Sony Xperia PRO-I all carriers 5G smartphone with 1-inch image sensor, triple camera array and 120Hz 6.5” 21:9 4K HDR OLED Display - XQBE62/B

After my operator decided to kill my phone by turning off 3G infrastructure I started to look at new device.I use my phone primarily as an audio player and in camera on the go in situations when I don't have DSLR with me. My requirements were:- 3.5mm jack (and good DAC chip)- Camera without pixel binning capable of shooting RAW- Good battery for a full day of useI was unpleasantly surprised how limited my choices where. After some consideration I decided to splurge and pre-ordered Sony Pro-I and I am so happy about my choice!Audio is great, I really like how my IEMs sound with this phone.Photo experience is good. I spent some time adjusting to Sony's interface (Nikon user here), but this is somewhat expected. Two step shutter button is really nice and overall, workflow is very similar to any DSLR. Active area of the sensor is less than 1 inch and smartphone lenses are obviously far behind any modern prime lens, but it is enough for a 4K monitor or medium size photo print.One thing I was really surprised is how easy is to work with Lightroom on Android. For me transition from and to desktop versions of Lightroom is smooth and painless.Fingerprint sensor (which is also on/off button) requires some accurate finger positioning, but after some time it feels natural and works well.This is definitely not the phone for everyone. But if you are looking for a smartphone with great audio and camera for situations, when backpack with DSLR is not with you then I can recommend this device for consideration.P. S. there are lot of arguments there saying that separate camera is cheaper than this phone. Well, if you need just camera, and can carry audio player, camera and phone then yes. If you have a backpack carrier with 2 year old or for some other reason don't carry Photo backpack 24/7 I would say no.Pro-I is definitely not a point and shoot camera. It is much closer to DSLR experience where you need to post-process RAW files in Lightroom or similar software. Majority of phones out there do post-processing automatically and that's why out of the box many of them look more appealing. With Pro-I you have more freedom of edit, at the expense of effort.

Good evolution of the Xperia flagship line with a few caveats. Shortened battery life was expected as a symptom of the 120hz refresh rate screen but didn't realize it was going to be this bad since I was expecting the larger battery to offset some of that. With the Xperia 1 II, I could get by with a single charge per day. With the Pro-I, it's impossible to do that and most days will require two charges. The charging is also much slower in comparison.The camera was one of the main components marketed as ground breaking by Sony. Well, it's no game changer especially at night. Subpar at best and the dynamic range isn't great either. During the day it's better but it's not a S22.Worst of all, there are no system or Google Play security updates available. The phone has been stuck on the Oct 2021 system update and June 2021 Google Play updates since I received the phone in December. Sony support has been helpful but tells me the Senior engineers confirm this is the latest version available for the phone even though their notes state otherwise. Unfortunately this item will be the deal breaker. If there is not an update before the end of January, the phone will be going back. Fundamental security issues are non-negotiable.The screen is amazing compared to my iPhone 13 Pro Max. The headphone jack and DAC sounds amazing compared to the Xperia 1 II which was horrible. Functionally, things just make much more sense on this phone and has been my daily driver since day 1. It's unfortunate Sony can't get their act together with updates. THAT should be priority 1!Edit: as of March 2nd, the phone was finally updated to Jan 2022 security updates today. Sony support has been fantastic throughout the process. Although it's unfortunate to have needed to push it along, support has been fantastic and was very much invested in getting the needed info to the engineering team.

Been using the Xperia line for years... The key thing to realize here is if you are someone who just wants touch the screen and take a picture... while it may get some really good results this might not be the phone for you... HOWEVER, anyone wanting to treat this like a small camera... Then this is the phone for you... and by that I mean... if you always shoot raw on your real camera and expect to edit it before posting or using the photo then this is for you... Lightroom Mobile is your friend here.... A more casual user can leave it in the photo pro AUTO setting and still edit great raw photos in Lightroom if one is more afraid of using the camera setting manually... If you are willing to mess with the setting you have Shutter speed Priority, Program and Manual modes to play with... as with a real camera they all have limitations so you need to play around and learn them... Being familiar with Shutter speed, ISO, Aperture, White Balance and Exposure/Exposure Compensation will all help you here... One thing that is for sure... This phone will make you a better shooter with a mirrorless camera because you learn to think about what settings you will need to make a shot happen. Best thing to do is practice with all the different settings. Video Pro app is the same way practice... Learning the right combination of things with both photo and video will get you the best results... The phone's cameras in this case are as good as the user that controls it... Which is a great thing especially when you want the picture to look a certain way... where most phones will just adjust the picture to be what it thinks you want it to be. Note 24mm is going to be your best friend... The other lenses are pretty good too but the 24mm so good. The other 2 lenses are probably on par with the Xperia 1iii maybe with some subtle improvements...