Sony Xperia M4 Aqua Review

Performance and Benchmarks

Doing the heavy lifting is the 64-bit 1.5Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core CPU, Adreno 405 GPU, and 2GB RAM. The same configuration as the Lenovo PHAB Plus 12 and Starmobile Knight Elite. It can handle light to heavy tasks well including gaming. Take a look at the benchmark scores below.

• AnTuTu – 33,898
• Quadrant Standard – 19,040
• Vellamo – 2,404 (Chrome), 966 (Metal), 1,544 (Multicore)
• 3D Mark – 352 (Sling Shot using ES 3.0)
• Max Gaming Temp – 36-C

Connectivity and Call Quality

The M4 Aqua is packed with connectivity features ranging from 4G LTE, WiFi Bluetooth, NFC, and GPS. What’s missing here though is dual-SIM support which is a downer for those who want to utilize two SIM cards in one device.

As for call quality, voices are loud and clear even in areas with distracting background noise. We didn’t experience any problems with mobile data connectivity as long as your area has 4G or 3G coverage.

Battery Life

The M4 Aqua is powered by a 2,400mAh battery which can be considered small in today’s standards but since it’s not pushing heavy hardware, it should last a light to moderate user the whole day.

If you want to get more out of it, you can take advantage of the STAMINA mode, Ultra STAMINA mode, and Low-battery mode in Power Management Settings.

Running PC Mark’s battery benchmark, we got a result of 7 hours and 49 minutes. But in our routine video loop test we got a good 10 hours and 27 minutes worth of playback.

Conclusion

The Xperia M4 Aqua is a good choice for those who are looking for a smartphone that packs a punch but not heavy in the pockets. It has a good display, performance and camera, nice build and design, IP-certified body, and a decent battery life.

The price is reasonable as well at Php14,490USD 247INR 20,932EUR 235CNY 1,798 (Php13,890USD 237INR 20,065EUR 225CNY 1,724 SRP based on Sony PH’s website as of writing) . What’s ruining the experience though is the small internal storage of 8GB. If only Sony went with 16GB as minimum then it would have been acceptable.

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua specs:
5-inch HD display, 294ppi
64-bit 1.5Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core CPU
Adreno 405 GPU
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
13 megapixel AF rear camera w/ flash
5 megapixel front camera
4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
WiFi
Bluetooth 4.1
NFC
DLNA, Miracast
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Android 5.0 Lollipop
2,400mAh battery
IP65 / IP68-certified
145.5 x 72.6 x 7.3 mm
140 g
White, Black, Red
Php14,490USD 247INR 20,932EUR 235CNY 1,798

What we like:
* Nice build and design
* Good display and performance
* Decent battery life with good power management modes
* Great camera
* Water resistant, dust proof body

What we didn’t like:
* No Dual-SIM support
* Very limted usable internal storage