Mainstream or niche? Sony can’t decide what its flagship smartphone wants to be

On the one hand, Sony maintains its position in the premium segment and continues to offer hardware features that competitors have largely abandoned. These include the 3.5-mm headphone jack for wired audio peripherals and a physical microSD card slot for storage expansion.

By 2026, however, these unique selling points are likely to hold little to no relevance for the average user. The vast majority of Android users have long since moved toward wireless audio solutions based on modern Bluetooth standards with high‑resolution codecs. And for storage large‑capacity version with high‑speed UFS standards are in focus - or they rely on cloud‑based systems.

In terms of design and overall product direction, however, Sony is moving toward the mainstream, thereby abandoning its Xperia DNA to some extent. The distinctive 4K display and narrow 21:9 aspect ratio had already been abandoned in the predecessor, which long standing hallmarks of the Xperia series and unique selling points among flagship phones. With the new Xperia VIII, Sony is continuing this trend by doing away with the optical zoom lens featuring a continuously variable focal length. What remains is a solid camera setup with fairly small sensors for this price range.

Whether Sony’s decision to limit the defining traits of its Xperia‑1 lineup to legacy features will pay off remains to be seen. At times, however, this strategic direction for the Xperia series feels somewhat contradictory. The same applies to other choices, such as the rather puzzling storage and color policy of the Xperia 1 VIII. The only configuration with 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage is available exclusively in gold, an unusually specific option for the top tier, especially given that the manufacturer does not offer a 512‑GB variant.