Sony Xperia XA hands-on, first impressions

We’ve seen what the Xperia X has to offer and now we’re here taking a quick hands-on look at its sibling that targets a more budget-conscious market. Read on to see how Sony‘s Xperia XA is different from the Xperia X.

Just like the Xperia X, the Xperia XA carries a screen that spans 5 inches across. It doesn’t have the company’s famous Triluminos display, but features In-plane switching (IPS) so that’s not bad at all.

Sony also opted to go for a lower HD resolution on the Xperia XA, but makes up for it by implementing an edge-to-edge display that honestly makes the device more attractive to look at.

There is a strip of unused space at the base of the handset and serves simply as a handle when using the device on landscape orientation.

The physical buttons are also lined up at the right side, namely the camera shutter, volume rocker, and power/lock button. Do take note that the power/lock button is not the same as the oval-shaped one from the Xperia X. Instead, it’s circular and is reminiscent of the older Xperia Z2.

Looking at the upper part of the handset we see sensors on the left side of the logo with the 8-megapixel front-facing camera located on the right. The speaker for calls is stealthily tucked away at the slit near the frame and is almost unnoticeable on first glance.

Turning it around and we will be greeted with its 13-megapixel main shooter. It might not have Xperia X’s Predictive Hybrid AF, but it’s been equipped with Phase Detection Autofocus that makes focusing smarter than what others can offer.

While all the buttons are on the right side, the slots are on the left. Prying open a flap reveals the nano-SIM and microSD card slots. Expanding the storage is possible until 200GB.

Finally, we have the lonesome audio jack pushed to the left edge of the device. From this angle, we also see the handset’s curved corners just like the Xperia X. Both are easy and light on the hands, but we prefer the overall look of the XA mainly because of its edge-to-edge display.  In terms of specs, however, the XA lags far behind.

Just like the Xperia X, the XA is available in different colors including White, Graphite Black, Lime Gold, and Rose Gold.

During the announcement, the Xperia X series still has no definite date of availability, but will be arriving sometime in summer. Stay tuned as we wait for new updates.

Sony Xperia XA specs:
5-inch HD IPS LCD display @ 1280 x 720 resolution, 294ppi
2.9GHz MediaTek MT6755 octa-core processor
Mali T860 MP2 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
Expandable via microSD
13MP rear camera with Phase Detection AF
8MP front camera
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.1
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC
2,300mAh battery
Android Marshmallow 6.0