Sony has launched its latest flagship smartphone in Malaysia, the Sony Xperia 1 Mark VIII. It introduces a significantly different exterior design while retaining several features that have become increasingly rare among premium smartphones.
Sony calls this its new ORE design, which draws inspiration from raw gemstones and natural textures. At the back, the phone now features a squarish camera island instead of the slim vertical camera arrangement used on previous Xperia flagships.
The Xperia 1 Mark VIII is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and it remains one of the few flagship smartphones available with both a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD card slot.
Sony Xperia 1 VIII Malaysia Pricing and Pre-order promo
The Sony Xperia 1 VIII is officially priced at RM6,499 in Malaysia, which is the same price as last year’s flagship.
Like the last year’s Xperia 1 Mark VII, it is still offered in a single configuration with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
For its early-bird promotion, customers who purchase the Xperia 1 Mark VIII by 31 August 2026 will receive a Sony WF-1000XM6 wireless earbuds worth RM1,599 and a Style Cover with Stand worth RM185.
In total, the early bird perks which is offered which stocks last, provide a total savings of up to RM1,784.
The Xperia 1 Mark VIII is available in four colours: Graphite Black, Garnet Red, Native Gold and Iolite Silver.
Sony Xperia 1 VIII Malaysia Specs and Features
The Sony Xperia 1 Mark VIII features a 6.5-inch Full HD+ HDR OLED display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It boasts 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, 10-bit tonal gradation and Sony’s Bravia display technology.
Under the hood, the flagship phone runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 platform paired with 12GB of RAM and only 256GB of UFS internal storage. If you need more storage, you can expand up to 2TB using a microSDXC card.
The Xperia 1 Mark VIII still gets a triple 48MP camera setup at the rear arranged in a square camera bump. It’s main 48MP f/1.9 (24mm) camera uses a 1/1.35″ Exmor T sensor, while its 48MP f/2.0 ultra-wide-angle (16mm) camera utilises 1/1.56-inch Exmor RS sensor.
For telephoto, Sony has ditched its previous mechanical true continuous zoom camera in favour for a fixed-focal sensor. The Mark VIII features a 48MP f/2.8 telephoto unit which uses 1/1.56-inch Exmor RS sensor that offers dual pixel PDAF and effective 2.9x optical zoom.
Sony says the new telephoto sensor is almost four times larger than the telephoto sensor used on the previous model, which is intended to improve lighting and image quality especially in low light situations.
In addition, the rear cameras use Zeiss lenses with a T* anti-reflective coating.
One of the headline additions is the new AI Camera Assistant, which analyses the subject and scene before suggesting four different creative directions. Each suggestion applies a different combination of colour, exposure, bokeh and lens selection, which users can then customise further through settings such as Creative Look, white balance, saturation and contrast.
As usual, the camera also supports real-time eye autofocus for humans and animals, real-time tracking, up to 30fps autofocus and auto-exposure burst shooting, RAW image capture and hybrid zoom of up to 17.5x. For video, it can record 4K HDR footage at up to 120fps and supports S-Cinetone for mobile, AI Camerawork and Auto Framing.
Up front, the Xperia 1 Mark VIII has a 12MP f/2.0 selfie camera with a 24mm focal length.
Despite being a modern flagship smartphone, Sony has retained the 3.5mm headphone jack which is extremely rare in this day and age. It also supports Hi-Resolution Audio, LDAC, Dolby Atmos, DSEE Ultimate and Qualcomm aptX Adaptive, along with Sony’s new full-stage stereo speakers.
Powering the device is a 5,000mAh battery with support for USB Power Delivery fast charging, Qi wireless charging and reverse wireless charging through its Battery Share feature. Sony claims the phone can provide up to two days of battery life on a single charge.
In terms of durability, the Xperia 1 Mark VIII is rated IPX5 and IPX8 for water resistance and IP6X for dust resistance. It uses Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and Gorilla Glass Victus on the rear. Overall, it measures 8.3mm thick and weighs 200g.
Out of the box, the Xperia 1 Mark VIII ships with Android 16. For long term support, Sony promises up to four Android OS upgrades and six years of security updates.
