Sony’s Xperia 1 flagships have looked pretty much the same since 2020, but that’s finally changing with the Xperia 1 VIII, which moves to a chunky square camera island. The phone also boasts what should be a much-improved telephoto camera, and an AI camera assistant that looks like an improved version of Google’s Camera Trainer.
While all previous Xperia 1 phones had three vertical cameras, and the last six placed them in the same place in the upper left corner, the 1 VIII mixes things up. Three lenses are now laid out on the screen, along with the flash and the Sony logo, which is raised on the phone but goes down towards its edges. It’s a small iPhone, but it’s very similar to the design of Motorola’s latest Edge phones, although the angularity feels different from the Sony. It’s a key part of an overdue design refresh, breathing fresh air into Sony’s slick, but now slightly old, aesthetic. It’s also surprising, not least because it’s nothing like the Xperia 10 VII, again it got a new look recently, but adopted a horizontal camera bar instead.
The Xperia 1 VIII is available in four colors: black, silver, red, and gold which are available exclusively on Sony’s online store. There’s a subtle notch to the camera island, a frosted glass back, and aluminum edges, as well as an integrated finish to the dedicated camera shutter button. Like previous Sony phones there is also a 3.5mm earphone jack, as well as a microSD slot and an IP65/68 resistance rating included (this was the best, although a lot of IP68/69 phones have been used since then).
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The redesign may be aesthetically outdated, but it likely serves a practical purpose as well, allowing Sony to fit a much larger telephoto lens sensor. The 1/1.56-inch sensor here is almost four times larger than the Xperia 1 VII, much larger than the best Apple or Samsung, and closer in size to those found on the Vivo X300 Ultra and Xiaomi 17 Ultra. With a relatively fast f/2.8 aperture and 48-megapixel resolution, this 70mm-sized lens could be one of the best phone cameras around, as long as Sony nails the processing. The only downside is that in order to fit the large sensor, Sony stopped the continuous optical zoom found on its last four flagships – just as Xiaomi copied the feature on its 17 Ultra.
The telephoto is joined by the main and ultrawide cameras, both 48 megapixels and essentially unchanged from the previous phone. The overall camera system has been improved with a new pipeline for processing more RAW frames, better bokeh, and an updated macro shot included in the automatic camera mode and now supports autofocus as well.
Another major camera upgrade is the AI camera assistant. When you are preparing to take a photo, this will suggest different options for filters, framing, and which lens to use, as well as some fine adjustments such as lighting the subject of the photo, but not its background. Suggestions appear before you take a photo, though Sony says you can turn the feature off entirely if you prefer. It seems more powerful than the basic AI Camera Coach function on Google Pixel 10 phones, although I suspect many will prefer the fact that Google’s mode has to be activated manually, while Sony’s seems to work automatically.
Sony has packed in a few other enhancements. There are new full-stage stereo speakers, apparently tuned together with Sony Pictures and Sony Music, that are clearer and louder than before. The 5,000mAh battery and 30W charging are unchanged, although Sony says the phone will last an hour longer than before thanks to a few improvements under the hood. It’s now powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and comes with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage (although it’s only in the online gold variant). Another downside is that it will only receive four years of OS updates, and six security patches, less than any other comparable flagship.
The Xperia 1 VIII starts at £1,399 / €1,499 (around $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 order now in Europe and Asia, but Sony has no plans for a North American launch.
