony technology built in. Intelligent eye-tracking, 20fps burst mode, and Pro modes, which are nice. There’s a Snapdragon 865 CPU, a 6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED display, a 4000mAh battery, wireless charging, and an endangered 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s loaded, except for the middle-of-the-road battery, and one key catch with 5G.
Keep this in mind, because the 5G in the phone doesn’t work in the US. Yes, you’re paying for an expensive Snapdragon 865 phone that’s only going to be using 4G networks in the US. It’s fine in Europe, but for whatever reason Sony doesn’t think that’s necessary for the US where 5G is becoming more and more prevalent.
I’m no fortune teller, but shipping a non-5G phone for $1200 in the middle of a pandemic just sounds like you’re intentionally going up the creek without a paddle.
// Sony