Sony Xperia 1 VIII Is Official With a Four-Times Bigger Telephoto Sensor and a Steep Price Tag

The Sony Xperia 1 VIII is now official, the company’s new flagship smartphone. The rumors were spot on when it comes to its design, it seems. Sony did change up the camera module on the back, but didn’t change much otherwise.

Sony is sticking with its design language, but has a redesigned camera module

As you can see in the images provided below, the device has a flat display with very thin bezels on the sides. The top and bottom bezels are thicker, as Sony still refuses to put the front-facing camera in the display and uses front-facing speakers. That way, the phone does not have a display camera hole or anything like that.

The frame of the phone is flat, and all the buttons are on the right side. The power/lock button doubles as a fingerprint scanner, and above it sits the volume up and down key combo. There is also a camera shutter button on that side, but it’s placed lower.

The Xperia 1 VIII’s backplate is flat, while the camera module in the top-left corner is the only thing that protrudes. There are three cameras included inside it. ZEISS is once again a part of the package.

The periscope telephoto camera is four times bigger

This phone does come with upgraded cameras in several ways. The periscope telephoto camera is brand new, but the phone also received a new feature called AI Camera Assistant, which is powered by Xperia Intelligence.

This feature uses AI to analyze subjects and weather conditions, and suggests optimal camera settings based on that. Settings like color tones, lens selections, and bokeh effects.

The periscope telephoto camera got a major upgrade, as a 1/1.56-inch sensor is used now, which is approximately four times larger than the one in the Xperia 1 VII. Continuous optical zoom is no longer here, though. The main and ultrawide cameras are the same as they were before. All three cameras utilize RAW multi-frame processing, though. It is supposed to expand the dynamic range and optimize noise reduction, while improving low-light performance.

All three rear cameras are 48-megapixel units

Speaking of the cameras, the phone features a 48-megapixel main camera (f/1.9 aperture, 1/1.35-inch sensor size, Hybrid OIS/EIS), along with a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera (f/2.0 aperture, 1/1.56-inch sensor size, 104-degree FoV). The third camera is a 48-megapixel periscope telephoto unit (f/2.8 aperture, 1/1.56-inch Exmor RS sensor, 3x optical zoom, 17.5x hybrid zoom). On the front, you’ll find a 12-megapixel snapper (f/2.0 aperture, 1/2.9-inch Exmor RS mobile sensor).

The phone features a 6.5-inch fullHD+ (2340 x 1080) OLED HDR display. It has an adaptive refresh rate (1-120Hz), and a 240Hz touch canning rate. The display is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

It utilizes Qualcomm’s most powerful chip

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip fuels the phone, while 12GB and 16GB RAM (LPDDR5X) variants have been announced. The phone comes in 256GB and 1TB (UFS 4.1) storage options. It also offers expandable storage up to 2TB.

Android 16 comes pre-installed on the phone, while the device will get 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security updates. The Xperia 1 VIII is IP65 and IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. It supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 as well.

It has stereo speakers that are front-facing, and comes with a 5,000mAh battery. 30W wired and 15W wireless charging are supported. There is also an audio jack included on the phone.

The Sony Xperia 1 VIII is far from being cheap

The Sony Xperia 1 VIII was announced in Graphite Black, Iolite Silver, Garnet Red, and Native Gold colors. The 256GB storage variant costs €1,499 ($1,759), while the 1TB model is priced at €1,999 ($2,346). Sony did note that during the initial pre-order period, purchases will include a pair of Sony’s flagship WH-1000XM6 headphones. The 1TB model comes in a Native Gold version only, and it’s available exclusively through Sony’s online store in select regions.