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Sony’s new Xperia 1 VIII has AI camera help for people who hate auto mode

Sony

Sony’s Xperia phones have always been a little different. The company built phones for those who actually care about focal lengths, shutter buttons, color science, and camera-style controls on a phone. The new Xperia 1 VIII continues this tradition, but Sony is now adding a layer of AI assistance to the formula. Its latest flagship introduces an AI Camera Assistant powered by Xperia Intelligence, which is how Sony plans to stand out from the crowd—even though I’m still skeptical.

How Sony AI tries to guide rather than process

Sony

This is the part I’m a little wary of, mostly because Xperia’s appeal has always been its camera-first identity. Sony phones appeared to be closer to a compact Alpha companion than a point-and-shoot smartphone trying to do everything for you. To Sony’s credit, the AI here does sound more like guidance than full automation.…