Sony Xperia 1 III & Xperia 5 III Flagship Phones Unveiled – Coming to Malaysia From July 2021

Sony just unveiled two flagship smartphones – the Sony Xperia 1 III, and the more compact Sony Xperia 5 III. What makes these two flagship-class devices particularly interesting is their camera systems: both of them have a variable telephoto lens, and Sony said it is the first company to implement such a system on a smartphone.

As its name suggests, the variable telephoto lens allows the 12MP telephoto sensor of the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III to change its focal length between 70mm to 105mm. The system is also paired with a “Dual PD sensor,” which promises fast autofocus speeds, even when switching between different focal lengths.

Aside from the telephoto lens, both phones also feature a 12MP primary sensor and a 12MP ultra-wide angle shooter.

Just like their respective predecessors, the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III retain their tall and narrow 21:9 displays, though they have been upgraded to much faster 120Hz HDR OLED panels. The Xperia 1 III also gets a sharp 6.5-inch 4K screen, while the Xperia 5 III settles for a more power-efficient 6.1-inch 1080p display.

Other specifications of the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset paired with 12GB of RAM (8GB for the Xperia 5 III), 256GB of expandable storage – the Xperia 1 III gets a 512GB option as well – an 8MP selfie camera, a 4,500mAh battery, IP65/IP68 rating, and Android 11 out of the box.

We were told that the Sony Xperia 1 III will be arriving here in Malaysia first by the end of July 2021. The compact Sony Xperia 5 III, on the other hand, will land on our shores sometime in September 2021. Naturally, the Malaysian pricing of the two flagship smartphones have not been announced yet, though you can register your interest right here.