Sony’s Xperia 1 flagships have seemed kind of the identical since 2020however that’s lastly altering with the Xperia 1 VIII, which strikes to a chunky sq. digicam island. The cellphone additionally boasts what ought to be a considerably improved telephoto digicam, together with an AI digicam assistant that appears like an improved model of Google’s Digital camera Coach.
Whereas each earlier Xperia 1 cellphone has had three vertical cameras, and the final six have positioned them in the identical top-left nook spot, the 1 VIII mixes issues up. The three lenses are actually specified by a sq. block, along with the flash and a Sony brand, that’s raised from the cellphone however slopes in the direction of its edge. It’s a bit bit iPhone, however extra carefully resembles the design of a few of Motorola’s recent Edge phonesalthough with an angularity that feels distinct to Sony. It’s the principle a part of an overdue design refresh, blowing contemporary air into Sony’s slick, however now barely stale, aesthetic. It’s a shock too, not least as a result of it doesn’t in any respect match the Xperia 10 VII, which also got a whole new look recentlyhowever adopted a horizontal digicam bar as an alternative.
The Xperia 1 VIII is accessible in 4 colours: black, silver, pink, and a gold that’s unique to Sony’s on-line retailer. There’s a delicate texturing to the digicam island, the frosted glass again, and the aluminum edges, together with a knurled end on the devoted digicam shutter button. Like earlier Sony telephones there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack too, plus a microSD slot and a mixed IP65/68 resistance score (this was the perfect round, although has since been bested by plenty of IP68/69 telephones).
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The redesign could also be overdue aesthetically, however it in all probability serves sensible function too, permitting Sony to slot in a considerably bigger sensor for the cellphone’s telephoto lens. The 1/1.56-inch-type sensor right here is nearly 4 instances bigger than the Xperia 1 VII’s, a lot greater than both Apple or Samsung’s greatest, and shut in dimension to these discovered within the Vivo X300 Ultra and Xiaomi 17 Ultra. With a comparatively quick f/2.8 aperture and 48-megapixel decision, this 70mm-equivalent lens might be among the finest telephotos round, as long as Sony nails the processing. The one draw back is that to slot in the bigger sensor, Sony has given up on the continual optical zoom discovered on its final 4 flagships — simply as Xiaomi has copied the characteristic in its personal 17 Extremely.
The telephoto is joined by foremost and ultrawide cameras, each 48-megapixel and primarily unchanged from the earlier cellphone. The digicam system as an entire has been improved with a brand new RAW multi-frame processing pipeline, higher bokeh, and up to date macro taking pictures that’s been included into the default digicam mode and now helps autofocus too.
The opposite massive digicam improve is an AI digicam assistant. If you’re making ready to take a photograph, this may counsel completely different choices for filters, framing, and which lens to make use of, along with extra fine-tuned tweaks like brightening the photograph’s topic, however not its background. The ideas pop up earlier than you’re taking a photograph, although Sony says you’ll be able to flip the characteristic off completely in the event you desire. It appears rather more highly effective than the moderately fundamental AI Camera Coach functionality on Google’s Pixel 10 phonesalthough I think many will desire the truth that Google’s mode have to be activated manually, whereas Sony’s seems to be on by default.
Sony has packed in a number of different upgrades too. There are new full-stage stereo audio system, apparently tuned along with Sony Photos and Sony Music, that are clearer and louder than earlier than. The 5,000mAh battery and 30W charging are unchanged, although Sony says the cellphone will final an hour longer than earlier than thanks to some optimizations underneath the hood. It’s now powered by the most recent Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5and comes with as much as 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage (although solely within the online-only gold end). One massive draw back is that it’ll solely obtain 4 years of OS updates, and 6 of safety patches, fewer than virtually another comparable flagship.
The Xperia 1 VIII begins from £1,399 / €1,499 (about $1,765) for the usual mannequin with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The 16GB / 1TB mannequin is a punchy £1,849 / €1,999 ($2,355). The cellphone is accessible to order now in Europe and Asia, however Sony has no plans for a North American launch.
