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Sony will finally launch its first ‘Alpha’ camera phone soon – here’s what that could mean for the Xperia 1 VII

May 8, 2025
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  • Sony has revealed that it will announce the Xperia 1 VII on May 13
  • The company has also teased that it will be "powered by Alpha"
  • This likely means a real focus on camera improvements

Sony’s Xperia 1 phones are among other things known for quite impressive cameras, but oddly – despite Sony also making a range of popular and capable ‘Alpha’ cameras – the company hasn’t used ‘Alpha’ branding on its Xperia phone cameras before. But it looks like that’s about to change.

In a teaser video on YouTube, the company has revealed that the next Sony Xperia 1 – likely to be dubbed the Sony Xperia 1 VII – is landing on May 13.

This teaser doesn’t give much away, but it does mention that the phone is “powered by Alpha”, and then goes on to show an Alpha camera, followed by images of people taking photos with what’s likely the Xperia 1 VII.

So, if nothing else this tells us that photography is likely a major focus for the Sony Xperia 1 VII, but what exactly it being “powered by Alpha” means is less clear, with that potentially referring to software, hardware, or both.

Still, based on our Sony Xperia 1 VI review we can say that we hope night image quality and dynamic range optimization are improved, as they were weak links in that phone’s photography performance.

A trio of sensors, likely with upgrades

Assuming the phone pictured in the video is the Sony Xperia 1 VII it has a similar design to the Xperia 1 VI, complete with a flat back and three rear lenses. We have some idea of what those lenses might be too, with leaks pointing to a 48MP main sensor (with optical image stabilization), a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 12MP telephoto, with a focal length that can range from 70-200mm.

That’s broadly similar to what you’ll find on the Sony Xperia 1 VI, except the telephoto camera there is limited to 85-170mm.

Still, even if these leaks are correct, it’s possible we’ll see other changes to justify the 'Alpha' branding, such as larger sensors, better lenses, or software improvements.

Away from the cameras, it has also been reported that the Sony Xperia 1 VII will have a 4K, 120Hz screen, a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, and a battery of at least 5,000mAh.

So, this could be a highly capable handset, but with the current model costing £1,299 / AU$1,899 (with no US availability) it’s also likely to be extremely expensive. We should find out for sure very soon.

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