Latest news with #Xperia1
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.
Phone Arena
13-05-2025
- Phone Arena
Meet the Sony Xperia 1 VII: State-of-the-art chip, bigger cameras, signature design, limited release
As if Sony didn't have enough trouble attracting attention to its high-end Android handsets nowadays, the latest addition to the Xperia 1 roster had its official announcement scheduled for just a few hours after Samsung's hugely anticipated Galaxy S25 Edge. 6.5-inch OLED screen with 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution and 120Hz refresh rate technology; Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor; Android 15 ; ; Four OS upgrades and six years of security patches guaranteed; 12GB RAM; 256GB internal storage space; microSD support for up to 2TB expansion; 48MP primary rear-facing camera with f/1.9 aperture; 12MP secondary telephoto sensor; 48MP ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.0 aperture; 12MP single front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture; 5,000mAh battery; IP68 water and dust resistance; Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen protection; Corning Gorilla Glass Victus back; Side-mounted fingerprint sensor; 3.5mm headphone jack; Full-stage stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos technology; USB Type-C 3.2 port; Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC; 162 x 74 x 8.2mm dimensions; 197 grams weight; Moss Green, Orchid Purple, and Slate Black color options. Yes, ladies and gents, Sony Mobile's newest crown jewel looks an awful lot like last year's Xperia 1 VI, both from a strictly cosmetic standpoint and as far as specifications and features are concerned. But there are also a few notable distinctions, and while some have been very easy to predict for a very long time, a couple of others are truly special, setting the Xperia 1 VII apart from its predecessor in a big way. I'm talking first and foremost about the ultra-wide-angle lens, which is equipped with a 48MP sensor that's not only superior in its megapixel count, but also physically larger than its Xperia 1 VI counterpart, thus promising clear night shots "equivalent to full-frame cameras." Sony, of course, leveraged some of that Alpha expertise to improve the photography experience as a whole while working both on the hardware and software fronts to please mobile shutterbugs and catch up to the best camera phones out there. AI Camerawork and Auto Framing are two exciting new features aimed at making it easier to produce "pro level" videos with expertly framed subjects, although we'll obviously have to wait and thoroughly review the Sony Xperia 1 VII for ourselves before actually declaring those tools handy, let alone game-changing. Unsurprisingly, Sony's 2025 contender for the best Android phone title packs a cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, as well as the same 5,000mAh battery as the Xperia 1 VI. For some reason, the Xperia 1 VII is a few grams heavier than its forerunner, and contrary to a couple of recent rumors, the 4K screen resolution of the Xperia 1 V is not coming back this year either. Water is wet, grass is green, and ultra-high-end Sony smartphones are overpriced. Unfortunately, that entire axiom is as true today as always, with the Xperia 1 VII fetching €1,499 and £1,399 on pre-order in select European markets in its lone 256GB storage variant. That equates to around $1,670 and $1,850 respectively, but more importantly, it makes Sony's latest Android powerhouse cost more than some of its biggest rivals. The hugely popular Galaxy S25 Ultra, for instance, is normally priced at £1,249 ($1,650) and up in the UK, while something like the OnePlus 13 will only set you back £899 ($1,186) in its most affordable configuration. Even Apple's iPhone 16 Pro Max is cheaper than the Sony Xperia 1 VII , starting at £1,199 ($1,580) and fetching £1,399 with 512GB storage. Why am I focusing so much on British prices? Well, because I don't have any official US numbers just yet, and while those could still come a little later, last year's Xperia 1 VI makes me fear this year's top-of-the-line Xperia handset will not be released stateside either. Despite some of its obvious imperfections, the Xperia 1 VII remains a breath of fresh air in today's mobile industry thanks to its integration of Alpha, Bravia, and Walkman technologies, as well as its surviving headphone jack and microSD card slot, so it's definitely sad to see Sony repeat the same big pricing and availability mistakes as last year.
