Sony Xperia 1 VIII Leak Reveals New Colourways; Design Including Revamped Rear Camera Layout Spotted Again

Sony Xperia 1 VIII is expected to make its way to the market soon. Ahead of the formal launch, some computer-aided design (CAD) renders have leaked online, giving us our clearest look yet at the next Sony Xperia smartphone. The renders show the phone with a square-shaped rear camera module and a hole-punch display design. The Sony Xperia 1 VIII is expected to flaunt a triple rear camera unit. It is likely to offer upgrades over last year's Xperia 1 VII. The former runs on a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and has a 6.5-inch screen.

Sony Xperia 1 VIII Design (Anticipated)

X user Insider Sony posted CAD renders of the Sony Xperia 1 VIII. They show the phone in three colourways — black, green and purple — we hadn't seen before, though the overall design language aligns with what earlier leaked renders had suggested. The handset appears to have a redesigned square-shaped rear camera module, housing three sensors along with an LED flash. This design is a different approach compared to Sony's traditional vertically aligned camera setup.

On the front, the Sony Xperia 1 VIII seems to feature a hole-punch display, marking another shift from existing design patterns. Sony placed the front camera within the top bezel in previous Xperia models.

The leak suggests that all three sensors of the Sony Xperia 1 VIII will be 48-megapixel. The ultrawide sensor is said to be the same as on the Xperia 1 VII. The handset is tipped to include a telephoto sensor in the 1/3-inch to 1/2-inch size range. It could feature front-facing stereo speakers as well. 

The Sony Xperia 1 VIII is likely to succeed the Sony Xperia 1 VII, which was released in May last year with a price tag of GBP 1,399. The latter features a 6.5-inch full-HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. It runs on a Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage.

For optics, the Sony Xperia 1 VII features a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 48-megapixel primary 1/1.3-inch Sony Exmor T sensor, a 12-megapixel 1.3.5-inch Sony Exmor RS mobile sensor and a 48-megapixel Sony Exmor RS 1/1.56-inch sensor. It has a 5,000mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging.