Sony looks like it’s changing direction a bit with the next Xperia flagship, especially when it comes to zoom photography. Fresh leaks surrounding the upcoming Xperia 1 VIII suggest Sony is moving away from the variable telephoto system used on the Xperia 1 VII.
The details come from listings spotted on Amazon Germany and Amazon UK, reported by NotebookCheck. According to ITHome, the Xperia 1 VIII swaps the previous continuous optical zoom lens for a fixed 70mm telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.
On paper, that sounds like a downgrade. The Xperia 1 VII could smoothly shift between 85mm and 170mm focal lengths (roughly 3.5x-7.1x), something no phones offer as of early 2026. But Sony seems to be compensating in another area that arguably matters more for everyday use: sensor size.
A much larger telephoto sensor (rumored)
The new telephoto camera is said to use a much larger 48MP 1/1.56-inch sensor, replacing the older 12MP 1/3.5-inch unit. That’s a pretty big jump, and it should help with light capture, detail, and low-light performance. There’s a chance the trade-off could actually work in Sony’s favor.
Reports suggest the setup can cover an effective 70mm to 139mm range. So while the extreme long-range zoom from the older model may be gone, most users could end up getting better-looking photos in the focal lengths they actually use more often. The main and ultra-wide cameras reportedly stay familiar, sticking to 24mm and 16mm equivalents.
Outside the camera system, benchmark listings show the Xperia 1 VIII (Sony XQ-GE54) running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip paired with 12GB RAM. Geekbench scores floating around online point to flagship-level performance.
There also seem to be a few design tweaks this time around, including what looks like a more squared-off camera module. At the same time, Sony is apparently keeping some of the things Xperia fans tend to care about, including the 3.5mm headphone jack and the tall cinematic-style display.
Nothing is official yet, but the overall direction is becoming clearer. Sony doesn’t seem interested in chasing the highest zoom numbers anymore. Instead, it looks like the company is trying to improve the kind of shots people take most often, while still keeping that enthusiast-focused Xperia identity intact.
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