The Sony Xperia 10 VIII stands out with its bright OLED display, good battery life, precise location tracking, and rare extras like a headphone jack and microSD slot. The smartphone's build quality, light weight, and compact design are also appealing. 

However, the high price is offset by a slow Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor, only 128 GB of storage, USB 2.0, and unchanged cameras from the previous generation.

The lack of HDR support and occasional stuttering also detract from the overall impression. That being said, compared to the Xperia 10 VII, the significantly brighter display in particular stands out as a real improvement. 

Other new features are relatively minor. Given the substantial price increase, Sony offers too little added value overall compared to its predecessor.

The Sony Xperia 10 VIII has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of €599 and can be purchased directly from Sony DE and Sony UK (£549). 

The smartphone is also available on Amazon DE, among other retailers. 

1. Verdict on the Sony Xperia 10 VIII
2. Specifications: Sony Xperia 10 VIII
3. Build: The Xperia 10 Mk 8 is dust- and water-resistant
4. Features: Expensive mid-range model with only USB 2.0
5. Software: Only four years of Android version updates
6. Communication and GNSS: Xperia 10 VIII with 6 GHz Wi-Fi
7. Phone features and call quality
8. Cameras: Slow dual-lens system in the Xperia 10 VIII
9. Accessories and warranty: A yawning void
10. Input devices and operation
11. Display: Brighter but without HDR support
12. Performance: Sony Xperia 10 VIII with Snapdragon 6 Gen 3
13. Emissions: Good speakers in the Xperia 10 VIII
14. Battery life: Xperia 10 VIII with a 5,000 mAh cell
15. Notebookcheck's overall impressions of the Sony Xperia 10 VIII
16. Potential alternatives in comparison

With the Xperia 10 VIII, Sony is focusing on evolution rather than a fresh start. Compared to the Xperia 10 VII, much remains unchanged: the manufacturer has retained the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 SoC, 5,000-mAh battery, 128 GB of storage, and the basic camera features. 

The most noteworthy addition this time is the significantly brighter 120-Hz OLED display, along with minor adjustments to the hardware and software. 

At the same time, the MSRP has increased from €449 to €599. Whether these few improvements justify this substantial price increase remains to be seen in our following review of the Xperia 10 VIII.

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

The Sony Xperia 10 VIII is one of the more compact smartphones, but it’s a bit on the thicker side at 8.3 mm. We measured 8.5 mm at the outer edges, and up to 10.1 mm including the camera. Weighing 168 g, it’s relatively light and fits comfortably in the hand.

With its rather thick screen bezels, the Sony smartphone looks a bit dated. On the other hand, the display isn’t interrupted by a camera, and the two speakers face forward. The build quality impresses in our test with even and tight gaps. During torsion tests, the Xperia 10 Mk 8 remains rigid and silent. 

The phone is both dust- and water-resistant according to IP65/IP68 standards. Access to the SIM card and microSD slot is also tool-free. 

The Xperia 10 VIII is available in Misty Lilac, Matte Gray, and Frozen White color options.

      Xiaomi Redmi Note 17 Pro Max 5G       Nothing Phone (4a) Pro       Samsung Galaxy A57       Google Pixel 10a       Sony Xperia 10 VIII       Sony Xperia 10 VII       DIN A6 ❌

163.44 mm / 6.43 in 78.27 mm / 3.08 in 8.65 mm / 0.3406 in 225 g0.496 lbs163.6 mm / 6.44 in 76.6 mm / 3.02 in 7.9 mm / 0.311 in 210 g0.463 lbs161.5 mm / 6.36 in 76.8 mm / 3.02 in 6.9 mm / 0.2717 in 179 g0.3946 lbs153.9 mm / 6.06 in 73 mm / 2.87 in 9 mm / 0.3543 in 183 g0.4034 lbs153 mm / 6.02 in 72 mm / 2.83 in 8.3 mm / 0.3268 in 168 g0.3704 lbs153 mm / 6.02 in 72 mm / 2.83 in 8.3 mm / 0.3268 in 168 g0.3704 lbs148 mm / 5.83 in 105 mm / 4.13 in 1 mm / 0.03937 in 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

The Sony Xperia 10 VIII is once again available only with 128 GB of storage, though this can still be expanded using a microSD card. Another rarity is the built-in headphone jack. But that’s about it for the special features. 

For a €600 smartphone, USB 2.0 feels rather meager. Additionally, connected storage devices formatted with NTFS cannot be read. Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC are also on board.

Although the microSD card reader is slightly faster in testing than its predecessor, it still isn’t exactly setting the world on fire. On the plus side, the card can be swapped out without any additional tools.

The Sony Xperia 10 VIII ships with Google Android 16 and receives four years of version updates as well as two additional years of security patches.

Sony preinstalls a few of its own apps but is sparing with third-party apps. Only Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn come preinstalled. 

However, these apps cannot be completely uninstalled but only disabled.

Sony remains rather vague regarding the Xperia 10 VIII when it comes to sustainability aspects. The housing contains recycled plastic, but the manufacturer does not specify the exact percentage of recycled material. 

The packaging consists of paper and Sony’s original blended material made from bamboo, sugarcane fibers, and recycled paper. Sony also does not provide a product-specific carbon footprint.

Sony does not offer a self-repair program for the Xperia 10 VIII. For hardware defects, the manufacturer refers users to its repair service and authorized service centers.

Sony isn’t exactly generous when it comes to supporting a wide range of mobile frequencies, and this applies to both 4G and 5G. Within Europe, however, this isn’t a problem; it’s only during intercontinental travel that one or two bands may be missing.

Although Wi-Fi 7 isn’t built in, at least 6 GHz Wi-Fi is supported. In testing, this not only delivers high data transfer rates but also ensures stable performance.

The Xperia 10 VIII's satfix is fast and accurate outdoors, even though the smartphone only supports single-band GNSS. It doesn’t take much longer indoors, but it is significantly less precise and also fluctuates considerably.

On a bike ride, we compare the smartphone’s positioning capabilities with those of a Garmin Venu 2. The two devices largely agree on the recorded total distance, differing by only 10 m. 

While the smartwatch tracks the distance traveled more accurately by the lake, the Xperia phone is more precise in the city center.

The call quality of the Sony Xperia 10 VIII felt quite natural when held to the ear, though the suppression of background noise could be better.

Only a nano-SIM card and/or an eSIM can be used.

Image comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Main cameraMain cameraUltra wide-angle5x zoomLow light

Sony does not include any accessories in the package.

The warranty in Germany is valid for 24 months.

The Sony Xperia 10 VIII’s capacitive touchscreen works flawlessly and has good glide characteristics.

The fingerprint sensor is located in the power button and also works reliably in most cases. Sony has once again opted not to include additional facial recognition. 

For the vibration motor, Sony continues to rely on an affordable ERM motor. While it’s powerful, it’s also feels a bit vague.

The dedicated shutter button can be used both to take screenshots and to launch the camera app. In the camera app, it serves as the shutter button.

* ... smaller is better

The display’s color settings can be extensively customized to suit your needs. We achieved the most natural result using “Original Mode.”

The Sony Xperia 10 VIII once again runs on the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3. Given the price range this smartphone now falls into, we find this to be somewhat underpowered. The competition generally has more to offer in this regard.

In everyday use, the system stutters from time to time.

The Adreno 710 GPU in the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 does not support ray tracing. It is suitable for simple games but quickly reaches its limits with demanding titles.

* ... smaller is better

The surface temperatures of the Xperia 10 VIII can get quite high under sustained load, but they remain within a safe range. However, the SoC — which isn’t particularly fast to begin with — throttles a bit even then.

(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 41.4 °C / 107 F, compared to the average of 33 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 45.4 °C / 114 F, compared to the average of 35.4 °C / 96 F, ranging from 21.9 to 247 °C for the class Smartphone.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 47.6 °C / 118 F, compared to the average of 34.1 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.8 °C / 84 F, compared to the device average of 33 °C / 91 F.

The two front-facing speakers still deliver decent sound even at higher volumes, though the sound lacks a bit of depth. At maximum volume, however, they tend to distort.

Sound output is better via the 3.5 mm jack, which only achieves an average SNR of 49.18 dBFS in testing, but this applies only to a very narrow frequency range.

Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)

The Xperia 10 VIII's power consumption is somewhat high at full display brightness but is otherwise unremarkable.

We fully recharged the 5,000 mAh battery in 69 minutes using a Ugreen Nexode 65 W power adapter. 

Power Consumption

Off / Standby	0.21 / 0.3 Watt
Idle	0.81 / 2.51 / 2.57 Watt
Load	4.37 / 10.16 Watt
Key: min: , med: , max:         Metrahit Energy

* ... smaller is better

In our standardized Wi-Fi browsing test at 150 nits, the Sony Xperia 10 VIII’s battery life reached nearly 20 hours. That’s a good result, but surprisingly worse than that of its predecessor. 

Battery Runtime

The Sony Xperia 10 VIII impresses with its bright OLED display, good battery life, and rare extras. But given its high price and the few improvements over its predecessor, it offers too little in the way of progress.

ⓘ Daniel Schmidt

Under review: Sony Xperia 10 VIII. Review unit provided by Sony Germany.

Total Sustainability Score: 61.1%

The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.

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Editor of the original article: Daniel Schmidt - Managing Editor Mobile - 1057 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2013

As a child I was fascinated by my Commodore 16, and this sparked my enthusiasm for computers. Using my first modem, I surfed the BTX videotext system and later the World Wide Web. I have always been captivated by the latest technologies, and this is especially true for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. I’ve been part of the Notebookcheck team since 2013 and have also on occasion written for Notebookinfo.de, and I’m looking forward to testing new innovations for our readers. I like to spend my spare time indulging in photography and barbecues and being with my family.

Translator: Ninh Ngoc Duy - Editorial Assistant - 859257 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2008

My main responsibility as an editorial assistant is maintaining the Library section, which aggregates reviews from other publications and channels. In addition, my daily breakfast is Notebookcheck's long list of new content, which I comb through to select the most interesting topics for translation from English to French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch."