Sony Xperia 1 VII Review: excellent hardware, mixed results

Another year, another Xperia flagship. The Sony Xperia 1 VII sticks to Sony’s proven formula - high-end camera specs, slim and premium design, and no compromises on hardware. The headphone jack stays, the microSD card slot lives on, and the variable zoom camera is better than ever.

It features the latest Snapdragon chip and brings back the beloved hardware shutter button. But not all news is good.

First, the Xperia 1 VII won’t launch in the U.S. Second, it’s expensive - €1,499 in Europe. Is it worth it? In design, display, and performance, the Xperia 1 VII holds up well against its premium peers. But its camera output and software reputation lag behind. The Price Class Average score helps compare it quickly to other flagships.

Design and Display

Xperia designs evolve slowly - which isn’t a problem. These phones are slim, elegant, with thin bezels and grippy frames. The Xperia 1 VII follows that template. The aluminum frame has ribbed accents for grip, and the textured Gorilla Glass back feels premium. The top and bottom bezels are thin, even while housing front-facing stereo speakers.

On the right frame: volume rocker, power button with ultra-fast fingerprint scanner, and a classic two-stage shutter key - not a touch button, but a real, tactile camera button.

Available in Moss Green, Orchid Purple, and Slate Black. Green and purple are fun; black is sleek but less exciting.

Bad news: the box only includes the phone and a cable. Good news: in some regions, it comes bundled with Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones - which softens the price hit.

Sony puts serious focus on its displays. The OLED panel offers vivid colors out of the box, or natural tones in Creator Mode - perfect for editing and long use. It’s a 120 Hz screen, and while Sony doesn’t market brightness numbers, our tests show over 2000 nits at 20% APL - excellent. Minimum brightness is below 1 nit, great for night use. Color stability is better than most premium rivals.

Camera

Despite its solid camera hardware, the Xperia 1 VII underperforms against top-tier phones. Issues include inconsistent exposure, sharpening artifacts, no HDR preview, and basic video stabilization. There's an AI subject tracking mode, but it’s not flawless.

Sony has long aimed for “natural” photos, assuming users would edit them manually like pro shooters. But the reality is - small sensors need strong post-processing. Rivals like Apple, Samsung, and Google lead here.

Sony has simplified the camera app and improved auto mode, but it still falls short. For instance, one sample photo had a doubled bird due to faulty HDR stacking. Another shot had an overly hazy background. Zoom beyond 5x looks noisy and soft.

The ultra-wide camera performs much better - though not truly “ultra-wide” (0.65x by phone standards). The lens is optically corrected, so edge distortion is minimal and images look sharp.

Portrait (Bokeh) mode is unimpressive, and selfies are slightly overexposed with a pink cast.

Overall: the camera is fine - but not fine enough for a €1,499 flagship.

Software

The Xperia 1 VII runs Android 15 with minimal Sony tweaks. The UI feels clean - no oversized quick toggles like in stock Android, and a useful side panel for shortcuts.

Sony promises 4 years of Android updates and 6 years of security patches - better than before. However, update speed still matters, and we’ll be watching.

No bloat or excessive AI features here. Google’s Gemini handles the smart stuff. Sony’s own AI is limited to subject tracking in the camera app.

Battery

Despite a compact body, the Xperia 1 VII houses a 5,000 mAh battery. Battery life is solid - comparable to the Pixel 9 Pro XL and Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Charging is decent but not blazing fast - 50% in 30 minutes, full in 90. Not bad, but if you're used to 50% in 10 minutes, you'll need to plan.

Audio and Haptics

Haptics are crisp and accurate but a bit soft. Great for UI feedback, less so for call vibration through clothing.

Front-facing speakers are loud with good bass. Mids can sound muddy out of the box, but enabling Dolby Sound fixes that. Overall, among the better speakers out there, though not the absolute best (that still goes to the ROG Phone 7).

Should You Buy It?

The Xperia 1 VII is a good phone - sleek design, clean software, excellent display, solid speakers, and rare perks like a headphone jack and microSD slot.

But two things hold it back:

1. The price - £1,399 / €1,499 for 256 GB is steep. Even with bundled headphones, it’s a tough sell.
2. The camera - for this price, “OK” isn’t enough. And unfortunately, that’s what it is.