Sony has introduced the Xperia 10 VII, a midrange Android telephone that’s launching within the UK, Europe, and Asia, although not the US. It’s extra notable than most Sony telephones as a result of it marks the primary main change to the rear design in over 5 years: a digital camera bar, identical to current Pixels, and now even iPhones.
The Xperia Android line has stored its cameras vertically stacked in a single nook because the first-generation Xperia 5 in 2019, with solely uncommon exceptions just like the standalone Xperia Professional-I. However the 10 VII reinvents that design language with a horizontal digital camera pair mounted in a pill-shaped raised bar that stretches throughout the telephone’s again. The matte plastic physique is available in black, white, or turquoise, and appears like no Xperia telephone earlier than it. It appears a little bit extra like Google’s Pixel telephones, a design additionally aped by Apple’s iPhone Air this week.
Issues are extra recognizable from the entrance, with Sony’s acquainted insistence on a chunky bezel above and beneath the show. Which means the telephone isn’t fairly as compact as its 120Hz 6.1-inch show would recommend, nevertheless it’s nonetheless smaller and lighter than most. It additionally follows the current Xperia 1 fashions in ditching what was a trademark 21:9 facet ratio, now utilizing boxier and extra conventional 19.5:9 proportions.
There are a number of different normal Sony touches although. Most welcome for some would be the 3.5mm headphone jack, and the identical crowd are prone to love the expandable microSD storage. The massive bezel packs front-facing stereo audio system too, and the joint IP65 / 68 score is best than most provide. There’s additionally a side-mounted single-stage digital camera shutter button — a characteristic that’s much less distinctive than it was.
In any other case, this can be a fairly by-the-numbers midranger. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset isn’t any powerhouse, and the twin rear cameras — a 50-megapixel most important and 13-megapixel ultrawide — sound typical for the value. The 5,000mAh battery ought to final for 2 days in accordance with Sony, however charging is restricted to wired.
I’ve at all times appreciated the look of Sony’s fashionable telephones, even when they’ve usually lagged behind the competitors elsewhere. They had been starting to look a little bit dated although, and I’m a particular fan of the brand new design. Sony lately reiterated that the Xperia telephones are “essential” to it — hopefully this redesign is an indication of some dedication to the road, and that we’ll see it prolong to subsequent yr’s flagship mannequin too.
The Xperia 10 VII prices €449 / £399 (round $530) and is accessible to preorder now within the UK and Europe, transport from September nineteenth.