Leaked Sony Xperia 1 III photo samples show off the phone's variable telephoto lens and more

Last month, Sony unveiled the Xperia 1 III and it includes the first telephoto periscope lens with a variable (as opposed to fixed) focus. This is the technology that tipster Ice Universe says that Samsung will include with the Galaxy S22 Ultra next year. There are four focal lengths available for photos and videos, 16mm, 24mm, 70mm and 105mm.

Tipster ZACKBUKS posted some images on Weibo (via GSMArena) that he claims are sample photos snapped with the camera setup on the back of the Xperia 1 III. Unfortunately, the EXIF data has been removed. However, we can tell you that three consecutive shots of the same photo were taken with 24mm, 70mm (2.9x zoom), and 105mm (4.4x zoom) focal lengths. The remaining samples are pretty much random. 

The Xperia 1 III will be equipped with a 6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED panel with a 21:9 tall and thin aspect ratio, perfect for streaming motion pictures. The 120Hz rapid refresh rate means that the screen updates 120 times per second allowing for smooth scrolling and improved video game animation. Under the hood you'll find the 5nm Snapdragon 888 SoC, and the camera array on back consists of three sensors and a Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor.

The 4500mAh battery in the device has a 30W fast charger allowing you to get halfway charged in 30 minutes. The phone will be offered in Frosted Black and Frosted Purple and will ship to the states later this summer loaded with Android 11. The handset will be equipped with 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage.

Last month, we told you that Sony actually reported its first quarterly profit in years for its phone business. The company had discussed amputating the phone unit after years of spilling red ink, but it seems that there could be a turnaround in the making. You can find out everything you need to know about the Xperia 1 III right here.