Sony's new Xperia 10 VIII is official, but it offers very few upgrades compared to its predecessor despite a surprisingly high price tag. Essentially, you're looking at last year's phone with a fresh coat of paint.
Sony recently unveiled its latest mid-range phone, the Xperia 10 VIII, but it's shaping up to be one of the most underwhelming updates we've seen in a while. What this means for you is that you're essentially getting last year's phone, the Xperia 10 VII, with a new name and a surprisingly higher price tag.
Seriously, there's very little that's changed compared to its predecessor. You're still looking at the same impressive 6.1-inch LTPS OLED screen, which delivers a crisp FHD+ resolution and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. So, your visual experience will remain largely identical. While Sony claims they've boosted the brightness by 50%, they haven't given us an exact maximum brightness figure. This makes it hard to tell how much of a real-world improvement you'll notice, especially when you're out and about in bright sunlight. Even the familiar top and bottom bezels, housing those front-firing speakers, are still there, giving the phone a very familiar—perhaps too familiar—look.
One good piece of news is that Sony has kept the microSD slot, a feature many of us appreciate for expanding storage without relying solely on cloud services. However, the starting price of €599/£549 feels quite steep for a device that offers such minimal upgrades. It really does feel like you're buying last year's model with a fresh coat of paint and a higher cost. If you're considering an upgrade, especially if you already own the Xperia 10 VII, you might struggle to find compelling reasons to jump to this new version. There are likely other mid-range options out there that offer better value for this price. It's a bit disappointing when we expect more tangible improvements with each new generation.
Seriously, there's very little that's changed compared to its predecessor. You're still looking at the same impressive 6.1-inch LTPS OLED screen, which delivers a crisp FHD+ resolution and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. So, your visual experience will remain largely identical. While Sony claims they've boosted the brightness by 50%, they haven't given us an exact maximum brightness figure. This makes it hard to tell how much of a real-world improvement you'll notice, especially when you're out and about in bright sunlight. Even the familiar top and bottom bezels, housing those front-firing speakers, are still there, giving the phone a very familiar—perhaps too familiar—look.
One good piece of news is that Sony has kept the microSD slot, a feature many of us appreciate for expanding storage without relying solely on cloud services. However, the starting price of €599/£549 feels quite steep for a device that offers such minimal upgrades. It really does feel like you're buying last year's model with a fresh coat of paint and a higher cost. If you're considering an upgrade, especially if you already own the Xperia 10 VII, you might struggle to find compelling reasons to jump to this new version. There are likely other mid-range options out there that offer better value for this price. It's a bit disappointing when we expect more tangible improvements with each new generation.
