![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/sony-xperia-ai-camera-4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\t<\/p>\n
Yes, Sony actually seems to think that image you\u2019re seeing above looks better after running through an \u201cAI Camera Assistant.\u201d In promoting its new Xperia 1 VIII<\/a>, Sony is rightfully seeing backlash around the output of these new AI changes \u2013 and I can\u2019t help but think about how this is just the worst possible form of the problem facing so many modern smartphone cameras.<\/p>\n AI is in everything now, but \u201cmachine learning\u201d \u2013 essentially AI before it became a buzzword \u2013 is what unlocked the magic of computational photography years ago. It took the smartphone camera sensor which, by the laws of physics, couldn\u2019t be perfect, and made it a whole lot better. But, now that the focus is on throwing more AI at every problem, the cameras in our pockets are continuing to evolve.<\/p>\n Cut to Sony, which has introduced the \u201cAI Camera Assistant\u201d in its new Xperia flagship.<\/p>\n Sony explains<\/a>:<\/p>\n \tAdvertisement – scroll for more content<\/p>\n The new AI Camera Assistant\u00a0with Xperia Intelligence helps you bring your vision to life. It suggests various expressive options with different adjustments to create memorable photos. Combined with a new Telephoto camera sensor that\u2019s nearly 4 times larger than before, every photo will make a memory you\u2019ll want to keep and share.<\/p>\n In examples shared by Sony, everything is drastically brighter with less color and contrast throughout. Rightfully so, Sony is being almost universally criticized for the implementation on social media.<\/a><\/p>\n Here are the examples shared:<\/p>\n Oof.<\/p>\n While this is a particularly bad example \u2013 to the point where one really has to ask if Sony switched the shots \u2013 it follows the trend of what we\u2019ve been seeing in a lot of smartphone cameras over the past few years. Oversharpened photos that are brighter and have everything in the shot at the same level of brightness are everywhere, on purpose, and this just feels like the \u201cfinal boss\u201d of that movement. Sony is actively crushing detail, changing colors, and ruining the shot here.<\/p>\n Just this week, Google showed off<\/a> a new \u201cSmart enhance\u201d tool coming to the Instagram Edits app on Android and, lo and behold, it\u2019s the same problem yet again \u2013 an image where all of the shadows are brightened to match the subject for a flat and frankly boring picture. It\u2019s sharper and more eye-catching, sure, but it\u2019s also worse the longer you look at it.<\/p>\n Objectively, Google\u2019s new tool with Instagram isn\u2019t nearly as bad as what Sony is showing off here, but it\u2019s another example of the same camera trend. We\u2019ve talked specifically about how Google Pixel has fallen into a far lesser version of this in recent years, with the contrast-y look of past models having disappeared in recent years for these flatter and less vibrant images. <\/p>\n The Pixel camera is still consistent, it\u2019s still good, but having recently spent time with the Oppo Find X9 Ultra<\/a> and Motorola Razr Fold<\/a>, two phones that make very clear choices in how photos look, I\u2019m once again reminded about how Google has been pushing this same problem that Sony is leaning into \u2013 again, Sony is pushing this far to the extreme, to the point of embarassment.<\/p>\n More on Android:<\/p>\n Follow Ben:\u00a0Twitter\/X<\/a>,\u00a0Threads<\/a>, Bluesky<\/a>, and\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png\"){kind=icon}
\n\t\t\t![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/google-preferred-source-badge-light.png\"){kind=icon}
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n