Sony Xperia 10 VII gets a revamped, Pixel-inspired design

Too little, too late? ANYRON COPEMAN reports

- ANYRON COPEMAN

As Mark Twain might have said, reports of Sony Xperia's death have been greatly exaggerated.

After the company was forced to deny it was exiting the smartphone market in August, a new model has launched in the form of the mid-range Xperia 10 VII.

So, in its time of need, surely Sony has made a phone that will immediately stand out from the crowd?

Well, about that. The big design change on the Xperia 10 VII is a new horizontal rear camera module, which adopts a pill shape and extends almost all the way across the back of the phone. Sound familiar? Yes, it's the same approach that Google has taken on its past two generations of Pixel flagships.

Does that make Sony boring for copying the design, or is it a cop-out? I'd argue the opposite. Google is clearly onto something with its Pixel phones, and Sony has done just enough to make it look different.

I'll admit that the stunning Turquoise finish is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. The Charcoal and White versions are much less inspiring, especially with all three models opting for a plastic back rather than glass.