Sony held a presentation of the Xperia 1 VIII in Japan. The Xperia flagship received its first redesign since 2020: the rear cameras are now arranged in a square block, like Motorola’s, rather than vertically. The exterior isn’t the only update.
The Xperia 1 VIII features a 1/1.56″ telephoto lens, which is much larger than the Xperia 1 VII and the latest flagships from Apple and Samsung, and closer to the telephoto lenses found in camera phones like the vivo X300 Ultra.
The telephoto lens’ resolution has also increased, from 12 to 48 MP, and its aperture is now ƒ/2.8. The lens offers a focal length equivalent to 70 mm. A drawback of the new camera system is that the Xperia 1 VIII forgoes the continuous optical zoom found in the last four flagship models.
Other camera updates:
- New algorithms for processing multi-frame RAW files, an improved bokeh effect, and updated macro photography, which is now integrated into the standard camera mode and supports autofocus;
- An AI assistant that, when preparing to shoot, suggests various filter options, provides advice on framing and lens selection, and offers more advanced settings.
The Xperia 1 VIII is powered by the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor. The base memory configuration is 12GB + 256GB, and the maximum is 16GB + 1024GB.
The 3.5mm audio jack remains, as does the dedicated camera button. The front of the smartphone also remains unchanged: thick bezels at the top and bottom are again needed, including for the stereo speakers, which are once again located on the front panel.
Technical specifications:
- Dimensions: 162×74×8.3 mm, 200 grams
- Display: 6.5″, 19.5:9, Full HD+, LTPO OLED, 1–120 Hz, Gorilla Glass Victus 2
- Processor: Octa-core Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 3 nm, up to 4.6 GHz, Adreno 840
- Memory: 12/16 GB RAM, 256/512/1024 GB ROM
- Cameras: 48 MP, ƒ/1.9, 24 mm, 1/1.35″, 1.12 µm, dual-pixel PDAF, OIS (main) + 48 MP, ƒ/2.8, 70 mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0 µm, dual-pixel PDAF, OIS (telephoto), 2.9x optical zoom + 48 MP, ƒ/2.0, 16 mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0 µm, PDAF (wide); 12 MP, ƒ/2.0, 24 mm, 1/2.9″, 1.22 µm (front)
- Battery: 5000 mAh, 33 W wired charging, 15 W wireless charging
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 (A2DP, LE Audio, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless), NFC, USB Type-C 3.2, OTG, video output
- Dust and water resistance: IP68
- OS: Android 16, up to four major system updates
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