{"id":586949,"date":"2026-05-16T07:58:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/586949\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T07:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T07:58:13","slug":"sony-xperia-ai-camera-assistant-ads-are-getting-ripped-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/586949\/","title":{"rendered":"Sony Xperia AI Camera Assistant Ads Are Getting Ripped Apart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Sony unveiled<\/a> the Xperia VIII smartphone this week, boasting photographer-focused upgrades and improvements. American buyers, who are yet again missing out on the latest Xperia, may have felt a little left out. Looking at the phone\u2019s new AI Camera Assistant with Xperia Intelligence and its terrible results, perhaps U.S. buyers aren\u2019t missing out on much at all. <\/p>\n

Update 5\/15: Sony Xperia has shared more information about its new AI Camera Assistant following the backlash. The company\u2019s latest post on X is included at the end of this story. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe power is in your hands. Using our experience in innovative product development and compelling content creation, we bring Xperia Intelligence, Powered by Alpha, WALKMAN, and BRAVIA to enhance the experience of shooting, listening, and viewing with the Xperia 1 VIII, in real time,\u201d Sony says<\/a>. Sony\u2019s own examples, readily shared on its website and social media, are attracting attention for all the wrong reasons. The AI looks heinous, at least as Sony has elected to share it. <\/p>\n

The new AI Camera Assistant* with Xperia Intelligence brings stories to life. Using subject, scene, and weather, it suggests expressive options with adjustments of colour, exposure, bokeh, and lens for breathtaking photos*.https:\/\/t.co\/zgSQ9MLWFP<\/a>#SonyXperia<\/a> #Xperia1VIII<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/1dsBeCNvhE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sony | Xperia (@sonyxperia) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe new AI Camera Assistant with 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,\u201d Sony claims. <\/p>\n

Based on the examples Sony and others have shared, AI Camera Assistant is not creating memories I would want to keep, and certainly none I would want to share. It looks less like an assistant and more like a saboteur. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s consider this first one, an outdoor daytime portrait. The original isn\u2019t bad, it\u2019s perhaps a tad dark. But the AI Camera Assistant\u2019s approach to this and other situations is to ramp the brightness to absurd levels, increase contrast, butcher color, and make everything crunchy and gross. <\/p>\n

\"Split<\/p>\n

The next example, an indoor shot of a flower, suffers from similar issues. The contrast is way too high. The original photo actually looks really good, with nice, natural dynamic range, pleasing color, and a decent, albeit slightly cluttered background. The AI Camera Assistant says goodbye to some background elements, adds more \u201cbokeh,\u201d and, again, ratchets the contrast to 11. Look at the nuts to the right of the flower in the vase. The detail that was in the original shot is practically gone, rendered into inky black shadows. <\/p>\n

\"Side-by-side<\/p>\n

The final example is arguably the worst. It\u2019s so bad that I cannot genuinely believe it made it onto Sony\u2019s Xperia VIII product page. The original photo of a sandwich looks perfectly fine. It has nice colors, good contrast, an accurate exposure, and the sandwich looks tasty. It\u2019s better than most food photos I take with my phone. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

But then the AI Camera Assistant got involved, robbing the photo of its life. It\u2019s too bright, and unlike the other two examples, now there\u2019s barely any contrast at all. It\u2019s flat, and it looks like the lens was fogged up. It\u2019s awful. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know that it is subjective, but no one in their right mind would ever think that the photo on the right looks better,\u201d writes<\/a> Alvin (@sondesix) on X, formerly known as Twitter. 100% agreed, Alvin. <\/p>\n

Alvin (@sondesix) has jokes, too. <\/p>\n

Original \u2022 AI Camera Assistant https:\/\/t.co\/rsAiNpCxJB<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TFAaVqKRjR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Alvin (@sondesix) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Famous tech YouTuber and creator Marques Brownlee<\/a>, also known as MKBHD, joined the conversation as well with a \u201cSimpsons\u201d meme. Good choice, Marques. <\/p>\n

Don’t make me tap the sign https:\/\/t.co\/dAiWwqNlUc<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/bGVTNZYvJH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The next question is: Can the AI Camera Assistant really be that bad? <\/p>\n

Apparently, no. Insider Sony, a Sony-focused X account that may admittedly have a bit of bias, shared examples of it working reasonably well. <\/p>\n

The examples chosen are terrible but it actually works well IRL. The AI Camera Assistant on the Xperia 1 VIII serves as a powerful, real-time creative tool that appears as a pop-up window with a set of tiles that allow you to quickly select or reference specific color profiles. https:\/\/t.co\/fY2O7UqeP6<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TZ5CaSsbKb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 INSIDER SONY (@INSIDERSONY) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

AI Camera Assistant provides direct user control over different parameters. Mobile photographers can adjust the intensity of brightness, warmth, tint, and contrast. It sure looks like Sony\u2019s marketing team went way overboard with all of these settings. <\/p>\n

Insider Sony says that the feature does work, and that \u201cthe management team messed up the marketing images.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Verge\u2018s Dominic Preston agrees<\/a>, at least a little, saying that there were better results shown in his briefing with Sony. <\/p>\n

Whether the AI Camera Assistant with Xperia Intelligence is actually good remains an open question, but there\u2019s no doubt that Sony has thus far very poorly showcased it in its Xperia VIII marketing materials. It cannot be as bad in practice as it looks in Sony\u2019s marketing. Right? Right?! <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m about to have a generational crashout,\u201d friend of PetaPixel David Imel wrote<\/a> on X in response to the photos Sony Xperia shared. <\/p>\n

Who among us hasn\u2019t gone way overboard with editing sliders at some point? We just aren\u2019t usually doing promotional work for one of the largest tech companies on the planet. <\/p>\n

Following the backlash online, Sony Xperia has shared more information about how AI Camera Assistant works. The feature provides four \u201ccreative directions\u201d based on what it believes the scene or situation is. As noted above, users can also customize the settings themselves. <\/p>\n

Following the post about AI Camera Assistant, we\u2019d like to explain the feature in more detail. It doesn\u2019t edit photos after shooting \u2013 it suggests 4 settings in different creative directions based on the scene and subject. You can choose any option or use your own settings. pic.twitter.com\/FO1u4jGFMW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sony | Xperia (@sonyxperia) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

While I still argue that the original version of the image above looks the best, some of the AI suggestions are decidedly better than the ones Sony initially shared, so there\u2019s that. <\/p>\n

Image credits: Sony <\/p>\n