Latest news with #SonyXperia
GSM Arena
7 days ago
- GSM Arena
Weekly poll: would you buy the Sony Xperia 1 VII?
Sony doesn't make many phones these days, but the models it does release are like nothing else on the market. With the Sony Xperia 1 VII the company has fixed some of the issues that fans complain about, but many still remain. Sony Xperia 1 VII The Mark 7 promises 4 OS updates. After that, you won't have the latest Android, but you will have a secure phone with patches for two more years. That's much better than the Mark 6, which only got 3 OS updates and one extra year of security patches. That longevity is important because the Xperia 1 VII costs a whopping £1,400/€1,500 in the UK and Europe and that is only with 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage. Asia will get a 512GB variant, North America might not get the phone at all. Sony Xperia 1 VII 5G Yes, storage is expandable, but microSD cards are slower than internal storage and high resolution video at high frame rates (the phone does up to 4K @ 120fps) will be a pain to transfer from a slow memory card. Speaking of video, we were hoping for better results. Also, the new ultra-wide camera is great and delivered some great shots, but the telephoto camera still has flaws – despite being the only one with proper optical zoom. The Xperia 1 VII has features you won't find on many (any?) flagships Besides the microSD slot, the Xperia 1 VII stands out with a 3.5mm headphone jack and a two-stage shutter key. However, battery life is worse than last year and charging is quite slow. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is fast, but poor cooling significantly impacts sustained performance. Read our review and watch our video review for more details. Before we ask for your thoughts on the phone, let's introduce the competition. With a €1,500 price tag, the Sony is up against the very best models from Xiaomi, Oppo, vivo, Apple, Google, Samsung and everyone else, really. And these Pro and Ultra phones are cheaper than the Sony. Xiaomi 15 Ultra • Oppo Find X8 Pro • vivo X200 Pro Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max • Google Pixel 9 Pro XL • Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Of course, if you still use wired headphones or want to carry a few terabytes of data with you or want to use your phone as an external monitor for a Sony camera, there's only one phone that can do all that – the Sony Xperia 1 VII. It's a rather specific niche, but it's a niche likely to attract people with spending money. So, what do you think – would you buy the Sony Xperia 1 VII or has Sony completely lost the plot?
India Today
14-05-2025
- India Today
Sony Xperia 1 VII launched, it is a phone we deserve but cannot get
The last Sony Xperia phones to ever release in India were the Xperia R1 and R1 Plus, back in 2017. The last one to launch in the US was the Xperia 1 V, back in 2023. And while I don't have enough time to go through each and every country from where Sony started withdrawing over the past few years — one thing's clear: if you want an Xperia phone today, there are very few places in the world where you can get one. Limited availability though, Sony is still selling its Xperia 1, 10 and 5 series in a few places around the latest release is Sony's Xperia 1 VII flagship smartphone, and it is available for pre-order in Europe, Japan and the UK. Now, why did Sony withdraw from markets over the years? Why did its market share shrink? Why didn't Sony adapt to the ever-evolving changes in the smartphone world? That's a debate for a different time. For now, the Xperia 1 VII is the kind of phone that — if Sony were still releasing its phones for the masses — would've sold like Xperia 1 VII looks exactly how you'd expect a Sony flagship to look — tall, sleek and minimalist. It's available in three elegant colour options: Moss Green, Orchid Purple, and Slate Black. The design continues Sony's signature 21:9 aspect ratio — first seen on the OG Xperia 1 from 2019 with a 4K resolution display — which makes the phone look more cinematic than most flagships out Powering the phone is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. This is paired with 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. There's no higher variant, but you do get microSD card support up to 2TB, which is again a rare sight in flagships these makes the Xperia 1 VII stand out is how Sony brings in its other hardware divisions to help make this phone feel truly premium. The camera system has been developed in collaboration with the company's Alpha team — the same people behind Sony's top-end mirrorless cameras. There's also input from the Bravia team for the display and, for the first time ever, the Walkman division for the audio phone retains a 3.5mm headphone jack (thank you, Sony), and this time, they've even gone as far as adding gold to the soldering on the audio circuit to reduce signal loss. In simple terms, if you care about wired audio — and chances are, if you're a Sony fan, you do — this is a there's the camera. A no-nonsense triple-lens setup: a 48-megapixel primary sensor, another 48 megapixel ultra-wide, and a 12-megapixel telephoto. But the real magic is in the software — something Sony's calling Xperia Intelligence. It includes features like Human Pose Estimation, Real-time Eye Autofocus, Subject Recognition, and Depth Estimation. These are meant to make it easier for anyone to shoot like a pro. Of course, I can't comment on the actual quality of the results, but over the years, with all the videos I've watched about Sony's Xperia 1 flagship phones — I've only heard great things about the camera, and I hope nothing has changed with the latest generation the software front, the Xperia 1 VII ships with Android 15 out of the box. Sony promises four years of Android OS updates and six years of security patches. Not quite on par with Samsung or Google, but still here's the part that stings — it's not coming to India. It might not even come to the US. Speaking of which, at the time of writing, Sony hasn't confirmed anything about the US launch. For now, it's up for pre-order only in Japan, Europe and the UK, priced at 1,399 Pounds (roughly Rs 1,59,200) — which is 100 Pounds more than the previous it's a shame. Because this phone, with all its audio and camera smarts, the gorgeous display, and that clean, industrial look — would've had its own fanbase here. Maybe not massive, but loyal for sure. Maybe the pricing would've also been adjusted to the Indian market. Who knows. But it's just unfortunate that most of us can't buy it.
GSM Arena
13-05-2025
- GSM Arena
Sony Xperia 1 VII brings Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, larger sensor for ultrawide camera
The Sony Xperia 1 VII is here, and it looks very much like its predecessor. It comes in two new colors, so it's easier to tell apart though - Moss Green and Orchid Purple. Sony kept the blueprint unchanged - the Xperia 1 VII has the same 6.5-inch display diagonal, the same 5,000mAh battery, and a triple camera system on the back, but it's still bringing key improvements. The main shooter and the continuous optical zoom are the same as before - you get a 24mm f/1.9 wide angle camera with a 1/1.35-inch Exmor T sensor, OIS, and PDAF. The telephoto has an 85mm-170mm f/2.3-f3.5 lens with a smallish 1/3.5-inch Exmor RS imager. The zoom still has telemacro abilities - you get a 4cm minimum focusing distance at 120mm. What's new this year is the ultrawide camera - it's still a 16mm lens but with a brighter f/2.0 aperture (vs f/2.2) and a 1/1.56-inch Exmor RS sensor - 2.1x larger than the previous one. The camera system has a healthy helping of AI-infused Alpha smarts - Sony's real-time eye AF is there for both humans and animals, there's AI main subject recognition, AI white balance, AI exposure, and AI depth. There's also Ultra HDR support, so your images will pop on any supported HDR screen. Sony has also kept the physical two-stage camera button, but it's ever-so-slightly wider and more comfortable this year. A new, bigger ultrawide angle sensor While on the topic of what's kept this year, the Xperia 1 VII has a 3.5mm audio jack. It now uses a higher-quality solder with added gold, which thoroughly minimizes transmission loss. Inside, the phone has a premium-grade Audio Integrated Circuit, as before. There's also a built-in microSD card slot, meaning you can greatly expand the phone's 256GB built-in storage. The phone is IP68 water and dust tight, and has Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and GG Victus on the back. The Xperia 1 VII has the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC with a vapor chamber to help keep it cool. It's paired to 12GB of RAM. There's also Wi-Fi 7 and twice the Bluetooth transmission throughput of the Xperia 1 VI. The display is a 10-bit 6.5-inch 1080x2340px Bravia 120Hz OLED panel - nearly identical to the panel on the previous Xperia 1, though this one is 20% brighter. Sony has integrated two illuminance sensors (one on the front, one on the back), which help with precise brightness adjustment. There's also automatic color adjustment in different lighting, increasing both the brightness and the saturation in strong light. The front-facing full-stage stereo speakers have 10% richer bass and mid-bass and were tuned in collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment. The Xperia 1 VII has retained the 5,000mAh battery with 30W charging, neither of which is exactly groundbreaking these days. However, Sony says you can expect 2 full days of endurance, including 36 hours of continuous video playback from the power pack. Sony has a set of battery-safety features - Xperia Adaptive Charging and Battery Care - that ensure you get 4 years of battery health. Sony says its battery will lose less than 20% of its capacity after 48 months of use. Finally, the Xperia 1 VII ships with Android 15 out of the box and Sony pledges at least 4 OS version updates, and 6 years of security fixes. The Sony Xperia 1 VII comes in three colors - Slate Black, Moss Green, and Orchid Purple - and in a single 12/256GB configuration. It will start shipping in June, priced at €1,499.
Digital Trends
11-05-2025
- Digital Trends
One brand has a golden opportunity to make the best camera phone of 2025
Table of Contents Table of Contents Samsung has dropped the ball What about Google, Xiaomi, and OnePlus? It's Sony's chance We may never find out There's a new Sony Xperia flagship smartphone coming on May 13. It's probably going to be called the Xperia 1 VII and Sony's name is synonymous with great cameras, top optics, and high-level computational photography expertise. Plus, the teaser video tells us the new Xperia's camera will contain expertise taken from its Alpha series cameras. Few other phone brands have such rich photographic heritage, and most resort to bringing in a camera maker to try and get the same kudos. I think the Xperia 1 VII is potentially Sony's time to shine, and if it's as good as we hope, to take firm control as maker of the best phone camera of the year. Here's why. Samsung has dropped the ball Brand recognition is very important, and it's one of the top reasons a lot of people buy a Samsung smartphone. The ones who want a Samsung phone with a brilliant camera usually select the Ultra model, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra being the latest. The trouble is, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra's camera is decent, it's not spectacular. I've recently returned from a long weekend away with the Galaxy S25 Ultra as my main camera, and I spent a lot of time editing the photos I took to get them looking the way I wanted. I never mind editing photos, but I don't think it should be a necessity, yet I believe it is with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. A little tweak to get your preferred look is one thing, but it's quite another to feel you must edit photos just to reach an acceptable baseline. Colors, contrast, and exposure never quite look right straight off the camera. It's a serious issue because the main camera is affected, which also suffers from poor stabilization resulting in a lack of sharpness. The Galaxy S25 Ultra beat the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max in our camera test, but in the process lost out in the main camera category. Can a camera really be called 'the best' in a test where the camera we will all use the most fails to win? The Galaxy S25 Ultra's camera is, as a whole, very good. However, I don't consider it the photography fan's choice, and it leaves the door open for a challenger. What about Google, Xiaomi, and OnePlus? The Xiaomi 14 Ultra was my favorite camera phone of 2024, and while the Xiaomi 15 Ultra's camera is very, very good, it's not quite as good as the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Unlike Samsung, Xiaomi doesn't do everything itself, and it works with experts Leica to improve and optimize the camera and software. It gives Xiaomi the prestige it needs to become a big player in the smartphone camera world. Xiaomi also takes smartphone photography very seriously. It produces an accessory that looks like a camera-shaped case for the phone, complete with a built-in battery, physical camera controls, and the chance to attach filters too. However, flashy accessories don't really matter if the camera's software hasn't quite caught up with the latest hardware changes, which is the case with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. OnePlus also works with a camera brand, Hasselblad, and the OnePlus 13 takes great photos. But is it stellar? No, but that's not really what it sets out to be. The OnePlus 13 is really the best all-round Android phone available at the moment, and most people will be very happy with the camera, just as they will be with the rest of the phone. But I don't think photo enthusiasts will flock to it, and they're right not to. Hasselblad's name may be on the back, but it's much more of a branding exercise than it is about making the most of the camera hardware. Then there's the Google Pixel 9 range. The Pixel's camera is very good indeed, almost regardless of which model you buy, but I can't honestly say it's the very best you can get anymore. Google has spent the last few years messing around with AI-powered features like Add Me, and I don't feel it has pushed as hard to make its camera take better photos. It has given brands like Xiaomi the opportunity to be the camera go-to. It's Sony's chance All this means there's a chance for another smartphone maker to swoop in and claim the crown emblazoned with the words 'best camera phone 2025.' To do so it needs brand recognition, preferably built-in without the need to bring on a partner. It needs extensive experience making cameras and lenses. It needs to understand how to tune the software behind the camera, and it needs to understand what photographers want. Sony ticks these boxes. In 2019 I visited Sony's headquarters in Tokyo, I saw first-hand how it was leveraging its massive experience to reinvigorate its smartphones. The team explained why nailing eye-tracking tech was important, how its display experts were called in to approve the screen, and those responsible for the Alpha cameras worked on optimizing the camera's software. Sony was in the process of turning its smartphone division around, and compete with Samsung, Apple, and Huawei at the time. a real chance to sew up the title of best camera phone of 2025 Most phone fans will know Sony's strategy has chopped and changed a lot since then, and its smartphones are a rarity alongside the big names today. Don't forget though, Sony's camera components are found in many top smartphones already. It knows what it's doing, and if the forthcoming Xperia 1 VII has a camera on the back which effectively leverages all Sony's talent and expertise, it has a real chance to sew up the title of best camera phone of 2025 before we're halfway through the year. We may never find out Unfortunately, while I'm confident Sony could do it, I'm also realistic. The fact is it hasn't been able to put all the above together to make a truly outstanding camera yet, despite years of trying. Beyond this it makes buying its phones quite difficult, it doesn't always sell them globally, it is terrible at promoting them, and it has a reputation for being, well, a bit dull. Samsung's Galaxy AI may not be the selling point the company thinks it is, but there's no question it really knows how to convince us it is. Even if the Sony Xperia 1 VII's camera is fantastic, there's a very real chance we'll never actually know, and it's a real shame for us, along with bad news for a phone maker many people may have forgotten even makes phones at all.
GSM Arena
07-05-2025
- GSM Arena
Sony officially reveals the Xperia 1 VII's launch date, and it's close
Yesterday a rumor out of Japan told us to expect Sony to announce the Xperia 1 VII on May 15, and today the company itself has finally come out and shared the actual official unveiling date. It's two days earlier than rumored: May 13. As you can see, the event will take place at 11 AM Japan time, which is 4 AM CEST, 3 AM in London, and 7:30 AM in India. The launch will be livestreamed on Sony's YouTube channel, and we'll embed the stream on the day of the event for your viewing pleasure. New Xperia is coming on 13 May! Get ready for the Xperia New Product Announcement, exclusively on @SonyXperia YouTube: 13 May (TUE), 2025 11:00 Japan time / 04:00 CEST#SonyXperia #ProductAnnouncement #NextXperia — Sony | Xperia (@sonyxperia) May 7, 2025 According to past leaks and rumors, the Xperia 1 VII looks nigh-on identical to its predecessor, but is slightly shorter, wider, and thicker, while expected to keep the same 6.5-inch screen size. It will reportedly be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, paired with 12GB of RAM. It will run Android 15 from day one, but that 'day one' could be a long way away if you're not in Japan - yesterday's rumor told us the phone would become available in Japan on launch day but would only make it to international markets in July. Hopefully that was inaccurate just like the actual unveiling date was, but we'll have to wait and see.
