Sony Xperia 10 VIII review

Sony’s budget smartphones have filled a very specific niche for us for several generations. Pairing an affordable price tag with a strong set of AV-focused features, previous entries in the Xperia 10 range have really resonated with us.

The Xperia 10 VIII – that’s “mark eight”, not “vee-eye-eye-eye” – is the latest budget smartphone in Sony’s now just two-model lineup (the other model is the flagship Xperia 1), and it retains a lot of the features we applauded in its Award-winning predecessors.

However, with tough competition from Apple’s new affordable iPhone series, is the Sony Xperia 10 still a prime device for budget-conscious AV fans who need a handset that excels for movies and music?

Price

At just £549, the Xperia 10 VIII hugely undercuts every other phone we’ve reviewed this year. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (£1279 / $1300 / AU$1799), Apple iPhone 17 Pro (£1099 / $1099 / AU$1999) and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 (£1699 / $1899 / AU$2699) all massively outprice the Xperia 10 VIII. Of course, those models all have more premium features, specs, and build quality to justify this.

Instead, the Xperia 10 VIII is aligned with other budget handsets on the market, such as the Apple iPhone 17e (£599 / $599 / AU$999), Samsung Galaxy A57 5G (£529 / $549 / AU$749) and Google Pixel 10a (£499 / $499 / AU$849). While we haven’t tested those models, we have reviewed last year’s iPhone 16e, and can therefore use it as a benchmark device.

You’ll notice that we haven’t listed pricing for the US or Australia, and that’s because this handset isn’t available in either country. Those familiar with Xperia devices will know that Sony hasn’t sold its smartphones in these regions for quite some time.

Design

Sony’s budget Xperia smartphone series has been unapologetically constructed almost entirely from plastic for many years now, and the Xperia 10 VIII is no exception.

It sports the same rather smart redesigned look introduced with last year’s Xperia 10 VII, with a horizontal rounded camera bar that spans the width of the device bearing the two cameras and the Sony branding.

The smooth frosted plastic back feels pleasant to the touch, but it picks up and proudly displays fingerprints and smudges a little too much for our liking, especially in the Frosted Grey finish of our review sample. The 10 VIII is also available in Frozen White – which we have seen and has a really appealing subtle blue-ish hue – and Misty Lilac.

The device is surrounded by a plastic frame, which bears a few ports and buttons of note. On the bottom you’ll find a USB-C charging and data port; on the right is a volume rocker, dedicated camera shutter button, and combination power and lock button with an integrated fingerprint scanner; and on the left edge is the SIM tray, which also features a spot for a micro SD card.

That final feature is especially appreciated, as we rarely see it on other handsets these days, and those with large owned media libraries who wish to load music and movies directly onto the device will be able to do so.

However, the best feature can be found on the top edge of the device; yes, you guessed it, it’s a headphone jack. This unicorn of the smartphone world is still alive and well on Sony smartphones, and while the Xperia 10 VIII doesn’t feature the premium components derived from Sony’s Walkman division that can be found on the flagship Xperia 1 VIII, it’s still a sight for sore eyes for audiophiles such as ourselves.

The Xperia 10 VIII’s display is covered by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 coating, which should make it more resistant to scratches and cracks – we’re hesitant to launch our review sample toward a concrete floor, however, so we’ll have to trust Sony on this one.

Features

The main attraction of the Xperia 10 VIII is the 6.1-inch Full HD+ OLED display. It features a 1080 x 2340 resolution, a nippy 120Hz refresh rate, and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9.

Once upon a time, Sony handsets shipped with 21:9 displays that made portable movie watching a dream, as typical movies would fill the screen from corner to corner. Those days are, unfortunately, behind us now. That said, the more conventional aspect ratio has its benefits, namely when it comes to app optimisation and 16:9 video playback.

Interestingly, Sony is touting a significant boost in brightness this year – 50 per cent to be exact. While it hasn’t given an exact brightness figure in nits, this display should be more versatile when it comes to outdoor viewing in bright sunlight, and we expect it to handle HDR video better too.

Speaking of which, this budget smartphone can play back video in HDR, but this is your run-of-the-mill HDR10 format rather than HDR10+ (which is supported on Samsung Galaxy phones and iPhones) or Dolby Vision (which is also commonly found on iPhones).

Sony is proudly presenting the front-firing stereo speakers as a leading feature of the Xperia VIII. Flanking the display at the top and bottom of the device, these speakers are reportedly 15 per cent louder than those of last year’s model, and bass is an impressive 30 per cent deeper, too, according to Sony.

There’s also the headphone jack to be mindful of for wired audio, and wireless audio is supported via Bluetooth 5.4. Sony’s LDAC codec is on board for wireless high-resolution audio, alongside Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive codec for supported headphones. Sony’s 360 Reality Audio and DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) Ultimate also feature.

Moving away from the AV features, the Xperia 10 VIII sports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor. Interestingly, this appears to be the same chipset as last year’s Xperia 10 VII. It’s backed up by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which can be expanded via microSD, as mentioned.

Running the show is Android 16, with Sony’s minimal skin running on top. While Sony opts to keep most things stock, it’s missing a few creature comforts from other phones, such as a dedicated weather widget and app drawer customisation, and it can look a bit barebones and dated compared with other mobile operating systems.

As is the case with almost every modern Android phone, you’ll find Google Gemini and a range of AI features within the camera app.

That said, Sony is also only promising “up to four” operating system upgrades and “up to six years” of security updates, while its rivals are offering around seven years of OS updates in comparison.

Sony certainly wins back some ground with its battery life claims, though. The 10 VIII has a 5000mAh cell crammed inside – that’s the same size as the much more expensive Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – and it can reportedly last for two days on a single charge. Sony has also implemented an optimised charging system which will reportedly ensure that it keeps a healthy capacity for up to four years.

Rounding things out with the cameras, the Xperia 10 VIII sports three in total: a 50MP main sensor, a 13MP ultrawide camera, and an 8MP front-facing selfie camera. While megapixels don’t tell the full story, our testing proves that these cameras are fine for day-to-day shooting, but are easily outclassed by the step-up models on the market.

Picture quality

Sony’s budget Xperia smartphones have, in the past, caught us off guard with picture performances that are much better than their price tags suggest, and the Xperia 10 VIII continues the trend.

We’ve loaded a range of streaming apps onto the phone, including HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV to assess the picture quality, and we have the iPhone 16e on hand as a reference device.

Before we get stuck properly into testing, we have a controversial piece of advice when it comes to our preferred display settings.

Sony offers a Custom picture preset that it says is better for video content, as it tweaks the display to provide warmer colours and target a more “Filmmaker Mode-like” experience. Somewhat surprisingly, we prefer to leave this off and stick to the default settings, as our testing reveals that it dulls and flattens the picture in the pursuit of a more authentic experience.

Sony has squeezed an impressively cinematic image from this budget handset. It’s crisp, impressively bright, and balanced, especially during the introduction of F1: The Movie on Apple TV. Highlights and colours pop without looking overpronounced, and the image has a sense of depth and solidity that enhances realism.

Switching to Blade Runner 2049 on Prime Video, the Sony presents the opening sequence with a sharp, detailed and balanced image that instantly draws us in. Detail levels are solid across the board, and the horizon seems to stretch on endlessly in an aerial shot of the solar panel farm.

Motion is impressively consistent too, with a difficult panning shot and a tracking shot of Officer K’s drone scoping out Sapper Morton’s protein farm both handled well by the Sony. We do notice some subtle banding in the fog throughout this scene, but it’s certainly not offensive.

What is most striking, however, is how the Xperia 10 VIII utilises its higher brightness capabilities. The picture really pops, especially with animated content such as Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, also on Prime Video.

Compared head to head with the iPhone, the Xperia 10 VIII’s punchier, sharper and brighter image ensures that the Sony outpaces its Apple rival in the picture department.

Sound quality

Sony has already scored bonus points by including a headphone jack on the Xperia 10 VIII, but it’s only useful if the phone can meet our expectations when it comes to sound quality.

The good news is that the 10 VIII excels here too, offering a crisp, clean and balanced sound that makes it an impressive portable music player for the money. The opening guitar plucks of Taylor Swift’s Babylon sound impressively natural, and the ensuing vocals sound full and textured.

Switching to Retrograde by James Blake, the Sony sounds suitably spacious and open, while also remaining organised and timing well. As the track swells to introduce an array of electronic elements at the mid-point, the Sony remains consistent and ensures each effect has room to breathe.

The Sony misses the mark slightly on delivering a big dynamic punch here, which dampens the dramatic effect of this shift, and bass could have more weight and punch, but Sony’s focus on sonic subtleties should be commended.

Comparatively, the iPhone delivers a touch more warmth and cohesion, but you’ll need to step up to the pricier iPhone 17 for a real leap in audio performance.

Unplugging our headphones to try the Xperia’s reportedly upgraded speakers, we find Sony’s claims of upgraded bass ring true. With Blade Runner 2049, there is some genuine impact to the thuds of Sapper Morton slamming Officer K into, and subsequently through, a wall.

Furthermore, the speakers benefit from being front-firing, mostly due to them being harder to block when holding the phone in a landscape orientation.

At the end of the day though, while these are decent stereo speakers in terms of clarity and detail, they are smartphone speakers – the sound generally doesn’t carry much weight, and it’s not particularly spacious.

Given the price of the handset, we deem the speakers to be plenty good enough for a spot of out-loud movie watching; just be sure to hook up a Bluetooth speaker for music.

Verdict

Sony’s impressive affordable Android smartphone range remains a solid choice for budget-conscious AV fans who need their smartphone to do justice to movies and music, and that pocket-sized OLED display is an ideal option for on-the-go cinephiles.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

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