After launching its Xperia 1 VIII flagship back in May, Sony is gearing up for another release. The company has confirmed its next Xperia launch event for August 24. Sony hasn’t named the actual device yet, but all signs point toward the mid-range Xperia 10 VIII.
What to Expect from the Event
Sony will stream the event live on YouTube at 11 AM Japan time on August 25, which works out to 10 PM ET or 7 PM PT on August 24 for viewers in the US. Beyond confirming the date and time, Sony hasn’t shared specifics about what’s coming, though a string of recent leaks fills in most of the picture already.
A Geekbench listing tied to a device codenamed Sony XQ-GH54 pointed to a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip paired with 8GB of RAM, the exact same combination found in last year’s Xperia 10 VII. If accurate, that would mean no chipset upgrade this generation, something Sony has actually done before with the Xperia 10 IV and Xperia 10 V.
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A separate FCC filing from July added a few more details, including a 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6, and support for four LTE bands.
Last year’s Xperia 10 VII shipped with a 6.1-inch 120Hz OLED display and a 5,000mAh battery, specs that could very well carry over unchanged to this new model. That’s a considerably more modest package compared to the Xperia 1 VIII, which launched with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and a telephoto sensor roughly four times larger than the one on its predecessor.
Sony Xperia New Products Announcement and the US buyers
Sony will likely skip the US market again with this release, despite earlier reports suggesting a wider rollout. IMEI database listings spotted earlier this year for both the Xperia 1 VIII and Xperia 10 VIII didn’t include a clear US-specific model number, which points toward this mid-range phone potentially staying out of the US entirely.
Sony’s stream on August 24 should clear up pricing, specs, and availability details once and for all. If the leaks so far hold up, the Xperia 10 VIII looks like a fairly modest refresh over last year’s Xperia 10 VII, rather than a phone worth clearing your schedule to preorder.
