Sony Xperia 8 announced: Is it just a one-trick pony?

Sony launched the Xperia 10 earlier this year, and one of the biggest downsides to the phone was its lack of water resistance.

Fortunately, the Japanese giant has launched the Sony Xperia 8 in its home market this week (h/t: Xperia Blog). And yes, it packs a water-resistant and dust-resistant design for better durability.

Another notable change compared to the Xperia 10 is the rear camera setup, featuring a 12MP+8MP telephoto pairing compared to the older phone’s less flexible 13MP+5MP depth setup.

Those are really the biggest changes compared to the Xperia 10, as it’s still packing a 6-inch FHD+ LCD screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio. It’s also still touting a 2017-era Snapdragon 630 processor that was already under-powered a year ago.

Toss in a 2,760mAh battery and it’s clear that Sony’s device isn’t quite as impressive on paper as budget offerings from the likes of Samsung, Realme, and Xiaomi.

Otherwise, the Xperia 8 is also packing 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, an 8MP selfie camera, a 3.5mm port, NFC, and USB-C connectivity.

The Sony Xperia 8 is reportedly set to launch in Japan at the end of October for 54,000 yen (~$505). At this price-point, you might as well hold out for a good Galaxy S10e deal, as Samsung’s flagship offers water resistance and better specs in theory. Don’t care for water-resistance? Well, then there are plenty of other cheap Android phones out there.