The Sony Xperia XA is a new, affordable 5-inch Android smartphone that aims to grab your attention with its efficient looks and futuristic display.
Smartphone Sony Xperia XA — Reviews
The Xperia XA is powered by the Helio P10 system chip, which is often used in even more affordable Chinese phones. It doesn't boast performance, a groundbreaking camera, or ultra-long battery life. Aside from the unusual inductive edge-to-edge display, this is the most ordinary Android phone that doesn't really stand out at first glance.
Is it true? And is it worth paying attention to the Sony Xperia XA?
Sony Xperia XA bundle
In the box you will find:
- Sony Xperia XA;
- Charger;
- Micro USB to USB cable;
- Manual.
Design
The edge-to-edge screen looks impressive and cool, and the design is exquisite.
The Sony Xperia XA is quite a beautiful phone, and the cool edge-to-edge screen is its main feature to stand out from the competition. The smartphone narrows slightly towards the edges of the screen, which makes it more compact. In addition, this type of construction makes the side bezel almost invisible.
The smartphone comes in four fresh colors: white, black, lime gold and rose gold.
The frame and back cover of the Xperia XA is made of plastic, but in our opinion, this is good, because unlike the newfangled glass surfaces, it leaves less fingerprints.
Unfortunately, the Xperia XA does not have a fingerprint scanner. This option has become the de facto security standard for our phones, so it's a shame that Sony decided not to include a fingerprint scanner on their XA.
In addition, this smartphone does not have any water protection.
Xperia XA display
The 5-inch, 720 x 1280-pixel display on the Xperia XA isn't the worst, but there's a bit of pixelation visible at this resolution, and the result is that the image doesn't look perfectly sharp. In addition, the colors are cold and oversaturated, and not very well balanced.
But there are also good points, the display is quite bright and well readable even in direct sunlight. Viewing angles are not bad either.
Interface and functionality
Like all Sony phones, the Xperia XA is functional and not intrusive custom graphic design. The device runs on the top-end Android 6.0 Marshmallow, while the current version of the OS from Google.
The interface, when solving everyday tasks, mostly works smoothly, but when loading new applications, it can freeze. A similar problem occurs when running heavy applications and games.
There are some confusing features in the interface of this model from Sony: the display unlocks when you touch and move the animation depicted on it to the side or up, but when you swipe up, the display displays a frame of sliding animation to the side, not up. Moving an app shortcut to the home bar is also tricky: first you need to move the icon to a hard-to-reach area on the top of the screen, and only then place it on the home screen. It takes some time to open the necessary applications, such as dialer and message options, so for a second you have to see a blank screen.
The Sony Xperia XA smartphone has a notification and vibration function. True, it vibrates very strangely, this vibration is too intense, which is very annoying.
We're not big fans of Sony's on-screen keyboard; they use the SwiftKey on-screen keyboard on their smartphones, which isn't as comfortable to use as the keyboards found on Apple or Samsung. It takes more time to type, and typos often occur.
On a positive note, the Xperia XA allows you to change settings through Sony's "What's New" app. In the application you will find original skins of various themes and new styles of products adapted for Sony, namely video games and films. Very few of these themes are available as free downloads, however, the paid ones cost only a few dollars.
Processor, performance and memory
The Xperia XA is powered by the budget MediaTek Helio P10 system chip. It is an octa-core chip with 8 low power Cortex A53 cores and 2GB LPDDR3 RAM.
Basically, the smartphone is fast enough for everyday use, but more difficult tasks and large documents cause it to lag. Some applications, such as dialer options and messaging, take an annoying delay to open.
Benchmark showed that in most tests, the Xperia XA lags behind the results of smartphones with a Snapdragon 808 processor, like the Nexus 5X.
The graphics card in XA is the Mali T-860 MP2 GPU, operating at speeds up to 700 MHz. Again, this is not the ideal phone for gaming. However, most simple games on the phone work just fine. In addition, even more graphically demanding games can be run on it, albeit at a slightly lower than ideal frame rate.
The size of the built-in memory in the Sony Xperia XA is 16 GB, of which about 10 GB is available to the end user. Luckily, you can expand this memory by adding a microSD card.
Internet and connections
Of all the possible browsers, only Chrome is pre-installed on the Xperia XA, and this is quite enough. Chrome makes it easy to sync bookmarks across all your devices, it has a handy touch interface with maps and an always helpful reminder to close incognito tabs.
In Europe, Xperia XA supports all major LTE 4G bands. In terms of other connections, the smartphone has WiFi B/G/N as well as Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC support.
cameras
The Sony Xperia XA comes with a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera. Its rear camera features an F/2.0 lens and a 1/3-inch sensor, which is smaller than many popular phones in the same price range.
In the lower right corner of the smartphone is a two-stage shutter button. If you press and hold it for a second, the camera application will start, but the launch process itself is rather slow.
In the application itself, there are options for auto photo (Superior Auto), manual photo, video and effects section, which can be switched by swiping up and down the screen. Interestingly, basic options such as HDR are only available in manual mode.
Image quality
You don't have to be an expert to see that pictures taken with the camera on the Xperia XA smartphone come out bad.
Even under near-ideal conditions, with lots of light, images aren't the best because the smartphone's camera isn't able to capture shadows and highlights to create a properly balanced image. Details are fuzzy, and generally not sharp. Of course, things get even worse in low light conditions, with images often blurry and details hard to see.
The built-in LED flash adds a cool, greenish tint to the image, so at night, when using the flash, the image quality becomes even worse.
Video quality
All things considered, it's no surprise that the Xperia XA doesn't offer 4K video recording. The device still records video at 1080p, 30 frames per second with a bit rate of around 17Mbps.
Video quality on the Sony Xperia XA at 1080p is not very good. Colors are mostly rendered beautifully, but the emphasis is on the bottom edge. The video lacks dynamics and, in low light, the brightness of the image at the edges is reduced. In addition, in the absence of stabilization, the video is shaky.
Sound quality
At the bottom of the smartphone is a small speaker. The sound quality received through this speaker is below average: everything sounds too quiet, even at maximum volume, there is no depth in the low frequencies, as well as sound clarity.
Call quality in Sony Xperia XA
Call quality on the Xperia XA is below average. The speaker transmits the sound of voices with some distortion and periodic extraneous noise. However, everything is not so scary, and you will still be able to understand the callers, although not very clearly. On the positive side, the speaker is quite loud.
The microphone in the XA is also weak. During testing, other subscribers heard us too quietly and not very clearly.
Battery life
The Xperia XA smartphone is equipped with a 2,300 mAh battery. With medium intensity, the battery lasts for a day, but with more intensive use, you will not have enough power until the end of the working day, so it is better to carry a charger with you. It takes two hours to fully charge from 0 to 100%.
Outcome
To sum up, the Sony Xperia XA is nothing more than a pretty, inexpensive smartphone without any extraordinary specs.
Aside from its good looks and decent performance enough for most everyday tasks, this smartphone has nothing to brag about: the colors on the displays are oversaturated and not clear enough; when performing heavier tasks, the smartphone freezes; The quality of the camera is also not encouraging; battery life is below average.
At $280, the Xperia XA has a lot of strong competition. So, the 5.2 inch Google Nexus 5X, 5.5 inch LG G4, which are sold at about the same price, have better specifications than the Sony Xperia XA, so we would not recommend this smartphone.
In comparison with the "classmates", such as the Samsung Galaxy A3, the camera looks better. But when shooting in low light, the Sony falls short a bit. Applied tasks like shooting text or tourist attractions during the daytime, it copes. And for a full replacement of a compact camera, there are more expensive smartphones. The same Xperia X, for example.
Secretive nature
But with testing the performance of the Xperia XA, certain difficulties arose. It seems that Sony has blocked the ability to work Geekbench and a number of other benchmarks. Only the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited package, which measures performance in games, was fully able to run. However, we already know what the MediaTek Helio P10 is - there are several models on the market that use this platform. Basically, however, Chinese - like Oppo R9 or Meizu M3 Note. The central processor uses 8 cores operating at a frequency of 2 GHz, and the Mali-T860MP2 chip is responsible for graphics acceleration. Regardless of which version of the Xperia XA you choose (with one or two SIM cards), the smartphone will have 2 gigabytes of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. In a word, it will be difficult to do without a microSD card. But I remind you that in Xperia XA Dual you can install two SIM cards and a memory card at the same time.
Galuzov Go 2017-02-16
To be honest, I did not expect that the budget segment could please me so much. Especially after reading the negative reviews, I mentally prepared for the fact that I would have to suffer (although I am skeptical of such opinions, preferring to get acquainted with the object of interest to me from my own experience). So. After spending more than two months with the phone, I summarize. The phone is comfortable, fits perfectly in the hand, at first there is no desire to let go of it. I haven't experienced any problems with the battery. Having initially optimized the operation of the device, using it only for its intended purpose and not assigning super-tasks, I calmly, without being nervous, walked around with the phone all day, not risking being without a connection by 17.00. From morning to evening + 20 percent remained. I think that for modern phones this is a common result. As for performance. The phone does not hang, does not tupit. The camera works well. I am satisfied.
Advantages
Design Features Camera Ease of use
Basamov Afanasy 2017-02-15
A lot of nerves spent with this phone. Was the first experience with Sony. Didn't expect this at all. Huge disappointment.
Advantages
Refined exterior design. Really beautiful model.
disadvantages
The most egregious drawback is that this phone may not always ring (it doesn’t matter which mobile operator). The antenna is full, but the call does not go - there are no beeps. People can't get through either. The phone starts freezing almost immediately after purchase. Charging lasts a maximum of 3 hours. The camera is terrible. Inconvenient phone book. Pre-installed music and video players are absolutely inoperable. Sometimes the screen goes blank when you put the phone on a table or other surface. Incredibly uncomfortable gallery. The keyboard shortcut for taking a screenshot does not always work. Non-removable battery. This is so, offhand. The device is absolutely identical to androids for 10-13 thousand, but its price is incredibly high.
Pridorogin Roman 2017-02-14
Advantages
Nimble. Not dull, the screen is good
disadvantages
The camera is not very good (it’s better not to get it at night or in poor lighting), the batteries last for a day with the Internet turned on. Everything breaks off around the body.
Marko Artyom 2017-02-11
I took z3 as a replacement, of course it’s inferior in terms of battery, but after all the firmware for a day of active use, it’s enough without using the stamina mode (turns on at 25 percent) I chose between z5 and X, the appearance outweighed the scales, elegant framelessness, omni front screen coverage . Definitely worth the money, in the case it loses all its beauty. The second month I wear without covers, with careful use I did not notice a single scratch. In terms of speed, it is slightly inferior to z3, apparently due to the RAM, but this is almost not noticeable. Do not carry with keys and change in your pocket, do not put on rough surfaces and you will be happy. The camera is an order of magnitude cooler than the z3, both rear and front, the pictures are clear, sharp, the white balance is adequately maintained. The screen is bright, juicy, colors are saturated. I advise you to subscribe to updates on the sony website and update through the computer, because. The latest firmware versions through the settings do not see. I recommend the model.
Stylish design, pleasant and comfortable to hold in your hand, bright and rich screen, fast in operation - does not slow down, decent cameras with a bunch of all sorts of settings, powerful flashlight.
Minuses
It discharges quickly, very delicate plastic on the back, low volume in the headphones, lack of a fingerprint scanner.
Review
I read a lot of reviews and watched reviews about this smartphone, and now, I decided to buy it. The first minus showed itself in the literal sense "on the spot" - the plastic of the back cover turned out to be so scratch-resistant that they appeared already in the process when an employee in the store pasted a film on the screen! Grab your cover right now! By the way, if you buy a film for the FULL screen, then because of the rounded edges it will be problematic to stick it yourself without skill, besides, these films are silicone, which complicates the process of sticking. In the process of work, the device proved to be quite worthy, it works clearly and quickly, without hanging. 2GB of RAM is enough for me personally. We were pleased with the cameras, both the main one and the front camera, the main one has many settings and additions. I am satisfied with the quality of the photos. The battery, of course, is rather weak, even despite several power-saving modes, if you actively use it for the whole day, of course, there will not be enough charge. I was pleased that the smartphone is not overloaded with various unnecessary applications like other manufacturers, but still from the declared 16 GB. almost half is occupied by the system. The sound in the headphones is very quiet, if you ride in transport, the volume is sorely lacking, you can even turn it off in the subway. To be honest, from whom, but I did not expect this from SONY. But the sound quality is perfect, and there are many settings to improve it. There are no complaints about the quality of communication, everything catches very clearly and the interlocutor can hear perfectly during a conversation. Each device has its pros and cons, but I did not regret at all that I bought the Sony Xperia XA Dual SIM, although it seems to me that the price is somewhat overpriced for such a smartphone. But it's SONY. Well, in general, if you take it, I think you will not regret it.
Smartphone Sony Xperia X (F5122) - Overview
I am often reproached for the fact that, as a fan of smartphones with large displays, I very rarely do reviews of smartphones with a diagonal of up to 5 ". It's true, I'm not particularly interested in them, especially since smartphones with a small diagonal are usually enough frail, and in almost all components: platform, sound, camera, battery, etc. And there are users who are very annoyed by this approach of manufacturers, because they need a good powerful smartphone, but with a small display. requirements is very, very small. In this review, we will consider one of these options - a small smartphone that actually has flagship characteristics. This is the Sony Xperia X - a phone with a diagonal of 5 ".
Display: 5", 1920×1080, Full HD, 2.5D, IPS, 441 PPI
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 650
GPU: Adreno 510
RAM: 3 GB
Flash memory: 32 (64 for Dual SIM) GB
Memory card: microSD up to 200 GB
Fingerprint Scanner: No
IR port: eat
Net: GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, HDSPA/HSUPA, LTE
Wireless connection: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC
Camera: 23 MP, predictive autofocus, flash
Front-camera: 13 MP
Ports: microUSB, audio jack
Navigation: GPS (A-GPS), GLONASS
SIM card: nanoSIM
Battery: 2620 mAh, non-removable
Dimensions: 143×69×7.9mm
Weight: 153 g
Additionally: proximity, light, pressure sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer, compass
Body colors: black, silver, gold, rose gold
Price: 36-41 thousand rubles on "Yandex.Market" There is also a version of Dual SIM, which has 64 GB of internal memory. This is what the color options look like.
There are also several other modifications of the Xperia X. These are the cheaper Xperia XA (weaker platform, worse performance and HD display), the more powerful Xperia X Performance on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, which has dust and water protection, and the hefty Xperia XA Ultra with a display of 6 "FullHD on MediaTek MT6755. Contents of delivery The packaging is a strict white box with a bright Sony inscription and a barely noticeable Xperia X inscription. 
The bundle is extremely ascetic: a smartphone, a power adapter, a USB-microUSB cable. 
On the other hand, what else do you need? Headset? All of these bundled headsets are usually of very low quality and hardly anyone uses them. At the same time, they increase the cost of the kit. Well, to hell? Another thing is that, for example, Apple completes iPhones with really high-quality Earpods, and so many people use them. Power adapter - 5V and 1.5A. 
By the way, this smartphone supports fast charging according to the Qualcom QuickCharge 3.0 standard, but you will have to buy a UCH12 adapter from Sony for it. Appearance and features
The design of the Sony Xperia X is traditional and expected. Sony generally does not indulge users with variety in design, and the Xperia X is no exception. The case is made of painted aluminum alloy, the display is covered with tempered glass with rounded edges. The ends are slightly rounded, but the phone is quite comfortable to take with one hand from the table, it also fits very well and grips in the hand. 
There are inconspicuous plastic inserts for antennas only at the bottom end, the back cover also does not contain any plastic inserts - it is made of aluminum alloy. happened to me several times. 
Interestingly, in this smartphone there are no holes for the speaker at all. The right end from the bottom up: the camera call button (I warmly welcome such things), the volume rocker and the power button. 
I didn't like the buttons at all. Well, okay - the camera, in any case, it requires a long press so that there are no accidental triggers. The volume rocker is inconveniently located, has an extremely small and very indistinct stroke. The power button is even weirder. At first I thought that it, like in Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, has a fingerprint scanner built into it, which made the button so uncomfortable (and in older Xperia models it was done very well), but there is no scanner here, and the button is terribly uncomfortable in itself: it not only does not rise above the surface, but is also slightly recessed. Why this is done is completely incomprehensible to me personally. The upper end is an audio output and a second microphone for noise reduction 
The left end is a plug insert for a SIM card and a memory card. 
Well, the bottom end is a microUSB output and a microphone. 
Well, here is the Xperia X next to the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and Lenovo Note 5. 
The smartphone looks good, but, let's say, without a twist, the materials and assembly are expected to be very high quality. The control buttons here are traditionally on-screen, and also quite large, so they occupy a rather large part of the screen area.
I also really don't like the fact that here, as in other Sony smartphones, you can't swap "Return" and "List of running applications", well, and in principle, the "Menu" is not called up by any combination at all. This, on the one hand, is experienced, but very inconvenient. Okay, even when the buttons are located on the bottom panel and are not reconfigured (although, for example, HTC is reconfigured), but since they are already on-screen, why can't they be reconfigured? For example, I'm very used to the fact that "Return" is on the right. Actually, almost all smartphones have it on the right, and only Sony has it on the left - and this cannot be changed. Annoying. However, Sony users will probably quickly get used to this and they do not like it when the return is on the right. (But for right-handed people, the return should by definition be on the right, because this button is used much more often than calling running applications.) Display
IPS display with OGS technology. Very good image quality, good margin of brightness. In direct sunlight, like the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, the image is very clearly distinguishable. There is an effective anti-reflective filter and a high-quality oleophobic coating. pinkish tint. The same thing happens when the adaptive adjustment greatly reduces the brightness (well, or you lower it yourself), - the white color acquires such a shade. I tried to show it in the photo - I took it at an angle. It seems to be clearly visible that it is not white. And next in comparison is OnePlus 3, whose white color does not change at this angle. 
That is, in general, the display is very high quality, but there is such a feature that I did not like. Device operation
Android 6.0.1 is installed here, but, as usual with Sony, it uses its own shell and its own system applications. The main desktop.
Applications installed on the system.
Fast switches. They are being edited.
Editing quick switches.
Blocking window.
As usual, a wide variety of themes are offered for download and installation.
Conversation mode.
Call quality is good, noise cancellation works effectively. I was afraid that due to the aluminum case with almost no plastic inserts, the level would be worse than that of other smartphones, but this was not noticeable in test conversations. The only thing is that when I measured the Wi-Fi level in comparison with the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, it showed the level slightly higher than the Xperia X. However, slightly higher. Wi-Fi and mobile Internet speed tests showed quite normal speed (compared to the same Samsung Galaxy S7 edge).
I listened to HiRes (FLAC) sound in headphones. Sennheiser CX 2.00G in-ear headphones are very good: the sound is clear, voluminous, excellent detail, good, but, for my taste, harsh and sometimes downright cutting high (for certain compositions).
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x full-size headphones are also very good: the sound is quite voluminous, clear, good bass and decent highs. There is a DSEE HX option in the audio settings, which should improve the quality of playback of compressed files. Yes, it works. Not that they turn into HiRes Audio, but the detail is clearly improved, although the sound takes on a slightly metallic tint. There is also a ClearAudio + option that does not work with DSEE HX - also interesting: playback quality does improve for most songs. Video The performance of the system is enough to play even 4K videos. 
Games 3D games play smoothly and briskly.
For tanks, the FPS is kept almost at the maximum - 59-60.
Performance test by Epic Citadel.
Connected devices have traditionally been a strong point of Sony smartphones.
"Smart" memory cleaning mode.
There are two power-saving modes here: the proprietary STAMINA, which really significantly increases battery life, and the ultra-saving Ultra STAMINA mode.
Here are the apps available in Ultra STAMINA mode.
This is what the desktop looks like with Ultra STAMINA enabled.
The manufacturer promises that in this mode the smartphone will last up to 20 days. I tested, I got 16 days of occasional use. Camera Camera interface.
Photo settings.
Video settings.
It uses a 1/2.3" Exmor RS sensor. A 24mm-equivalent lens with f/2.0 aperture. The camera is launched either by a long press on a separate dedicated button or by a long press of the power button when the display is off. Example shots. (All clickable, open in full size.)Indoors. 
On the street. 
Well, in bad lighting conditions. 
In the dark. 
Video example.
In my opinion, the camera is wonderful. Excellent autofocus - really very fast and tenacious. Didn't miss at all in normal lighting conditions. In some reviews, I saw claims that it focused poorly in insufficient lighting conditions - nothing like this happened to me. The focus only floated when shooting at night in situations where my mirrorless camera was also messing with the focus. The pictures are very clear, with excellent detail. The colors are vibrant yet natural. With white balance, the camera practically did not miss. The video is of good quality, and I liked how the stabilizer works there: you can see from the video that the picture is stabilizing. Of course, this is not such a good stabilizer as in cameras, but this is not a camera, but a small smartphone. In general, the camera impressed. System and performance Data on CPU-Z.
AnTuTu test.
In the comparison table, the smartphone is in 22nd place, next to the iPhone 6.
Geekbench 3 tests.
Well, the overall index for PCMark.
The smartphone is really powerful and nimble, there are no problems with performance here. Battery life My battery life tests. (STAMINA mode is off.) Internet. The brightness is set to a comfortable 40%, wireless networks are turned on, the page is updated in the browser every 30 seconds. 10 hours 40 minutes. Video. Wireless communications are disabled, the brightness of the player is set to a comfortable 10th level (15 in total), the video of the series is spinning in the MX Player in a cycle. 9 hours 45 minutes. I expected it to be a couple of hours longer. Synthetic test PCMark issued 10 hours 1 minute. And here I expected that it would be a couple of hours less.
Nevertheless, the smartphone, which is practically promised by the manufacturer for two days without recharging, does not survive during normal use. One day lives iron even with a very serious load (10 hours on PCMark is quite a lot). Two days - only with not too active use and with the STAMINA mode turned on. In general, the autonomy indicators for these characteristics and battery capacity are quite normal. Observations at work and conclusions During testing, I did not find any problems. When running 3D games or applications that heavily load the system, there was a slight heating in the area of the chipset. In general, I liked the smartphone. For those who need a small but powerful and high-quality smartphone, this is a good option, and in almost all respects: performance, display, sound, camera, battery life. Price - yes, the price is high, I do not argue. Actually, smartphones from Sony have always been expensive. But a high-quality and powerful smartphone will not be cheap by definition.
