The launch of the Xperia X earlier this year led to a lot of raised eyebrows in the Android world. Where competing flagships were equipped with the best chipsets of the time, Sony came up with midrange hardware packed into a high-end design. The final product did not work out quite right: in our Xperia X review we also felt that we can hardly recommend the device. However, the Xperia X-series consists of multiple devices: besides the flagship, there is also a powerful X Performance and even an entry-level model, the xA. The latter variant we discuss in this Xperia XA review.
Sleek design without premium feel
Design heritage Xperia XA know at least to equal its more expensive brothers, thanks to the almost borderless screen. Because it runs from side to side, the XA relatively compact and handy for a smartphone with 5 inch screen. That screen itself sometimes a bit disappointing, due to the relatively low resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels and the disappointing brightness. In the summer sun, the XA very difficult to read.
The Sony fails to bring that premium feel throughout the rest of the design. The manufacturer has chosen a back side a plastic, rather than metal or glass. This is also extremely stain and scratch-sensitive. The back of our white copy was after a week among all the stains and small scratches, and we really careful coped.
faltering apps
The relatively thin and compact design also seems to cause problems with heat dissipation. Use the XA uninterrupted for fifteen minutes, then the back is pretty hot. This also affects the performance. Although XA is equipped with a powerful on paper octacore MediaTek processor and 2GB of RAM, we often suffer from faltering apps. The device is warm, the image in Snapchat stutters so much that the app is almost unusable.
The device has even bother with relatively simple background processes sometimes Spotify music stops put in the background while we are browsing in Chrome. Or lying on the overheated hardware or something else we dare not say, but it is clear that it is unacceptable to a smartphone in this price range.
Battery and software
Sony Xperia XA equipped with a battery with a capacity of 2300 mAh. That is on the tight side, but the manufacturer claims that the battery saving software on the Xperia X series extends the battery life considerably. The two days without charging, however, which Sony claims we achieved remotely not. With luck and economy we achieved just the end of the day, but we had the XA more often than not interim charging.
Are you regularly Snapchat and WhatsApp, with sometimes browse between, then you have at the beginning of the evening only twenty to thirty percent over during the day. That seems to be the screen. You want to have somewhat readable by the summer sun, the brightness at maximum, but then you have the battery percentage has become very fast lower.
One big plus Sony's smartphones: the relatively minimal modifications made by the manufacturer to Android. The Xperia interface is largely similar to stock-Android. Sony has made Android more colorful and vivid, but elements such as notifications and settings are as tidy and organized as you would expect from Android.
INTERFACE IS LARGELY THE SAME AS STOCK-ANDROID
Unfortunately Sony screwed up this strength again with the large number of bundled applications. Sony (as a multimedia company) flour evert own apps for music, movies and photos, but we can understand. A PlayStation app? Ahead. But then there are also the What's New- and Xperia Lounge app, which you every few days send notifications about new Sony movies or games. To top it off, there are also apps Kobo LinkedIn and Amazon on your device. We counted a total of nearly twenty supplied, non-removable apps, and we expect even disagree with Google's own apps. Sony provides a relatively pricey smartphone unneeded applications is actually unacceptable.
The 13 megapixel camera is on the back is a bright spot because it shoots beautiful, sharp pictures. Thanks to Sony's hybrid autofocus technology, you can also focus quickly even on moving objects. Unfortunately, the camera opens itself less quickly, whenever the XA as described above what is hot here soon a second or two, three needed before you can take pictures. Videos XA do go well and the 8 megapixel camera that is paramount shoots fine selfies.
Not waterproof, no fingerprint scanner
With a suggested retail price of 300 euros, you'd expect the Xperia XA offers unique features, which the device can distinguish itself from the great competition in this price range. Unfortunately, that is not in there. Sony claims that the camera has unique features, but really impressive, we found this one. Features that we are used to from Sony, suddenly missing from the XA: the device is not waterproof, lacks a fingerprint reader and no battery that easily lasts a day or two.
That Sony seems actually to have no sense of the market in which the Xperia XA appears. The device has a suggested retail price of 299 euros, making it more expensive than, say, the Motorola Moto G4 Plus, the Nexus 5X 5X and Honor. All devices with comparable or even better hardware at a lower price. Moreover these handsets are indeed equipped with fingerprint scanners and other extras. Even Sony's own Xperia Z3 Compact, now two years old but powerful and waterproof, offers more value for 300 euros.
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten