The Xperia 1 VIII certainly looks... unconventional in these freshly leaked pictures. | Image by WinFuture
Probably the biggest smartphone-making brand we all expected to be out of this business years ago (no offense) is somehow back at it, preparing yet another unconventional Android flagship for a May 13 official announcement and a global release (hopefully) soon after.
Based on a couple of different leaks from the last few weeks, the Xperia 1 VIII is set to look even more unorthodox than its extra-tall and boxy forerunners. If you had any lingering questions regarding the exact changes Sony plans to make to last year's Xperia 1 VII, a fresh batch of "official" product depictions published by the almost always reliable Roland Quandt over on the German website WinFuture seems to provide all the final answers.
The symmetrical bezels are here to stay, but the camera island is going asymmetrical
Here's a bold and interesting design choice on Sony's part. While the company is still not keen to join the hole punch trend and thus reduce the size of its best phones' screen borders, the rear-facing camera system is switching from a vertical three-lens alignment to a square-shaped module with two horizontally arranged sensors at the top and the third one placed on the left side below them.
This previously leaked Xperia 1 VIII design is apparently not 100 percent accurate. | Image by MyMobiles
The asymmetrical look is certainly... unique, contrasting with the handset's equally sized "forehead" and "chin", and what's also intriguing is that the company logo resides on the same "island" as the three Zeiss-tuned snappers rather than where it was originally pictured in a bunch of "unofficial" renders last month.
This is also not how Sony's next Android flagship is expected to look. | Image by @mobaziro on X
Technically, of course, these newly leaked images are not 100 percent confirmed either, but this design definitely makes a lot more sense than the one revealed by a much lesser-known social media user a little while back, in which the rear camera module looked even weirder. Clearly, having the rectangular bump curve around the edge of the phone adds a bit of flair to the Xperia 1 VIII, although that's probably not going to be enough to justify its rumored price.
The Xperia 1 VIII will cost how much?!?
A "minimum" of €1,799. I'm afraid that's not a typo, and although the exact number is not etched in stone for any specific market yet, it's hard to remain hopeful or optimistic about anything resembling a sensible tag in Europe or the US.
Recommended For You
This is most likely the legit Xperia 1 VIII design in a flashy red hue. | Image by WinFuture
€1,799, mind you, roughly equates to $2,110 right now, but that doesn't mean the device will actually cost more than two thousand bucks stateside... mostly because I doubt Sony will ever officially release the Xperia 1 VIII around those parts after keeping both the Xperia 1 VII and Xperia 1 VI exclusive to European and Asian countries.
What do you think could help Sony sell more phones?
Even on the old continent, of course, it's going to be impossible for Sony to expect solid sales figures at such a sky-high price point when the significantly more "affordable" €1,499 Xperia 1 VII has clearly had major trouble finding an audience. And let's not even go into how all the best Android phones of today (Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra included) are cheaper or a lot cheaper than €1,799.
Can this spec sheet save Sony from another year of market irrelevance?
6.5-inch OLED screen with FHD+ resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and 120Hz refresh rate technology;
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor;
12GB RAM;
256 and 512GB storage variants;
Android 16;
48 + 48 + 48MP rear-facing camera system;
3.5mm headphone jack;
161.9 x 74.4 x 8.58mm dimensions;
Graphite Black, Garnet Red, and Iolite Silver color options.
In short, no. In long, absolutely not. Obviously, these details are not set in stone either ahead of tomorrow's formal unveiling, but the fact of the matter is Sony can't do a whole lot on the hardware specification front to massively boost the appeal of the Xperia 1 VIII... even if that aforementioned price tag proves inaccurate by €100 or €200.
And if the new ultra-high-end smartphone does end up costing €1,799 without even bringing back the 4K screen resolution of the Xperia 1 V, Sony is setting itself up for a failure of comically epic proportions.
On the bright side, the thicker profile compared to the Xperia 1 VII suggests the battery capacity could break the 5,000mAh barrier, but that would still be too little to make a true difference in the grand scheme of things.
Get Visible as low as $20/mo for 1 year. Limited time offer with code: FRESHSTART
$20
/mo
$25
$5 off (20%)
Offer Ends 6.1.2026 at 11.59pm ET. New members get $5/mo off the $25/mg Visible plan, $35/mo Visible+ plan, or $45/mo Visible+ Pro plan for the first 12 months. Promo code FRESHSTART required at checkout.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: