Without warning, Sony unveiled its new high-end smartphone on May 14, 2025: the Xperia 1 VII. The successor to the excellent Xperia 1 VI, this new high-end phone not only sees its technical specifications duly modernized, but also improved photography. These are welcome innovations, but they will weigh heavily on the purchase price of the phone, since its price is increasing. Explanations.
Yesterday, while all eyes were on Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge, which you can find a hands-on review of in our columns, Sony presented a new smartphone. This isn't a big surprise, as the Japanese brand usually waits until mid-spring to announce its new Xperia phones. And its identity isn't a surprise either: it's the Xperia VII (pronounced "Xperia mark 7"). It succeeds the excellent (but not yet perfect) Xperia 1 VI, which we tested in 2024.
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The Xperia 1 VII relies heavily on its predecessor. It therefore takes over a large part of its technical specifications. The 6.5-inch OLED 120 Hz and LTPO screen, still in the 19.5:9 format (Sony having abandoned the 21:9 format with the Xperia 1 VI). The 5000 mAh battery, still compatible with 30-watt fast charging and 15-watt wireless charging. The very good 48 MP main camera module, accompanied by the same selfie and telephoto modules. The 12 GB of RAM. The same storage levels. The two stereo speakers. The fingerprint reader on the edge. The headphone jack. The IP68 certification. And the tool-free SIM card tray.
Sony has reworked the Xperia 1 VII's camera equipment
But this Xperia 1 VII also brings some interesting new features. First, a platform update, unsurprisingly: the smartphone benefits from the Snapdragon 8 Elite instead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. We're curious to know what Sony's decisions are regarding the SoC's power management. This processor change is accompanied by a small update to the Bluetooth connection, going from version 5.4 to version 6.0. The Xperia 1 VII could even be the first smartphone with this standard to be marketed in France.
Second major new feature, the Xperia 1 VII adopts a new ultra-wide-angle module with a 48 MP sensor, phase detection autofocus and a lens with an aperture of f/2.0. This module will now handle macros. This is good news. This sensor is larger than the Xperia 1 VI's, but it's still smaller than the 48 MP sensor in the main module. Still in photography, Sony is integrating new tools powered by artificial intelligence to automatically improve video focus and framing. Perfect for amateur filmmakers.
Sony extends the Android update time for its Xperia 1 VII
AI is also making its way into other areas of the Xperia 1 VII, notably in audio: the DSEE Ultimate function uses it to improve audio upscaling of standard-quality sources. We also expect to find some features such as Circle to Search or Gemini Live integrated into the operating system. The Xperia 1 VII runs on Android 15 out of the box. And Sony is now promising 4 years of OS updates and security patches. That's one year more than previously. But it's still less than the European recommendations...
The Xperia 1 VII therefore benefits from some important strategic changes, particularly in photography with the arrival of a panoramic module more in line with the ambition of the phone. A fairly high ambition since the Xperia 1 VII is offered at 1499 euros. That's an increase of 100 euros compared to its predecessor. That's practically as much as an iPhone 16 Pro Max and a Galaxy S25 Ultra. But this Sony phone could also be one of the best for multimedia (games, films, music). We'll have to wait for the full test to confirm this, or not.
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