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Sony Xperia XA1
Price: From R3 999
4 stars
I had never owned a Sony phone before, always thinking of the brand more for TVs and music players, but I was pleasantly surprised by the new Sony Xperia XA1. In fact, I started calling it “My little Sony”.
It’s not exactly little though, with a 5-inch (12.7cm) HD display screen. My little Sony is the perfect size in my opinion – not too big to hold when you’re on a call and not too small, so that typing becomes fiddly and annoying.
It has a borderless design with curvy edges on the sides, which makes the display look much bigger and makes the phone comfortable to hold.
By far the phone’s best feature is its picture quality. It has high-end camera specifications, with a 23-megapixel sensor and an edge-to-edge HD (720 pixel) screen supported by display technologies that make
pictures look crisp.
While enjoying last weekend’s Chinese New Year’s celebrations in Cyrildene, I took lush, saturated pictures and videos.
My only gripe is that the phone’s battery life is a little wanting, but this is perhaps
because I was quite heavy on my use of social-media apps.
There is an option to put the phone on stamina mode, which keeps your battery going for longer when you really need it the most. The mode disables some of the functions and extends the lifetime of your battery.
The phone uses Qnovo Adaptive Charging that monitors the battery’s health and adjusts charging current accordingly to avoid damage and maximize life span.
The Xperia XA1 also features a unique fingerprint sensor, which I didn’t have the time to try out, but will be a definite plus for the user who is conscious of privacy.
The Android operating system was extremely easy to use and I didn’t need to learn any new frustrating settings because I used Android on my old phone.
The best part about this Sony is that it’s well priced for what you get. If you’ve never tried a Sony before, now might just be the time.
