Sony Xperia 1 IV rumour points to a better camera, but one major downgrade

A new rumour indicates that the Sony Xperia 1 IV will receive an upgraded camera, but there’s also a potentially disappointing downgrade on the cards too.

According to a source on the Chinese social network Weibo, the Sony Xperia 1IV will have a new and improved front-facing camera, but it’s also likely not to have a charger included in the box.

As reported by NoteBook Check, the upcoming Sony flagship will apparently be treated to a new 12-megapixel selfie camera, an upgrade over the 8-megapixel sensor that is currently used by the Sony Xperia 1 III. This is inline with previous rumours that we have come across, which indicated that improvements would also be made to the main and ultrawide sensors on the rear of the phone.

This seems to confirm that Sony is planning a serious overhaul of its photography system, and we certainly hope that lowlight shooting quality is improved this time around, as that was one area where the Xperia 1 III fell down in comparison to its rivals.

However, the downside to this latest leak is that the new phone will apparently not have a charging brick packaged in with the device. This news is hardly that surprising given the direction of modern smartphones, as the iPhone 13 series and Samsung Galaxy S22 series also lack this accessory, but it may mean that you’ll have to shell out a bit more money above the asking price in order to get the most out of the new phone’s charging capabilities.

In defence of this decision, manufacturers often cite the fact that this measure does prevent more tech wastage, thus being better for the environment; however, unless there’s a price cut too then consumers will likely feel that they’re getting less value for their money.

According to rumours that have already circulated, additional improvements to the new model are likely to be found to the processer (which is set to be a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1), and the battery (which could be boosted to 5,000mAh and supported by 45W fast-charging).

The Sony Xperia 1 IV could be announced as early as this very month, so we may not have to wait long before we can prove the veracity of all these early rumours.