Sony Xperia XA Review

We go hands-on with Sony’s bezel-less smartphone

Sony’s has got in the habit of "spamming" the market recently. For the past three years, Sony fans have been “treated” to a new flagship Xperia device at least twice a year.

On the face of it, this may sound awesome. However, we at TrustedReviews haven’t really been all too keen on recent Sony handsets.

Our central issue concerns the fact that they feel like repackaged versions of the same phone, with a few gimmicky features bolted on for good measure. This issue peaked with Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, which was delivered with the addition of a close-to-useless 4K screen that Sony insisted was the future of mobile.

This is the reason I struggled to get excited when Sony unveiled yet another wave of Xperia handsets at MWC 2016.

However, having been up close with the firm’s Xperia XA smartphone, I can say that this might just be the handset to break Sony's losing streak.

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE XPERIA X

1) A bezel-less display

The Xperia XA’s screen is a work of art compared to most mid-range smartphones. The phone’s 5-inch, slightly curved display has close to no bezel surrounding it. The effect is similar to the Infinity displays seen on Dell's XPS laptops, and it makes the Xperia XA one of the most enticing-looking phones around.

2) But it isn’t the sharpest phone around

The Xperia XA display’s 720p resolution could be a sticking point for smartphone aficionados. But during my hands-on, I didn’t notice any pixellation or lack of clarity. What’s more, thanks to the inclusion of Sony’s Bravia screen technology, colours on the display looked wonderfully calibrated.

3) A "Hybrid" camera

The Xperia XA’s 13-megapixel rear and 8-megapixel front camera may not sound like anything to write home about at first glance, but digging under the surface reveals some pretty impressive hardware.

Related: Best smartphones 2016

For starters, there’s a 1/3-inch Sony Exmor lens that promises to dramatically improve image stabilisation. Then there’s the camera’s new “Hybrid Auto-Focus and Object Tracking” feature.

It's based on Sony's Alpha hybrid camera technology. In theory it will let the XA’s camera focus faster and intelligently predict motion to eliminate blur.

4) Bye-bye scratches

Unlike past Xperias, the rear on the XA handsets sports a soft-touch plastic finish. Some may bemoan the absence of a glass back, but in my opinion this is a positive change. The glass rears of past Xperia phones were a magnet for fingerprints and scratches. During my hands-on, the Xperia XA’s back felt robust and will hopefully prove more durable.

5) And it’s going to be affordable... hopefully

Sony has remained tight-lipped about the Xperia XA’s price. However, Sony's representatives on the MWC showroom floor universally described the handset as a “super mid-range" smartphone, which will “be priced competitively". Hopefully, this translates to a price that sits between the £150-£200 of competing “super mid-range” smartphones, such as the Honor 5X and OnePlus X.

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SONY XPERIA XA IN PICTURES

The Xperia XA is powered by an octa-core MediaTek processor and features 2GB of RAM

It runs using a skinned version of Android Marshmallow

At the bottom you'll find a USB Type-C connector

Sadly, there's no built-in fingerprint scanner

SONY XPERIA XA – FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The Xperia XA is one of the best-looking semi-affordable smartphones I’ve seen at MWC 2016. It’s close to bezel-less display and top-end camera tech are also key differentiators that could carve it a nice slice of the increasingly competitive mid-range market.

However, with affordable handsets such as the Honor 5X and OnePlus X costing less than £200 and offering equivalent specs, if it is to succeed the Xperia X5 will have to be competitively priced when it launches this summer.

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