Sony has officially announced the latest flagship in its long-running Xperia smartphone line, with the Xperia 1 VII touting a wide range of AV upgrades over its predecessor.
It's set to provide a picture and sound-first approach – something we've approved of for many generations – with a new partnership that should "take sound quality to the next level".
Sony's smartphone team has enlisted the help of the Walkman division to boost audio quality on this new handset. The Sony Xperia 1 VII remains one of the very few flagship phones to include a 3.5mm headphone jack, but Sony has taken it a step further in its dedication to audio performance on its smartphones.
Sony claims that it tested a range of high-quality internal components from its Walkman portable music players, leading to a new headphone jack that is manufactured with high-quality solder containing gold to "enhance the reproduction of subtle sounds" and "improve the soundstage and directional accuracy".
For those who prefer to listen to their music over a pair of the best wireless headphones, you'll be pleased to hear that the LDAC and aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codecs are supported for high-quality wireless audio. It also supports Dolby Atmos over the speakers and via headphones.
As if those audio upgrades weren't enough, Sony has also improved the full-stage stereo speakers on this handset; it's touting an "even more realistic" sound, which isn't a quantifiable upgrade per se, but we'll take an upgrade regardless.
Sony is also continuing its partnership with its Bravia TV division, something that was established in greater detail last year after the launch of the updated Bravia TV range (which includes the Award-winning Bravia 8 OLED TV).
The new smartphone's 6.5-inch Full HD+ OLED display has been tuned by Bravia, and it features a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate too. While we do miss the overkill 4K 21:9 display from the Xperia 1 V and IV, we understand the benefits to usability and battery life. Plus, if the performance is anything like that of the five-star Xperia 1 VI, then we should have nothing to worry about.
In fact, Sony says it has implemented an AI system to help reproduce some of the best aspects of its Bravia TVs, including colour, contrast, texture and three dimensionality.
The display is also getting a 20 per cent brightness upgrade, as Sony claims it's the brightest screen in an Xperia device to date. It's paired with a new rear light sensor that should adapt the display settings to suit a range of ambient light conditions.
Elsewhere, the Xperia VII features the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite processor with 12GB of RAM, and it runs Android 15; the latest version of the operating system. Sony has jumped on the AI bandwagon with its new Xperia Intelligence suite, which plays a hand in the picture, sound and photography aspects of this device.
On the subject of photography, the Xperia 1 VII sports three rear sensors in total: a 48MP main shooter, 12MP telephoto lens, and a 48MP ultrawide camera. These should pair well with Sony's professional camera app and dedicated camera shutter button for an in-depth smartphone photography experience.
The Sony Xperia 1 VII is available to order now for £1399 (a £100 increase from the Xperia 1 VI's price), and you can pick between three finishes: Slate Black, Moss Green and Orchid Purple. Sony is also running a promotion in which you can get a free pair of the excellent, Award-winning WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones if you pre-order the Xperia 1 VII.
Much like the previous generation devices in this series, it appears as though Sony will not launch the Xperia 1 VII in the US.
MORE:
Read our full Sony Xperia 1 VI review
And our Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review
Check out our picks for the best smartphones
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