Sony Xperia 1 VII review

13 May 2025


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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • iAB
  • 13 May 2025

Outdated specs, unimpressive specs in almost any category, a former flagship in the mid-range now. My 7y old XA2 has better dpi 424 vs 396 of this 'flagship'. So this is it? The end of Xperia Era? Xperia joins Vaio? But I will buy it, if priced reasonably as a mid-range, as the last Sony smartphone.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • vV5
    • 13 May 2025

    Nick Tegrataker, 13 May 2025"my garbage S23 with its underdisplay sensor and it mo... moreUsing a Samsung phone with an optical sensor and it works fine.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • vV5
      • 13 May 2025

      User935, 13 May 2025I didn't expect such nonsense from GSMArena, but ok...... moreYou know you can register multiple fingerprints so why are you performing acrobatics with an underdisplay sensor???

        • B
        • Bobber
        • mE0
        • 13 May 2025

        Where's the PWM results??

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • pQ7
          • 13 May 2025

          Kuba, 13 May 2025I prefer jack and sd card over any AI useless gimmicks.and non-AI gimmicks, like slightly more conductive solder?

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • pjh
            • 13 May 2025

            Well, I am seriously considering to get a Sony after my old S20 dies. I kept this old S20 since the time for the simple fact there is a memory card reader, yes, 512Gb and I was planning to upgrade to 2Tb.

              • M
              • Marxone
              • 0yS
              • 13 May 2025

              Now I want to see a tear down of this phone if it is at least good on repairability/durability scale. Feature list covers all I want but not sure if I can justify expected 1200€ inc. tax for this.
              I hoped for 1Hz iddle for the display and a bit better camera setup. Not sure how popular this model of Xperia will be between rom modders. I already know Sony's sw will be piece of goo so dev community for the rescue or bust.

                Anon, 13 May 2025Is this real? the battery performance is WORSE than last ye... moreMy guess is that it's still using Li-Ion battery, just like Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. The likes of Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Oppo Find X8 Ultra, and vivo iQOO 13 fares much better because of the newer silicon carbide battery.

                  • R
                  • RecoveringSonyFanboy
                  • awU
                  • 13 May 2025

                  They seemed to have taken to conformity where it isn't needed and neglecting where it is. Sony was amongst the first manufacturers to even have waterproofing in their phones now they can't match the industry standard for flagships. The competitors have caught on to the shutter button, so it is no longer a USP for sony. They removed the notification led to nobody's liking, especially not to ye olde sony fans. The side mounted fingerprint needs to go in the way of the dodo it isn't overly convenient and limits the options of using some phone cases. All of that delivered at a price point that gutt wrenchingly surpasses even iphone is just a lose lose situation both for the average potential flagship consumers and the sony enthusiasts.
                  -bring back notifaction led
                  -under-screen fingerprint scanner is the clear winner for phones

                  -at least match the years of software support with your price point to compete with other manufacturers that provide more for less (7 years)

                    That ultrawide looks usable. I find android ultrawide just poor. Only the oneplus 12 had a decent one so far. Nice to see another. Why is the throttling always so bad XD. Still a nice phone if you don't have the 1 VI already.

                      User935, 13 May 2025I didn't expect such nonsense from GSMArena, but ok...... more"my garbage S23 with its underdisplay sensor and it more often than not just doesn't want to unlock."

                      You see, the problem here is the fact that you're using S23, not that you're using a phone with an under-display FPS - I'm saying this as a fellow S23 Ultra user lol.

                      Phones from Xiaomi, Honor, and BBK don't seem to have any issues with FPS accuracy or speed, but embarrassingly enough Galaxy flagships have been struggling a ton in this regard. I prefer an under-display FPS over a side-mounted one because I wouldn't have to pinch the chassis every time I want to unlock the phone on a table. To me it just feels a lot more natural.

                        Nice improvements, but the review doesn't focus on the new features. It is a content consumption/creation device after all. I wish they changed the telephoto though, but maybe some software tuning helped.
                        Would have been nice to have a crop from the center of the UW to have a 32 mm focal length if possible with the setup
                        Solid device once again from Sony, only a few real weaknesses IMO

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • j}r
                          • 13 May 2025

                          There's so much to like about Sony's phones: No notch/holepunch, front stereo speakers, 3.5mm jack, tool-free microSD slot, side fingerprint reader. These are features every phone should have, but now Sony stands proudly alone. Banzai. (Honorable mention to Samsung's XCover phones, but they need to break the 6GB ceiling.)

                          My one complaint about the hardware is the heavy throttling. That sucks when you're paying for a top-tier chip at supra-flagship prices. I'd love if Sony fixed that, and/or if Asus reversed course on stripping down the ROG phones.

                          Did I miss the section on what countries they're releasing in? Can't blame them if they're NOPEing out of the US tariff roulette, sadly.

                            User935, 13 May 2025I didn't expect such nonsense from GSMArena, but ok...... moreAgreed 100% button fingerprint is so much better.

                              I can't believe Sony with talks about AI didnt freaking fix the blur and the noise of their telephoto camera, what on earth are they doing? A simple filter from Topaz Labs Software can make it look soo much better, how come Sony is the only brand that gives worse out of the box results at 3.5x than other competitiors at 5x, even their 7.1x is worse than competition at 8x

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • XjF
                                • 13 May 2025

                                Never used the ultrawide camera on my Xperia Pro-i, the 50mm isn't that good (that's why I hoped the Xperia 1 VII would be an ideal upgrade), but the 85-170mm 1/3.5" telephoto isn't really that appealing, not even the slightest change. Probably will wait another year for a better telephoto camera.

                                  • 1
                                  • 1989
                                  • D0i
                                  • 13 May 2025

                                  Sony should use 7000 mah battery + 90w charging + better cooling. Rog and redmagic will be out of business.

                                    Amazing phone, I will buy it

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • gyx
                                      • 13 May 2025

                                      I'm happy I didn't wait for it and got the S25 Ultra this week. It remains the best overall phone on the market par none.

                                      I really wanted the vivo X200 Ultra but the experience out of the box would've been a hassle.

                                      Here hoping Xiaomi fully support WearOS watches next year and the Vivo & Oppo release their Ultras globally ASAP.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 0p}
                                        • 13 May 2025

                                        Wonder if it is the 8 Elite chip or Android 15 that has affected battery life.

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