Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs Sony Xperia 1 VIII
Verdict
Apple iPhone 17 Pro and Sony Xperia 1 VIII tie on the OH Rank at a score of 75. Apple iPhone 17 Pro wins on Screen and Main Camera; Sony Xperia 1 VIII wins on SD Memory. Sony Xperia 1 VIII is 2.1mm wider than Apple iPhone 17 Pro. Sony Xperia 1 VIII is the more recent release, from Jun 18, 2026.
Score Breakdown
Performance /15
Battery /15
Screen /15
IP Protection /15
Main Camera /15
Selfie /5
Video /5
SD Memory /5
Software /5
Desktop Replacement /5
TOTAL
75
75
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
71.9mm (2.83in) · Sep 19, 2025 · Rank #39
13+10+11+12+14+5+5+0+5+0 = 75
FLY* BEST Video* TOP Compact
EDITORIAL: A major redesign means bigger and heavier (in every way) 17 Pro with a new camera "plateau". The processor is improved and the first iPhone cooling chamber was added. It comes with a minimum of 256GB of storage, less bright but less reflective screen, new periscope telephoto and a new selfie camera. It has the same starting price as 16 Pro but arrived with no mention of any AI additions. Same old battery tech and 30hr endurance means you may still have to carry a charging brick.
PROs
compact size, attractive new colors (but no black), fast A19 Pro performance with fast NVMe memory, barely 30hr endurance from a 3900mAh battery with a sub-80min 30W wired charging (25W wireless), 460ppi LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED with Dolby Vision and new anti reflective coating, excellent triple (24mm, 100mm & 13mm) 48MP PDAF camera setup (main + periscope with OIS) with ProRes, excellent "Center Stage" 18MP selfie with OIS PDAF and ProRes too, best video recording in industry, stable OS with up to 6 years of updates, USB-C 3.2 with Video-out tech
CONs
sub-1050nits bright screen, 24MP default pic size eats up twice the space and forces use of iCloud (reenforcing dependency on Apple), no expandable memory, no desktop replacement feature, silence on AI improvements, overall lack of innovation Apple used to be known for
Sony Xperia 1 VIII
74mm (2.91in) · Jun 18, 2026 · Rank #33
13+10+10+12+12+4+4+5+5+0 = 75
SUPERIOR* TOP Memory Expansion* TOP Software
EDITORIAL: Sony is back with it's top-dog 1 Series phone but the alarming lack of software effort remains. As usual, the hardware is amazing: premium build, great battery life, bright screen, good front-facing stereo speakers, two-stage camera button and now exclusive in the flagship world: SD memory expansion and a headphone jack. The phone is still one of the narrowest flagships and the only one to hide the selfie in a bazel to let you view content on a full screen.
PROs
relatively narrow, updated design, good SD 8 Elite Gen 5 performance (tho it will heavily throttle under heavy load), 36hr long endurance from a (still just) 5000mAh lithium battery, selfie-free >1500nits bright (and sub-1nit capable) LTPO OLED screen with options like Creator Mode and HDR support, IP68 protection, excellent 52MP 24mm OIS main + 50MP 70mm OIS telephoto + 50MP 16mm ultrawide (all with dual-pixel PDAF) setup, very good 12MP 24mm selfie, good video recording, fast and tool-free expandable memory slot, 4 years of stock-like Android OS with some proprietary tricks, very fast USB-C 3.2 port with OTG and Video Out, headphone/microphone jack, very good front-facing stereo speakers, two-step camera button
CONs
85min slow 30W (15W wireless) charging, sub-400ppi LTPO screen doesn't drop refresh below 30Hz, flagship-grade camera hardware should produce better images, no AF on a selfie, minimal AI integration and general lack of effort on the software side, no desktop replacement functionality despite having Video Out port and marketing 1 VIII as a "content creator's tool", a premium price for a non-premium package
Both phones here were scored by me, using the same ten categories, with no ads, sponsorships, or manufacturer relationships — this comparison is as objective and honest as it gets.
Visit Home page to compare world's best phones. You can see scoring and ranking explained on the About page.