Sony just launched its latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1 VII, in mid-July this year. However, less than two months later, shipments and sales of the device have been halted in Sony’s home market of Japan, according to a notice published by Sony on 4th July.
The suspension comes in response to reports from Japanese customers experiencing issues such as unexpected shutdowns, random restarts, and devices failing to power on.
Sony Japan and Europe investigating the issue
According to support posts published on Sony’s official websites in Japan and the UK, the company is currently investigating the root cause of the problem. While sales and shipments have been paused in Japan, Sony is still assessing the extent of the issue in Europe. The company notes that “this issue may only affect a select batch of Xperia 1 VII devices.”
In the meantime, affected customers are advised to back up important data to prevent any data loss, and to try the following steps for troubleshooting:
- Press and hold the power button and volume up button simultaneously for about 20 seconds. (The device will vibrate during the process — continue holding until the full 20 seconds have passed.)
- Make sure that the device is running on the latest available software.
Customers who are unable to restore their device may also contact Sony’s smartphone customer service centre. It’s also recommended to perform software updates while connected to Wi-Fi, as the update may consume a significant amount of data.
Affected users in Europe can monitor Sony’s UK support page for further updates and solutions.
Sony Xperia 1 VII launching soon in Malaysia in July 2025
Having already made its global debut for nearly two months, the Sony Xperia 1 VII is set to arrive at Malaysian shores in mid-July 2025, which should mean anytime soon.
Looking identical to its predecessors, Sony’s latest flagship phone brings several notable upgrades, including Qualcomm’s latest and greatest mobile chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. It also gets a new 48MP ultra-wide-angle shooter, paired with the 48MP main and 12MP telephoto cameras that have been brought forward from its predecessor.
The Xperia 1 VII also debuted with what Sony calls Xperia Intelligence. But unlike Samsung’s Galaxy AI or Apple Intelligence, Xperia Intelligence does not include AI-powered productivity features. Instead, it packs features to help improve the phone’s visual, camera, and audio performance.
As with the rest of its specs, the Xperia 1 VII is equipped with a 6.5″ Full HD+ 120Hz LTPO OLED display, and is probably the only flagship smartphone still offering a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD slot for storage expansion.
Sony promises to support the Xperia 1 VII with up to four years of major OS updates and six years of security patch updates. The phone will ship running on Android 15 out of the box.
