A few months have passed since concrete evidence of new Xperia smartphone development online. To recap, a mobile network carrier added additional PM code references to the Xperia 1 VIII and Xperia 10 VIII at the start of December.
Now, some of these PM codes have surfaced on IMEI databases beside model numbers. Specifically, the following PM codes and associated model numbers have been identified:
PM-1520-BV – XQ-GE54PM-1521-BV – XQ-GE74PM-1525-BV – XQ-GE44PM-1533-BV – XQ-GH44PM-1534-BV – XQ-GH54PM-1535-BV – XQ-GH74
Based on prior leaks, ‘XQ-GE’ relates to the Xperia 1 VIII, with ‘XQ-GH’ being the root model number for the Xperia 10 VIII. As The Walkman Blog notes, model numbers ending ’44’ typically relate to Sony’s Japanese smartphone releases. By contrast, Sony sells those with ’54’ in Europe and reserves ’74’ model numbers for the rest of Asia.
In other words, it seems that the Xperia 1 VIII and Xperia 10 VIII are set for global releases. However, launches across North America appear unlikely at this stage. Currently, the Xperia 1 VIII is expected to match the OnePlus 15 (curr. $899.99 on Amazon) and other modern flagships by adopting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. When Sony intends to release either the Xperia 1 VIII or Xperia 10 VIII yet remains to be seen, though.
Alex Alderson – Senior Tech Writer – 14148 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018
Prior to writing and translating for Notebookcheck, I worked for various companies including Apple and Neowin. I have a BA in International History and Politics from the University of Leeds, which I have since converted to a Law Degree. Happy to chat on Twitter or Notebookchat.