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Sony has the chance to challenge Apple and Samsung, but it keeps wasting it

The Xperia 1 VII could’ve been one of the most intriguing flagship phones of the year, but apparently that’s not Sony’s goal.

By Ilia Temelkov

Published: Jul 09, 2025, 3:20 PM

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Sony Editorials

This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.

Sony has the chance to challenge Apple and Samsung, but it keeps wasting it

For years, Sony has been one of the few manufacturers that could challenge the tedious status quo of the smartphone market, but that might have never been among its goals. More disturbingly, instead of reaching closer to such an achievement, the company appears to be doing its best to hinder the success of its flagships, including the recently released Xperia 1 VII.

Just last week, Sony stopped the sales and shipments of the Xperia 1 VII in Japan. The reason the company has given is the multiple reports of technical issues that made people’s phones turn off or reboot on their own, and sometimes fail to turn on entirely.

While such news is always worrying, when it comes to Sony, it was another drop in the ocean of apparent setbacks. And the worst part is that most of those hiccups appear to be of Sony’s own making.

The Xpeira 1 VII could’ve been a great flagship

Sony Xperia 1 VII | Image credit — PhoneArena

The Xperia 1 VII is packed with amazing features that could easily make it stand out from the crowd of mostly repetitive flagships, especially on the US market.

On the one hand, Sony’s commitment to top-notch quality is obvious from the phone's specs. It has a great 6.5-inch 4K OLED display, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and solid battery life.

On the other hand, unlike virtually everyone else, Sony doesn’t exclude any hardware element from its flagship phone. That’s why the Xperia 1 VII is one of the few of its kind with a 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, and front-facing stereo speakers.

On top of all that, Sony has understands the fine touches that could make various enthusiasts more excited about the device.

There is a Creator Mode for the display, which provides very accurate colors, making any image editing process more reliable. The high-res audio and LDAC support should sound exciting to every audiophile. For the camera enthusiasts, there is a continuous optical zoom with a range from 3.5x to 7.1x, and a two-step camera shutter button.

Seen on their own, all those features are a sure-fire way to grab people’s attention and make them buy the phone that offers them. However, that’s not the case with the Xperia 1 VII.

The disappointment is real

Sony Xperia 1 VII | Image credit — PhoneArena

Sony’s greatest letdowns might be few, but they’re of great importance and all of their own making. The Xperia 1 VII has some software issues that are unacceptable on a flagship smartphone. Despite the impressive camera sensors, the phone’s camera delivers inconsistent results, which is a software issue. Last week’s sales suspension was also likely caused by software issues.

The Xperia 1 VII will only receive four years of OS updates and six years of security updates, compared to the seven OS updates the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25 have promised. Even more damningly, Sony is usually very late with its software releases.

None of this would’ve been such a big deal if Sony hadn’t released the Xperia 1 VII as one of the most expensive smartphones on the market. The phone started at €1,499 in Europe and £1,399 in the UK for the 256GB version, which is more expensive than both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. On top of that, Sony doesn’t even sell the Xperia 1 VII in the United States.

It could’ve been different

Sony Xperia 1 VII | Image credit — PhoneArena

We are living in the age of incremental smartphone updates, which is anything but exciting. Year after year, we are subject to flashy keynotes trying to sell us new smartphone models that are essentially the same as their predecessors, except in some minor details.

Sony is one of the companies that appears capable of delivering something different. More importantly, people seem ready and eager to get that thing.

Last week, we asked you if you would buy a Sony Xperia 1 VII if you could, and only 15% of the responses were negative. For 32% of you the price is what’s stopping you from jumping on the Xperia train. Shockingly, 46% of you say they would buy it if it were available.

Would you buy a Sony Xperia 1 VII if you could?

I’ve already got mine I would buy it, but it’s not available here I wouldn’t buy it, it’s too expensive I wouldn’t buy it, I prefer other brands

I know this is a poll on a specialized website, and most of the people who saw it are already fans of Sony, so the results are skewed. Nevertheless, if such a huge group of enthusiasts is eager to get an Xperia flagship if only Sony would sell it at a more reasonable price, I’d imagine such a device could be a big success with small tweaks.

First, Sony needs to find a way to lower the price of its flagships. If the Xperia 1 VII were slightly cheaper than the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, some of its issues could have been easily overlooked. Considering Sony has released the phone in a bundle with €299 headphones, a discount shouldn’t be impossible.

Second, Sony has to return to the US market and sell its phones globally. Missing the biggest market in the world is a mistake, but succeeding there could be a boon for any company’s global presence.

That could help the company follow Motorola’s steps instead of LG’s. The former is doing great and growing around the globe, while the latter quit the mobile market despite making great phones. Hopefully, Sony has the foresight to turn things around and deliver what its fans appear to be ready to pay for.