It may be April 1, but there have been some genuine conflicting reports surrounding a series of redners for the upcoming Sony Xperia 1 VII, and we finally have some clarity. The controversy began when images of the Xperia 1 VIII appeared on Weibo, showcasing a revamped camera design.

Sony Xperia 1 VIII case render

The renders revealed a square-shaped cutout housing three camera sensors and the LED flash, which would be a major design departure from the Xperia 1 VII’s vertically aligned camera setup.

We can also spot a punch hole cutout for the front-facing camera, which would be another departure from every other Sony smartphone to date, which have opted for keeping the camera within the top display bezel. Another strange thing is that renders show several tiny holes surrounding the camera sensors, which led many to believe that they are pure fiction.

In the following days, a Sony Fans Vietnam admin who holds a positive leak track record suggested that while the final design of the Xperia 1 VIII may look different, it will feature a redesigned camera island.

Xperia 1 VIII case renders

The post suggests that the renders do not depict the Xperia 1 VIII’s final design, but we also get confirmation that the upcoming Sony flagship smartphone will feature a zoom lens with a “much larger sensor size” than the current Xperia 1 VII. That larger sensor size is the reason why Sony is expected to bring a redesigned camera island with a square look.

So that about sums up this batch of leaked renders. They could be showing us Sony’s updated camera island, but the overall design is expected to undergo some changes. The only other bit of info we’ve seen regarding the Xperia 1 VIII is a listing on the IMEI database.

Via (in Japanese)