Sony Launches Xperia 8 in Japan With Snapdragon 630 and a Tiny Battery

Hot on the heels of the Xperia 5, Sony has unveiled the mid-range Xperia 8 in Japan. The smartphone resembles the Sony Xperia 10, however, specification wise, it’s a bit on the lower end.

Featuring Sony’s signature 21:9 display, this mid-ranger comes with a dual-sensor rear camera, a tri-luminous display, and a side sense bar.

Design and Display

As mentioned earlier, the smartphone looks a lot like the Sony Xperia 10. It has the same rectangular body and the dual-sensor rear camera is horizontally aligned in the center. It comes with Gorilla Glass 6 on the front and back.

Thanks to its tall form factor, the smartphone fits easily in the palm of your hand and allows users to seamlessly use applications with one hand. The fingerprint scanner is housed on the right side and works as a fingerprint scanner/power button. The side sense scanner from Xperia 1 and 5 has also made its way to Xperia 8.

At the front, Sony Xperia 8 comes with a 6-inch FHD+ (1080p) resolution display. Unlike flagship models, this smartphone comes with a regular Tri-luminous LCD display panel with the signature 21:9 aspect ratio.

Internal and Storage

Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 630 chipset paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage. The memory can be expanded via a dedicated memory card slot.

On the software front, Sony Xperia 8 runs on Android 9.0 Pie topped with Xperia UI. The side sense bar can be used to display frequently used applications and settings. No Android 10 on this one, unfortunately.

Cameras

At the back, the smartphone features a dual-sensor camera with a 12 MP main sensor sitting behind an f/1.8 lens, complemented by an 8 MP depth sensor. It comes with 2x optical zoom, 120 fps slow-motion video, 4K video recording, and scene recognition.

For selfies, Xperia 8 comes with a mere 8 MP shooter.

Battery and Pricing

As far as the battery is concerned, this device features a disappointing 2750 mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. According to Sony, the battery will not deteriorate even after 2 years of use. However, it won’t last you through the day either.

The Xperia 8 will remain exclusive to Japan and will hit the shelves at the end of October with a $505 price tag.

Sony Xperia 8 Specifications

• CPU: Octa-core GPU: Adreno 508
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 630
• OS: Android 9.0 (Pie), Xperia UI
• Networks: 2G, 3G, 4G LTE;
• Display:
  • Tri-luminous LCD capacitive touchscreen, 6 inches, 1080 x %20 pixels resolution,
• Memory:
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Internal: 64 GB
  • Card slot: Yes
• Camera:
  • Primary: 12 MP + 8 MP
  • Secondary: 8 MP
• Connectivity: LTE, USB Type-C, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, headphone jack
• Fingerprint scanner: Yes (side-mounted)
• Battery: 2760 mAh
• Price: ~$505