Sony sure seems to be sabotaging the Xperia 1 VIII with its new camera assistant

After all the leaks and rumors, Sony finally launched the Xperia 1 VIII earlier this week. Not only did the flagship phone receive a big redesign, but Sony also fit in a new telephoto sensor that’s nearly four times as large as before. Attempting to showcase what this new camera can do, a big part of the marketing has revolved around a new AI-powered camera feature that offers suggestions for more expressive photos. However, this promotion isn’t quite going over as well as the company probably hoped.

On the Xperia 1 VIII’s product page, there’s a section that touts a new feature called AI Camera Assistant. As Sony states, this tool “suggests various expressive options with different adjustments to create memorable photos.” While that sounds like it could be a useful feature, the samples Sony chose to use as examples work more as an argument against the feature.

The images above are side-by-side comparisons that Sony shared, featuring the original photo and one of the four suggestions offered by AI Camera Assistant. All three of the AI’s suggestions look noticeably worse than the original, appearing washed out and overexposed. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long before people started mocking Sony’s marketing.

After Sony posted the side-by-side comparisons on social media, fans were in disbelief. “Best Anti-AI ads ever, thank you Sony,” wrote one user on X. Another said, “If Sony, yes THAT SONY, doesn’t know what a good photograph looks like, then we’re definitely cooked as a society.” “What the heck is going on with Sony? Who even approved this post? The AI photos looks insanely bad,” said a third user.

It’s safe to say that these images aren’t exactly a great way to market the capabilities of your new AI tool. However, it appears Sony sees nothing wrong with these pictures as they’re still being advertised.