Sony Xperia 1 VII Review: Huge Disappointment for Sony Fans?

I’ve been using Sony cameras since the very first Sony Alpha 7, and I’m recording this video with an A7 IV. So I was especially excited about the Sony Xperia 1 VII, the new flagship phone, which costs a hefty 1500 Euros. It’s not clear if it’ll go on sale in the US yet.

As a Sony fan, my expectations were particularly high – also because Sony builds almost all the good camera sensors for other brands. But I compared it in detail with the iPhone 16 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and found some problems with Sony. Let’s start with a deep-dive into the cameras.

Camera Overview

The Xperia 1 VII has three cameras on the back. The main camera offers 48 megapixels, an aperture of f/1.9, and a focal length of 24mm. The telephoto camera is especially exciting because it works with a variable focal length of 85mm to 170mm, offers 12 megapixels, and an aperture between f/2.3 and f/3.5.

New compared to the previous model is the ultra-wide-angle camera with 48 megapixels, f/2.0 aperture, and 16mm focal length. On the front, there’s a 12-megapixel front camera with f/2.0 and 24mm.

All rear cameras support both JPG and RAW, as well as video recording in 4K up to 120p.

I really like that the interface in the Photo Pro and Video Pro modes is almost identical to professional Sony cameras like my A7 IV. If you’re familiar with these cameras, you’ll feel right at home. ISO, shutter speed, focus, white balance – everything can be set manually. That’s really fun and gives the smartphone a bit of a mirrorless camera feeling.

I even did long exposures and put ND filters on the cameras. For photographers, the interface is truly great.

Read: Galaxy A36 Review: The BEST Samsung Phone Under $300?

Main Camera Comparison

I think that the photos look really good overall. But in direct comparison to the flagships from Apple and Samsung, the results aren’t always that good.

Let’s first compare the main cameras with standard settings on all three.

In direct comparison to the iPhone 16 Pro, that one has slightly more details in daylight – really just a little – but the Sony shows nicer colors. Samsung offers similar details.

At night, the iPhone clearly has more detail, but again, the Sony has nicer colors. That’s a matter of taste, of course.

I find it quite unfortunate that you can only take RAW photos with 12 megapixels on the Xperia. On Samsung, you can choose 200 megapixels, and they show clearly more detail than Sony. Noticeably more. The iPhone 16 Pro with its 48 megapixels also takes more detailed RAW photos.

By the way, that’s for shots in good light. As soon as the ISO rises, the advantage disappears. The 200MP Samsung photos then have just as much or little detail as Sony.

At night, the main cameras of Sony and Apple have roughly the same amount of detail. On the Xperia, there’s more noise, and again, I think it has nicer colors. Apple apparently reduces the noise even in RAW.

Ultra-Wide-Angle Camera

The ultra-wide-angle camera from Sony is really nice – it’s also the only new one compared to the previous model. It shows noticeably more detail than the iPhone 16 Pro and S25 Ultra and produces less noise in dark areas of the image.

But the Sony ultra-wide isn’t quite as wide as Apple’s and Samsung’s. If you want to get as much as possible into the shot, that’s harder with the Xperia.

In RAW format, Samsung actually shows slightly more detail than Sony. You can shoot 50-megapixel photos, which you can’t do on the Xperia.

Telephoto Comparison

I find the Xperia’s telephoto camera quite disappointing. The iPhone 16 Pro with its 5x zoom shows noticeably more detail and sharper images in JPG mode – both compared to the 85mm and 170mm zoom. Even though the 170mm should be better on paper. But Samsung also offers more detail than Sony – and that applies to RAW files too.

I think that’s really a shame. Especially RAW photos with the telephoto often don’t look sharp at all. The detail is there, but it’s not sharp.

The front camera takes really good shots overall, but unfortunately, you can’t shoot RAW here.

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Camera Video Comparison

With video, the Xperia 1 VII shows its strengths. All rear cameras can record in 4K up to 120p. So you can even shoot slow-motion videos with the telephoto camera.

What I especially liked is the S-Cinetone color profile, which we know from professional Sony cameras. It gives a more cinematic look. Unfortunately, Sony doesn’t support S-Log, which is a shame.

Unfortunately, the telephoto camera is not particularly sharp, just like with RAW photos. Details are there, but they appear blurry.

Yes, I also compared videos with the other two competitors. Again: The telephoto videos from Apple and Samsung are noticeably sharper. I recorded all tests in 4K 60p with standard settings.

The ultra-wide angle again shows that the Sony isn’t that wide-angle after all. In addition, the other two look a little sharper again.

Same thing with the main camera. I think Sony just doesn’t sharpen as much as Samsung and Apple do. A lot of filmmakers criticize that about smartphones. You could, of course, sharpen the Sony videos in post, if you want.

Camera Conclusion

It shows that the cameras are overall good. But not as good as I expected. And often not as good as those from the flagships by Apple and Samsung. As a Sony fan, I’m quite disappointed because I expected top quality here. But that’s not the case.

For some filmmakers, the Xperia might still be interesting. But… the iPhone can also shoot in ProRes.

Design & Build

Let’s move on to the design of the Xperia 1 VII. It weighs 197 grams and is 8.2mm thick, and comes in Green, Purple, and Black.

The back is made of textured glass that doesn’t show fingerprints and feels nice and grippy. The device barely slips in the hand and overall feels rugged.

The frame is ribbed and, according to Sony, made of metal. But it feels more like plastic. I was convinced for a long time that it was plastic. It is metal, very grippy, but doesn’t feel very high-quality to me.

Sony offers many ports that are rare these days: a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot, USB-C 3.2 with display output, dual SIM support, and a dedicated camera button.

What I find especially cool is that you can open the SIM and microSD tray without a tool. You can just pull it out with your fingernail. Perfect if you want to import footage from a GoPro or save smartphone photos to the microSD and edit them on a PC.

There’s a fingerprint reader built into the power button, which works very fast and reliably.

Display & Speakers

We get a 6.5-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and 120Hz. The display is very, very bright, offers high contrast and beautiful colors. It’s really fun to watch YouTube or movies on it.

Compared to the S25 Ultra, the Sony display is brighter in standard mode. With Samsung, you have to enable the maximum brightness in settings – then both are roughly the same.

The stereo speakers are also very good. They’re loud, clear, and have high sound quality. Compared to Samsung, there’s slightly less brilliance in the highs, but overall it’s a very good setup.

Hardware & Performance

Inside is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. You also get 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

In Geekbench 6, it scores slightly higher than the Xiaomi 15, which has the same chip. Against the Galaxy S25 Ultra with the higher-clocked Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, it’s a bit behind.

The results in 3DMark are very similar. Those mainly test graphics performance.

In real life, it was always very fast. It never lagged and was always smooth. That’s exactly how it should be with this chip.

Gaming Test

Fortnite runs at 90FPS, with epic graphics and 100% 3D resolution, super smooth. The framerate stays stable, even when playing for a long time with the highest settings. However, the frame does get quite warm.

Call of Duty Warzone Mobile also runs very well. It gets warm here too, but not critically. The Xiaomi 15 overheated in my test, but that didn’t happen here.

I had the most fun with Asphalt Legends, especially because I bought a new controller. Racing games or Fortnite are way more fun with a gamepad. As always, I’ll link the accessories in the description. Asphalt Legends also runs well on weaker hardware.

Read: Xiaomi Redmi Pad Pro Review: Great Gaming Tablet At A Budget

Android 15 & Software

It comes with Android 15 preinstalled, with Sony’s own interface on top. I read in comments that some people think the interface design looks outdated. Maybe, but I don’t mind it at all.

Sony promises four years of major Android updates and six years of security updates. That’s solid, though not quite on the same level as Samsung or Apple.

Battery Life

The Xperia 1 VII has a 5000mAh battery. In real-life usage, it easily lasts two days with normal use. But if you take a lot of photos and videos, one day is more realistic. In our standardized battery test, it reached a runtime of 24 hours and 40 minutes. For this, we always loop an HD YouTube video at maximum brightness.

Sony Xperia 1 VII Review: Final Verdict

The Sony Xperia 1 VII has some really cool features. Especially great are the 3.5mm headphone jack, the useful microSD slot with tool-free access, and the bright, high-contrast display. Also, the camera interface makes it interesting for Sony fans.

If you need these features, it’s a good smartphone. But if not, I see no reason to choose the Xperia 1 VII over the iPhone 16 Pro or Samsung S25 Ultra. The latter get updates for longer – and especially the Samsung is now cheaper.

I’m disappointed with the cameras. Sure, you can take good photos with them. But in direct comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro and S25 Ultra are often better. Sometimes slightly, sometimes significantly. Especially in RAW format.

Read: Xiaomi 15 Review: 3 Weeks Against iPhone 16 Pro & S25 Ultra