Sony's home country of Japan is getting a
new smartphone called Xperia 8 Lite - it has the exact same body and major
specs as the Xperia 10, launched in February 2019, with the main difference
being the main camera setup.
The Xperia 8 Lite comes with a Snapdragon
630 chipset - a 14 nm process platform that was unveiled over three years ago.
The screen remains a 6” LCD panel with Full HD+ resolution and ultra-tall 21:9
ratio. The footprint is exactly the same as well, down to the pill-shaped dual
camera on the back.
Speaking about the camera, this is the
only difference we spotted while comparing specs sheets. Sony has implemented a
12 MP f/1.8 main shooter + 8 MP f/2.4 secondary snapper. For comparison, the
Xperia 10 had a 13 MP f/2.0 + 5 MP f/2.4 depth sensor.
Now, Sony does not reveal what is the main
purpose of the secondary cam. The promo materials say the Xperia 8 Lite will
take brilliant photos that highlight the subject, meaning the 8 MP cam could be
a sophisticated depth sensor. The company also claims the phone has 2x optical
zoom, but we’ll give this translation the benefit of doubt.
The front-facing camera, tucked in the fat
top bezel is 8 MP f/2.0, and the device also comes with a 3.5 mm audio jack on
top and a USB-C port on the bottom for charging the 2,870 mAh battery. Sony
does not say anything about the OS, but thanks to the official listing we
spotted the Xperia 8 Lite will ship with Android Pie - yes, the almost
two-year-old OS version.
The phone is priced at JPY 29,800, or about US$ 280/€ 235. It comes with 4 GB RAM and 64 gigs of storage, two color options
(White and Black), and some cashback options from the Sony-owned MVNO Nuro
Mobile. Reservations are now open, and shipments are scheduled for Tuesday,
September 1.