technology
Sony Xperia 1 VIII smartphone launches with new design and camera changes
Sony introduced the Xperia 1 VIII with a revised exterior and updated telephoto camera. The phone keeps several longstanding features and carries the same starting price as prior models.
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Sony released the Xperia 1 VIII, its latest flagship smartphone, featuring a new camera island design and textured finish. The phone also replaces the continuous optical zoom telephoto lens used on the previous four generations with a fixed 2.9x telephoto that uses a 48-megapixel sensor.
The device retains the 3.5 mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, and knurled camera shutter button. It ships with a 6.5-inch 1080p 120 Hz OLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, and either 12 GB or 16 GB of RAM.
Pricing and availability Sony set the starting price at £1,399 or €1,499, about $1,850, with a 1 TB model listed at £1,849 or €1,999. The phone is not offered in the United States.
Performance and software The review noted occasional stuttering during camera use and app switching, along with elevated temperatures after 30 minutes of continuous operation. Battery life from the 5,000 mAh cell fell short of the claimed two-day endurance for some users, and charging is limited to 30 W.
The phone runs a near-stock version of Android and receives four years of operating-system updates. An on-screen AI Camera Assistant tool displays suggested edits before each shot.
Camera system The main and ultrawide cameras carry over from the prior model, while the new telephoto uses a larger sensor than previous Xperia phones. Daytime and low-light image samples showed higher contrast and retained detail, according to the review.
