Xperia 1 VIII, a product geared towards fans

The Verge described Sony’s latest Xperia 1 VIII as a fan-oriented product: a unique design language, exquisite craftsmanship, the legacy of the Walkman (3.5mm headphone jack and microSD card slot), and an uncompromising price (12+256=1499 euros; 16+1=1999 euros).

The design details of the Xperia 1 VIII are worth learning from by competitors. The grand hotel even etched a frosted texture onto the Corning Gorilla Glass surface (Victus on the back; Victus 2 on the front), making it feel like a finely textured nail file.

The Deco design features sharp lines on three sides, with only one side featuring a chamfered design that connects to the frame. The frame still retains the recessed fingerprint/power button, although its recognition rate is not as good as the currently popular in-display fingerprint sensor. Sony’s signature two-stage shutter button has also returned to the new model, with improved feel and enhanced photography experience.

The screen of the new phone has caused the most controversy. After abandoning its iconic 21:9@4K screen, Sony equipped the Xperia 1 VIII with an LTPO variable refresh rate (1Hz-120Hz) screen, which is 6.5 inches with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2340 x 1080. While rejecting punch-hole, notch, and waterdrop designs, it was forced to retain a large forehead and double chin.

The resolution has been reduced to 1080p, so it shouldn’t lag anymore, right? Unfortunately, The Verge found in its review that Sony made the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 overheat and lag. For example, when recording a press conference with the real-time text-to-speech function enabled, the phone got hot after only 30 minutes, and it became very hot after the one-hour press conference.

Furthermore, the editor was also concerned about the 5000mAh battery in the Xperia 1 VIII. While promotional materials claimed two days of battery life, in reality, charging it daily was more realistic. Several times, the phone came home with only single-digit battery levels, and the editor didn’t consider himself a heavy phone user.

The Xperia 1 VIII features Sony’s most powerful mobile camera module, with the main camera, ultra-wide-angle lens, and telephoto lens all upgraded to 48MP sensors, while the front camera remains at 12MP. The editor praised Sony’s image processing technology, noting that the contrast and color are more pleasing to the eye than other models on the market, and its performance in low-light conditions is also very stable. However, the newly added “AI Camera Assistant” is somewhat of a hindrance, slowing down the camera’s response time; fortunately, this feature can be turned off.

The results provided by the AI ​​assistant:

Shooting results after turning off the AI ​​assistant: