Is the price of nearly 40 million VND enough to help Sony Xperia 1 VIII compete with Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max, or is this still just an option for photography enthusiasts?
On August 3, 2026, Sony Malaysia officially put the Sony Xperia 1 VIII on the shelves in the Malaysian market with a selling price of RM6,499, equivalent to about 39,900,000 VND at the current exchange rate. This is Sony's most advanced smartphone model of the year, continuing to pursue the philosophy of focusing on photography, sound and entertainment experiences instead of racing for popular features.
The most prominent feature of the Xperia 1 VIII is the integration of technology from the Sony Alpha camera line with the AI Camera Assistant feature. According to Sony, the AI system has the ability to assist users in choosing the appropriate shooting angle, lens and settings according to each context to make photography easier. Sony also upgraded the new telephoto sensor to nearly four times the size of the previous generation, improving light capture and zoom image quality.
In addition to the camera, the Xperia 1 VIII still retains many features that are highly appreciated by Xperia users such as the 3.5 mm headphone port, microSD card slot, front stereo speakers and a dedicated physical camera button. The device uses Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, RAM 12 GB, 256 GB internal memory and 6.5 inch OLED screen with 120 Hz refresh rate.
Sony says the Xperia 1 VIII can operate for a maximum of about two days on a single charge under normal usage conditions. This is the company's statement and the actual duration will depend on the intensity of use as well as the settings of each user.
Main parameter table
Category Sony Xperia 1 VIII
6.5 inch 120 Hz OLED screen
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor
12 GB RAM
Memory 256 GB
Telephoto camera The new sensor is nearly 4 times larger than the previous generation
AI AI Camera Assistant
5,000 mAh battery
Audio Stereo speakers, 3.5 mm jack
microSD expansion
Price in Malaysia RM6,499 is about 39,900,000 VND
In the price segment of nearly 40 million VND, Xperia 1 VIII will compete directly with Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max. While Samsung stands out with the Galaxy AI ecosystem and S Pen, and Apple has advantages in performance and the iOS ecosystem, Sony continues to choose its own direction by exploiting the strengths of the Alpha, BRAVIA and WALKMAN ecosystems to target the group of users who love photography and content creation.
