Sony Xperia 1 VII...

Fry750

Fry750

Fry750

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Recently there have been several leaks detailing the alleged Xperia 1 Mk VII.

Official announcement expected on 13th May @ 03:00AM GMT (11:00 Japan time)

The most notable change seems to be the focus on audio, with the Walkman brand heavily tied to the announcement. Speculations are improved audio quality and possible inclusion of a DAC.

Also the best colour (purple) has been rumoured to be coming back.

Expected specs:
6.5" OLED screen @ 1080 x 2340 pixels
Snapdragon 8 Elite
12GB RAM
Android 15
256GB ROM/ 12GB RAM
5000mAh battery (improvements to life expected)
Improvements to Mk VI camera

The announcement/release is also meant to be alongside upcoming Sony XM6s, which could mean an initial special offer or free pair of XM6s for early adopters, the same as every other Xperia 1 launch.

The MK VII retains its SD card slot and headphone jack - if it's able to support SD MicroSD Express and include a DAC, those would be ideal upgrades.



Sony-Xperia-VII.jpg


It's also looking likely Sony won't release in the US.

What do we think... your next phone or is it a damp squib?
 
I always fancied the idea of a Sony phone but they've always been a complete larry let down for various reasons in particular software updates.
 
Slackworth said:
I always fancied the idea of a Sony phone but they've always been a complete larry let down for various reasons in particular software updates.
Click to expand...
I've just been reading apparently VII comes with FOUR OS updates and SIX years worth of security updates - definite improvement if true!

Will need to wait for official confirmation of course ^
 
I know it's was critical in the other thread, but if true, software support is a welcome change and what's been putting me off previous launches.
 
First review

www.gsmarena.com

Sony Xperia 1 VII review

It's been 7 years since the first Xperia 1 came out. Or is it VII years? The Sony Xperia VII has just made its official debut, and we've had one for a...
www.gsmarena.com www.gsmarena.com

Pros​


  • Functional and comfortable design, quite compact for the times; IP65/IP68 rating.
  • Two-stage shutter release button.
  • microSD card slot and 3.5mm jack like in the good old days.
  • Full-featured camera app with both point-and-shoot and advanced modes.
  • Extreme telephoto closeups.
  • Possibly the best ultrawide camera on the market for stills shooting.
  • Excellent selfies.

Cons​


  • Competitors already offering IPX9 rating.
  • Only 256GB of internal storage.
  • Charging is slow.
  • The telephoto camera produces soft results in general.
  • Videos aren't as sharp as we'd like.
 
Only 256gb but at least it comes with a microSD card slot still.

Looking at the UK site, the price (£1399) still feels too expensive compared to the competition. It does come with the XM5 headphones if you do pre-order it however.

4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security isn't the best, but much better than previous Sony phones. Covers my usual phone lifetime at least.
 
Hard sell at that price, will see how second hand prices pan out.

EDIT: See battery life is respectable but quite below what VI achieved last year
 
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Sadly not much of an upgrade at all it seems.

That said purple does look wicked but not enough of a reason to ***** £1400 which would've got you the VI with 512GB and in Scarlet Red.

I really don't understand Sony, always seem to do the absolute minimum and seldom innovate. It'll be £999 by Christmas anyway.
 
Xperia who?

Sony's brand kudos died a long time ago. And this installment is another snooze fest.
 
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I would love to get one just for the Hi-Res BT codecs but can't pay this much for a phone. In that respect, Samsung has cornered the market as I only spent around £600 for S25U with all the offers and codes. For the price of the Sony, I could buy 2 S25U and still have change left over.
 
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The pricing is bizarre, really.

I'd even consider the Asus ROG 9 Pro as that comes with 24GB/1TB for less.

HOWEVER, reasons I love the Xperia 1 series...
  • Classy design and purple is just resplendent
  • MicroSD slot and headphone jack (though I wish the VII was upgraded for MicroSD Express and they improved the DAC)
  • No stupid notch or overly rounded corners on the screen
  • Can be used as external monitor for Sony cameras (I have A7 IV)
  • No lame bloatware
  • Alt DP via USB C (VLC finally plays video via HDMI properly!)
  • Camera performance is decent (irrespective of reviews) and caters to manual usage more favourably
  • Side mounted fingerprint reader is comfortable and works well 99% of the time
  • Dedicated camera button is always helpful
Now Sony has improved software support, it makes the value proposition that bit better but £1400 is a tough ask, even if you can flog the XM5s for £200.

There's been a lot of backlash and feedback for Sony with the VII so far which means either the VIII will carry a series of notable improvements in-line with competition, it'll be another marginal upgrade at premium price further pushing Sony down the pecking order or the VII will be the last Xperia 1 (maybe even phone, though there have been rumours the Xperia brand is to die to make way for something new).

Personally I think Sony should make a new Pro phone, put the need to be a 'sexy' phone to the back and focus purely on performance. If Sony can include a 1-inch sensor or proper DAC, the photography/audiophile crowd will go nuts and typically don't care about pricing, so £1400 isn't such a ludicrous ask.

Anyway, another year to find out *sigh*.
 
Phone looks nice, I like the form factor and the general Sony package, but the price is just crazy!

Four years of software updates is nice, longer would be even nicer but I'm unlikely to keep a phone that long!
 
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