Table of Contents
amazon Sony Xperia XA1 reviews
Design
Unlike last year’s Sony Xperia XA generation with soft curves and feminine curves, the Sony Xperia XA1 inherits a more masculine, square, and masculine appearance than the high-end Sony Xperia XZ. The entire body is processed by Sony, trimmed neatly, almost no extra details, making the machine as made of monolithic metal.
The dorsal surface of the yellow print is smooth, fingerprint free, but easy to scratch without the use of a protective cover or patch. We used the machine for more than 2 weeks, although quite preserved, but saw many scratches.
The power and volume keys keep Sony’s traditions to a logical level, handy when left or right handed. The chassis frame and the top two metal ends are sturdy, sturdy, with good surface finish. The screen is very thin, just a little thread. The feel of the XA1 on hand will be a bit tighter due to the square body but not much annoyance.
However, the coupling details on XA1 are not so seamless. It is still possible to see gaps and dislocations at the junction between the plastic back and the metal frame. This shows that Sony is not very meticulous about machining on its midrange.
On the front, Sony still designed two slots like dual speakers at the two head but in fact this is just a speaker and mic. The unit only has a speaker on the bottom edge, near the USB Type C. This speaker is quite small volume, average sound quality, bass treble faded, the tangled together. Sony is equipped with familiar sound enhancements such as XLoud, Clear Audio +, but it does not have much effect and only works with default music and video player, and does not work with external apps.
The most disappointing detail on XA1 is the border on the bottom of the screen. This area has too much useless area, which makes XA1 unusually long. Especially the bottom edge is more than enough for Sony to set the touch pad, but the Japanese carrier still decided to put the navigation keys in the screen.
Sony fans can justify that extra space is appropriate for gaming due to the limited touch screen, but the fact that touch screen technology is now good enough to fix the problem. There is no need to make a ridiculously thick border like XA1.
Overall, the Xperia XA1 impresses me because at this price range it is one of the most advanced design devices, ensuring both aesthetics and functionality. However, in addition to the ridiculously thick upper and lower edge details, the product still has some drawbacks such as lack of fingerprint sensor and not equipped with anti-dust and anti-water features on the products Sony.
Screen
The XA1’s screen continues to use the 5 inch IPS LCD with 720p resolution, 294 PPI pixel density similar to the previous XA. The display of XA1 gives a good display quality, high brightness, which can be displayed relatively clearly under intense sunlight. Wide viewing angles, neutral colors, not too bright and glittering as the general trend today. The screen is light, so it feels opaque, not clear. Low resolution also makes the image and script less sharp.
When viewed from the edges, XA1’s screen encounters light refraction at the junction between the curved edge and the chassis. This phenomenon is most obvious when browsing or displaying content with a white background, causing a bit of discomfort.
Sony still equips XA1 with familiar image optimizations such as Super Live mode, Image Enhancement mode for brighter colors, more glare. As usual, these modes only work best on Sony’s default software such as image viewers, video players. However, every time the image is viewed, the machine also takes several seconds to apply effects to improve the image, causing many inconveniences during use.
Eye protection mode is quite popular on today’s smartphones but not yet equipped by Sony for the screen of XA1. Users will need to install additional applications if they have a need.
When measured on a dedicated instrument, the Xperia XA1 has a high maximum brightness, the color temperature is close to the most balanced level (6500), and it is praiseworthy that the colors reproduce accurately, which is rarely seen on mid-range smartphones present. However, the ability to show black is not deep and the contrast is only average, less than the Xperia XA last year.
Software
Built-in Android 7.0 Nougat, Xperia XA1 is one of the rare mid-range models on the market today running the latest Android version. Sony keeps the tradition of not interfering too much on the operating system core and keeps almost intact what the original Android was. New features in Android 7, such as splitting screens, automatically appending one application’s notifications, and quick replying from the notification bar, allow you to tweak the display size (DPI) so that it can be displayed. More content or large content for easy viewing … is on XA1.
Virtual Assistant is now available in the main screen, and can be quickly accessed by swiping from the left edge. Contextual search Google Now On Tap and provides a lot of useful information, which you can use by holding down the Home key while in any application.
Japanese companies only customize the icon, focus on developing entertainment applications such as music, movies. The default icon set of the machine is not exactly homogeneous, feeling a bit messy when the system icons and icons from 3rd party style is completely opposite. Anyway, Sony still allows to change these icons easily so if you do not like you can quickly download new theme sets.
Some of the small but useful features are complemented by Sony’s ability to turn off the display without resorting to the power button by double-tapping the space on the home screen. Even so, Sony has not yet enabled the automatic lock screen to appear on the notification screen, including SMS. If you want, you must install additional applications.
Performance
Sony continues to be loyal to using MediaTek on its midrange devices. With the XA1, equipped with the MediaTek Helio P20 processor, an upgrade of the Helio P10 on XA with 8 cores (4 cores 2.3GHz and quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A53), Mali-T880MP2 graphics, 3GB RAM 32GB internal memory (up to 256 GB microSD slot).
This configuration is an upgrade compared to XA last year (Helio P10, Mali T860MP2, 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM). Thanks to its stable configuration, the low-resolution screen is running almost the same as Android 7.0, and XA1 offers very smooth performance in all operations. Animation effects on Android 7.0 seem to be accelerated, making cross-application switching, swiping the notification bar even more agile.
When playing heavy games like Dead Trigger 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade at the highest graphics setting, the Xperia XA1 still runs smoothly and stably with frame rates averaging 35-36 fps. If the graphical setting is reduced to a lower level, the machine can run smoothly without much difficulty. At this point, the product is much better than the Motorola Moto M or Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime price range.
Battery life
Last year the battery was the most unfortunate weakness of the Sony Xperia XA. Surprisingly this year, Sony continues to retain the 2,300 mAh capacity on the Sony Xperia XA1. However, improvements to the software (Android 7) as well as the Helio P20 processor using a more energy-efficient 16nm process have given XA1’s battery life not bad,enough for the day. Compared with the old Xperia XA, the battery life of the new version was surprisingly good, even doubling in some activities.
When more battery life is needed, users can use the well-known battery optimizations available on the Xperia series such as STAMINA and Ultra STAMINA.
where can you get a Sony Xperia XA1 online
Sony Xperia XA1 – Unlocked Smartphone – 32GB – Black (US Warranty): Buy it now
Sony Xperia XA1 G3125 3GB RAM / 32GB ROM 5.0-Inch 23MP 4G LTE FACTORY UNLOCKED – International Stock No Warranty (BLACK): Buy it now
Sony Xperia XA1 Factory Unlocked, 32GB, 23MP, 5″ Display, GSM only, International Version, No Warranty – (Black): Buy it now
Sony Xperia XA1 – Unlocked Smartphone – 32GB – White (US Warranty): Buy it now
Sony Xperia XA1 Factory Unlocked, 32GB, 23MP, 5″ Display, GSM only, International Version, No Warranty – (Pink): Buy it now
Sony Xperia XA1 – Unlocked Smartphone – 32GB – Gold (US Warranty): Buy it now
Camera
Beside the configuration, the camera is also highlighted by Sony during the launching ceremony of XA1. Upgraded from 13MP up to 23MP, Exmor RS sensor, 24mm wide-angle lens with f / 2.0 lens, 1 / 2.3 inch sensor size, Hybrid autofocus Autofocus combines phase and laser focus. The parameters are almost equivalent to Sony’s premium products.
The XA1 still incorporates motion-prediction technology in motion through the Object Tracking option in the camera application. The camera can focus on the subject even when the user moves the frame or object is stuck on the move. However, this feature does not work stably so many times the image is lost focus.
The camera interface on the XA1 is similar to Sony’s recent high-end self-timer, self-identifying scene settings to set the right combination, and adds two fast-tuning bars for color and brightness.
Additional features such as adding AR effects, sound when shooting … still appear. The inconvenience is that while in Manual capture mode, you will not be able to immediately switch to Video recording mode or add effects that have to be moved in sequence from Manual> Auto> Record Movie> Effects and vice versa.
The camera also has a manual mode that allows for multiple parameters such as ISO, white balance, EV exposure compensation, shutter speed (up to 1 second), manual focus. In general, this camera interface is not very convenient yet. Many necessary modes such as HDR, Panorama, fine-tuning brightness, ISO is still hidden deep and many operations to activate.
Besides pressing the shutter button to open the camera quickly, you can also press the power button twice. One thing to note is that when you press the power button twice to open the camera, XA1 will remember the mode, setting the camera you were using. And while pressing and holding the capture key, the camera will always enter auto mode.
Xperia XA1’s bright picture quality is impressive. Photos are detailed and have very good sharpness, bright colors, bright lines, good contrast. Shutter speed, focus of the machine quickly but save the image is slow. HDR mode improves significantly the brightness and image quality. Fast HDR shooting speed, good grafting algorithm.
Panorama ability of XA1 at pretty level. A fast, error-free, high quality image stabilizer, high image quality and resolution. Unfortunately, XA1 still offers vertical panoramic shots only, and when shooting bright scenes, the metronome is unstable.
The front camera of the XA1 retains almost the same XA resolution of 8 megapixels, f / 2.0 wide-angle lens, wide-angle 23mm focal length, autofocus, face detection, 1/4 sensor. Inch. The facial beauty, sticker inserts, fun effects are also equipped, comfortable for users to explore. The image quality is good, sharpness, detail is obtained clearly, color, skin is reproduced close to reality. Even so, facial beauty does not work, simply applying a layer of mist to the image to cover the shortcomings.
Despite the good image quality, the slow viewing speed is annoying when using the camera on the XA1. The default image viewer is incredibly slow when it takes up to tens of seconds to display an image captured in the highest resolution of 23 megapixels. The same thing happens when you zoom in on the image to check the sharpness. Meanwhile, if using the Google image viewer, the speed of view images faster, the phenomenon of slow loading is still not too uncomfortable.
Summary
With the emergence of many Chinese Smartphone launching low-cost, high-profile, and feature-rich products, the mid-range smartphone segment seems unlikely to stand for longtime names.
However, Sony has proved that if adaptation, hard-to-change, responsive to the market requirements, the “big brother” technology can completely earn enough pie piece market share.
Sony Xperia XA1 is not just an upgrade of XA that was very successful last year. This is clearly a product that Sony can completely make a medium-quality device, convergence full of the essentials of an attractive smartphone: good looks, good camera, smooth running, battery good and above all, the price is reasonable.
