Vote now: Are you excited about the Sony Xperia 1 IV? Results are in!

Ah, Sony… The Japanese company keeps going against the grain with its smartphones, both in design and marketing strategy. And while the latter can be a bit controversial (who launches a phone 3 months after announcing it?!), the former is actually a breath of fresh air in the industry.

I won’t try to hide it, I’ve been a massive Xperia fan since my Xperia Ray days but even for me it’s clear to see that Sony is struggling to find its audience and market position. Xperia phones of late are technologically superior to many other models but at the same time awfully expensive, and sometimes they lack polish in the software department and are plagued by strange hardware bugs.

When the Xperia 1 III got announced last year, we asked you whether or not you would buy it at its $1,299 price. Unsurprisingly, more than half of the votes went saying the phone is too expensive for its own good. Now, we’re approaching the announcement of the Xperia 1 IV - the successor, and judging by the latest rumors, things might get even worse.

The Xperia 1 IV is rumored to have an even more sophisticated camera system with three 48MP sensors, plus a telephoto periscope zoom lens (probably sporting the variable zoom we saw in the previous model).

The problem? Well, as you might’ve guessed already, it’s the price - according to Chinese leakers, the phone will clock in at around $1,415 for the 256GB version and $1,572 for the 512GB model. These prices will definitely converse to higher numbers in Europe and North America, probably pushing $1,500 for the entry model.