Sony Xperia M2 – Battery Life

The Sony Xperia M2 has a 2,300mAh battery, which is a fair bit bigger than the competition. We’ve heard some talk online of the phone not lasting a full-day of use, but that is not our experience.

We got 11 hours of 720p video playback off a charge, and found that average use of the phone can easily see it last for a day and a half between charges. It’s a very solid performance, on a similar level to that seen in the Xperia Z2 – which has a huge battery.

Sony also gives you more battery-saving options in the Xperia M2 than you’ll see in just about any other phone in its class. It can be pretty aggressive about it too – it’ll switch itself off automatically within 15 minutes if there’s no SIM aboard, for example.

The M2 battery is not user-accessible

On the more practical side, you get several battery-saving modes designed to prolong the M2’s battery life.

You can be very particular about how your phone works. Stamina mode lets you disable background data when the screen is turned off, but you can set up a list of apps that have access at all times – Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger might be obvious ones to add.

Low Battery Mode lets you set another load of restrictions when your battery hits a certain level. You can turn off wireless connection types like mobile data and Bluetooth, alter the screen brightness and how quickly the screen turns itself off. You don’t normally get this many options.

Location-based Wi-Fi is one of the clever power extras. It keeps Wi-Fi turned off unless you’re near a saved Wi-Fi network – using mobile signal rather than GPS makes location sensing pretty battery-friendly. The last battery-saving tool is queuing of background data tasks.

The M2 has a single, mono speaker on the bottom edge

Sony Xperia M2 – Call Quality and Speaker

One of the lesser-talked-about cuts made to the Xperia Z2 design to make it fit the M2’s blueprint is that this phone has a more conventional speaker. A single speaker output sits on the bottom edge of the phone, firing downward.

It’s a rather hard-sounding speaker, one that clearly puts more of an emphasis on being loud that in making the output sound good at all levels. The relatively thin sound is a bit harsh at top volume.

Call quality isn’t too hot, either. While there is a secondary mic for noise cancellation, the call speaker is a bit low on clarity and volume.

Should I Buy the Sony Xperia M2?

The Sony Xperia M2 is a good phone, but its killer feature is one that works best for poseurs. Namely, the phone can pass for the Xperia Z2 at a distance, and even in-hand for some people. Design does matter in phones, though, and the Xperia M2 looks a whole lot better than the original Xperia M.

At its £200 SIM-free price the Xperia M2 struggles to justify its case over the £150 Moto G 4G and the similarly-specced £100 EE Kestrel. But as part of the £150 deal you can get from – at the time of writing – EE, it’s a much more attractive option. There are limitations in the screen, but the superior design and good software make it worthwhile.

It’s definitely worth considering, then, but only if you can get it at the right price or on a good contract.

Verdict

The Sony Xperia M2 screen is disappointing but the software, the design and the camera are all decent for the price, making it a top 4G buy if you’re willing to shop around.

Next, see our best cheap phones or try our Android 4.4 tips and tricks

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