Small and cheaper

Review: Sony Xperia 10 VII - Compact mid-range mobile

Sony Xperia 10 VII has a nice format that is unusual for the price tag, and it's not bad either.

Published 9 December 2025 - 16:34

Just when we thought Sony was about to leave the mobile market for good, they release their seventh phone in the Xperia 10 series. Xperia 10 is Sony's series for mid-range mobiles, and even Xperia 10 VII has a price tag of 5000 kronor. However, they have now permanently abandoned their signature with a more elongated screen in a 21:9 format. Instead, the screen is in a 19.5:9 format, the same as the iPhone 17 and Samsung Galaxy S25.

In return, they have added a special camera shutter button, another of Sony's specialties. Other Sony specialties include preferring to have some bezels at the top and bottom of the screen, allowing space for the selfie camera outside the screen, as well as symmetrical stereo speakers with good sound, and that the SIM card holder cover can be opened without a metal pin. The frame and back are made of plastic, and the design feels simple without becoming truly boring.

In the price range, we find, for example, the Samsung Galaxy A36 and A56 and the OnePlus Nord 5. The Sony Xperia 10 VII is powered by the same processor package as the Galaxy A36, Snapdragon 6 Gen 3. It provides a completely okay mid-range performance where the phone doesn't feel lightning-fast but not annoyingly slow either. For example, if I start the camera with the camera button to take a picture, it's ready in maybe 2.5 seconds, and when I launch an app, it takes half a second to start. The interface runs smoothly, and no apps lag when I try them.

The format is, as mentioned, pleasant and also unusual for the price range. Galaxy A36 and A56 are significantly larger phones. Xperia 10 is in a similar format to Galaxy S25 and iPhone 17, but slightly larger, especially in height, than these. Due to thicker bezels, it also has a slightly smaller screen.

Oled screen

The screen is of the oled type with bright colours and proper blacks. It has a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, which makes it fast and responsive when swiping, but it cannot be adjusted dynamically. You simply choose in the settings whether you want to run 120 Hz or turn it off to save some battery life and thus switch to the normal 60 hertz. The phone also lacks a so-called always-on display, meaning the clock can be shown on an otherwise dark screen.

Sony does not specify a maximum brightness for the screen. When I take it out in sunlight, I can confirm that the brightness does not reach that of the iPhone 17 or Galaxy S25, but it still manages reasonably well in sunlight.

Sony Xperia 10 VII has two cameras on the back. A main camera with 50 megapixels with a sensor size of 1/1.56 inches and a wide-angle camera with 13 megapixels with a 1/3.0 inch sensor that lacks autofocus. The sensor size of the main camera is the same as on the Galaxy S25 and iPhone 17, but here you notice the difference in the phone's weaker processors, which means it cannot combine many exposures into one image in the same way.

Looking at the image results from the cameras, they take pictures with nice colours and good sharpness, but with a tendency towards under- or overexposure. The images are therefore not as dynamic as those from the iPhone 17 or Galaxy S25. The camera performs quite well in poorer lighting conditions. There is no telephoto camera, and you don't get much out of the extra pixels either; possibly the image is somewhat sharper at two times zoom than if you enlarged it digitally. So, it's not a camera for zoomed-in photography. The wide-angle camera is also quite limited, with poorer sharpness and brightness, and only 40 percent larger image section.

Camera button

The camera can, as mentioned, be awakened and pictures taken with the special camera button. You can also use it to take screenshots, but you cannot programme the button yourself. The camera button is a bit simpler than the one in Sony's three times more expensive top model Xperia 1 VII, so you cannot press the button halfway to get focus lock. This also applies to focus as a whole; the Sony Xperia 10 VII lacks the subject recognition of Sony's more expensive model where you can focus on a person or an animal, and the camera maintains focus even if the subject moves.

Xperia 10 VII comes with Android 15 pre-installed, and is promised four major system updates and six years of security updates. Sony doesn't add much to Google's user interface, but there is a side menu that can serve as an alternative way to access quick shortcuts. When it comes to pre-installed apps, Sony is exemplary in that they list all apps that are not mandatory in Android according to Google, and let you tick or untick which ones you want on your mobile. So, you can ignore Sony's own apps if they don't interest you.

The Xperia 10 series has previously stood out for its phenomenal battery life. We don't get quite as good battery life this time in our battery test with video playback at maximum brightness, which may be because the screen has simply received higher brightness than previous models. Looking at the EU's battery test, which is based on a sequence of video playback, app running, and rest that is repeated, the Xperia 10 VII has above-average battery life.

All in all, it can be said that compared to other mobiles in the same price range, the Sony Xperia 10 VII holds up well, with similar performance and cameras. However, the convenient format is mainly found in more expensive mobiles, and this gives the Xperia 10 VII its own niche.

Questions and answers

Where is the Sony Xperia 10 VII sold? It is currently only sold in Sony's own webshop.

How is the fingerprint reader? It is located on the side of the phone and, in my opinion, has good responsiveness.

Is there a headset jack? Yes, Sony still sticks to the 3.5 mm jack when most others have removed it.

An alternative

Samsung Galaxy A56 has a larger and slightly better screen, is faster, has comparable cameras but has a bulkier format.

Camera example

Colour reproduction and details are fine, but some parts of the image sometimes become over- or underexposed.

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