Home Phone comparison Sony Xperia 1 III and Apple iPhone 17 - Which is better?

Sony Xperia 1 III vs Apple iPhone 17

61 out 100
Sony Xperia 1 III
VS
92 out 100
Apple iPhone 17
Sony Xperia 1 III
Apple iPhone 17

Compared 2 smartphones : Sony Xperia 1 III Manufactured in June, 2021, with display 6.5 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888, vs Apple iPhone 17, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetApple A19. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Sony Xperia 1 III
  • Larger display: 6.5in
  • Higher pixel density: 643ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 3692mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.1 vs 2
  • Includes charger
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 186g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB		 - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Sony Xperia 1 III and Apple iPhone 17
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Sony Xperia 1 III
vs
Apple iPhone 17

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.5 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1644x3840 pixels 1206x2622 pixels
Aspect ratio 21:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 643 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes
Max brightness 385 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate 120 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 84.2 % 91.1 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Sony Xperia 1 III
559 nits
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
sRGB gamut99.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)476 Hzn/a
Response time7.5 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Sony Xperia 1 III]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165 mm (6.5 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 71 mm (2.8 in) 71.5 mm (2.81 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 186 g (6.56 oz) 177 g (6.24 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Gray
- Purple		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button No
Screen-to-body ratio
Sony Xperia 1 III
84.2 %
Apple iPhone 17
91.1 %

Performance

Testing Sony Xperia 1 III and Apple iPhone 17 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Apple A19
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 4100 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) n/a
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 3/2.42 (Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78))
- 1/2.84 (Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1))		 n/a
Process Samsung n/a
Transistor Size 5 nm n/a
Neural Processor Hexagon 780 n/a
Graphics Adreno 660 n/a
GPU Cores 1024 n/a
GPU Frequency 840 MHz n/a
FLOPS 1290.2 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Sony Xperia 1 III
1466
Apple iPhone 17
3720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Sony Xperia 1 III
3923
Apple iPhone 17
10589
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14663720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)392310589
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Sony Xperia 1 III
933258
Apple iPhone 17
2116678
CPU265786510193
GPU293033792974
Memory188494367866
UX185945445645
NanoReview Score9332582116678
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Sony Xperia 1 III
5557
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Max Surface Temp.44.9 °Cn/a
Stability71 %n/a
Graphics Test33 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5557n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Sony Xperia 1 III]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Sony Xperia 1 III
14480
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Writing score17808n/a
Web score11594n/a
Video editing7774n/a
Data manipulation11748n/a
NanoReview Score14480n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 12 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 13) iOS 26
OS Size 16 GB n/a

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 3692 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:50 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Sony Xperia 1 III
15:23
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Web Browsing05:20 hn/a
Video Playback08:56 hn/a
Games04:04 hn/a
Standby Mode82 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 4.4x Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 124 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Depth: 0.3 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.6
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX557n/a
Sensor size1/1.71/1.56
Pixel size1.8 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.3n/a
Focal length70 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX663n/a
Sensor size1/2.9n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length16 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX363n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Sony Xperia 1 III
107
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Video quality
Sony Xperia 1 III
92
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Overall camera score
Sony Xperia 1 III
105
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Bokeh60n/a
Preview57n/a
Zoom104n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Sony Xperia 1 III]

Front camera

Matrix 8 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 3264x2448 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.0 f/1.9
Focal length 24 mm 23 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K4H7 n/a
Sensor size 1/4 n/a
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.2 6.0
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900n/a
3G BandsHSDPA 2100 (band 1), 1900 (band 2), 1700 (band 4), 850 (band 5), 800 (band 6), 900 (band 8), 800 (band 19)UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B46/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
LTE category20n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Sony Xperia 1 III
81.5 dB
Apple iPhone 17
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced April, 2021 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date June, 2021 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1200 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 799
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included Yes 30 W No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 17 the clear winner in this comparison.

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