Sony Xperia 10 VIII Launches With Double the Screen Brightness, Higher Price

Sony has announced the Xperia 10 VIII, the newest entry in its budget smartphone line, following the Award-winning Xperia 10 VI and last year's Xperia 10 VII. The headline upgrade on the Sony Xperia 10 VIII is display brightness, which Sony claims is double that of its predecessor, though the company hasn't disclosed exact nit figures for the new panel.

Brighter outdoors, same size screen
Sony says the doubled peak brightness delivers better visibility in daylight, a common complaint with budget phones that skimp on outdoor readability. Resolution and size carry over unchanged, with a 6.1-inch OLED display at 2340 x 1080, so anyone upgrading from the Xperia 10 VII will find the screen footprint familiar.

Louder, bassier speakers
The stereo speaker setup, made up of the earpiece and a bottom-firing speaker, gets revised tuning that Sony says boosts volume by 15 percent and delivers 30 percent stronger bass than the Xperia 10 VII produced. It's a modest but noticeable change for anyone who watches video or listens to music without headphones.

Same chip and battery as last year
The Xperia 10 VIII runs on the same Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset with 8GB of RAM as its predecessor, powered by a 5,000mAh battery that Sony rates for up to two days of typical use. Neither figure moves the needle compared to the outgoing model.

A familiar camera system
Around back, the Xperia 10 VIII keeps a 50-megapixel main camera and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide lens, with an 8-megapixel front camera for selfies. None of these numbers change from the Xperia 10 VII, so photo quality should land in roughly the same range as last year's phone.

The 3.5mm jack survives
Sony holds onto the headphone jack, a feature increasingly rare on new phones and one that keeps the Xperia line appealing to buyers focused on wired audio setups and lossless listening without a dongle.

Price and colors
The Sony Xperia 10 VIII launches in the UK at £549, a £150 increase over the outgoing model, in Frozen White, Frosted Grey, and Misted Lilac finishes. With the same chipset and camera hardware as before, the higher price is a harder sell without more substantial upgrades elsewhere in the spec sheet, and Sony has pointed to industry-wide component costs as a factor.

Protect the Sony Xperia 10 VIII with a Komodoty case
A brighter screen is worth keeping scratch-free from day one. Komodoty makes slim, precisely cut cases for Sony Xperia phones in materials like aramid fiber, slim wood with a Kevlar core, and Alcantara, with accurate cutouts for the camera and ports and full wireless charging support. Browse the fitted options in the Komodoty Sony cases collection.