Works – Until It Doesn’t

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus is fitted with a Mediatek MT6757 Helio P20. While generally it works fine, it is quite prone to crashing. In the 2 weeks I’ve been testing the phone I’ve had to restart the phone 3 times. Not promising. Compared to my own Sony Xperia XZ, I’ve definitely seen my own phone perform better. To be fair though, it handles resource heavy applications quite well. It’s not distinctively speedy, but all round reliable. For a phone at this price range, this kind of performance is expected.

Camera – Better…..or not?

With a 23 MP back and a 8 MP front camera, the phone captures some pretty good, clear shots. Sony has been known for its powerful sensors – and the speed of the shutter button has improved slightly – much faster than previous iterations. Also a much needed improvement – the phone is less prone to overheating when the camera app is on – a common issue found in its predecessors, flagship or not. The one thing that is a bit baffling, is the colour. Photos  captured on this phone has a slightly flat/dull colour, compared to other Sony phones I’ve tested that captures much more vibrant colours.

Build – Blocky

In terms of design I do appreciate some of the attention to details Sony has put in – like having dual SIM and SD card slots separately, as well as a solid back for the SIM tray, making it less fiddly when putting in the tiny micro SIM cards. However, the design of the phone is still the same blocky case, which works in a smaller form factor. In this case, it’s got a 5.5-inch display that still sports a sizeable bezel; making the phone rather chunky to carry around.

Verdict

Slightly disappointing performance, but at this price, it compares well with other phones in the same bracket.

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