Sony has announced the newest addition to its budget line of smartphones – enter the Sony Xperia 10 VIII.
It offers a handful of upgrades over its predecessor, the Xperia 10 VII, and follows on from the Award-winning Xperia 10 VI.
The new model boasts a claimed peak brightness that is double that of the previous smartphone to deliver “improved visibility even outdoors”, although Sony has not disclosed the exact figures.
The Japanese brand also claims that the stereo speaker system (made up of the earpiece and a bottom-firing speaker) features “revised tuning”, which will supposedly deliver “improved volume and sound quality”.
Sony says that volume is boosted by 15 per cent and these speakers can also output 30 per cent stronger bass than the previous model.
There are still a fair few similarities with its older sibling, though. Like the VII model, it runs on the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 with 8GB of RAM, and is powered by a 5,000mAh battery that Sony claims can last for up to two days.
Resolution and size have also stayed the same, with a 6.1-inch screen with a 2340 x 1080 OLED display.
The camera set-up is familiar too, with the 10 VIII sporting a 50-megapixel main and 13-megapixel ultra-wide lens on the back, as well as an 8-megapixel selfie camera.
We are glad to see that the 3.5 mm aux jack has stuck around, and cements Sony as one of the best for audio features in the smartphone market.
You can choose from three colour finishes for the Xperia VIII: Frozen White, Frosted Grey and Misted Lilac.
The Xperia 10 VIII is launching at £549 in the UK, making it £150 more expensive than its predecessor.
That would feel more warranted if there were more hefty upgrades, but it’s a hard sell considering it has the same chipset and camera. That said, the ongoing RAM crisis is likely the cause, with smartphone prices rising across the board.
We're eager to find out if Sony has delivered another five-star budget portable AV machine, so stay tuned for our full review.
MORE:
Check out our review of the Sony Xperia 10 VI
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And here are the best Sony soundbars
