Sony Xperia XA2, analysis with features and price

There are many alternatives if we are looking for a high-end mobile. Many manufacturers, prices and different highlights. Japan's Sony has its own mid-range fleet, with mobiles such as the Xperia L1, Xperia XA2 Ultra or even the latest Sony Xperia XA2, a mobile with a continuous but elegant design, a 5.2-inch screen, a 24-megapixel camera and a great battery. We have been able to test this device for a while, and then we tell you our experience and the highlights

Design, the Sony line with some other detail

The Sony Xperia XA2 continues with the Sony design line, that distinctive aesthetic section that the brand provides. The Xperia XA2 is built in anodized aluminum, its back is made of this same material, with a slightly brushed finish and a slight curve to better grip the terminal. On the back we see a large 21 megapixel camera, accompanied by an LED flash and a fingerprint reader with a rounded shape. Of course, you can't miss the Sony logo. Nor, the NFC, that chip so necessary for mobile payments. The design of the rear is very striking, but more so is the front. A front without frames on the sides, but on the top and bottom (and quite pronounced). The front is also slightly curved on all its edges. The screen doesn't do it, so we don't get that effect from Galaxy phones. The front glass does it, providing a 'Wow' effect especially when it is on top of a surface.The curve around the edge makes it very beautiful and elegant.

On the front we find few news. The bottom frame is empty, since the navigation bar is on the screen. In the upper area, a speaker, Sony logo, sensors and front camera. We do not leave the design section without mentioning the sides. They are also made of polycarbonate, but they have small metallic lines that give the terminal an aesthetic plus. the sides measure 9.7 millimeters . In the upper area we find nothing, while in the lower part is the main speaker, USB C connector and microphone for calls. In the right area, power button and volume. In addition to a button dedicated to the camera. On the other hand, in the left area we find the tray for the SIM cards.

The Sony Xperia XA2 is a nice and elegant terminal . We can also say that it is a mobile with Premium finishes. Very, premium. You can see the quality of the materials and the finishes of the front or the edges of the frames. The terminal is also very ergonomic, fits perfectly in the hand, is easy to handle and fits in your pocket. In addition, it provides a feeling of resistant that makes you wear it safely. But not everything is good in the design, the frames at the top and bottom still seem wide, especially when the 18: 9 format and minimal on-screen frames reign. Even so, we are left with the feel in hand and the extra details in the design.

Sony Xperia XA2, specifications

A screen with excellent quality and brightness

The Sony Xperia XA2 mounts a 5.2-inch panel with Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels), leaving a total of 424 pixels per inch and brightness of up to 500 nits. The front panel is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. In addition, as usual in Japanese devices, it incorporates triluminos technology, which provides more vivid colors.

The panel achieves very good results, the colors are natural and sharp. Very pure whites and slightly graying blacks (courtesy of the IPS panel). The viewing angles are excellent. Although at times, the slightly curved glass reflects off the screen. On the other hand, the brightness indoors and in low light conditions is very good. In scenes with direct light or sun we also obtain a good level of brightness . The tactile sensitivity is very good, the thickness of the glass allows us to glide across the screen comfortably, without ghost touches or prolonged presses.

The screen of this Sony Xperia XA2 is perfect for viewing multimedia content, its high resolution allows us to watch movies or series with great quality, the frequency is very good and it manages to highlight the dark areas. It is certainly a very good screen.

In addition, Sony wanted to add various settings via the Panel Software . First of all, we can choose the color range and contrast. They are two modes available that are disabled by default. Standard mode slightly improves the quality of images and videos. Finally, the Super Vivid mode, which increases the tonality of the colors to the maximum. Another of the settings is based on the white balance of the screen, being able to choose custom tones, such as, for example, more bluish, yellowish, reddish colors etc.

Lastly, the smart backlight. This mode makes the screen stay on while we hold the mobile in our hand , when we leave it on a flat surface, the screen will turn off. It works through the proximity sensor, but it's not really a very accurate mode.

There is no doubt that the screen is one of the best features of this terminal. Although its panel is not large, the resolution and pixel density, as well as the brightness of 500 nits is perfect for most circumstances . A screen with which to enjoy multimedia content, movies, series or images.

Performance and autonomy

PUBG on the Sony Xperia XA2 works fine with medium quality, but we do see some lag at times.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 , the most mid-range of the Qualcomm family for this Sony Xperia XA2. It is accompanied by 3 GB of RAM. The processor is eight cores, with a frequency of 2.2 Ghz. How does this mobile behave? In general, very, very good. The interface through the system is fluid, it opens basic applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram ... It also allows us to surf the Internet without problems, as well as play fairly basic games. The heaviest processes and games can also bear them, but sometimes we see the odd cut, or lag. Something normal for a mid-range processor. Of course, we believe that with a little more RAM memory it would have solved it well. Even so, the 3 GB is enough to quickly launch apps, transfer files or perform various processes.

In terms of autonomy, the Sony Xperia XA2 has a 3,300 mA h battery . The results with medium use are very good. We have been able to reach the end of the day without any problem, it even lasts until the early hours of the morning. With more intensive use, the terminal has not lasted until the next day, but it has lasted long enough to charge it late in the afternoon. Of course, the battery depends on the use you give the terminal and the different actions you do. Using social networks is not the same as playing video, the battery consumes faster with the latter option.

If you are one of those who consume a lot of battery, Sony has the popular 'Stamina' mode, a form of battery saving that works very, very well. This mode limits some actions of the device, as well as performance in general, making it move a little slower, but consuming much less autonomy. If the Stamina mode still falls short, the Ultra Stamina maximizes all these parameters and limits the interface to the most basic applications. According to Sony, this mode would provide a duration of up to 5 days and 7 hours.

Finally, we must mention that it has fast charging . Although the charger included in the box does not provide this technology. If you want your device to charge quickly, you will have to buy a separate charger. Fortunately, the charging technology is Quick Charge 3.0, and there are many manufacturers that sell Qualcomm-certified chargers, so you won't have to depend on a price like other manufacturers do.

In conclusion, the Sony Xperia XA2 performs perfectly in performance, without demanding what we would ask of a high-end. For all those users who want to browse, watch videos, social networks or play popular games, they will not have problems. On the other hand, if you are going to want to make the most of this device with powerful games, editing processes, etc., perhaps this device falls a bit short.

Camera: a lens with decent results

As it could not be otherwise, Sony has added its own 23 megapixel lens, with an aperture f / 2.3. It also has hybrid autofocus and 5x zoom. These are the results depending on the circumstances.

In situations of good luminosity the captured images are good, although after capturing the image we see that it loses detail in many situations , such as shadows or distant objects. On the other hand, the color of the images and tones is good, the focus is fast and the capture stabilizes correctly. As night falls we continue to see these problems, but we have to add the noise and lack of detail in the final photographs. Fortunately, the camera does not mess with the illuminated points, it recognizes them well and achieves good results.

Indoors with good lighting we continue with the lack of detail in some points of the image. For example, in the photograph of the dolls you can see the few details of the image and the noise. Indoors with low light, again, the same happens. We also add the noise. Fortunately, we once again see a good job in the detail of the lamps or bulbs.

Frontal camera

The front camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels. The most interesting thing is that it allows us to take wide-angle photos of up to 120 degrees. The front has two modes, the normal one, where you will take pictures with a more closed angle, and the 120 degree one, for panoramic or group selfies. In terms of resolution and quality, it is what we expected in a frontal, the detail is good and the final processing in most situations works correctly. Of course, when there is more light we get better pictures. The 120 degree mode also shoots at 8 megapixels, but it is certainly one of the best features that Sony could incorporate, the detail is very good, good colors and interpretation, but without a doubt the possibility of taking selfies in group or 'mode panoramic 'is the best thing about the front camera, and hopefully other devices implement it as well as Sony has done. By the way, we miss the beauty mode, which is not available on the front camera.

Camera and app modes

The camera of this Sony Xperia includes different applications that allow us to make the most of it. For example, we have the possibility to add different filters through the option 'Creative effect'. Sound foto allows us to take a photograph with audio. We also have the 4K mode for video , a panoramic mode and, finally, the most interesting. 'Timeshift Burst', which takes several photos to choose the best one. On the other hand, we must not forget the pro mode, where we can adjust different parameters, such as ISO, white balance, focal point etc.

As for the interface, it is simple and easy to use. We can handle the different modes by sliding from right to left. On the screen we will always see the capture button, flash, the option to rotate the camera and the application settings, where we can choose the resolution, color and other parameters.

Software, it's like I don't have anything

The latest version of Android is the protagonist in the Software of this Sony mobile. Specifically, Android 8.0.0 Oreo with a fairly light customization layer in terms of additions.

The interface is very similar to Android Pure, although it has Sony's distinctive touches. The applications are in a drawer that we access through the central button. In the drawer you will find all the downloaded apps, as well as a search bar and the ability to sort the apps and configure some settings. For example, activate the possibility that Sony recommends us apps to download, change the size or aspects of the icons, align them, etc. On the home screen we can also have the different applications and order them to our liking. In addition to adding Widgets.

To add them, we will have to make a pincer gesture and we will enter the settings of the home interface. We can configure the wallpaper, themes, the icon grid , the different transitions or the same settings as the application drawer. If we slide to the right on the home screen we will find Google Now, where we can see everything configured with our Google account, latest news and different news.

We do not forget the quick settings bar . In this case, Sony has not wanted to touch anything, and the design is very, very similar to that of Android Pure. There we find different settings that can be customized and edited. Being in version 8.0.0, it also has the ability to quickly access a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth device, without having to access the device settings.

Pre-installed apps and settings

Sony's customization layer hardly comes with pre-installed apps. Only some from the manufacturer itself. For example, the album or video app. Also the music and Xperia Lounge. This last app is a service where we can get exclusive themes, music, applications, games, streaming services, tutorial tips and different options.The Sony Xperia XA2 also has Facebook Installed. As well as two Amazon apps and an antivirus. These cannot be uninstalled from the device, but can be disabled so that they do not appear in the application drawer. We must also talk about the files application, where we can manage images or downloads in a simple way. What we miss is its own application to manage performance, autonomy consumption, background processes, etc.

What settings do we find in the Software? From the settings application itself there are different categories, where we will find actions and options that can be activated or deactivated. From the settings app we can also control different appearance options, as we can also do it by making the pincer gesture on the home screen. These are the different sections and configurations

• Applications and notifications: All app management informs us of the applications we have installed, the ones we have to start by default and from here we can manage the permissions. We can also find the notification settings, where we can adjust the notification led, where we want them to be shown etc.
• Battery : All autonomy management. Download time and the different Stamina modes.
• Display : Display settings such as color. Also the size of text and other elements.
• Sound: Sound settings such as volume in the different sections, ringtones, notification and alarm, the possibility of choosing between modes and vibrations and the option to activate the 'Do not disturb' mode.
• Storage : Manager where they inform us of the use of storage and which files are occupying it. It also allows us to release it and access detailed storage usage.
• Operations with one hand: This option allows us to interact with the fingers on the screen to perform different actions. For example, we can change the screen size to use it with one hand.
• Screen lock and security: We access the screen lock settings. As well as the different security options that Google offers us. For example, the ability to view the latest security update.
• User and accounts: Management of Google accounts and device users.
• Assistance : This section gives us tips and tricks to improve the experience of our device. It also allows us to activate some actions. For example, there is the 'good night' mode, which adjusts different parameters and configures the 'do not disturb' mode while we are sleeping. It also includes a game mode, which makes the most of the device's performance.
• Google: All Google settings and information.
• System: We found the possibility to adjust the other, make backup copies, see the status of the device, updates, system information, etc.
• Assistance : An addition by Sony that allows us to easily diagnose the device. For example, if the LED flash at the bottom is not working properly, we can check if it really fails. If the touch screen fails, we can check it using another option. Without a doubt, a very interesting option. Some devices such as Samsung mobiles do have this feature, but it is hidden.

Finally, we must mention the integration of Google Assistant on this device. We can ask him for basic commands and some more elaborate ones, such as asking him for the time, making him tell us a joke, singing, showing information or looking for images among other commands.

Price and conclusions

Sony has done a great job with its Xperia XA2. Is it a good alternative to other devices? We begin by talking about its price, which is approximately 330 euros . It competes directly with models like the Galaxy A8 from 2018 or Huawei P20 Lite. This Sony terminal has very positive points, but also some negative things, depending on the circumstances, and what feature you are looking for in a mobile, this can be your device.

The design of the Sony Xperia XA2 is one of the strengths of this terminal. A rounded back, with a fingerprint reader in a good location and a design that provides robustness and comfort in hand despite its square frames . The front is very striking, especially for that single-joint screen, which provides a curved screen sensation when the screen is off. Of course, on the front we have the negative point of the frames, which this time are quite narrow.

And speaking of the front, we cannot leave the screen. Possibly one of the best that we can find in the mid-range. The brightness is excellent, the rendering of the colors very, very good. And the tactile response has pleasantly surprised us . Also, that we can adjust the color range and white balance to our liking is a very good addition. The front camera is another aspect that we liked, not so much for its resolution, which is good. But for that wide angle that allows us to take panoramic photographs.

Of course, we expected a better result in the main camera. The photographs are not disastrous, far from it. Moreover, to publish them on social networks, share them with your friends and view them on larger screens, we will not have problems, but it is wrong in the final processing and the details are not as good as we would like. On the other hand, both the Software and the battery comply perfectly, being two functional characteristics and with many options.

Now it all depends on the specifications you are looking for in a terminal, there are cheaper options, but few are as complete as this Sony Xperia XA2.