Sony's next Xperia phones just leaked – and you might want to wait for these two

Sony seems to be prepping for the launch of two Xperia phones next year. The Xperia 10 VII launched a couple of months ago, and it seems the company is now working on its successor, the Xperia 10 VIII, as well as its next flagship phone, which will reportedly be named the Xperia 1 VIII.

New leak shows possible model numbers of two upcoming Sony Xperia phones

The leak shows the two models' potential mode numbers as well as their presumed region availability. 

Right now, Sony is working on its Xperia 1 VIII flagship, and apparently, the company is also working on another mid-range phone, which will potentially be named the Xperia 10 VIII. 


Jokes aside, the Walkman Blog seems to have managed to get the model numbers of these two via a SIM database. A total of six units are indicated, which are most likely regional variants of the Xperia 10 VIII. The model numbers are as follows: PM-1530-BV, PM-1531-BV, PM-1532-BV, PM-1533-BV, PM-1534-BV, and PM-1555-BV.

Obviously, these model numbers don't really give us what we can expect from the mid-range phone in terms of specs. However, there are hints that there is another model in the works alongside the Xperia 1 VIII. The SIM database also shows a fourth potential variant of the flagship, which could be a Japanese model. 

The Xperia 1 VIII and Xperia 10 VIII are expected next year

Meanwhile, the mid-range Xperia 10 VIII is said to come with the Snapdragon 6 series or a similar chip, if we take into account the 10 VII, which features the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. 

As Sony is working on getting these two upcoming phones ready, the Xperia 10 VII has recently started receiving the Android 16 update in some regions, including Europe and Japan. The company is also seeing Android 16 on its previously released phones, including the flagship Xperia 1 VI and Xperia 1 VII. 

Not much else is known thus far from leaks about the upcoming flagship and mid-range phone. For reference, the Xperia 1 VII came with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, a 6.5-inch OLED display, a slim and lightweight body, and dependable battery life. The camera comes with great hardware, but the software processing may need some improvements, as we found in our review. The Xperia 10 VII brought a new design, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip, and a 6.1-inch OLED display. 

Xperia phones are gorgeous, but a bit too pricey for me 

I quite like the Xperia 1 VII, it has a nice design, top-notch specs, and I'm a fan of Sony's take on smartphone photography. However, the phone starts at €1,499, and that's a huge deal for me, while we have other flagships such as the iPhone 17 Pro starting at $1099. 

I do tend to prefer the more natural-looking photos of the Xperia, and in general, I have a soft spot for Sony phones in my heart for ages, but that price just doesn't sit right with me for what the phone offers, which are, alright, powerful specs, but still, flagship ones, not something extraterrestrial. 

Anyway, I'm excited to see what Sony does next year with its 2026 flagship and mid-ranger. I'm curious to see if it can make me return to Sony-land. Hopefully it manages, because for some reason, I'm starting to get tired of iPhones.

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