It feels like the Sony Xperia 1 VIII is from a different timeline – where smartphone makers didn’t remove the microSD slot and 3.5mm headphone jack, where they didn’t adopt punch-hole displays or larger, faster-charging batteries.
We’re not going to overstate it, the Mark 8 flagship’s starting price of €1,500 / £1,400 and the inclusion of a free pair of excellent WH-1000XM6 doesn’t make up for the fact that you’re only getting a 5,000mAh battery with 30W wired and 15W wireless charging (no magnets either). Many people were angry about this in the comments under the announcement news.
Sony Xperia 1 VIII
The 6.5″ 1080p+ display isn’t as sharp as the 1440p+ panels typically found on €1,000+ phones. The list of issues continues – cooling could have been better thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. Having only 12GB of RAM and only 256GB of storage for this price is also less than ideal – yes, you have the option to add extra storage, but microSD cards aren’t as cheap as they used to be You can check out our detailed review for more details.
We’d like to focus a bit on the new telephoto camera – in a way, it’s boring because it’s a high-resolution sensor behind a fixed focal length lens, not unlike most flagships. Yes, the continuous zoom mechanism is gone. That said, the new 48MP 2.9x/70mm module produces sharper images than the Mark 7 camera’s 70mm. And it’s even better in low-light scenes.
Xperia 1 VIII: microSD slot • 3.5mm jack • Shutter key • New telephoto camera
In fact, all three rear cameras delivered good results in all lighting conditions. And all three support 4K video at 120fps. Still, you can get better cameras on similarly priced Ultra phones from other manufacturers. They boast the camera lineage of brands like Hasselblad, Zeiss and Leica – from what we’re saying, there’s a lot more to the Sony Alpha than that. And the AI features that Sony integrated into the camera left a lot to be desired.
How do you feel about the Sony Xperia 1 VIII? We know that this series has its die-hard fans and it is a niche product that most people overlook. Which group do you belong to?
sony xperia 1 viii 5g
| 256GB 12GB RAM | €1,499.00 |
£1,399.00 |
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