So, I ended up purchasing a used Xperia 1 VI—at a rather awkward time, just a month and a half before the release of the Xperia 1 VII. Now, after using it for two months, I can say that overall, I’m quite satisfied. I do think it was a worthwhile upgrade.
That said, there are a few points of concern and disappointment I’d like to share.
A Pleasant Surprise: Battery Condition To my delight, the battery on this used Xperia 1 VI was in top shape—no degradation at all. It boasts a 5000mAh capacity, and based on usage, that seems to be fully intact. The shop told me it was long-held inventory, and judging from the condition, the previous owner hardly used it before reselling it.
I’ve been running it with “Battery Care” enabled, capped at 80%, and on weekdays I often come home with over 50% battery left. On weekends, after a day out taking lots of photos, it might drop to 30–40%, but that’s still more than enough. Just based on battery life alone, I think the upgrade was worth it.
The Letdown: Camera Performance Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the camera.
I’ve been leaving my mirrorless camera at home lately and relying solely on the Xperia for street snaps and lunch photos. But it’s prone to blown-out highlights, and I suspect a narrow dynamic range rather than just poor exposure tuning. It also performs poorly in backlit conditions, often producing intense lens flare.
While the addition of a telephoto lens is something the Xperia Pro-I lacked, the actual image quality is underwhelming—I rarely use it. As for the main wide-angle lens, it produces sharper images than the Pro-I thanks to the newer sensor, but I almost never get the kind of rich, atmospheric shots I could sometimes (accidentally) capture on the Pro-I. I wonder if that’s due to the Pro-I’s use of glass lenses.
A Twist of Fate Then again, the Xperia 1 VII retails for over ¥200,000, which is way out of my budget. I was happy to find a top-condition used Xperia 1 VI for ¥140,000 (effectively less than ¥90,000 after trade-in).
...or so I thought.
Just for fun, I entered a cashback lottery for the Xperia 1 VII—and somehow, I won first prize: ¥30,000!
With other discounts, I could now get ¥34,000 off the list price. That brings the cost of the SIM-free 12GB/256GB model (approx. ¥204,000) down to around ¥170,000. If I can sell or trade in my Xperia 1 VI (12GB/512GB) for around ¥100,000–¥110,000, I could potentially upgrade for just ¥60,000–¥70,000 more.
But hold on—if I factor in the ¥90,000 I already spent on the Xperia 1 VI, I’m essentially paying ¥150,000–¥160,000 for the Xperia 1 VII, with a few months of Xperia 1 VI use in between. That’s about the same, or even more expensive, than if I had just upgraded directly from the Pro-I to the 1 VII in the first place.
Final Thoughts So in the end, what seemed like a clever purchase strategy—buying a used Xperia 1 VI—might have been a costly detour. That said, I probably won’t upgrade to the 1 VII right away, considering the hassle of another data migration. Still, this whole experience leaves me with mixed feelings.