Sony Xperia 1 VII

♡

57th best phone of 2025 (~$1599)

GSMCritic Take: With its 120 Hz OLED display, standout wired audio setup with a 3.5mm jack, front-facing speakers, and deep manual camera controls, it caters strongly to multimedia enthusiasts, though its very high price makes this niche-focused experience harder to justify.

6.5-inch

197g

8.2mm

30W

waterproof

Click to open full specs on GSMArena.com:

* Screen covers 86.5% of body.

Reviews

Overall phone rating and the reviews that impact it.

1st review by

6th review by

2nd review by

GSMCritic Score

5th review by

3rd review by

4th review by

* how the score is calculated?

Last update: 2026-04-18

Pros

Camera

Dedicated Camera Controls: A dedicated camera button with a two-stage shutter enhances tactile usability.

Versatile Camera System: The camera supports continuous zoom, manual controls, and traditional image processing for flexible shooting.

Natural Image Rendering: It is capable of producing balanced and natural-looking photos.

Strong Selfie Camera: The device delivers excellent selfie performance.

Capable Ultrawide Camera: The ultrawide camera performs extremely well for still images.

Good Main Camera Potential: The main camera can produce strong results under the right conditions.

High-Quality Video Options: Video recording offers excellent options and generally superb overall quality.

Performance

Strong Performance: A fast chipset delivers consistently strong performance and handles demanding tasks with ease.

Design

Premium Build & Compact Form: It offers a high-quality build with a functional, comfortable, and relatively compact form factor.

Ingress Protection: The phone includes solid water and dust resistance for added durability.

Display

High-Quality Display: The device features a gorgeous, high-quality 120 Hz OLED panel with a bright output and uninterrupted design free of visual distractions.

Battery

Long Battery Life: Battery life is described as impressive and very long-lasting in certain contexts.

Software

Clean Interface: The software interface is described as clean.

Long Software Support: It offers a commitment to six years of updates, providing strong long-term value.

Audio

Added Audio Hardware: It includes a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD card support, catering to users who value legacy features.

Excellent Headphone Output: The wired audio output is rich, weighty, and detailed.

Front-Facing Speakers: The phone features front-facing speakers with generally great overall speaker performance.

Detailed Audio Controls: Extensive audio settings allow for granular customization.

Cons

Camera

Average Camera Performance: Overall camera results are frequently described as average or middling.

Weak Camera Hardware & Processing: The camera hardware is considered disappointing, with weak dynamic range, soft zoom results, and reduced sharpness and detail compared to competitors.

Soft Telephoto Output: The telephoto camera consistently produces soft images.

Video Sharpness Issues: Video recording lacks the desired level of sharpness despite strong overall quality.

Requires User Effort for Photos: Achieving good camera results often requires significant manual input rather than point-and-shoot ease.

Performance

Thermal Issues: The device tends to run hot under load, raising concerns about thermal performance.

Design

Unreliable Fingerprint Sensor: The fingerprint sensor can be inconsistent in operation.

Ingress Protection Behind Competitors: While strong, its water and dust resistance is surpassed by some competitors.

Display

Limited HDR Support: HDR format support is limited.

Battery

Inconsistent Battery Performance: Battery life, while sometimes impressive, is still outperformed by newer competitors.

Slow Charging: Charging is repeatedly described as slow with low charging capacity.

Price

Very High Price: The device is consistently described as very expensive and difficult to justify for the improvements offered.

Software

Basic and Frustrating Software: The interface is described as basic and somewhat lazy, with noticeable operating system frustrations.

Niche Features: Some software features and additions are niche and unlikely to appeal to a broad audience.

Storage

Limited Internal Storage: Many configurations are restricted to 256GB of internal storage.

Connectivity

Missing Accessories: The device lacks included charging accessories such as a power adapter and USB-C cable.

Rankings

The Best Phone Of 2025: #57

The Highest Optical Zoom Of 2025: #1

The Largest Screen Size Of 2025: #56

The Smallest Screen Size Of 2025: #11

The Lightest Phone Of 2025: #26

The Thinnest Phone Of 2025: #31

The Fastest Charging Speed Of 2025: #51

The Highest Screen To Body Ratio Of 2025: #57

The Cheapest Phone Of 2025: #61