Sony has announced its new high-end smartphone. The manufacturer is coming out with the new Sony Xperia 1 VII. The seventh generation of this phone should compete with rivals like the Galaxy S25, Xiaomi 15 and OnePlus 13. So what does the Sony have to offer? First and foremost, a much better update policy.
Sony Xperia 1 VII announced
A new high-end smartphone has been announced by Sony. The manufacturer is coming out with the Sony Xperia 1 VII and this promises to be another improved version of Sony's previous models. The smartphone will compete with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, OnePlus 13, Xiaomi 15 Ultra and other high-end devices such as, of course, the iPhone. The design is a familiar story. Sony still opts for the familiar design of the Xperia 1, with an aluminium frame and glass front and back. With that, the somewhat thicker bezels also stand out. The screen bezels are thicker than those of other high-end models. The casing is IP68 certified.
Sony equips the Xperia 1 VII with Bravia, Alpha and Walkman features. These are Sony brands and are familiar from its televisions, camera and sound products. The best of these are combined in the Xperia VII.
Alpha
We will see Alpha technologies in the camera, just like in previous models. This means an extended manual mode for taking photos and videos. Also, AI will make its appearance in the Sony Xperia 1 VII. For instance, AI Camerawork can help with creating stable, framed videos at a high level. With 'Position Lock', you can 'lock' the subject, with Auto Framing you will be even better taken in the moment. The subject can be tracked automatically and AI ensures it stays in focus. AI is also used for other functions.
The Sony Xperia 1 VII's camera offers a 16mm 48 megapixel wide-angle lens, a 24/48 millimetre 48 megapixel main lens and a 12MP 85-170 millimetre telephoto lens. These allow you to zoom between 3.5 and 7x. The new 48-megapixel wide-angle lens should take even better photos in this regard. According to Sony, these should be comparable to a full-frame camera, with a wide dynamic range and low noise. When taking portraits and macro shots, you should also be able to take the best pictures with the device. Handy in this regard is the physical shutter button, giving you more grip on the device.
Walkman
The power of 'Walkman' is reflected in the sound quality and audio capabilities. Sony promises the best sound quality of any Xperia phone ever. Various techniques are present to ensure the best audio experience. If you don't want to use the speakers, you can use a Bluetooth headset, but you can also still connect a wired headset, thanks to the 3.5-millimetre jack. This is where Sony is very unique, as we don't often see this on a high-end smartphone.
Bravia
Bravia shows its strength with the screen. Through front and rear sensors, accurate brightness can be determined as well as colour mode. According to Sony, this should result in a bright screen on a sunny day and a sufficiently dimmed brightness in the evening hours. The maximum brightness is 20 per cent higher than the previous model. Sony has further added the Gemini app, as well as Circle to Search and the Magic Editor, which we already know from other devices.
Other improvements
Sony indicates that the battery life of the device is very important. The presentation shows off the good performance of the previous Sony Xperia 1 VI. The new model should do even better. On board is a 5000 mAh battery. This should make it possible to do two days with the phone on one battery charge. These are figures on 360 minutes of use per day. Charging can be done with 30W or 15W wireless.
The Sony Xperia 1 VII immediately gets a better update policy, according to the presentation. No more three-year updates as with previous models. The new phone gets four Android OS updates and six years of security updates. The Sony features the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, with support for WiFi 7. If the internal memory is not enough, you can even expand it with a memory card of up to 2TB. That's quite unique in a high-end device, though. The fingerprint scanner is still in the power button. Face recognition cannot be used for unlocking, Sony informs. There is also 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage available.
Availability
The new Sony Xperia 1 VII will cost €1499. You can choose from the colours Orchid Purple, Slate Black and Moss Green. The smartphone will ship from 12 June.
