Sony Xperia 1 III vs Google Pixel 9 Pro
57
out of 100
VS
74
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.5-inch Sony Xperia 1 III (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888) that was released on April 14, 2021, against the Google Pixel 9 Pro, which is powered by Google Tensor G4 and came out 3 years and 4 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Sony Xperia 1 III
- 30% higher pixel density (643 vs 495 PPI)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
- 21% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1528 and 1268 points
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 9 Pro
- Delivers 317% higher peak brightness (2319 against 556 nits)
- Shows 44% longer battery life (22:07 vs 15:23 hours)
- Has 33% more RAM: 16GB versus 12GB
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
- More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 13
- 30% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1606K versus 1232K)
- Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- The phone is 3 years and 4 months newer
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
- Ready for eSIM technology
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.3 inches |
| Resolution | 1644 x 3840 pixels | 1280 x 2856 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 21:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 643 ppi | 495 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | Yes (1-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 385 nits | 3000 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 620 nits | 2000 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | 120 Hz | - |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.2% | 87.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.9% | 99.1% |
| PWM | 476 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 7.5 ms | 2 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165 mm (6.5 inches) | 152.8 mm (6.02 inches) |
| Width | 71 mm (2.8 inches) | 72 mm (2.83 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) | 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) |
| Weight | 186 g (6.56 oz) | 199 g (7.02 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Gray, Purple | White, Black, Gray, Pink |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | - | Good (3.39/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Excellent (A) · 270 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | Google Tensor G4 |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78) - 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1) |
- 4 cores at 1.92 GHz: Cortex-A520 - 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 1 core at 3.1 GHz: Cortex-X4 |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon 780 | Yes |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Mali-G715 MP7 |
| GPU shading units | 768 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | 940 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1290.2 GFLOPS | ~1684.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 4494 | 10088 |
| Single-core score | 1528 | 1268 |
| Multi-core score | 3917 | 4471 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 435324 | 593578 |
| GPU | 228692 | 419286 |
| Memory | 219361 | 209607 |
| UX | 348823 | 383767 |
| Total score | 1232200 | 1606238 |
| Samples | [4 tests] | [2 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 77% | 78% |
| Graphics test | 4 FPS | 8 FPS |
| Graphics score | 505 | 1047 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 70% | - |
| Graphics test | 8 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 1485 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 12641 | 10518 |
| Video editing | 7747 | 7606 |
| Photo editing | 31867 | 20039 |
| Data manipulation | 11659 | 13898 |
| Writing score | 17464 | 17296 |
Recent User Tests
Sony Xperia 1 III
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-02-22 (semga) | AnTuTu 11 | 1245240 |
| 📘 2025-10-10 (desomorphine) | Geekbench 6 GPU | 4494 |
| 📘 2025-10-10 (desomorphine) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1528 / 3917 |
| 📘 2025-10-10 (desomorphine) | AnTuTu 11 | 1232200 |
| 📘 2025-09-30 (desomorphine) | AnTuTu 11 | 1179636 |
Google Pixel 9 Pro
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-06-09 (danyages) | AnTuTu 11 | 1606238 |
| 📘 2026-03-05 (Sashka2005) | AnTuTu 11 | 1499601 |
| 📘 2024-10-16 (notReal) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1268 / 4471 |
Memory
| RAM size | 12 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) |
| ROM | - | Stock Android |
| OS size | 16 GB | 28.8 GB |
| OS updates | - | 7 years |
| Security updates | - | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 4700 mAh |
| Max charge power | 30 W | 27 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes | Yes (12 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes | Yes, (wireless) |
| Bypass charging | - | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 30 min) | Yes (56% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:50 hr | 1:24 hr |
| Battery cycles | - | 1000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 05:20 hr | 10:12 hr |
| Watching video | 08:56 hr | 12:40 hr |
| Gaming | 04:04 hr | 06:23 hr |
| Standby | 82 hr | 96 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 8160 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Optical, 4.4x | Optical, 5x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | Up to 30FPS |
| 4K video recording | Up to 120FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 124° | 123° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP 4) Depth: 0.3 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 48 MP 3) Ultrawide: 48 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/1.7 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 25 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX557 | Samsung GN1 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.7" (≈ 0.59 inch) | 1/1.31" (≈ 0.76 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.8 micron | 1.2 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Laser autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.3 | f/2.8 |
| Focal length | 70 mm | 113 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX663 | Samsung S5KGM5 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.9" (≈ 0.34 inch) | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | 0.7 micron |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/1.7 |
| Focal length | 16 mm | 12 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX363 | Samsung S5KGM5 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | 0.7 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 60 | - |
| Preview | 57 | - |
| Zoom | 104 | - |
| Samples | Photo samples of Sony Xperia 1 III from DxOMark | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 42 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3648 x 2736 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 18 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5K4H7 | Sony IMX858 |
| Sensor size | 1/4" (≈ 0.25 inch) | 1/2.51" (≈ 0.4 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 0.7 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | 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 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | - | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | Yes | No |
| LTE Cat* | 20 | - |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | April 2021 | August 2024 |
| Release date | June 2021 | September 2024 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1200 | $999 |
| Successor | - Sony Xperia 1 VII | - Google Pixel 10 Pro |
| SAR (head) | - | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 1.37 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 30 W | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Google Pixel 9 Pro is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 7