Sony Xperia X

Sony Xperia X comes with a signature Sony look, and Sony promises to deliver on camera and sound. Priced at Rs. 24,990, the premium brand is looking to compete in a market that demands more than a ‘brand name’ to make a mark.

Sony Xperia X looks dated and acts dated as well. In terms of performance and battery, it is quite average, and while the display has added features, it is still quite mediocre without the progression to QHD+. It is a below-average phone considering the competition in which it is struggling to find a spot.

Sony Xperia X does not have a striking design. It brings back the boxy design from the past, which makes it look old, though it screams ‘Sony’ at the same time. The matte glass feel of the back feels nice to hold, and the box-like structure provides a good grip. However, the volume keys are placed below the fingerprint scanner which is not an ideal setting, as you need to shift the handset if you want to change the sound level. The design itself is quite plain and average. The display is heavy on the bezels, but an admirable inclusion is the curving of the glass at the edges. Sony Xperia X does not have waterproofing, which is a strange shortcoming in the current market that is slowly moving towards waterproof designs. The phone is nifty but does not have a premium look that you would expect.

Sony Xperia X is fitted with a 5-inch display with a resolution of 1080p. While it is a progression from the dated 720p used in L1 and L2, it is still a limited display against the QHD+ resolution ruling the market. However, the set uses features like Triluminos technology and X Reality engine so that its resolution looks higher than the listed specification. It does not help with sharpness, though the colour reproduction is sharp. The contrast ratio struggles to make out the difference between the light and dark areas. The brightness is excellent, with adequate sunlight legibility when you are outside, and glare-killing dimness when you work with it at night. However, the screen touch response is far from impressive, often inaccurate, especially during typing as the keyboard keeps misreading the key.

Xperia X uses the middle-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 650. Benchmark tests found it performing poorly getting a 40% slower speed than the best models around. The 3GB RAM that pairs with the processor tries to make it smoother, but it is mostly ineffective. Touch response is delayed, and processing high-resolution photos take a long time. However, moderate games can run quite well and does not suffer from a laggy experience. On the whole, the processor is about decent, and nothing more.

Sony Xperia X is equipped with a powerful 23MP camera, and the company touts that it would deliver one of the best camera experiences on the market. However, it fails in a few key areas. The blinding quick autofocus is not as snappy as advertised and fails to lock on to moving objects easily. The locked-on images are however quite detailed, holding enough colours and sharpness.

However, the auto mode is intelligent – it can reliably detect the scene put on the proper mode, making the low-light images sharp. While the low light photos are not the brightest in the market, it captures the colours quite accurately making it a decent reproduction.

One of the significant problems is that while the camera is 23MP, the images are reproduced at a default of 8MP. Upping the MP will dip the processing speed in a significant way.

The 5MP selfie camera has wide-angle which captures group selfies efficiently and helps in clicking decent low-light selfies, which is quite an achievement for any model. However, the app is aggressive when it comes to smoothening out the photo, giving a very artificial Botox-like selfie.

Sony Xperia X has a below-average 2620mAh battery, which is way behind the juice-pack that leading phones carry, which are generally above the 3,000 mAh mark. A 90-minute FullHD video running at full brightness saw it drop a staggering 28%. Many higher resolution phones with a larger screen have not suffered so low a drop as Xperia X. Light use can run the phone to the end of the day, but expecting more would not be wise. Fortunately, the charging is fast. However, Sony’s claim of having five and a half hours of runtime with just a 10-minute charge is quite unrealistic.

The main selling point of Xperia X is its camera. It is a decent camera, and while the focus is not as snappy, it works well and with enough accuracy. However, the rest of the phone falls flat. The design is comfortable to hold but dated, and the screen is lacklustre, which inadequate touch response. It does not deliver an impressive performance either. On the whole, Sony Xperia X disappoints on the essential aspects of a handset and could only be recommended to a budding photographer with a soft corner for Sony audio and brand. Better alternatives are iPhone 6S and Samsung S7, though they come with a need to bump up the budget.