Sony has officially unveiled its new flagship camera phone, and compared to the last-gen model, the Xperia 1 VIII comes with many hardware improvements. Among the changes is the camera setup, which comprises a 16mm, 24mm, and 70mm sensors on the back.
While the company didn’t share detailed specs of these sensors in the press release, Sony claims that the new 1/1.56-inch telephoto is four times larger than the one found on the Xperia 1 VII, which did quite good in our review. The company further highlights that all three cameras on the back employ RAW multi-frame processing, promising expanded dynamic range and lower noise in low-light shots.
There’s a new AI camera assistant called Xperia Intelligence, which can suggest bokeh settings, lens choices or effects, and other changes based on the scenes. Like the predecessor, the Sony Xperia 1 VIII sports a dedicated camera shutter button, but Sony highlights that the phone comes with a new “ORE” design.
The design change is mainly inspired by the natural textures found on raw gemstones, and, per the description, it could be similar to the sandstone texture featured on flagship phones from different companies.
Other than the camera and the design, the Xperia 1 VIII features the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and Sony has confirmed that it will be paired with up to 1TB of storage. Sony didn’t share much else about the other hardware in the press release, but it’s expected to feature a 6.5-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 19.5:9 ratio.
Battery details have not been specified either. Sony only mentions that the phone is rated for up to a “2-day” runtime with a single charge. The company has, however, confirmed that it will feature a 3.5mm audio jack, and there’s “Walkman-derived” wired audio tuning. As for the price, the 256GB model costs €1,499, while the 1TB option is going for €1,999. The company will throw in a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones (retail price is $458) for free as a pre-order bonus.