Sony Xperia 10 VII - Unique Sony Features For Less!
If you're a Sony fan, you already know Sony makes expensive phones. Like this one…the One Mark 7. It only costs around £1400 here in the UK right now… but did you know about this one? The Xperia 10 Mark 7, it has many of the fan-favourite Sony Xperia features seen on the flagship, but it costs £1000 less.
That's right. It's got some killer features for less money and a bunch of upgrades since the last model that I think you'll want to know about. So, let me show you what the Sony Xperia 10 Mark 7 is all about.
Design
Sony has overhauled the camera module design this year. And they've gone with this camera bar setup. Which may be inspired by the Pixel or the iPhone Air. But if you ask anyone from Sony, they probably say "no, no, it isn't." Either way, it helps when holding the phone, and it helps solve a problem that many phones have. The table wobbles... This phone has no wobble. I'll come back to the actual camera hardware in a moment. And tell you now this camera setup is quite interesting.
The overall weight of the device is 168 grams, and it feels compact. The body is sealed up to meet the IPX5 and IPX8 water resistance ratings and IP6X dust-proof rating. On the right side of the device, you'll find the volume rocker, the two-in-one fingerprint sensor, power button & for the first time ever on an Xperia 10 device, the Mark 7 has a camera shutter button.
This is ideal for quick-draw photography and video capture. However, it's not a two-step camera button like on the Xperia 1, so there's no half-push to focus. Additionally, it's a little higher up on the device compared to the Xperia 1. But that's something you can get used to over time.
Up top is another Sony Xperia Classic, and my favourite feature. The headphone jack. If you care about high-quality, lossless, and completely lag-free audio, you'll appreciate this the most. With that said, when it comes to audio, there are a couple more feathers in the cap for this phone. We'll come back to that.
Now listen here, there's something really important that you need to know about this phone configuration. There is only one storage and RAM option. And It's 8GB RAM and 128GB ROM (oh god oh, my goodness).
But, chill. Sony has totally redeemed themselves by adding this. It's another Xperia fan favourite, the toolless SIM tray, which allows you to add up to 2TB of expandable memory. This also makes transferring photos and videos between computers or cameras much easier.
Display
So now the display. Well, Sony has moved away from the 21:9 aspect ratio. The display on the 10 Mark 7 is now 19.5:9, which makes it a bit wider and enhances the viewing experience, especially for video content thats not shot in 21:9 and gaming. Looking at this phone, it's safe to say Sony isn't afraid to add some bezels. But what you get in exchange for this thicker frame is an uninterrupted display, and a more discreet selfie camera location.
And another benefit of the bezels & a unique Xperia feature is forward-firing stereo speakers. Which is a much better placement when it comes to video content, gaming and watching movies. And this is definitely a nice display for that. It's a 6.1" FHD+ OLED panel with up to 120Hz refresh rate. And it can be locked in at 60Hz if you prefer to save power. It's decently bright, and it supports 100% of the DCI P3 colour gamut. Sony has also calibrated it with their Triluminous for mobile colours.
And it looks good to me. Even side by side with the Sony Xperia 1 flagship.
Camera
Alright, now let's talk about the cameras. The primary camera on the back of the Xperia 10VII uses a 50MP 1/1.56" Exmor RS sensor. It's 1.6X larger than the previous model's sensor. The lenses give it a 24mm focal length equivalent and an aperture of F1.9. Because it's a good-sized sensor and, combined with its capability to capture 50 million pixels, This same primary camera doubles as a telephoto camera, allowing it to capture 2X photos without compromising quality.
Additionally, I have noticed that Sony has made some noticeable improvements to their software in terms of low-light digital noise reduction on this device. The second shooter here is an ultra-wide 16mm equivalent. It uses a smaller 13MP ⅓" sensor and has an aperture of F2.4. The selfie is an 8MP ¼" sensor with F2.0 aperture, and it's pretty good.
And there's a really nice Sony Xperia camera feature here. It's got 10FPS AE burst shooting mode for capturing fast-moving action. When it comes to video, the primary camera features OIS and EIS, and both rear cameras can shoot 4K at 30fps. The selfie video maxes out at FHD 30fps. And because Sony's gallery app of choice is Google Photos. You get access to all the editing tools and AI editing tools that Google has to offer. Which are some of the best out there.
And that brings me nicely onto the software experience on the Xperia. It's one of the cleanest Android experiences next to the Pixel devices. Sony has included a few custom features, such as the Side Sense bar for split-screen viewing and quick access to less frequently used apps. You can also add Sony sound connect controls here. If you have Sony headphones or speakers. There's a subtle skin on the quick settings and a couple of Sony apps, but apart from that, it's clean. And of course, you get the Gemini AI features like Circle to search & Gemini Live. You also get 4 years of security and 4 years of software updates included here.
Power & Performance - Battery Life
When it comes to power and performance. The Xperia 10 Mark 7 has a large 5000mAh battery and its charging speed seems to be 30W. Sony has included its adaptive charging and battery care software features to ensure the battery lasts over time.
And the chip used here is the 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3. It is a mid-range chipset, but its performance will be enough for most people. I've loaded up a few games and pushed it to its limits with Genshin, and it handles surprisingly well. It also supports WiFi 6e and 5G Sub 6 signals. So connectivity speeds won't be an issue.
And remember when I mentioned the audio skills. When you're not using the headphone jack, you can make use of the Qualcomm AptX Adaptive BT codec, which is one of the best audio codecs out there. You also get Sony's LDAC (bah), one of the very best for HiRes audio.
Here's the little sweetener. Sony has some official cases for the Xperia 10 Mark 7. Which has a nice colour gradient to match the three colour options. White, black and teal. And what's nice about these is they're designed to allow you to put photos underneath or to add a very important reminder or something like that. So let me know. What do you think of the Sony Xperia 10 Mark 7? If you're interested in checking out the Sony flagship…
