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Sony Xperia 1 III Display test: Pleasant color and gaming experience

October 29, 2021
86
display
This device has been tested in the previous version of our protocol. Please note that the score and contents below refer to an older test protocol.
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

The Sony Xperia 1 III was introduced to the market in August 2021. As Sony’s latest flagship device, it comes packed with high-end goodies, including a multi-cam module with Zeiss optics. Let’s see how well it did in our comprehensive Display protocol testing.

Key display specifications:

  • 6.5-inch OLED display
  • 165 x 71 x 8.2 mm (6.50 x 2.80 x 0.32 inches)
  • Resolution: 1644 x 3840 (643 ppi)
  • Aspect ratio: 21:9
  • Refresh rate: 120 Hz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G chipset

About DXOMARK Display tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone and other display reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective and perceptual tests under controlled lab and real-life conditions. This article highlights the most important results of our testing. Note that we evaluate display attributes using only the device’s built-in display hardware and its still image (gallery) and video apps at their default settings. (For in-depth information about how we evaluate smartphone and other displays, check out our articles, “How DXOMARK tests display quality” and “A closer look at DXOMARK Display testing.”)

Test summary

Sony Xperia 1 III
86
display
Readability
61

76

Color
87

92

Video
80

91

Motion
72

87

Touch
76

85

Artifacts
82

86

DISPLAY
Position in Global Ranking
48th
1. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
99
2. Apple iPhone 13 Pro
98
3. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
95
3. Oppo Find X5 Pro
95
5. Oppo Find X5
94
6. Apple iPhone 13
93
6. Huawei P50 Pro
93
6. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
93
6. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
93
6. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
93
11. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
92
11. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
92
13. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
91
13. Sony Xperia 5 IV
91
13. Vivo X70 Pro+
91
16. Apple iPhone 13 mini
90
16. Google Pixel 6 Pro
90
16. Honor Magic4 Pro
90
16. OnePlus 10 Pro
90
16. Realme GT 2 Pro
90
16. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
90
16. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
90
23. OnePlus 9 Pro
89
23. OnePlus 8T
89
23. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
89
23. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
89
23. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
89
23. TCL 20 Pro 5G
89
23. Vivo X60 Pro+
89
23. Xiaomi 11T
89
31. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
88
31. LG Wing
88
31. OnePlus 9
88
31. OnePlus 8 Pro
88
31. Oppo Find X3 Pro
88
31. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
88
31. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
88
31. Vivo iQOO 9 Pro
88
39. Apple iPhone 12 Pro
87
39. Google Pixel 6a
87
39. Google Pixel 6
87
39. Oppo Reno8 5G
87
39. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G
87
39. Vivo X51 5G
87
39. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
87
39. Xiaomi Mi 11
87
39. Xiaomi 11T Pro
87
48. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
86
48. Honor 70
86
48. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
86
48. Oppo Reno8 Pro 5G
86
48. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
86
48. Sony Xperia 1 III
86
54. Apple iPhone 12
85
54. Huawei P40 Pro
85
54. Oppo Find X3 Neo
85
54. Xiaomi 12 Pro
85
58. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
84
58. Realme GT 5G
84
60. Oppo Reno5 Pro+ 5G
83
60. TCL 10 Pro
83
60. Vivo iQOO 7 Legend
83
60. Xiaomi Mi 11i
83
60. Xiaomi 12
83
65. Asus ROG Phone 5
82
66. Asus Zenfone 8
81
66. Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G
81
66. Realme GT Neo 2 5G
81
69. Motorola Edge 20 Pro
80
69. Oppo Reno6 5G
80
71. Lenovo Legion Y90
79
71. OnePlus Nord 2 5G
79
71. Oppo Find X5 Lite
79
71. Oppo Find X3 Lite
79
71. POCO F4 GT
79
71. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
79
71. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
79
71. Xiaomi Redmi K50 Gaming
79
79. Sony Xperia 5 II
78
79. ZTE Axon 30 Ultra
78
81. Nubia RedMagic 6 Pro
77
81. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
77
83. Oppo Find X2 Pro
76
84. Sony Xperia 10 IV
75
85. Google Pixel 5
74
85. Microsoft Surface Duo
74
85. Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
74
88. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
73
89. Black Shark 4S Pro
72
89. Black Shark 4 Pro
72
89. Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G
72
92. Asus ROG Phone 3
70
93. Fairphone 4
69
94. Crosscall Action-X5
62
95. Xiaomi Black Shark 3 Pro
61
96. Nokia 8.3 5G
55
97. Lenovo Legion Phone 2 Pro
53
98. Realme C21
43
DISPLAY
Position in Ultra-Premium Ranking
29th
1. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
99
2. Apple iPhone 13 Pro
98
3. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
95
3. Oppo Find X5 Pro
95
5. Oppo Find X5
94
6. Huawei P50 Pro
93
6. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
93
6. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
93
6. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
93
10. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
91
10. Sony Xperia 5 IV
91
10. Vivo X70 Pro+
91
13. Google Pixel 6 Pro
90
13. Honor Magic4 Pro
90
13. OnePlus 10 Pro
90
13. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
90
17. OnePlus 9 Pro
89
17. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
89
17. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
89
17. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
89
17. Vivo X60 Pro+
89
22. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
88
22. LG Wing
88
22. OnePlus 8 Pro
88
22. Oppo Find X3 Pro
88
26. Apple iPhone 12 Pro
87
26. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G
87
26. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
87
29. Sony Xperia 1 III
86
30. Huawei P40 Pro
85
30. Xiaomi 12 Pro
85
32. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
84
33. Sony Xperia 5 II
78
34. Oppo Find X2 Pro
76
35. Microsoft Surface Duo
74
36. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
73
37. Asus ROG Phone 3
70
38. Xiaomi Black Shark 3 Pro
61

Pros

  • Colors are accurate, especially in low light and indoors.
  • Gaming experience is quite pleasant.
  • The device is very uniform over the whole screen.

Cons

  • The device is not very readable under sunlight.
  • The device has a strong greenish shift when viewed at angle.
  • The video experience is impacted by a slight green cast, imprecise tone mapping, and frequent frame drops.
While it has no truly standout display attributes, the Sony Xperia 1 III display achieves solid results across the board, with few weak points.
Brightness vs Contrast comparison (0 Lux)
Brightness vs Contrast comparison (30 000 Lux)
Readability is too bright in low light (see the first graph above), but as shown in the second graph above, readability under sunlight is quite low, with dark details lost. However, the Xperia 1 III has good readability indoors (see the illustration below). Transitions are smooth overall, but the device can be slow to react when moving from bright to dark environments. The Sony device has good uniformity across the screen, albeit with a slight brightness gradient from top to bottom.
Readability indoors, from left to right: Sony Xperia 1 III, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
(Photo credit: DXOMARK; for illustration only)
For color, a very slight orange cast is visible on most content indoors; outdoors, there is a greenish cast. But colors are quite faithful overall despite slightly low saturation, as shown below: 
Color rendering indoors, clockwise from top left: Sony Xperia 1 III, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
(Photo credit: DXOMARK; for illustration only)
The Sony device has good color reproduction fidelity, as shown in the left-hand chart of measurements taken at 0 lux in the sRGB color space. The center of each circle is the target color; the further the tip of the arrow is outside of the circle, the more users will notice the difference between the color on the display and the original color of the source material.
The scatter chart on the right, which illustrates the white point color shift when holding the Sony Xperia 1 III at different angles, clearly shows its strong tendency towards green.
Sony Xperia 1 III, color fidelity at 0 lux in the sRGB color space
Sony Xperia 1 III, scatter graph of white point on angle

The photos below illustrate the measured results, with the Sony device showing a strong shift to green when viewed at an angle:

Color when held on axis (top) and when held at a 45° angle (bottom), from left to right: Sony Xperia 1 III, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
(Photo credit: DXOMARK; for illustration only)

The Xperia 1 III’s brightness is acceptable when watching video content. Mid-tone contrast is also acceptable, but dark details are lost when watching HDR10 content. While colors are generally accurate, they are slightly desaturated, and a slight greenish cast is noticeable on skin tones, but especially in the sky.

Video contrast, clockwise from left: Sony Xperia 1 III, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.
(Photo credit: DXOMARK; for illustration only)

Per the illustration below, the Sony device shows frequent frame drops at 30 and 60 fps; nevertheless, it is quite smooth when playing video games, and content appears sharp. When jumping forward or backward in a video, the Xperia 1 III sometimes pauses before resuming playback.

Sony Xperia 1 III, frame drops at 30 fps
Sony Xperia 1 III, frame drops at 60 fps

Touch on the Sony Xperia 1 III is quite accurate. When gaming, every area of the screen is responsive, and the general accuracy is good. It is quite smooth in all use cases such as browsing the web, scrolling in the gallery app, and playing video games.

The device manages ghost touches well in both portrait and landscape modes. Judder is noticeable at 24 fps; but while no judder is noticeable at 30 and 60 fps, frame drops and stutters are visible at all frame rates. Despite some aliasing, the Sony Xperia 1 III nonetheless provides a pleasant gaming experience.

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