Mainstream or niche? Sony can’t decide what its flagship smartphone wants to be
In terms of design and overall product direction, however, Sony is moving toward the mainstream, thereby abandoning its Xperia DNA to some extent. The distinctive 4K display and narrow 21:9 aspect ratio had already been abandoned in the predecessor, which long standing hallmarks of the Xperia series and unique selling points among flagship phones. With the new Xperia VIII, Sony is continuing this trend by doing away with the optical zoom lens featuring a continuously variable focal length. What remains is a solid camera setup with fairly small sensors for this price range.
Whether Sony’s decision to limit the defining traits of its Xperia‑1 lineup to legacy features will pay off remains to be seen. At times, however, this strategic direction for the Xperia series feels somewhat contradictory. The same applies to other choices, such as the rather puzzling storage and color policy of the Xperia 1 VIII. The only configuration with 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage is available exclusively in gold, an unusually specific option for the top tier, especially given that the manufacturer does not offer a 512‑GB variant.
