Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- New entries in the GSMA’s IMEI database appear to reveal Sony’s work on at least two new smartphones.
- Based on previous finds, these two are likely the Sony Xperia 1 VIII and Sony Xperia 10 VIII.
- Nothing here suggests that either model is being targeted for a US release.
How many smartphone brands will be left by the end of 2026? We are living in what feels like a dangerous time to be a smartphone company, with manufacturers either closing up shop, backing away from flagships, or denying reports of business trouble. It’s almost enough to make you think there won’t be anyone left but Samsung and Apple before you know it. And as we wait to see what fate has in store for these companies, we’re getting some small reassurance that at least one minor player intends to keep going with new phones.
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Sony’s been making Xperia phones since before it even transitioned to Android as a platform, and it’s been keeping up with new models ever since. But even as Sony as a whole shifts its priorities, most recently partnering with TCL on TVs, so far it seems to be sticking with its commitment to mobile. Just last year, the company asserted its continued interest in making new Xperia handsets, and today we’re checking out some new evidence revealing what it’s got in the works.
We’ve already been expecting a Sony Xperia 1 VIII, after model numbers PM-1521-BV, PM-1522-BV, and PM-1523-BV surfaced in a database. Now S-Max has spotted some additional new Sony model numbers popping up in the GSMA’s IMEI database (via Phone Arena):
Sure enough, we see that PM-1521-BV make a reappearance. And while we’re missing the other two from before, here we get a pair of similar 1520-series numbers: PM-1520-BV and PM-1525-BV. Looking at the corresponding model names over on the right, it appears that these three all likely represent different Sony Xperia 1 VIII variants — and unfortunately, none with suffixes that correspond with plans for an American release.
The Sony Xperia 10 VIII has similarly been anticipated since last fall, and appears to be represented here by those three 1530-series entries. Like the flagship Xperia 1, there’s no sign based on what’s available in this database that Sony’s brining this model to the US, either.
That’s not at all surprising, and really, we’re just happy to see continued evidence of Sony moving forward with this hardware. Even if we’re a little jealous of shoppers in markets who will easily be able to get their hands on these two, it’s enough to know that the Android landscape isn’t losing one of its longest-term players — at least not this year.
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