Sony’s new Xperia phone gets a late update

Sony’s flagship Xperia 1 looks the same starting in 2020but this is finally changing with the Xperia 1 VIII, which moves to a chunky square camera island. The phone also boasts what should be a highly adjustable telephoto camera, along with an AI-assisted camera that looks like an advanced version of Google Camera Coach.

While every previous Xperia 1 phone had three vertical cameras, with the last six placed in the same position in the left corner, the 1 VIII mixes things up. The three lenses are now laid out in a large circle, including the light and the Sony logo, which is raised from the phone but sloping towards the bottom. It’s a little iPhone, but very similar to the design of others Latest Motorola Edge phonesthough it’s the angularity that feels different from the Sony. It’s a big part of the long overdue revival, a breath of fresh air in Sony’s, but now slightly old, aesthetic. It’s also surprising, not least because it’s not at all comparable to the Xperia 10 VII, itself also I’ve had a new look recentlybut adopted a horizontal camera instead.

Xperia 1 VIII is available in four colors: black, silver, red, and gold which is only available at Sony’s online store. There is a hidden note to the camera island, the tempered glass back, and the aluminum edges, along with the curved end on the dedicated button for the shutter camera. Like previous Sony phones there’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack, plus a MicroSD slot and IP65/68 resistance (this was pretty good all around, although it’s been good with a few IP68/69 phones).

The upgrade may be a bit slow, but it also works, allowing Sony to fit a much larger lens sensor into a smartphone. The 1/1.56-inch sensor here is about four times larger Xperia 1 VII‘s, much bigger than Apple or Samsung’s best, and it’s close to what’s available in the Vivo X300 Ultra and Xiaomi 17 Ultra. With a fast f/2.8 aperture and 48-megapixel resolution, this 70mm-equivalent lens could be one of the best phone cameras around, as long as Sony nails it. The only downside is that in order to fit the larger sensor, Sony has abandoned the ultra-wide viewing angle found on its last four cameras – just as Xiaomi copied its 17 Ultra display.

The telephoto is joined by the main and larger cameras, both 48-megapixel and unchanged from the previous phone. The entire camera has been improved with new pipelines for multiple RAW processing, better bokeh, and improved shooting that has been added to the standard camera and now supports autofocus as well.

Another major upgrade to the camera is the AI ​​camera assistant. When you’re ready to take a photo, this will give you a variety of filter, framing, and lens options to use, along with subtle tweaks like highlighting the subject of the photo, but not the background. A reflection pops up before you take a photo, though Sony says you can turn the feature off if you want. It seems more powerful than the original AI Camera Coach app for Google Pixel 10 phonesalthough I suspect many would prefer that Google’s features have to be turned on manually, while Sony’s seem to be automatically turned on.

Sony has also packed in a few more updates. There are new stereo speakers, which seem to be controlled by Sony Pictures and Sony Music, which sound better and clearer than before. The 5,000mAh battery and 30W charging haven’t changed, although Sony says the phone will last an hour longer than before thanks to a few optimizations under the hood. It is now powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5and it comes with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage (even at the gold internet finish). The biggest downside is that it only receives four OS updates every year, and six security patches, fewer than any other similar devices.

The Xperia 1 VIII starts at £1,399 / €1,499 (about $1,765) for the standard model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The 16GB / 1TB model is a punchy £1,849 / €1,999 ($2,355). The phone is available to pre-order now in Europe and Asia, but Sony has no plans for a North American launch.