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Xperia 1 VIII tipped to launch with major 200 MP camera upgrade but not the Sony sensor you may think

The Xperia 1 VII could be Sony's last flagship with a 12 MP rear-facing camera. (Image source: Sony)
The Xperia 1 VII could be Sony's last flagship with a 12 MP rear-facing camera. (Image source: Sony)
According to a new report, Sony will finally bring a 200 MP camera to its Xperia 1 line next year with the release of the Xperia 1 VIII. Taking a leaf out of Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi's books, the Sony Xperia 1 VIII is rumoured to adopt a different sensor than the recently announced Lytia 901.

A long-term leaker of all things Sony Xperia has returned with new details about the company's next flagship. For context, Sony is expected to launch successors to both the Xperia 1 VII and Xperia 10 VII globally. According to Nodar Sikharulidze, the Xperia 1 VIII will miss out on Sony's latest high-end camera sensor, though.

For context, Sony just unveiled the Lytia 901. A 1/1.12-inch sensor apparently destined for the Find X9 Ultra and Vivo X300 Ultra, the Lytia 901 outputs natively at 200 MP with high dynamic range exceeding 100 dB. Apparently, the Xperia 1 VIII will leverage a different 200 MP sensor from Sony's Exmor T series.

A dual-layer sensor, this may well replace the final 12 MP sensor Sony uses as a telephoto camera inside the Xperia 1 VII. With that being said, the Xperia 1 is also due for a primary camera upgrade, considering that the series has been using the 48 MP and 1/1.35-inch sensor since the Xperia 1 V landed in 2023.

For reference, while Sikharulidze has a mixed reputation, he has been broadly correct about future Xperia releases in the past. Thus, we would treat this rumour with some scepticism for the time being until more concrete details emerge early next year. Nonetheless, the Xperia 1 VIII is all but guaranteed to launch with the same chipset as the successors to the Galaxy S25 Ultra and OnePlus 13 (curr. $899 on Amazon).

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2025 12 > Xperia 1 VIII tipped to launch with major 200 MP camera upgrade but not the Sony sensor you may think
Alex Alderson, 2025-12- 3 (Update: 2025-12- 3)