Sony Xperia XA2 Plus review

14 September 2018
The Sony Xperia XA2 Plus is seemingly a successor to the XA2 Ultra, bringing about a few subtle but important changes. In fact, the Xperia XA2 Plus might have been called an Ultra had it been released half a year ago. But today, it's merely a Plus in the XA2 lineup - a testament to the change in perception consumers are undergoing.

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  • Tonberry
  • 0Ep
  • 17 Sep 2018

michaemia, 17 Sep 2018I do not mind the 3.5 mm jack being removed. Instead lets e... moreI'm all for technological advances, but for now there are two alternatives to a jack:

1. USB to jack adapter

2 Wireless headphones

Neither of them is actually better than a jack. An adapter is an annoyance, since you need to remember to bring it with you, and it doesn't give any advantages when compared to a jack. Wireless headphones have some advantages (lack of cables), but also require charging, and the sound quality isn't as good as when using a jack, since the sound data has to be compressed.

    xXENDER FREAKXx, 17 Sep 2018If you're thinking Sony fanboys as a whole, you're wrong, b... moreI do not mind the 3.5 mm jack being removed. Instead lets embrace technological advancement just like when we gave up on the floppy disks for CDs then for flash disks!

      Mike, 17 Sep 2018Well all you have to do is go to Pocophone review and see i... moreHey Mike, the differences you mentioned are very minute differences viz battery life and the rest. The differences that DO make a huge difference is the processor and GPU where Poco F1 is VASTLY different. Try playing Pugb with max graphics on the Sony and see the beautiful slideshow.

      The Sony screen is also badly calibrated while the Poco has better calibration that many flagships.

      I actually use the Poco F1 and its a fantastic phone. The only real negative is that I wish the screen was a OLED screen as the color shifts if the viewing angle is not straight on. However aside from that it is fantastic in everything else. I have started playing games I couldn't play on my earlier Samsung since my old Samsung had a crap processor.

      The Sony's choice of processor for this price range makes it the weakest one in the price segment even if we ignore the Poco F1.

      This phone is meant for hardcore Sony fans. A lot of sensible people will never buy this phone and my feeling is that Sony will have to get out of the market soon since they seem to be pricing their phones too high.

      I have tried both Samsung and Xaiomi service. Both are quite similar. The difference was the Xiaomi phone I had was well featured and it ran reasonably smooth even after 2 years of using it. My Samsung is very well built but it became very slow after a few years. This Sony will suffer the same fate as they are using a very basic processor but they are charging a huge premium.

        • S
        • Shab
        • 6Ps
        • 17 Sep 2018

        I always love Sony designs and built quality

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • aXW
          • 17 Sep 2018

          I don't get how so many people like the massively tall screens, everything is two handed nowadays. What about the icons right at the top of the screen?

            Anonymous, 17 Sep 2018When did lack of 3.5mm jack become an issue to sony fanboys... moreIf you're thinking Sony fanboys as a whole, you're wrong, but if you're referring to many of them, I agree. I've never liked the idea of removing the 3.5mm headphone jack. If technology is advancing, instead of removing the essentials, why not try and fix their own internal management? That's one part I'm very curious to know to brands who removed the essentials...

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • j5y
              • 17 Sep 2018

              Mike, 17 Sep 2018Well all you have to do is go to Pocophone review and see i... moreLess battery? LOL, 98 hours vs 94 is an eye wash, Besides poco is better than this one in 2/3 tests by gsma themselves
              Take the Pocophone F1 by Xiaomi for example. It is better at everything - screen, performance, camera, battery. I'd prefer to trust them on this one...
              Contrast ratio, yeah, so you can see difference between 1468:1 and 1521:1, nice. That too on poco's more accurate display to boot?
              Besides this even if numbers are slightly lower, there is difference of complete tiers in performance, which makes me wonder why is this one so expensive in first place

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                • Tonberry
                • 0Ep
                • 17 Sep 2018

                The phone looks very nice, but the price is much too high, you can buy significantly cheaper phones with much better specs.

                Another disadvantage, in my opinion, is the narrow screen. The XA2 Ultra had a wider 6-inch screen, and so it had more screen space than typical contemporary 6-inch screens (99.2 cm2, while the new XA2 Plus has 92.9 cm2).

                  • M
                  • Mike
                  • LHe
                  • 17 Sep 2018

                  BrendonF, 17 Sep 2018Really ? :P "It is better at everything - screen, perfor... moreWell all you have to do is go to Pocophone review and see it yourself that GSMA got less battery life than XA2+, screen has lower contrast and significantly lower white brightness, look at the camera samples yourself across the internet and then look at the video that comes out of Pocophone and compare it to GSMA samples of XA2+. Then go into the wild and hold both Pocophone and XA2+ in your hand to experience the quality in structure and the design itself.

                  There is absolutely no point of arguing Chinese component plug and play cheap phones vs Premium brand manufacturers cause Chinese would not exist without Premium manufacturers R&D in everything from the design to technology development. I'm not bashing Huawei and Xiaomi here cause they have R&D department when it comes to their own flagships but low end spectrum as well as mid range is carbon OEM mass production that sustains on Premium Brands releasing their own devices first and then OEMs follow the route. Then there is customer service and marketing. Do you really think Xiaomi will oblige customer service to their Pocophone customers? No, you will have to deal with distributors just like with every other Xiaomi phone. And so on.

                  Then there is a huge difference in component's quality and well as component integration to produce the result. And then there is the software part to hold it all together. Just because phones have the same CPU doesn't mean their real life performance is guaranteed to be the same. Same goes for the camera, just because someone has slapped OIS on their camera it doesn't guarantee it will take good pictures.

                  But one of the biggest factors in price difference is pricing strategy. Chinese like Pocophone and OnePlus go to the lowest price possible at the launch while Premium brands go for the highest to try to recoup the R&D/Marketing costs right away and then slowly the price comes down. That's why you will never see OnePlus discount their 6 device at all while Samsung and Sony got their flagships down to $80 difference to OnePlus 6 after half a year or so.

                  So are S9/XZ2 better than OnePlus 6? Yes.
                  Are they worth 1.5 of asking price of OnePlus 6? No
                  Are S9/XZ2 better buy than OnePlus 6 now that there is only $80 difference? Hell yeah!

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                    • guv94
                    • d%c
                    • 17 Sep 2018

                    gejmate, 17 Sep 2018SONY never learns. With those sharp corners and edges, it's... moreStop moaning about previous huge-bezel flagships. Does this model have "huge bezels"? Stop attacking it by using the shortcomings of previous phones...

                      Anonymous, 17 Sep 2018The Pocophone is better at everything? NO WAY. The Pocophon... moreReally ? :P

                      "It is better at everything - screen, performance, camera, battery. The device is currently available in India, but Xiaomi will be expanding its availability very soon and the XA2 Plus stands no chance against it."

                      - GSMArena. Mobile review website with a rigorous testing methodolgy

                      "The Pocophone is better at everything? NO WAY. The Pocophone is mediocre at everything except for the price point and the performance."

                      - Random anonymous troll too ashamed to even reveal his name

                      Who to believe ??? Tough decision. :)

                        This is by far one the one beautiful phone. For the difference of boring Chinese phones this line is really refreshing. Prise is no high and design and spec are great for that price. Not to mention it is about SONY!

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                          • AnonD-632062
                          • nC6
                          • 17 Sep 2018

                          Great battery endurance. Good camera. Rare super-wide selfie camera. And a 3.5 mm jack intact too. Nice.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • 0%R
                            • 17 Sep 2018

                            The Pocophone is better at everything? NO WAY. The Pocophone is mediocre at everything except for the price point and the performance.

                              • g
                              • gejmate
                              • GXm
                              • 17 Sep 2018

                              SONY never learns. With those sharp corners and edges, it's hard to hold those devices. I tried holding a Z flagship in my hand, it was a nightmare and it felt so big with those huge bezels. I'm amazed how those guys don't see that as an issue.

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                                • Shui8
                                • KZ8
                                • 17 Sep 2018

                                Anonymous, 17 Sep 2018after a year speed will be same, price wont lie, after 2yea... moreTheres no doubt about the goodness of near stock rom of a Sony phone along with their own features. And theres nothing wrong as well XA2 Plus mid range performance, the wrong side is pricing.

                                And i own many flagship Xperia before so i know what i'm talking about. Back in the days lots of customized rom & tweaks i've been done. Better battery? My old Xperia Z1 battery only survive about 2 years only and then when dead. But i think that improves after they implement Qnovo tech.

                                Happy after 2 years using XA2 plus instead other better specced phone? Believe me u wont be. In fact u'll be regrets because of not buying the 2 phones i mentioned earlier, after 2 years, apps & games will be more hungry for performance, battery sucking & memory eater. The flagship performance of Poco F1 & Honor Play are more future proofing for the same price.
                                Besides, their rom is more mature nowadays compare to their old roms. I switch to Huawei now with no regrets and believe me, EMUI is rocks.

                                But i know how the enthuasism feeling of owning Sony phones, in fact if i use Sony phone for the rest of my life without trusting other brands, i'll end up becoming a blind fanboi no doubt. Glad that i made the move to experience new things.

                                And thats the thing, where most of Sony fans praise their own brands & bashing others, i'm not, both are respectable brands, it just that Sony lose in terms of pricing & the bad sales all over the world proves it.

                                The truth hurts, but i experience using both Sony & Huawei brands, and i know what i'm talking about. Still a Sony fan, but not a blind one.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 6p$
                                  • 17 Sep 2018

                                  Anonymous, 16 Sep 2018This would be a great upgrade to my XA1 Ultra, however Sony... moreThis is typical sony. All sony upgrades include old bug fixes plus new bugs.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 6p$
                                    • 17 Sep 2018

                                    Anonymous, 17 Sep 2018"Xiaomi Mi A2 is one very tempting Android One handset avai... moreWhen did lack of 3.5mm jack become an issue to sony fanboys? Many sony fans said 3.5mm jack is not needed anymore since sony launched XZ2.

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                                      • Anonymous
                                      • 6p$
                                      • 17 Sep 2018

                                      Anonymous, 17 Sep 2018after a year speed will be same, price wont lie, after 2yea... moreChinese phones can last many years while I see many sony midrange phones have dead pixel issues as early as 6 months. Sony certainly cut corners to increase profit because their phones do not sell well.

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                                        • Anonymous
                                        • PA7
                                        • 17 Sep 2018

                                        Shui8, 17 Sep 2018On the same price bracket, theres no other choice than Poco... moreafter a year speed will be same, price wont lie, after 2years sony just drop a bit while chinese phone hard to survive a year.
                                        Even samsung battery life far behind sony and motorola which made for thise appreciate the art of engineering

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