You can always tell a Sony phone, and the Sony Xperia 1 V is no different in that respect. They’re taller and thinner than other handsets with the same sized screens, and have in recent iterations sported a textured back that offers more grip than the equivalent shiny glass. They also all look the same, with the Xperia 1 - the top of Sony’s range - being almost indistinguishable from the Xperias 5 and 10 except for differences in port and camera positioning that are discernable to experts. Part of owning a flagship smartphone is for other people to know you’ve got one, to ask you about it and allow you to show off, and a phone that blends in with those further down the scale may have an issue with this.
The Xperia 1 V deserves its place at the top of the best camera phone hierarchy, however, with some powerful internals, a high-res screen, and excellent cameras that set it apart from other Xperia models. There's also the price tag, which is a little higher than that of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and just slides under that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max - both with the same amount of storage but featuring larger screens.
