Xperia 1 VIII Could Be Sony’s Most Complete Flagship in Years with Sony Pricing

Sony has introduced the Xperia 1 VIII with major camera upgrades, a newer Qualcomm chipset, and several signature Xperia features that remain rare in flagship smartphones. The device has expandable storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a dedicated two-stage camera shutter button.

Design and Display

The Xperia 1 VIII continues with a flat display design and avoids screen cutouts by placing the selfie camera inside the upper bezel. The phone features a 6.5-inch LTPO display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

Sony has retained the 1080p+ resolution, despite earlier Xperia generations being known for 4K panels. The company is offering the device in four finishes inspired by natural materials: Graphite Black, Iolite Silver, Garnet Red, and Native Gold.

Sony is also selling an official translucent case with a built-in stand that supports both portrait and landscape orientations. The company said the material is designed to resist yellowing over time.

The phone also retains Sony’s focus on audio with a 3.5mm headphone jack that supports lossless and low-latency audio playback. Stereo sound is handled by symmetrical left and right speakers, which Sony said have been tuned to produce deeper bass, improved high frequencies, and a wider soundstage.

Internals and Software

The Xperia 1 VIII is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, replacing last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.

According to Sony, the new chip delivers a 20% increase in CPU performance, a 23% faster GPU, and up to 20% lower power consumption.

The base model comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, while higher configurations offer up to 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. The device also includes a microSD card slot, a feature that has become uncommon even in mid-range phones.

Cameras

The biggest hardware change on the Xperia 1 VIII is the telephoto camera. Sony has replaced the continuous optical zoom system used on earlier Xperia 1 models with a fixed 70mm telephoto lens that provides 2.9x zoom relative to the 24mm main camera.

The new telephoto module uses a 48MP 1/1.56 inch sensor, which is four times larger and has four times the resolution of the sensor used in the previous Xperia 1 VII. The lens has an f/2.8 aperture and is expected to perform better in low-light conditions.

By comparison, the Xperia 1 VII featured an f/2.3 aperture at 3.5x zoom that narrowed to f/3.5 at 7.1x zoom.

The remaining rear cameras are unchanged. The setup includes a 48MP 1/1.35 inch main sensor paired with a 24mm f/1.9 lens and optical image stabilization, along with a 48MP 1/1.56 inch ultra wide camera using a 16mm f/2.0 lens.

For selfies, the phone uses a 12MP front camera with a 1/2.9 inch sensor and a 24mm f/2.0 lens.

Sony said RAW multi-frame image processing is available across all cameras to improve dynamic range and reduce image noise in low-light scenes. The company said this also helps reduce clipped highlights and crushed shadows.

Sony is using the chipset’s AI accelerator for its AI Camera Assistant feature, branded under Xperia Intelligence. The feature analyzes scenes, weather conditions, and subjects to recommend camera adjustments such as color tones and lens effects. Users can either apply the AI-suggested settings with one tap or manually adjust them.

Battery and Pricing

The Xperia 1 VIII keeps the same 5,000 mAh battery as its predecessor. Charging support also remains unchanged at 30W wired charging and 15W wireless charging.

The base 12GB + 256GB model starts at $1759. The 1TB Native Gold variant is exclusive to Sony’s online store and is priced at $2345. Shipping is scheduled to begin in June.

Sony Xperia 1 VIII Specifications