Sony is reinventing its Xperia lineup — once more. In a departure from last yr’s XA2 series, the business enterprise is outfitting its present-day midrange handsets, the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus, with slim and tall shows that adopt a cinema-like 21:nine component ratio whilst utilized in landscape mode.
That possibly feels like a gimmick, however, it is definitely the best issue about these devices. With a 21:9 display, you could see extra, while studying or watching sure films, or do greater, when you’re flipping among responsibilities and running apps aspect by aspect.
Unfortunately, however, everything else — from the unreliable cameras to the so-so battery lifestyles and abysmal overall performance (in particular inside the case of the cheaper Xperia 10) — in the end, destroys any shot Sony’s present-day midrange services have at landing on our excellent smartphones listing.
Price and Availability
Sony’s new midrange handsets come in two flavors for 2019: the 6-inch Xperia 10 for $349 and the 6.Five-inch Xperia 10 Plus for $429. Both are like-minded mainly with GSM networks, though they’re additionally certified to work on Verizon. There’s best one configuration of every, with 64GB of the on-board garage.
Both the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus are available in a number of shades, although now not each alternative might be offered in all territories. In North America, most effective black and silver are on offer for each model. However, different regions will obtain purple and navy, too.
Sony Xperia 10 and 10 Plus Specs
Sony Xperia 10 Sony Xperia 10 Plus
Price $349 $429
OS Android 9 Pie Android nine Pie
Screen Size (Resolution) 6-inch LCD (2520 x 1080); 21:nine thing ratio 6.5-inch LCD (2520 x 1080); 21:9 factor ratio
CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Qualcomm Snapdragon 636
RAM 3GB 4GB
Storage 64GB 64GB
microSD Slot Yes, up to 512GB Yes, up to 512GB
Rear Camera Dual: thirteen MP (f/2.0) and 5 MP (f/2.4) Dual: 12 MP (f/1.8) and 8 MP telephoto (f/2.4)
Front Camera eight MP (f/2.Zero) eight MP
Battery Size 2,870 mAh 3,000 mAh
Battery Life (Hrs:Mins) eight:05 8:forty six
Water Resistance No No
Size 6.1 x 2.7 x zero.3 inches 6.6 x 2.Nine x 0.3 inches
Design: Pretty and pretty quirky
Sony’s smartphones have continually had a hyper-minimalist design, and the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus aren’t any exceptions. The two handsets are identically styled — keep for the difference in size — and appoint the equal greater-tall 21:9 element ratio, Gorilla Glass 5, aluminum unibody chassis and facet-hooked up fingerprint sensors.
If it weren’t for their narrow proportions, the Xperia 10 duo possibly wouldn’t stand out in a police lineup of midrange devices. However, these are still delicate and attractive smartphones in that classically Sony way. I admire the enterprise doubling down on aluminum whilst rivals are pumping out growing numbers of cookie-cutter handsets clad in cheap-feeling glass. Additionally, the healthy and finish of the Xperia 10 lineup is terrific, the lending experience of fine to a segment of the marketplace that hardly ever sees it.
However, those phones look a bit strange at the beginning glance, now not only due to the elongated aspect ratio, but also due to how low their displays are located. The aspect and bottom bezels are all narrow and absolutely constant, but the top bezel is quite thick. Clearly, Sony needed to discover area to shoehorn in that display driving force somewhere, and we wouldn’t call the decision a deal breaker via any method. It has left both handsets feeling quite a top-heavy, although.
Sony geared up the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus with NFC for cellular payments, and way to the inclusion of the 3.Five-millimeter jack, neither phone will force you down the path of USB Type-C or Bluetooth headphones simply yet. At the lowest aspect is a couple of grilles that seem like stereo speakers, even though only one in all them virtually fires any sound. At least they appearance first-rate.
Strangely, Sony has lower back to the fingerprint-sensor-in-the-body motif that the company spurned in the Xperia XZ2 and XZ3 ultimate year. The module works perfectly well, that’s sincerely no small feat thinking about that Sony used to disable the function for U.S.-sure phones for motives it by no means completely explained.
However, the Xperia 10 line breaks out the sleep/wake button right into a separate key above the scanner, which consequently leads to quite nonintuitive person experience. Before I discovered the right muscle memory, I kept urgent deeper onto the sensor to wake every device — as I could do with Samsung’s Galaxy S10e — handiest to be met and not using a response.
Display: More than a gimmick
Sony has absolutely bought into the cinema experience with the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus. The two gadgets every employ an LCD show, with the same 21: nine issue ratio and 2520 x 1080 resolution.
The particular proportions of those phones might also seem like mere gimmickry, but there is a truthful bit of practical merit behind the layout. For one, having a panel it really is taller in portrait orientation certainly enables whilst you’re scrolling thru internet pages, apps and text-heavy content in wellknown. When watching a video, switching to panorama can yield a greater immersive revel in — if the content being watched employs the identical issue ratio, that is.