2026 is proving to be a landmark year for phones, in both good and bad ways, but what about Sony? Well, the firm’s upcoming flagship has been leaked with some big changes.
Excluding foldables, we’ve had most of the big-name flagships for the year apart from the Pixel 11 and iPhone 18 ranges. However, Sony’s Xperia 1 VIII is still on the way and just got leaked, revealing the full design.
With the likes of OnePlus reportedly closing down in some markets, you might wonder if Sony is also on the way out with its tiny market share and the current challenges of the mobile space, but the Xperia 1 VIII might arrive very soon with something of an overhaul.
The design has been leaked, detailing a new square camera module on the back, which looks nothing like previous models. The vertical arrangement, similar to Samsung Galaxy phones, has been replaced with a completely new module including a sloped side.
OnLeaks / MyMobiles
Three rear cameras now sit in an ‘r’ shape around the square, along with the flash and sensors. I have to say, I quite like it, even simply because it’s different to rivals – despite the unused space in the bottom corner.
The CAD-based renders from OnLeaks and posted on MyMobiles, also confirm the display will remain at 6.5-inch with the same bezel, but various dimensions will change compared to the Xperia 1 VII.
The new model for 2026 is a little wider, but more importantly, thicker at 8.58mm vs 8.2mm. The camera bump is also reportedly bigger at 2.79mm compared to around 1.1mm on the VII.
Hopefully, these changes are due to upgraded specs such as cameras, battery and cooling.
Luke Baker
Note that the colour is simply a neutral shade as CAD information doesn’t detail colourways, but we can see what the phone looks like overall, including the continued use of a dedicated camera button, which is physical and not touch sensitive like many rivals, such as the Oppo Find X9 Ultra.
I’d also wager the fingerprint scanner remains sidemounted, contained within the power button.
There’s lots more to find out regarding the Sony Xperia 1 VIII, including full specs and the all-important price, but we might not have long to wait as Sony announced its predecessor in May last year.