Back to using Sony Xperia 1 VIII: I respect Sony!

It's been 3 years since I returned to an Xperia, this time the Xperia 1 vIII, a phone that has always been said to be "not for the masses", priced at 39 million VND. Looking at the price, looking at what Sony has, that's true, but using Sony to understand, the feeling it brings is very different from other machines available.

Xperia 1 VIII attracts me because of its design. Although looking at the renderings, I don't think it's beautiful, the reality is different and most importantly, the way Sony makes phones is still classy and different.

This is not a review of the Xperia 1 VIII, just my first impressions, I will have a detailed review later, so in this article I will not share all aspects of this device.

Not for the masses?

From the first moment I held the device in my hand, I was right about the above statement, there is no device on the market today that still does the same as Sony and there is also no device (personally) that follows the path that Sony is taking.

I won't say that this phone is not for the masses, I'll just say that the Xperia 1 VIII is for those who like simplicity, simple to the point of being a bit negative. Because if you look at this phone, its software doesn't have any productivity-related AI features from Sony, except for Google's Gemini. While at this time, everyone is talking about AI, manufacturers are trying to equip as many AI features into their devices as possible, sometimes without knowing (and without knowing) whether it is useful for users or not. Just like that, you can see how Sony goes against the majority. Then comes the AOD screen. Instead of following other brands to make wallpaper displays (which mostly follow the iPhone), Sony still follows the traditional style.

Anyone who makes a product without expecting it to sell well and reach as many users as possible, I think Sony is no exception, but Sony has pursued that type of business and everyone can see the results. Sony found its own path, instead of making a phone that "satisfies the masses", which may not be able to compete with Samsung, Apple or Chinese phones, Sony makes a phone that is just enough to fill the gap in their ecosystem. People who look for Sony phones, accept to spend money that can buy "ten thousand times better" devices and choose Xperia, they know what they need. Or simply, you are a fan of Sony Xperia, that's it.

Talk about "rough" ORE design

Holding the Xperia 1 VIII, or even the previous 1 VII and 1 VI, I felt the same thing, it's not as soft and flattering as the Samsung Galaxy, not as smooth as the iPhone, Xiaomi or OPPO but feels rough and angular, like you hold a Sony Alpha camera, or cameras that emphasize the mechanical, cold nature of metal like Leica, Hassy.

Talking about product perfection, I rank Sony number 1 in the smartphone world, including brands that have perfected excellent products in this industry, I think still cannot reach Sony's level, including Apple. Although from Xperia 1 VII, Sony no longer directly produces and assembles phones at their factories, the product quality remains unchanged, still high quality, you can only understand when you pick up the phone.

Many people criticize the Xperia 1 VIII's camera cluster for being ugly, and there is a gap between the frame and the back. Firstly, the perception of beauty and ugliness depends on each person's eyes. For me, the camera cluster of the As for the gap mentioned above, it is insignificant and does not make the machine worse, nor does it allow water to get into it. In industrial design, if you look closely, you will always see such "breathing spaces" and it does not affect anything.

Looking around the frame of the Xperia VIII, except for the microphone hole and 3.5mm jack, you will not see any other holes to... insert the SIM, because Sony uses the mechanism they have used for many years. Sony Xperia 1 VIII is also a rare flagship that retains the 3.5mm port and microSD card slot.

Good speakers

The Xperia 1 VIII has a pair of full-stage stereo speakers that Sony has improved to be more powerful than the previous generation. It is not a louder style, but instead is processed more delicately. Sony is equipped with 2 identical left/right speakers. This arrangement helps the bass to be deeper, still located on the front so the sound goes straight to the listener instead of bouncing off the side of the device or table top, very suitable for watching videos, playing games and making video calls. To me, the Xperia 1 VIII is the phone with the most impressive speaker I've heard from the beginning of the year until now.

Some dissatisfaction

First is the fingerprint sensor, I don't know about the 1 VI and 1 VII, but the Xperia 1 VIII Sony has hidden the option that you have to press the power button (also the fingerprint sensor) to unlock the device, or in other words, the fingerprint sensor is always on, just a light touch to unlock. I don't like this method, it can easily cause the phone to be accidentally unlocked while I'm holding it in my hand, which is extremely annoying. It's also unclear why Sony hid this feature. They didn't delete it from the ROM but just hid the option in the settings. When you type in the search box, you still see it, but can't open it. Luckily, Xperia fans from foreign forums have found a way to solve this problem, by running an ADB command and everything is fine again.

Second is the software, it's not that I find it simple (I'm a simple person) but because of that simplicity, Sony should have optimized it better. On the other hand, the Xperia 1 VIII's software still has quite rough errors, errors that I think only existed in phones 10-15 years ago. I'm not sure if my device is an official commercial version, but I hope it's not. I will save the detailed examples for the detailed review, but in this topic I will not go too deep.

In short, Xperia 1 VIII is a phone that receives a lot of attention but…

Paying a lot of attention and being well received are two different attacks. Sony Xperia's situation is similar to Google Pixel in Vietnam (excluding foreign countries), the technology community always cares about it every time there is a new device, talks a lot and makes a lot of content for it. But that's the concern, but the reception, specifically spending money to buy it, is another story, it is related to whether the machine meets the needs or not. Pixel is probably less gloomy than Sony

I always tell you guys that Sony is special, the Sony Xperia phone is also something special, you don't need to worry about whether Sony can sell the phone or not, and then who will buy it at this price. Actually, the buyers don't stand in front of you guys to say "hey, I bought an Xperia", they're more silent, they live in their community, sometimes I feel jealous because I'm a big fan of BlackBerry, but BlackBerry guys now only exchange nostalgia, there's no comradery, there's a new device to talk about like Sony. Even HTC, LG or Nokia fans are the same. I really respect Sony, they go against the flow, they don't follow the crowd, they don't compromise or trade their DNA to follow a certain model just to sell more devices, just to please users. I hope Sony will still make phones, no need to "follow the trend", no need to trade anything, because I'm worried that if Sony goes "massive", it will lose its uniqueness in a saturated smartphone world, and then disappear like HTC, LG or Nokia before.