Home Phone comparison Sony Xperia 1 VI and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra - Which is better?

Sony Xperia 1 VI vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

87 out 100
Sony Xperia 1 VI
VS
95 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Sony Xperia 1 VI
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Sony Xperia 1 VI Manufactured in June, 2024, with display 6.5 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. 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 VI
  • Lighter design: 192g vs 214g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 500ppi
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.4

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB		 - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Sony Xperia 1 VI and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
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 VI
vs
Galaxy S26 Ultra

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.5 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1440x3120 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 396 ppi 500 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1300 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 86.5 % 91.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Sony Xperia 1 VI
1300 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
2811 nits

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 162 mm (6.38 in) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 74 mm (2.91 in) 78.1 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 192 g (6.77 oz) 214 g (7.55 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Green		 - White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Sony Xperia 1 VI
86.5 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
91.4 %

Performance

Testing Sony Xperia 1 VI and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 3300 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 2 + 2) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 2/2.27 (Cortex-A520)
- 2/2.96 (Cortex-A720)
- 3/3.15 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.3 (Cortex-X4)		 - 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Hexagon
Graphics Adreno 750 Adreno 840
GPU Cores 1536 1536
GPU Frequency 903-1000 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 2774 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Sony Xperia 1 VI
2125
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Sony Xperia 1 VI
6119
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
11259
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)21253753
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)611911259
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a28787
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Sony Xperia 1 VI
1877672
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
3720219
CPU4099211094797
GPU8202381447696
Memory346992425113
UX300521752613
NanoReview Score18776723720219

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 12 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 4200 MHz n/a
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 4.1
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 14 (Upgradeable to Android 15) Android 16
UI Skin n/a One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 60 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (84% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:30 h 0:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Sony Xperia 1 VI
29:19
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
28:50
Web Browsing11:45 h10:12 h
Video Playback20:22 h21:39 h
Games07:25 h06:42 h
Standby Mode127 h130 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution 8000x6000 pixels 16320x12240 pixels
Zoom Optical, 7.1x 141
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 240 fps)
Slow Motion 120 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.4
Focal length24 mm23 mm
SensorSony IMX888Samsung ISOCELL S5KHP2
Sensor size1/1.351/1.3 (0.77)
Pixel size1.12 μm0.6 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Laser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.3 - 3.5f/2.9
Focal length170 mm111 mm
SensorSony IMX650Sony IMX854
Sensor size1/3.51/2.52 (0.4)
Pixel size1 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/1.9
Focal length16 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX563Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN3
Sensor size1/2.551/2.5 (0.4)
Pixel size1.4 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Sony Xperia 1 VI
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
160
Video quality
Sony Xperia 1 VI
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
153
Overall camera score
Sony Xperia 1 VI
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
157
Bokehn/a165
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 24 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX663 Samsung ISOCELL S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/2.9 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) 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 5.4 6.0
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsWCDMA 2100(Band1), 1900(Band2), 1700(Band4), 850(Band5), 800(Band6), 900(Band8), 800(Band19)UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B46/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced May, 2024 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date June, 2024 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 1399 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1299
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No No

Note

Sony Xperia 1 VI:

Wi-Fi 7 support depends on the region.

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

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