Almost the same, but more expensive

Review: Sony Xperia 10 VIII - Compact mid-range mobile with few improvements

That the Xperia 10 VIII has become more expensive than its predecessor may not be Sony's fault, but when it is barely better, it is hard to overlook.

Elias Nordling Elias Nordling

Published 24 September 2026 - 14:23 Modified 24 September 2026 - 14:24

Sony has pared its mobile line-up down to an absolute minimum, but one of the two models it has left is the compact mid-range Xperia 10, now in its eighth version. The combination of compact size and a mid-range price is unusual for mobile phones, and that alone makes the Xperia 10 series interesting.

The Sony Xperia VIII is extremely similar to last year's model. The design is identical, but the plastic back has been given a new semi-transparent finish. The phone has new, more powerful speakers, a newer version of Android out of the box, naturally, and a brighter display, but that is the sum of the differences. At the same time, the price has risen to SEK 6,800, from SEK 5,000 for last year's model.

The price increase is probably not Sony's fault, but an effect of high prices for memory chips because AI data centres consume a large share of production. Sony is far from the only company forced to raise prices. However, it does not look particularly good when the phone is so similar to its cheaper predecessor.

Slow

The biggest problem is probably performance. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset, which is exactly the same as in last year's model. It is not exactly fast, and if there was one thing last year's model needed, it was faster processors. But that was not to be, and the Sony Xperia 10 VIII is definitely a slow phone for SEK 6,800. This is noticeable in the user interface, when launching the camera and so on. That said, I cannot claim that the phone is so slow that it becomes frustrating to use.

Sony’s phones previously stood out for certain quirks, such as an extremely tall, narrow screen. It has done away with that particular feature, and the Xperia 10 VIII has a screen in a 19.5:9 format. Other quirks remain. The phone does not have the selfie camera embedded in the screen, making it slightly taller and narrower, and it has a memory card slot, a 3.5 mm socket for wired headphones, a card tray that can be opened without a small metal pin, and a physical camera shutter button.

In terms of dimensions, the phone is roughly as wide as the Samsung Galaxy S26, but slightly taller. The bezels at the top and bottom are a little thicker than usual.

According to Sony, the Xperia 10 VIII has a screen that is 50 per cent brighter than the one on last year’s model. At the same time, it does not state the maximum brightness, either now or then. In any case, this is a screen that performs very well in sunlight. It does flicker somewhat in bright light, but when I set the refresh rate to 120 Hz, rather than the default 60 Hz, the flickering is greatly reduced. The screen is an OLED panel with vivid colours and fast scrolling once you have enabled 120 Hz in the settings, but there is no always-on display option to show the time when the screen is off.

The edges on the short sides are also used for symmetrical speakers with rich, lively and balanced stereo sound. The bass is also said to be improved compared with last year's model, but you should not have overly high expectations of bass tones from a mobile phone speaker.

Camera with attractive colours

The cameras are also the same as in last year's model, namely a 50-megapixel camera with a 1/1.56-inch sensor, which is something of an industry standard for better mobile cameras. There is also a low-resolution ultra-wide-angle camera with a considerably smaller sensor that is not particularly good.

I think the photos from the main camera are good. The exposure can sometimes lean slightly towards the dark side, but the colours are attractive and feel natural, and the sharpness is good. I think the phone takes decent pictures even in poorer light. However, it is noticeable that the processors do not have the capacity for much image processing, not least because photos taken with 2x zoom are no sharper than if you zoom in digitally, despite the phone's sensor having a high resolution that ought to be able to provide sharper images. The fact that the phone has a camera shutter button is, of course, a small plus.

The Xperia 10 series has previously stood out for its excellent battery life. The fact that the Xperia 10 VIII does not do so to the same extent is probably partly an effect of the brighter display, and partly relative to the fact that many other new phones have gained better battery life. I still think the time between charges is above average.

The Sony Xperia 10 VIII has Android 16, rather than the latest Android version released this summer, and a user interface with few additions or proprietary features compared with what Google provides. Sony has a number of apps for its own services, but you can choose whether or not to install them when you set up the phone.

If Sony did not have such limited availability, last year's model would be the Xperia 10 VIII's toughest competitor. As it stands, it is one of the few options for anyone wanting a compact phone with a lower price tag, albeit not as much lower as before.

Questions and answers

Where can you buy the Sony Xperia 10 VIII? It will only be sold through Sony's website when it goes on sale shortly.

How many system updates is the phone promised? Four major updates, the first of which will be the upcoming Android 17 update, and six years of security updates.

Does the Xperia 10 VIII have wireless charging? No, it does not, and it is not particularly fast to charge via cable either.

An alternative

Google Pixel 10a is in the same price range but has now been reduced in price. It is faster and has a slightly better camera setup, but is a little larger and bulkier.