Sony’s new Xperia phone gets an overdue redesign

Sony’s Xperia 1 flagships have looked more or less 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 substantially improved telephoto camera, along with an AI camera assistant that looks like an improved version of Google’s Camera Coach.

While every previous Xperia 1 phone has had three vertical cameras, and the last six have positioned them in the same top-left corner spot, the 1 VIII mixes things up. The three lenses are now laid out in a square block, together with the flash and a Sony logo, that’s raised from the phone but slopes towards its edge. It’s a little bit iPhone, but more closely resembles the design of some of Motorola’s recent Edge phones, though with an angularity that feels distinct to Sony. It’s the main part of an overdue design refresh, blowing fresh air into Sony’s slick, but now slightly stale, aesthetic. It’s a surprise too, not least because it doesn’t at all match the Xperia 10 VII, which also got a whole new look recently, but adopted a horizontal camera bar instead.

The Xperia 1 VIII is available in four colors: black, silver, red, and a gold that’s exclusive to Sony’s online store. There’s a subtle texturing to the camera island, the frosted glass back, and the aluminum edges, along with a knurled finish on the dedicated camera shutter button. Like previous Sony phones there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack too, plus a microSD slot and a combined IP65/68 resistance rating (this used to be the best around, though has since been bested by a number of IP68/69 phones).

The redesign may be overdue aesthetically, but it probably serves practical purpose too, allowing Sony to fit in a substantially larger sensor for the phone’s telephoto lens. The 1/1.56-inch-type sensor here is almost four times larger than the Xperia 1 VII’s, much bigger than either Apple or Samsung’s best, and close in size to those found in the Vivo X300 Ultra and Xiaomi 17 Ultra. With a relatively fast f/2.8 aperture and 48-megapixel resolution, this 70mm-equivalent lens could be one of the best telephotos around, so long as Sony nails the processing. The only downside is that to fit in the larger sensor, Sony has given up on the continuous optical zoom found on its last four flagships — just as Xiaomi has copied the feature in its own 17 Ultra.

The telephoto is joined by main and ultrawide cameras, both 48-megapixel and essentially unchanged from the previous phone. The camera system as a whole has been improved with a new RAW multi-frame processing pipeline, better bokeh, and updated macro shooting that’s been incorporated into the default camera mode and now supports autofocus too.

The other big camera upgrade is an AI camera assistant. When you’re preparing to take a photo, this will suggest different options for filters, framing, and which lens to use, together with more fine-tuned tweaks like brightening the photo’s subject, but not its background. The suggestions pop up before you take a photo, though Sony says you can turn the feature off entirely if you prefer. It seems much more powerful than the rather basic AI Camera Coach functionality on Google’s Pixel 10 phones, though I suspect many will prefer the fact that Google’s mode must be activated manually, while Sony’s appears to be on by default.

Sony has packed in a few other upgrades too. There are new full-stage stereo speakers, apparently tuned together with Sony Pictures and Sony Music, which are clearer and louder than before. The 5,000mAh battery and 30W charging are unchanged, though Sony says the phone will last an hour longer than before thanks to a few optimizations 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 (though only in the online-only gold finish). One big downside is that it will only receive four years of OS updates, and six of security patches, fewer than almost any other comparable flagship.

The Xperia 1 VIII starts from £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 order now in Europe and Asia, but Sony has no plans for a North American launch.