OCTOBER 2019 • TECH ADVISOR 39REVIEWLuckily there are some in the box, though cheap
feeling and sounding in-ears. This is a phone without
a headphone jack, but there’s a dongle in there
to connect the 3.5mm headphones – no USB-C
headphonestobeseen(thoughI testeda couple
ofpairs and they worked fine).
Despite the glass construction that would allow
wireless charging, the Xperia doesn’t have it. Sony
told me it preferred a slim design, whereas a charging
coil would make the phone fatter. I don’t miss wireless
charging, but it’s a shame not to see it on an £850
phone. You also don’t get any form of face unlock,
which is odd, but in keeping with the practically stock
version of Android 9 Pie. Sony has kept it very minimal
with hardly any changes from what you’ll find on an
Android One phone. Fingers crossed Sony can keep
upwithsecurityupdates,somethingthecompany
hasbeen very good with in recent years.
Finally, the side sense gimmick from the XZ3 is on
this phone too, and it’s still awful. Tap twice on the
edge of the screen where it meets the bezel and you
aregivena softwaremenuofrecentlyusedapps,
menuoptions and toggles for one handed mode
among other things.
It’s difficult enough to get the menu to pop up as
your taps have to be very precise, and I found it was
always quicker to just go and do the thing you wanted
to do normally rather than try and use side sense.
Verdict
The Sony Xperia 1 is a fitting flagship for 2019. It
has one of the best displays ever on smartphone,