Sony’s new Xperia Pro is a $2,500 phone that doubles as an external camera monitor

Sony has officially taken the wraps off its latest smartphone: the Sony Xperia Pro. But at a whopping $2,500 this isn’t just any regular smartphone — it can also act as a camera accessory for content creators. 

On the surface, the Xperia Pro doesn’t look all that different from your standard flagships on the market. But the one feature that differentiates it from the others, including last year’s Xperia 1 II, is its HDMI port. That means you can connect it to one of Sony’s Alpha cameras, or another camera with an HDMI input, to then livestream to social media channels like Instagram or YouTube.

Additionally, the Xperia Pro can also be used as an external screen when shooting video, to help make sure everything is correctly in frame when using your DSLR. It also has pre-installed software for adjusting brightness and grid lines, screen lock, and zoom capabilities. 

Of course, you can also capture footage on the device itself using the three 12-megapixel lenses on the back (ultra-wide angle, wide-angle, and a telephoto). 

For photos, the phone features an assortment of manual controls along with the ability to shoot 20 frames per second (fps) with autofocus calculated 60 times per second, and there’s also support for RAW file format. As for video, the Xperia Pro can shoot 4K HDR in 24, 30, 60, and 120fps (with slow-motion capabilities included).

As far as other specs go, the Xperia Pro has a 6.5-inch 4K OLED display (with a 21:9 aspect ratio), Snapdragon 865 5G processor, and a 4,000mAh battery. It’s Sony’s first phone with 5G connectivity, with support for both Sub-6GHz and mmWave networks. 

Even though 5G isn’t widely available just yet, the company points out in its press release that the Xperia Pro has antennas on all four sides, which apparently “produces the most effective way to capture high-band frequency 5G mmWave signals.” 

While all this sounds like a great companion device for videographers who rely on fancy DSLRs, Sony also notes that camera compatibility may vary with this phone. So, if you’re buying it specifically to take advantage of the HDMI port and external monitor feature, and you don’t own an Alpha camera, then you might want to double check your own camera plays nicely with it.