Sony has just launched its newest lineup of smartphones, including the new Xperia 10 VI. Launched as a budget-friendly smartphone, the Xperia 10 VI is the successor to last year’s Xperia 10 V.
While we haven’t reviewed the Xperia 10 VI yet, we have conclusively reviewed the Xperia 10 V and gave the handset a rather standard three-star rating. With this in mind, we’ve compared the specs of the Xperia 10 VI against our review of the 10 V to see if things have improved a year on.
Read on to learn more about the new Sony Xperia 10 VI and how it compares to 2023’s Xperia 10 V.
The Xperia 10 V is lighter
Both marketed as being lightweight smartphones, the older Xperia 10 V weighs just 159g and has a 6.1-inch display whereas the 10 VI weighs slightly more at 164g with its similar 6.1-inch display. Although this difference is negligible, with a mere 5g between the two that’ll be tough to notice in real-world use, it’s still worth noting.
Both have a 5000mAh battery for two-day battery life
Similarly to the above, both the 10 V and 10 VI are marketed as having an impressively long-lasting battery life, thanks to their 5000mAh battery capacity. Sony claimed the 10 V’s battery would provide non-stop movie playback for 34 hours, and our testing confirmed that it was a budget battery beast.
In fact, our reviewer found that “even with a bit of light gaming and YouTube, we managed two days of comfortable use.” Considering there haven’t been any major changes with the battery in the newer 10 VI, we’d expect this to be the case this time around too.
Xperia 10 V1 sports the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
The Xperia 10 V runs on Snapdragon 695 5G Mobile Platform which launched back in October 2021, and it’s beginning to show its age. In fact, our reviewer found that the chipset “just can’t keep up like some other top-tier phones in its mid-range price bracket can” and that was at launch a year ago.
Our reviewer noted home screen stuttering and a camera app that frequently crashed and couldn’t keep up, which all added up to the 10 V feeling “sluggish right out of the gate.”
Instead, the 10 VI runs on Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, which launched back in October 2022. So although not the newest or most powerful Snapdragon chipset, this promises a few upgrades to the predecessor. We haven’t yet had a chance to test the processor on this smartphone specifically, but it’s featured on the Honor Magic 6 Lite which performed well enough for everyday use.
Xperia 10 V has three cameras
Speaking of the camera, the 10 V has a trio of rear lenses whereas the 10 VI just had a duo. Our reviewer concluded that getting a good shot “isn’t hard” in the standard camera app, with “all three of the lenses (a rare sight in a budget phone) delivering solid results when lined up correctly.” However, he does note that the “noticeable delay between pressing the shutter button and the photo actually saving (before processing) is frankly disappointing”.
Instead, the 10 VI has two lenses with three focal lengths, 16mm, 26mm and 52mm, suggesting that one of the two lenses will double up as a 2x sensor. Although we haven’t yet tested its camera capabilities just yeta, we’re keen to see how it compares to its predecessor.
Both are currently the same price
The Sony Xperia 10 V comes in at £349 for a handset with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory. It is available in a choice of four colours: Sage Green, Black, White and Lavender.
The new Sony Xperia 10 VI is available for pre-order now, with shipping to begin in June. It also starts at £349 for an 8GB of RAM and 128GB internal memory handset and it’s available in a slightly more limited choice of three colours: Black, White and Blue.
