The phone may go on sale in the U.S. sometime in the third quarter of the year.
What you need to know
- A new listing suggests the Xperia 1 III won’t begin shipping in the U.S. until August 31.
- The phone was announced last month, alongside the Xperia 5 III.
- It is the world’s first phone to feature a 4K 120Hz display.
Sony recently announced the Xperia 1 III, the world’s first phone to come with a 4K 120Hz display and a Dual-PD sensor. While there is no doubt that Sony’s latest flagship phone is a solid rival to Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra, you may have to wait months to get your hands on one.
According to a listing for the Xperia 1 III on the B&H website, the phone will begin shipping in the U.S. on August 31 (via TechRadar). Sony hasn’t confirmed a release date for the phone yet, so there is a small possibility of the date listed by B&H being wrong. However, the Japanese tech giant is infamous for launching its phones months after their announcement. The Xperia 1 II arrived in the U.S. in July last year, five months after its announcement. When Sony announced the Xperia 1 III last month, it promised that the phone would be released “this summer.”
Sony is also yet to reveal just how much the phone will cost. Going by how the Xperia 1 II was launched at $1,200 in the U.S. last year, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Xperia 1 III is even more expensive than the Galaxy S21 Ultra at launch. It is also worth noting that unlike its predecessor, the phone will support sub-6GHz 5G networks in the U.S. While that’s definitely an improvement, the lack of mmWave support puts it at a disadvantage compared to the best Android phones.
