A year after the launch of the Xperia 1 VI, Sony has released a follow-up in the form of the aptly named Xperia 1 VII.
While we have yet to fully review the Sony Xperia 1 VII, we’re keen to see how it compares to Samsung’s top-end smartphone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, on paper. Both are camera-focused flagships with premium price tags, after all, so the decision between the two shouldn’t be taken lightly.
With that in mind, we’ve compared the Xperia 1 VII to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, highlighting five key differences to help you decide which is best for your needs.
If you’re curious, take a look at Sony Xperia 1 VII vs VI to see what’s new specifically with Sony’s 2025 flagship.
Pricing and availability
At the time of writing, the Sony Xperia 1 VII is not available in the US, and has an RRP of £1399 in the UK. Not only is this £150 more than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but it’s also pricier than its predecessor, which we declared “the best phone no one will buy”, partially because of its price tag. It’s set to go on sale in the UK on 4 June.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is slightly cheaper than the Xperia 1 VI with an RRP of £1249/$1299. Considering the Galaxy S25 Ultra launched back in January, you are more likely to find a deal too.
Both run on a form of Snapdragon 8 Elite
We’ll start with an essential similarity between the two phones. Both are powered by a form of Qualcomm’s flagship chipset, Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is the chip behind some of the best Android phones of 2025. While we haven’t reviewed the Sony Xperia 1 VII yet, we can expect the phone to offer speedy performance with everything, from casual scrolling to intensive gaming.
Although it’s similar, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra runs on a custom-built version of the processor, coined Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. Essentially, this chip is slightly tailored for the entire S25 series to enable the running of Galaxy AI, but should offer similar speeds and capabilities as the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has a larger display
Measuring 6.9 inches, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has a considerably larger display than the Sony Xperia 1 VII’s 6.5-inch alternative, making the former arguably a more suitable choice if you watch a lot of videos on your phone. Plus, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s display is Dynamic AMOLED 2X with a pixel-packed QHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10 Plus support, too.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s screen offered “an ultra-premium look” and was an absolute joy to use, thanks to its vivid colours. The phone’s unique anti-glare screen covering also made it easy to use in bright daylight.
That’s not to say the Xperia 1 VII’s display isn’t impressive. The 120Hz OLED panel sports Sony’s Creator Mode technology, which promises a more faithful reproduction of detail and colour, as the original creator intended. It isn’t quite as pixel-dense with a FHD+ resolution, however.
Compared to the Xperia 1 VI, the VII also promises up to a 20% increase in peak brightness and more accurate brightness adjustments too, when moving between different lighting conditions.
Sony Xperia 1 VII. Credit: Sony
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has four rear cameras
In terms of sheer number of cameras, the S25 Ultra boasts the edge here, with five lenses across the handset, including the 12MP selfie snapper. Flip the phone over, and you’ll find four rear lenses: a 200MP main, 10MP 3x, 50MP 5x, and 50MP ultrawide.
Although the S25 Ultra’s camera set-up is fairly similar to last year’s Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as we concluded that the S25 Ultra “takes a phenomenal photo.”
In comparison, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has three rear lenses with an ultrawide camera that’s 2.1x bigger than its predecessor, which Sony promises will help capture more light. Otherwise, the Xperia 1 VII offers three focal lengths of 16mm, 24mm and 48mm, alongside a Telephoto lens with optical zoom from 85 to 170mm. This is rounded off by a 24mm, 12MP front camera.
Sony Xperia 1 VII. Credit: Sony
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Sony Xperia 1 VII is fitted with numerous video recording technologies usually reserved for premium Sony DSLR cameras. There’s auto-framing, which allows the phone to record in 16:9 and auto-crop to 9:16, plus AI Camerawork to ensure your recordings remain stable while keeping the subject within frame.
The Xperia 1 VII camera is also fitted with human pose estimation technology, which recognises body and head positions to track any subject, even if it’s facing away or partially obscured from view.
Finally, the Xperia 1 VII has ultra HDR support, which captures a wider range of tones and colours for richer details, and macro photography from both its ultrawide and telephoto macro lenses.
That’s not to say the Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t fitted with impressive photography tools. In fact, thanks to Galaxy AI, you can easily edit your images without needing a working knowledge of Photoshop.
When it comes to video recording, the S25 Ultra caps out at 8K@30fps, which remains unchanged from its predecessor, and supports Galaxy Log too.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has longer Android support
Along with Google, Samsung is one of the most generous brands with its long-term Android support. While the Xperia 1 VII will see just four years of Android updates and six years of security patches, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is promised seven years of updates and security patches. This means the Galaxy S25 Ultra will see up to Android 22, while the Xperia 1 VII will only be supported up to Android 19.
The Xperia’s promise is a step in the right direction for Sony, as last year’s Xperia 1 VI was only promised three years of Android updates. However, four years is still disappointing considering the ultra-high price tag.
Early Verdict
Although we haven’t reviewed the handset yet, the Sony Xperia 1 VII seems like a promising Android phone that looks set to join our best camera phones list. In fact, we’d suggest at this stage that if you’re an avid photographer, then perhaps the Xperia 1 VII might appear a better choice.
However, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is still a brilliant camera phone that can take “phenomenal” shots with minimal effort.
It’s worth remembering that the Xperia 1 VII is undoubtedly an expensive phone too, with an eye-watering price tag of £1399, whereas the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a cheaper starting price and can be found with deals too.
We’ll be sure to update this versus once we’ve reviewed the Sony Xperia 1 VII.
