Update | Sony Xperia 1 VII now official before WH-1000XM6 release with upgraded cameras and Walkman audio components
Update - May 13
Sony has now confirmed that the Xperia 1 VII costs £1,399 in the UK. While 16 GB RAM and 512 GB variants will be available in Asia, Sony will restrict the handset to 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage in Europe and the UK. Incidentally, peak MicroSD card support has grown from 1.5 TB to 2 TB from the Xperia 1 VI.
As expected, the Xperia 1 VII retains a 6.5-inch and 1080p OLED display from last year's model. Sony has still not confirmed peak brightness values, though. Likewise, the new Xperia 1 retains the 1/1.35-inch primary and 1/3.5-inch telephoto cameras from the Xperia 1 VI.
Original article continues as follows:
Sony has now lifted the lid on the Xperia 1 VII, just two days before it releases the WH-1000XM6. Arriving as a direct replacement for last year's Xperia 1 VI (curr. $1,039.99 on Amazon), the Xperia 1 VII has a few tricks up its sleeve that leaks failed to highlight.
Dealing with the obvious first, Sony has swapped out the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite to deliver alleged CPU, GPU and NPU performance boosts of 40% apiece. The 5,000 mAh battery from last year's model returns, although the efficiency gains that the Snapdragon 8 Elite brings to the table help Sony advertise the Xperia 1 VII as a smartphone that can last up to two days between charges.
Sony speaks of having installed a brighter display too, with an additional rear-mounted light sensor on hand to help adjust colour temperature and brightness based on ambient conditions. Unfortunately, it has not provided any specifics in this regard. Likewise, this year's Xperia 1 adopts audio components from Sony's Walkman series for the first time. Despite claiming that these changes significantly improve sound quality when using wired headphones, Sony has not elaborated further with anything tangible.
By contrast, the company has discussed camera hardware changes at length. For example, the Xperia 1 has gained a new 48 MP ultra-wide-angle camera this year with a 1/1.56-inch optical format. Roughly 2.1x larger than the 1/2.5-inch equivalent used inside the Xperia 1 VI, the new 16 mm ultra-wide-angle lens doubles as a macro camera too.
The primary camera has received some love as well, having remained unchanged between the Xperia 1 V and Xperia 1 VI. This time around, Sony claims that the Exmor T mobile sensor can shoot natively at 24 mm or 48 mm equivalent focal lengths; it remains to be seen whether this is an entirely new sensor, though. Finally, Sony reports that the Xperia 1 VII also features an 85-170 mm telephoto camera. The single line that the company has dedicated to this sensor in its press release suggests that is the same one found inside the Xperia 1 VI.
The Xperia 1 VII will be available from today in the Eurozone for €1,499 in a choice of three colour options. Unfortunately, Sony has not provided pricing for other regions yet, such as the UK or the US. We will update this article accordingly if or when Sony provides launch information for other markets.
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