Sony’s flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1 VIII, has been a disaster!

Fast Technology reported that the official Sony Xperia account posted a set of sample photos taken with the Xperia 1 VIII after AI camera algorithm optimization on social media, aiming to showcase the new model’s upgraded imaging performance.

Sony officially stated that the Xperia 1 VIII features a newly upgraded AI camera assistant. Relying on the self-developed Xperia Intelligence computational photography framework, Sony phones can intelligently adjust the color, exposure, and bokeh effects of images, directly generating stunning finished products that bring the stories in the captured images to life.

Unexpectedly, the sample photos released by the official team did not receive the expected praise. Instead, they were criticized by netizens across the internet. The photos with AI optimization enabled were overexposed and washed out, with almost all the original colors lost. This was completely inconsistent with users’ usual perception of Sony imaging . Many netizens in the comments section also posted more of their own photos with the same AI optimization failures, making fun of the situation.

According to publicly available product information, the Xperia 1 VIII is Sony’s flagship phone of the year, officially released on May 13. Its starting price overseas is 1,500 euros, which is approximately 12,000 yuan, making it one of the most expensive high-end flagship products in Sony’s mobile phone history.

It’s no wonder that many users joked that spending over 10,000 yuan on a flagship phone only to get such poor results is hard to reconcile with Sony’s past reputation for imaging.