Sony’s AI camera feature destroys its best phone yet

Sony’s Xperia 1 VIII packs impressive camera technology — three large sensors on the back that should theoretically outperform Apple and Google at similar price points. Its AI Camera Assistant is… well, according to The Verge, it’s a disaster.

The AI Camera Assistant automatically pops up within the main camera app as you’re lining up your shot. It offers a quick preview of how your photo will look after being processed by Sony’s AI algorithms. All you have to do is tap to accept, or swipe down to get another three choices. It sounds okay in theory. In practice, it’s horrible.

1What the AI actually suggests

Most of the time, the AI Camera Assistant suggests dramatic changes to exposure, white balance, contrast, and color saturation. It likes sepia filters. It likes making everything look slightly yellow. It likes blowing out highlights or crushing shadows to make photos look muddy. It likes adding fake bokeh to non-portrait photos. After a week of testing, The Verge was able to save a few photos, but only one or two actually looked better after using the AI Camera Assistant.

According to Sony, the AI Camera Assistant should be able to suggest which of the Xperia 1 VIII’s three rear cameras to use or even point you towards the ‘most photogenic angle.’ The Verge didn’t see either suggestion all week. It also doesn’t tell you why it made those recommendations — it doesn’t give any hints about which filter it used or how it changed your picture. You either take it or leave it.

2It also slows the phone down

Crunching through AI possibilities in real-time to come up with the best option before you even press the shutter button seems to tax even the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor. The Verge says the camera app was laggy, the lens switching process sometimes froze, and it crashed once during testing. Disabling the AI Assistant fixed most of the issues. The Xperia 1 VIII costs the equivalent of $1,850 and won’t be available in the United States.

The Xperia 1 VIII’s AI Camera Assistant doesn’t edit out things, add details to expand the frame, or manipulate scenes in a way that changes what’s depicted. It doesn’t go as far as Apple’s iOS 27 generative photo features or Samsung’s Galaxy AI editing tools. It simply applies Instagram 2012-style filters that don’t accurately represent reality. That seems like a waste of 2026 AI power.

Overall, the Xperia 1 VIII is a good smartphone with great camera capabilities. This is the best camera system ever put on a Sony phone. Unfortunately, the AI Camera Assistant doesn’t make it better, and it harms the performance of the hardware it runs on. Thankfully, Sony gives you the option to disable the AI Camera Assistant entirely.