The Sony Xperia 1 V has a confirmed launch date and a “next-gen” camera

There haven’t been a huge number of Sony Xperia 1 V leaks, which is surprising, because the phone is just weeks away from launch.

We know this because Sony just took to both Twitter and YouTube to announce that the “Next ONE is coming” on May 11 (or May 10 in some parts of the world). So while the company didn’t go so far as to say the full name of the phone, it can hardly be talking about anything else.

That’s also not a surprising date at all, as the Sony Xperia 1 IV landed on May 11 last year, and a recent leak suggested the Xperia 1 V would be announced in May.

The launch event is being held in Japan, which means the timings won’t be super sociable for most of our readers. It kicks off at 9pm PT on Wednesday May 10, which is 12am ET / 5am GMT / 2pm AEST on Thursday, May 11.

The event will be live-streamed on YouTube, and from the teaser video and accompanying text, we know that the Sony Xperia 1 V’s camera will be a big focus. The video zooms in on a camera sensor and shows someone taking a photo of a sunset (or possibly a sunrise), while the text mentions a “next-gen sensor” and “next-gen imaging.”

So what should we take from that? Well, a post on Weibo (spotted by SumahoDigest) previously pointed to a larger 1/1.4-inch sensor being used, though notably that would still be somewhat smaller than the sensors found in some current rival phones, several of which boast a 1-inch sensor, not to mention there’s Sony’s own Xperia Pro-I from 2021.

Then again, such 1-inch sensors – found in the likes of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra – are actually made by Sony, so it would make sense for the company to use one in its own phones.

Whatever the case, a sensor size increase seems likely, as that could improve low light shots, which would be handy for the slightly dim scene in the teaser video.

Few upgrades and major competition

Beyond that, and the likely presence of a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, we might not see many changes here, with leaks pointing to a similar design and the same 5,000mAh battery capacity and 6.5-inch screen size as the Sony Xperia 1 IV – though it might get 16GB of RAM, up from 12GB in the current model.

It’s also worth noting that sometimes Sony puts its phones on sale long after announcing them, so while the Xperia 1 V is being unveiled soon, you might not be able to buy it for a while.

Still, there are likely to be other options, because as well as the possibility that Sony itself will show off additional phones during the event (perhaps the Xperia 10 V, as the Sony Xperia 10 IV landed on May 11 last year too), we’re also expecting new Google phones that week.

Google IO 2023 kicks off on May 10, and reports suggest we’ll see the Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold there, along with the Pixel Tablet. It’s strange that Sony has decided to launch its flagship handset so close to Google’s event, but it should make for an exciting couple of days for phone fans.