Sony launches new midrange smartphone with minor upgrades and wild price

Sony has officially launched the Xperia 10 VIII, a direct successor to the Xperia 10 VII. The company’s latest mid-range smartphone follows the same old formula as its predecessor. That means there are a few minor upgrades here and there, while most of the hardware remains unchanged, including the display, battery capacity, chipset, camera, and overall design. 

Speaking of upgrades, Sony has incorporated new stereo speakers, which are said to be 30% louder than the previous model. Plus, the company has added hardware shortcut controls and boosted the screen brightness by 50%, but Sony hasn’t mentioned the exact peak brightness figure. As for the panel, it retains the same 6.1-inch LTPS OLED display from the Xperia 10 VII (curr. at $549.99 on Amazon). The display outputs at FHD+ (2340 x 1080) resolution with a 120 Hz refresh rate. 

A 5,000 mAh battery powers the entire unit and supports only 30 W wired charging. Like the display and battery, the processor of the device remains unchanged. The smartphone is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor paired with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, which is further expandable via a microSD card. Software-wise, it runs Android 16 with Sony’s near-stock skin on top. Interestingly, the company promises four major OS upgrades (Android 17, 18, 19, and 20) and up to six years of security patches until 2032. 

Furthermore, you get the same candy bar camera setup as last year, consisting of a 50 MP main camera and a 13 MP ultrawide shooter. Up front, there’s an 8 MP snapper for selfies and video chats. 

Despite bringing only minor upgrades, the Sony Xperia 10 VIII is priced at £549/€599 for the 8 GB + 128 GB model. Available in frozen white, frosted grey, and misty lilac colorways, interested buyers can purchase the smartphone starting in "mid-to-late” September in Europe and the UK.