Sony’s AI Camera Assistant is exactly as bad as it looks
TL;DR
The Verge tested Sony’s AI Camera Assistant on the Xperia 1 VIII for a week. The verdict: the feature is as weak as Sony’s own launch examples made it look. Instead of coaching framing like Google’s Camera Coach, Sony shows four pre-shot AI suggestions for exposure, white balance, contrast, color style and sometimes artificial bokeh. The suggestions appear inconsistently, do not support the selfie camera, and often push tacky edits: yellow warmth, murky shadows, blown highlights or dated Instagram-style filters.
Nauti's Take
This feels less like photography intelligence and more like a PR-mandated AI sticker. Sony actually starts from a strong position: serious sensors, camera credibility and users who care about images.
That makes the assistant more frustrating. If AI sits inside the default camera flow, it has to explain, teach or produce visibly better shots.
Four random filters before capture are not an assistant. They are branded friction.
Briefingshow
Sony shows the core problem with many AI hardware features: the label sounds advanced, but the user value is thin. When a photography-focused phone with strong optics prioritizes bad automated looks, AI becomes product debt. Buyers do not care whether a feature sounds intelligent.
They care whether it beats the plain camera button.
Sources