review sony xperia
Pros
- Flagship-level performance
- Water-resistant design
- Lightweight, unobtrusive Android skin
Cons
- Not worth the asking price
- Lacks some features you'd expect from a flagship
- Middling camera
- Occasionally overheats
Summary
Sony, what are you doing?
Though the $700 Xperia X Performance features a flagship-level processor
and runs well as a result, Sony apparently didn't feel the need to
bring anything new to the table. What we have here is a reasonably good
smartphone that lacks soul or ambition, and ultimately costs too much
for what it is.
Missing design features
There are a few features you may want that are missing or in odd places on the Xperia X.
If you live anywhere outside the United States, your power button
will double as a fingerprint sensor. Sadly, and for what we only assume
are legal or security reasons, Sony has disabled this feature on the Xperia Z5 and
now the X Series phones. Representatives told us this feature is
something Sony wants to include in future devices but just didn’t have
“enough time.” Sad.
Now that most phones sport fast fingerprint sensors, we’ve been very
annoyed having to go back to unlock a phone with a PIN code. You really
need security on your lock screen, so if a PIN doesn’t work for you, we
suggest buying another phone.
If you’re expecting the Xperia X to be IP68 waterproof like the
entire Z series, have a seat. I have some bad news for you. Sony is only
waterproofing the more expensive, $700 Xperia X Performance, from what
we understand. So this is yet another phone that should stay in a dry
place at all times. We have no idea how water resistant it is, but it
hasn’t passed any tests to prove so.
For some reason, Sony still places the audio jack on the top of the
Xperia X instead of the bottom, where most other phones now sport it. A
jack at the bottom makes it easy to naturally pocket your phone with
headphones still connected.
Finally, the speaker quality on the X is also weak. It doesn’t match the volume of an iPhone or high-end Android and sounds tinny. No phone has good sound, but we’d rate the X lower than others, especially quality handsets like the HTC 10.
Quality software, we’re hopeful on updates
In a change of pace, Sony has scaled back its software. The X comes
with an almost pure Google version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. This is
fantastic because the standard Googley version of Android looks pretty
damn good these days. Sony has made a few improvements in simple ways,
which we like. For example, you can swipe down on the home
screen to search through your apps. Or, if you go into the apps menu,
you can see recent apps and even hold down to make it possible to delete
any app with one tap. Both of these features are very iPhone-like, but
helpful.
Hardware
Even though the X Performance is the most high-end of the four Xperia phones Sony plans to launch in the US, you wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at it. In fact, do yourself a favor: Don't put an Xperia X Performance down next to a regular Xperia X, because you'd probably never tell them apart. From the 5-inch, IPS LCD display up front to the 23-megapixel camera around back, these two devices are nearly identical. Well, until you spill a drink on them, at least. The X Performance picks up where previous Sony flagships left off with an IP68-rated chassis that helps it shrug off dust and water with ease, even when you stick it under a soda machine and let sticky stuff like Coke fly.
While earlier Xperia phones didn't receive software updates in a timely manner, there's nothing to worry about here: The X Performance ships with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. As usual, it's obscured somewhat by Sony's custom interface, and it can be pretty damn polarizing. For the most part, I'm fond of Sony's use of bold colors and minimal changes to the core Android experience. Those changes aren't minimal enough for some, though; my new colleague Cherlynn is no fan of Sony's changes, stylistic or otherwise. Sure, you'll have to contend with a few widgets enabled out of the box, but for the most part Sony has done well staying out of Android's way. My only real gripe: Swiping right in the app launcher brings up a search screen with recommendations for apps you should download, and some of them are sponsored. Ugh.
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