New Sony Xperia 1 IX reveals itself with extent of international releases hinted

Sony is less than a day away from its next 'Xperia New Product Announcement'. For context, the Xperia 1 VIII replaced the Xperia 1 VII in May to rival the Galaxy S26 Ultra (curr. $1,099 on Amazon) and other Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-powered flagships. As a result, August 25's launch event would appear to be for a new Xperia 10, which recent leaks suggest too.

Nonetheless, the company has been spotted again making preparations to release another Xperia-branded smartphone. For reference, The Walkman Blog spotted three unreleased Xperia model numbers on GSMA's IMEI database earlier this month. As we discussed at the time, these model numbers likely related to the following regional variants:

• Japan - XQ-H44 (PM-1545-BV)
• Europe - XQ-HH54 (PM-1540-BV)
• Rest of the world - XQ-HH74 (PM-1541-BV)

Now, The Walkman Blog has observed another three variants, as well as the original three already visible on IMEI databases. Specifically, Travel SIM has added references to the PM-1542-BV, PM-1543-BV and PM-1544-BV.

According to the same website, these designations relate to Docomo, AU and Softbank versions of the Xperia 1 IX. Hence, it seems that Sony will continue to refrain from officially selling the Xperia 1 for another generation. Please see our recent Xperia 1 VIII review for more details about Sony's latest flagship smartphone.