Sections
- Page 1 Sony Xperia XA Review
- Page 2 Performance and Software Review
- Page 3 Camera Review
- Page 4 Battery and verdict Review
Sony Xperia XA – Battery
I’m not sure how Sony thinks people use its phones, but the brand’s constant claims of ‘two-day battery life’ always fall way short in my testing. The only way I managed to get more than one day from the 2,300mAh battery is to turn on the Stamina mode, which severely affects performance.
If you want a more realistic number, I would say you’ll need to be charging this phone most nights. There’s enough juice in the tank to get you from an early-morning alarm call to about 11pm, but on a couple of occasions I found myself with a dead phone in my pocket after a night out.
Related: Best Budget Phones
An hour of HD video streaming ate through 17% of the battery with brightness set to 70%, while 30 minutes of Spotify jamming took the charge down by 7%. Gaming was a similar story, with Ski Safari chewing up about 13% per 30-minute gaming session.
Of course, turning the brightness down helps boost the battery a bit, but then you’ll probably run into the same issues I had with poor visibility.
Sony hasn’t switched to USB-C on any of its phones yet, so the Xperia XA sticks with the far more widespread Micro USB for charging. There’s a form of quick-charging too, though you’ll need to pay extra for the optional power transformer to use it.
Related: What is USB-C?
Should I buy the Sony Xperia XA?
Unless you can get a particularly tasty offer, there are so many better options out there than the run-of-the-mill Sony Xperia XA. The screen is low-res, and the camera is slow and unreliable. Sony has kitted the XA out with only the minimum required spec in each area – something you simply cannot do any more.
You can spend less and get the much better Moto G4, or save up a bit more and pick up the OnePlus 3 or Vodafone Smart Platinum 7. Heck, there’s even more to like on the Sony Xperia M5 with its 1080p display and water-resistant body. The Nexus 5X is a decent pick too, and it’s constantly on offer at the minute – the 32GB model is £245 on Amazon at the time of writing.
Verdict
About as middle-of-the-road as you can get. ‘Fine’ is the best way to describe the Sony Xperia XA. There are certainly better options out there.
How we test phones
We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Trusted Score
Score in detail
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Performance 7
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Camera 6
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Design 7
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Battery Life 7
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Value 7
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Software 8
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Calls & Sound 5
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Screen Quality 6
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.