Sony Xperia 10 VII release date rumor suggests potential line shakeup

The Sony Xperia 1 VII is nearly upon us, with a reported release date of May 15, and there were some expectations that the Xperia 10 VII could arrive at the same time. It’s a reasonable presumption, as the Xperia 10 V was released in June 2023 (announced in May) and the Xperia 10 VI (currently available on Amazon) was released in June 2024. But some new rumors from two different sources offer a much later Xperia 10 VII release date that will fall in October.

Details coming from a reliable tipster on Esato called Spektykles and a post made by u/Aquis_GN on Reddit agree that the Mark 7 variant of the Xperia 10 will be launched in October. The former source states “will be launched at 10 (Oct)” while the latter source, which allegedly comes via a Sony Fans Vietnam Facebook group, claims the October launch allows for the Sony Xperia 10 VII to be “promoted to the upper mid-range segment”. To get an idea of the current segment status of the Xperia 10 range, it’s worth comparing the Xperia 10 VI’s UK price with that of the Xperia 1 VI: £349 vs. £1,299 (~$468 vs. $1,742).

If the Xperia 10 VII is going to occupy the upper mid-range slot in the line, then the price tag will reflect that change. This sort of phone classification is very subjective, but it might be a handy excuse for Sony to pump the price tag way beyond the £500 mark (~$671) and finally kill off any remaining hopes for an Xperia 5 revival. Interestingly, the Facebook group rumor states this October release has an “improve[d] chip and camera” and also comes with the added comment that “Sony wants to merge the 10 with the 5”. If this is the case, then there might be a whole new Xperia phone coming later this year.