Sony's Xperia 10 VII redesign borrows from Pixel's iconic camera aesthetics

What you need to know

• Sony finally ditched the vertical camera strip, with the Xperia 10 VII now using a Pixel-style, pill-shaped camera bar for its dual lenses.
• The phone packs a new 1/1.56-inch main sensor and a 1/3-inch ultrawide lens, but Sony hasn’t shared megapixel details yet.
• Up front is a 6.1-inch Full HD+ OLED with 120 Hz refresh and Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

Sony’s latest mid-range phone is more than just a minor spec bump, as it finally breaks away from its long-standing vertical camera layout. In fact, the Xperia 10 VII's design choice is clearly inspired by Google’s Pixel lineup.

The Xperia 10 VII delivers the first big design revamp the 10 series has seen in years, even while keeping Sony’s usual bezels and overall layout. The biggest visual change is the camera: instead of the familiar vertical strip, the Xperia 10 VII adopts a pill-shaped horizontal camera bar that instantly makes it look different from its predecessors.

The phone features a new 1/1.56-inch main sensor alongside a 1/3-inch ultrawide lens, though the MP count is missing from the company's announcement.

Around the front, the 6.1-inch FullHD+ OLED now supports a 120 Hz refresh rate and is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

Old-school perks that still matter

The Xperia 10 VII also makes a quiet argument for practicality and keeps hardware perks you rarely see anymore. It packs upgraded stereo speakers up front and a 3.5mm headphone jack. For anyone who wants a phone with real flexibility and full-featured hardware, this one’s hard to ignore.

Under the hood, Sony has moved to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, expandable up to 2TB via microSD.

A 5,000 mAh battery keeps everything running, though charging speeds aren’t aiming to impress. Sony also introduced an “Adaptive Charging” feature meant to keep the battery from wearing out even after four years, but it hasn’t revealed how it actually works.

The build remains classic Sony, with IP65/68 water and dust resistance and a physical shutter button for quick camera access.

The Xperia 10 VII comes in at 153 x 72 x 8.3 mm, making it a bit wider and shorter than the last model, and it weighs 169 g.

On the software side, Sony promises four years of OS updates and six years of security patches, which is a standout commitment in this price range.

Mid-range pricing, limited availability

Despite the above-mentioned design changes, the phone still clings to noticeable top and bottom bezels, and its availability outside Europe and Asia could be limited. This means the phone might not arrive in the U.S.

Pricing starts at around £399 / €449, and it ships in White, Turquoise and Charcoal black.

It won’t outshine flagship models, but as a reliable and thoughtfully improved mid-range option, it finally gives Sony’s 10 series some well-deserved attention.