Sony launches Xperia 10 VIII with incremental upgrades

Sony has officially launched the Xperia 10 VIII, its latest midrange smartphone, announcing the device on August 25, 2026. The phone will be available for purchase in Europe and the United Kingdom starting in mid to late September 2026, with a price tag of 599 euros in Europe and 549 pounds in the UK.

The launch marks a significant price increase from its predecessor, the Xperia 10 VII, which launched in September 2025 at 449 euros and 399 pounds. Sony has not announced plans to sell the new model in the United States, where its Xperia phones are no longer available.

In terms of design and specifications, the Xperia 10 VIII represents an iterative update rather than a major overhaul. It retains the same core hardware as the previous generation, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. The device continues to offer features valued by its core audience, such as a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot supporting up to 2TB of expansion, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

The most visible change is a new "translucent" rear panel design, which Sony describes as using a transparent material with a matte clear coating. The...