Sony Xperia 1 VII review

Introduction

It's been 7 years since the first Xperia 1 came out. Or is it VII years? The Sony Xperia VII has just made its official debut, and we've had one for a while now to test just how well it's keeping up with the times.

The Xperia 1 VII takes heavily after the Mark VI model and it will take some serious staring to spot the physical differences in the new model. The frame chamfer is now gone and some sensors have been shifted around, but that's about it - isn't tradition and continuity the most Sony thing ever?

Their engineers have not been sitting idle. Perhaps the most notable generational change is the new ultrawide camera, its 1/1.56" sensor being larger than most on the market. Aside from that, the telephoto with continuous zoom capability between 85mm and 170mm and the main camera hardware remain unchanged, for better or for worse.

The display has gotten some tweaks, the headphone jack circuitry has been treated to some extra attention, the speakers are supposedly better - that's the kind of improvements that we're being promised. Well, that, and the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite, of course, but not a whole lot of other major changes can be spotted in head-to-head specsheet examination.

Sony Xperia 1 VII specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.0x74.0x8.2mm, 197g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame; IP65/IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.5" LTPO OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR BT.2020, 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 396ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.32 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6x3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M); Adreno 830.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
• OS/Software: Android 15.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.9, 24mm, 1/1.35", 1.12µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 12 MP, 1/3.5", f/2.3-3.5, 85-170mm, 3.5x-7.1x continuous optical zoom, PDAF, OIS, 4cm macro @ 120mm; Ultra wide angle: 48 MP, f/2.0, 16mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF.
• Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1/2.9", 1.25µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@24/25/30/60/120fps HDR, 1080p@30/60/120fps; 5-axis gyro-EIS, OIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 5-axis gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 30W wired, PD3.0, PPS, 50% in 30 min (advertised), Wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.3, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive; NFC; 3.5mm jack.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); stereo speakers.

Sony Xperia 1 VII unboxing

The Xperia 1 VII comes in a moulded cardboard box that's all recycled and plastic-free. Inside it, we didn't get anything along the lines of accessories - that's been a theme with the Sony smartphone lineup for a while now. With the Xperias traditionally not needing a pin to pull out the SIM tray, even that isn't part of the bundle.

Our review unit didn't have any paperwork in the box either (like a manual or warranty information), but retail versions will probably pack some documentation.