The Xperia 1 VIII is Sony’s latest camera phone, but I’m wary of all the AI improvements
Sony’s Xperia phones have always been a bit different. The company builds phones for those who really care about focal lengths, shutter buttons, color science, and camera-style controls on a phone. The new Xperia 1 VIII continues this tradition, but Sony now adds a layer of AI assistance to the formula. Its latest flagship introduces an AI Camera Assistant powered by Xperia Intelligence, which is how Sony plans to stand out from the crowd—though I’m still skeptical.
How Sony AI tries to direct rather than process
This is the part I’m wary of, mainly because the Xperia’s appeal has always been its camera-first identity. Sony’s phones seem closer to a compact Alpha companion than a point-and-shoot smartphone that tries to do everything for you. To Sony’s credit, the AI here feels more like guidance than full automation. The suggestions are apparently based on Sony’s Creative Look system, which allows users to use it by tapping rather than letting the phone take full control. Sony also notes that suggestions may not always appear depending on the location, subject, or settings, and that the feature may not be available in modes such as continuous shooting or RAW capture.
New improvements to the camera
The most exciting improvement is the telephoto camera. Sony says the Xperia 1 VIII uses a new 1/1.56-inch telephoto sensor, which is about four times larger than the sensor used in the Xperia 1 VII. This not only helps with more clarity in close-up shots, but should also help the sensor perform much better in low light. Sony also claims that all three cameras can deliver low-light performance comparable to a full-frame sensor in terms of noise reduction and dynamic range, although that claim is limited to stills and based on Sony’s test conditions. RAW multi-frame processing is used on all lenses to increase dynamic range, reduce noise, preserve detail, and improve color reproduction in bright or low-light scenes.
What else does it offer?
The Xperia 1 VIII uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Battery life is limited to up to two days, but with a 5,000mAh cell, that claim seems long. Sony also retains a dedicated camera shutter button and a 3.5mm headphone jack, two features that are still essential in the Xperia trusty. The phone comes in Graphite Black, Iolite Silver, Garnet Red, and Native Gold, with Sony’s new ORE design using a textured surface for improved grip.
Other notable features include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, a 48MP Exmore T primary sensor, a 6.5-inch FHD+ LTPO OLED display, and expandable storage of up to 2TB via microSD card slot.
Pricing starts at around €1,499 / £1,399 for the 256GB version, while the 1TB Native Gold variant costs €1,999 / £1,849 in selected markets. Pre-orders begin on May 13 at Sony and select retailers, with Sony’s WH-1000XM6 headphones included in the pre-order period.
