Sony Xperia 1 II 256GB Smartphone (Unlocked) 5G

First up I have to confess I am not a person who walks around with a mobile phone glued to my hand, I see them a great distraction on public transport, a nice time filler when waiting on something else and the modern Walkman. :)Firstly let me be clear Im not one of those people who walks aorund with a phone in their hand all day, I really use them for when on public transport or filling time before I do something else. Its first cosideration for me is to use it as a modern day Walkman. Then an access to the internet. Lastly a text messenger.Apparently they can be used for phonecalls too ;)My last phone was a Sony too, I have to admit Im a huge fan of the brand, I have a Sony Playstation, a Sony Bravia TV, a Sony NWZ mp3 player, plus headphones and yes also a ... MoreFirst up I have to confess I am not a person who walks around with a mobile phone glued to my hand, I see them a great distraction on public transport, a nice time filler when waiting on something else and the modern Walkman. :)Firstly let me be clear Im not one of those people who walks aorund with a phone in their hand all day, I really use them for when on public transport or filling time before I do something else. Its first cosideration for me is to use it as a modern day Walkman. Then an access to the internet. Lastly a text messenger.Apparently they can be used for phonecalls too ;)My last phone was a Sony too, I have to admit Im a huge fan of the brand, I have a Sony Playstation, a Sony Bravia TV, a Sony NWZ mp3 player, plus headphones and yes also a (playstation) T-shirt :DThe Xperia 1ii is primarily, for me, a music player and I only really listen with headphones on. Unfortunately the 1ii isnt any sort of improvement on the first Sony phone I owned, an Xperia xz, it has a far bigger memory - a mighty 256gb!- so no need for an SD card for all my FLAC tracks. The issue is there just isnt any real options for playing music on this phone. Its Dolby Atmos on or Off and DSEE on or off. Gone are the presets of previous Sony products like Studio, Arena, Live etc There is a Graphic Equaliser but it doesnt seem to actually do much and if you turn off Dolby Atmos the Equaliser is automatically greyed out.DSEE isnt really noticeable either. Im pairing this phone with wired headphones from AKG, Sennheiser, RHA and of course Sony's own, through each of these its barely perceptible that the few options do anything more than a slight change in volume.I get better from FLAC files in my old Xperia xz than its latest incarnation.Volume too is an issue, it simply isnt loud enough for me, Sony seem to have become paranoid about this EU ruling about headphone volumes, it something that exists on the original Xperia, both phones have the pop up asking if you really want to go louder and then not actually going much louder. Ive not experienced this issue with other mp3 players, just the ones that Sony make, in dark corners of the web stories exist about being able to get more volume by changing settings in the Firmware but Im not confident about going there. Hopefully it something Sony can sort with an update for the UK when we finally leave the EU later this year.So for music Im afraid I go back to an ipod.There are of course so many more features to this phone the multi window is an interesting feature, though I still find its easier just to slide left and right to look at instructions on one page and then swipe left to input on another, but I think thats more a habit thing and Im going to persevere with using the 21:9 in the hope of really grasping its benefits.The screen itself is huge. While this means its not fitting in any pockets of my summer clothes securely, it does mean that viewing games and tv are brilliant. The screen is a thing of beauty, having never understood why people would want to watch anything on a small phone screen, the Xperia 1ii has converted me with its punchy crisp imaging it really is fantastic, I actually look forward to watching things of a special effects nature on this and can see myself watching video on long journeys, rather than just using it to play music.There has been no overheating issues, though when trying the pre installed Call Of Duty it was getting hotter. I should admit though that by this time I had purchased a wallet for my 1ii and it maybe that the overheating is due to both the demands of a game like COD and the fact it sits inside a leather wallet. As Im more of a Solitaire man I decided not to push my new phone in this area again, but with music blasting away in my headphones and Solitaire on my screen, hours went by without any noticable heat issues.Which kind of brings me to battery life, the old Sony I had become very good at guzzling the battery juice, it was becoming the main force in making me consider getting a new phone. Granted its few years old now, but I had always used the Sony Battery Care option and regularly used the preinstalled AVG to shutdown battery drainers that werent used. The 1ii still has the Battery care, but theres no AVG or similar, the battery at the moment is substantial. On all day, numerous phonecalls, mindless moments lost of Facebook and news apps, still enough juice to give me 3 hours of music in my wired headphones and not even drop below 50%!A a side note, a fully charged battery doesnt make a sound different from other notifications, or at least I cant figure out how to set it up that way, again my old xperia had a special sound for letting you know it had fully charged, this is more a nuisance than a major issue, but its kind of annoying constantly going over to check if its finished charging or just telling me something else.Obviously there is a whole world to do with the camera and video recording, to be honest its not something I have any real interest in, about 5 years ago tech had got to the point that photo taking was as good as it needed to be for me, since then Ive kind of smiled and nodded along politely when friends start talking about there new phone and its camera, my friends have said they think the 1ii has an amazing camera, though what else they said I didnt hear, I just nodded along until they had finished, but apparently its like good, like really really good. So there. lolLastly a note for left handers, there is a button on the lower right of the phone that opens the camera app directly, with the 1ii I am constantly holding the phone in myright hand and typing with my left when my right palm nudges that button and the screen is taken over by the camera settings. The weird thing is that as I put my old Xperia xz away for the last time, I noticed that it actually has the same button in its bottom right, yet I had never even noticed it in all these years. So Im assuming its something to do with the larger size of screen with the 1ii, thats causing me to hold the phone too tightly or slightly differently and so trigger it accidentally. I am trying to be conscious of this whenever im typing, but Im hoping theres a way to just turn that button off permanently.All in Im okay, with this phone, there are lot of features I will never use and more I will struggle to get the best out of, but I know its in the top of its range for everything, except the Music Player, which Sony seem to have done as an after thought. Of all the people to get this so wrong, I would never have thought it could be Sony.

First set up on June 17th when I activated my new 3 account. The transfer of the data from my current smartphone was no problem at all courtesy of my Google account and as I was planned to use the two phones side by side for comparison, I de-selected my two regular VOIP apps so as not to confuse me and other long-distant members of my family. Although my sim included the 5G capability to match the X1’s specification the network availability in our area is virtually none existent and I have not been able to review the X1’s performance. It worked equally as well with my favourite Spotify streamed tracks although I am not convinced that “Dynamic Vibration” adds much to my listening pleasure.The sizing of the X1 proved easy to fit into pockets and other regular ... MoreFirst set up on June 17th when I activated my new 3 account. The transfer of the data from my current smartphone was no problem at all courtesy of my Google account and as I was planned to use the two phones side by side for comparison, I de-selected my two regular VOIP apps so as not to confuse me and other long-distant members of my family. Although my sim included the 5G capability to match the X1’s specification the network availability in our area is virtually none existent and I have not been able to review the X1’s performance. It worked equally as well with my favourite Spotify streamed tracks although I am not convinced that “Dynamic Vibration” adds much to my listening pleasure.The sizing of the X1 proved easy to fit into pockets and other regular storage places especially the car and when I used it to view my regular Netflix sessions I was very impressed with the quality of the 4K OLED display and the sound thru the speakers or headphones was exceptional too. I have yet to acquire an approved Sony glass screen protector or cover with a stand facility as I do not want to compromise any functionality by using “none brand” substitutes.I use my Outlook account a lot on the move and I soon fell in love with X1’s keyboard which seemed so much easier and smoother to use and the screen clarity was a bonus too. One small bonus is the very easy way to capture a screen shot compared with the competition of have I to press two side buttons simultaneously. I also like the finger print sensor function as it keeps the screen cleaner yet still maintains maximum security. I am still learning to fully utilise the novel two screens feature but I can see in the work environment this could prove invaluable.I know the phone has outstanding features but I am afraid I am at an age my gaming is limited to Solitaire so I must “pass” on those features. Where I am realising the X1 has great potential for me is in the use of the camera for stills or video. The simple experiments I have carried out so far show the quality and potential of this outstanding package. I am a committed phone-photographer and the X1 does not disappoint and I am looking forward to exploring more of the extensive still and video enhancements Cinema and Camera Pro. Whilst recording a short video in the garden a low flying jet passed over head and the sound pick up of the microphone was accurate.I am a committed Android fan and this phone will only enhance that. The Sony crisp and speedy Android adaptions have confirmed this and when going back to use my old “big brand” smartphone I am already noticing some of the X1 features and benefits are missing.

I have been using the Sony XPERIA 1ii for about a month now, although I am not a technical person when it comes to using a mobile phone I do have an amateur passion for photography, I am using the Sony A9 move from the A77ii to the A7iii and then to the A9.For me a phone as a means of communicating are all much the same, so that means that a new phone is bought for one of two reasons the first is to have the latest model and if you fall into this category you will not be disappointed with the Sony XPERIA 1iiThe second reason is to have a better platform to accomplish certain things be it photography or gaming,etc. for me I was looking for a phone that would enhance my photography experience.Have I found that tool in the Sony XPERIA 1ii well the short answer is ... MoreI have been using the Sony XPERIA 1ii for about a month now, although I am not a technical person when it comes to using a mobile phone I do have an amateur passion for photography, I am using the Sony A9 move from the A77ii to the A7iii and then to the A9.For me a phone as a means of communicating are all much the same, so that means that a new phone is bought for one of two reasons the first is to have the latest model and if you fall into this category you will not be disappointed with the Sony XPERIA 1iiThe second reason is to have a better platform to accomplish certain things be it photography or gaming,etc. for me I was looking for a phone that would enhance my photography experience.Have I found that tool in the Sony XPERIA 1ii well the short answer is Yes, but am I blown away by the performance No, but this is because I am comparing it to my A9 camera which I should not, I am not a video shooter, so the videos I have taken with the Sony XPERIA 1ii are very good and the sound is clear the wind noise cancellation is good as well, the Camera in still mode is a very capable function but the point and shoot person may be a little disappointed as most point and shoot people are in to selfies and that camera is not the best but you are not likely going to print the selfies so this may not be a problem.But the main camera is capable of producing some very good photos but to achieve this you are going to have to use the Sony photo app and this requires a small learning curve, but once mastered you should not be disappointed.If you own a Sony E mount camera there is great communication between the phone and camera and for me this is by far the best reason to own this phone.To summarise, this phone is a very capable and fast, the screen is superb the battery life is also good, lasting between a day and a half & 4,5, or more if just used as a sat-nav and phone in the car, I am not able to say how good this phone is for gaming as I don’t play game at all.As a camera it is not good enough to replace my A9, but the A9 sets a very high bar, but I think it is very capable of doing a very good job, the video side I think will be a good thing to add extra content when I am out with the camera.What is missing from the camera is the ability to edit photos in the camera before uploading, but the way the phone and camera are able to communicate with each other is also a winner for me.Is this phone worth its asking price, that is a personal thing that only you can decide, but for me I think it is a little expensive for my needs but only time will tell?