Sony Xperia 1 VII announced: SD 8 Elite chip and larger 50MP ultra-wide sensor

Sony unveils its flagship smartphone with a focus on photography and doubles as a nostalgic music player with the Walkman integration.

Improved ultra-wide photography for mobile

The Sony Xperia 1 VII appeared in its typical minimalist design and is available in Black, Green, and Purple. Moreover, it is equipped with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance for added protection against unwanted dust or splashes.

The phone's design

It features a 6.5-inch FHD+ LTPO OLED display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen is 20 percent brighter than its predecessor and includes a rear light sensor for automatic color temperature adjustment. 

The device is also powered by the current Qualcomm flagship, which is the 4.32GHz 4nm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.

It is also paired with memory, such as 12 GB of RAM, with storage choices of 256GB or 512GB. 

The 5,000mAh battery is retained from the previous model, with improved efficiency enabling up to two days of usage due to the processor’s 3nm architecture. Meanwhile, it also charges using a 30W power brick.

For photography, the Xperia 1 VII retains the same main and telephoto cameras as before. 

The primary camera is a 24mm f/1.9 wide-angle lens with a 52MP 1/1.35-inch Exmor T sensor, optical image stabilization (OIS), and phase-detection autofocus (PDAF). 

The telephoto lens offers a 12MP 85mm to 170 mm f/2.3-f/3.5 continuous optical zoom with a 1/3.5-inch Exmor RS sensor, maintaining telemacro capabilities with a 4cm minimum focusing distance at 120mm.

The key upgrade is in the 50MP ultrawide camera, which retains a 16mm focal length but now features a brighter f/2.0 aperture (compared to f/2.2) and a larger 1/1.56-inch Exmor RS sensor—2.1 times larger than before. 

Furthermore, the camera system incorporates AI-powered features from Sony’s Alpha series, including real-time eye autofocus for humans and animals, AI subject recognition, AI white balance, AI exposure, and AI depth processing. 

It also supports Ultra HDR for enhanced image rendering on compatible screens. The physical two-stage camera shutter button has been slightly widened for better usability.

Audio powered by Sony Walkman

Additional features include enhanced audio components from Sony’s Walkman series, optimizing sound quality through the 3.5mm headphone jack. 

The phone runs on Android 15 and will receive four major OS updates and six years of security updates.

Euro price with direct to PHP conversion (no taxes and duties yet):

Sony Xperia 1 VII 256GB - EUR 1,399 (around PHP 87K)

Sony Xperia 1 VII 512GB - EUR 1,499 (around PHP 93K)

It is now available for pre-order in Europe and the UK, while the official sale will begin starting June.

What do you guys think?

Source: Sony