Sony's Award-winning Xperia 1 II is one of the best phones we've tested this year, and it's now discounted by more than a quarter. You can now pick it up for just £699 (opens in new tab) – a discount of £400.
That's a lot of money off, especially for a premium smartphone. It's still more expensive than some, but none at this price can match its stellar AV performance.
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The Sony Xperia 1 II won a What Hi-Fi? Award for best smartphone. That's thanks to its focus on audio and visual performance – no other phone this year is made with music and movies so strongly in mind.
Let's start with the visual side of things. That 6.5in screen has an aspect ratio of 21:9, which means you can enjoy visual content as the creators intended, rather than trimming it down to fit the screen. And if you’d rather ‘zoom to fit’, a touch of the button delivers that wish.
Let the picture do the talking and you’ll enjoy pin sharp images that are beautifully realistic and full of detail. Sony has no time for lurid colours and over-cooked contrast and instead simply reveals an extra layer of realism and insight compared with even the best Android smartphones.
All told, the 1644 x 3840 4K pixel resolution successfully sets this Sony phone apart from the crowd in more ways than simply size, providing video that is beautifully clear, precise and watchable.
So what of the audio? For starters, there's a headphone jack, which is something of a rarity on smartphones nowadays, especially high-end models. But if you do want to listen wirelessly, audio quality isn't compromised thanks to Sony’s LDAC technology, which allows for hi-res audio transmission and maximises performance over Bluetooth.
You’re treated to more space around sounds, solid but tuneful bass notes, well-rounded voices and enviable insight. Whether loud or quiet, there’s detail and accuracy. And, in the spirit of the company’s hi-res music players, the better quality your audio, the more you’ll get out of the phone.
And with Sony 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos also on board, this is a phone for the true AV enthusiast.
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Read our full Sony Xperia 1 II review
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