Sony Xperia XA

Looking to add high-end style to the mid-tier market, Sony’s Xperia XA’s invisible bezel design is turning heads. But does it offer an experience that matches it’s looks?

We’ve checked out what reviewers are saying to save you time with this Informr phone summary!

Reviewers loved the design of the XA. From the cleverly hidden screen bezels to the pearlized coloring on the rear cover, reviews agree that Sony has shown that you don’t need high-end materials to design a great looking phone. Android Pit said, “The Sony Xperia XA is beguiling to the touch. It feels pleasantly [matte] and smooth and has an edgeless and gapless design.”

Flipping around to the front treats you to a 5-inch display that wraps neatly to both sides of the phone. Unfortunately, while reviewers loved how Sony minimized the bezels and optimized space usage on the front of the phone, opinions on the display quality of the 720p IPS panel weren’t as good. Alphr noted, “The display on the Xperia can look a little dull compared with even the best budget smartphones.” It’s not all bad, however, as GSM Arena said, “Sunlight legibility is very good for the class.”

Performance reviews are equally mixed. The phone uses an eight-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor capable of up to 2Ghz. Stuff gave the phone a work out and said, “The XA is fairly snappy most of the time, but sooner rather than later you’ll run into a stutter, or an app that takes its time to load.” This lines up with most reviews. Many said while the phone didn’t feel slow, it never felt fast either.

You’ll find 16GB of internal storage on the Xperia XA. After Sony’s bloat, you’re left with roughly 5GB for your own apps. This means that a microSD card will be required for most people. Even though the phone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Android Adoptable Storage is not enabled. So even with a card, you’ll be stuck swapping apps to your card manually.

The phone uses a 2,300mAh non-removeable battery to keep things running. Recombu noted, “With regulated use, I just about made it from breakfast to bed on a single charge. If I was less restrained and spent a couple of hours messing around online during my commutes, then I would have to charge the Xperia XA as soon as I got home from work.” Fortunately, reviews also indicate that the include charger can fully charge the battery in 30 mins. While you might have to find a charger throughout the day, you won’t be stuck connected to it for long.

Where the phone shined in reviews was it’s cameras. The 13MP rear camera and 8MP front-facing camera with wide-angle lens were applauded by all. Android Pit said, “The main camera delivers detailed, high-contrast pictures with bright colors. Only when looking closely can small artifacts be seen around the edges of objects. Even in low light it provides decent results. The Selfie camera is also above average.” Reviewers also loved Sony’s camera app and interface.

In the end, reviews weren’t great. While most loved the design and camera, they weren’t happy with performance or pricing. Alphr summed reviews up well, saying, “In the end, you have to look at the opposition to set the Xperia XA in context, and right now it’s just too strong for this handset to stand out in any meaningful way.”