Sony Xperia 10 IV review

Android 12, Xperia style

The Xperia 10 IV boots Android 12, same as the 1 IV we just reviewed. As usual, it has a very stock look and feel, though you'll be able to see a few bits of software Sony's added on top, if you look a little deeper.

Starting with the basics, we find out that some of them are actually missing - like Ambient display (Google's name for an always on display feature) - somewhat odd, given that the Xperia 1 IV does have it. The lockscreen brings no surprises and features a clock (that you can customize), a shortcut to the camera and another one for Google Assistant.

The homescreen, too, is as standard as they come. The Google feed is the leftmost pane, but you can disable it if it's not your thing. The quick toggles/notification area is Google's stock, too, the latest one with oversized buttons. Similarly, the Android 12 improved widget handling interface makes an appearance on the Xperia.

Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notification shade • Widgets

One of the Sony exclusives, which deserves mention even though it's not new, is Multi-window switch. You can access it from the task switcher or from the dedicated Multi-window manager shortcut icon on the homescreen (which technically sums up Side sense, it's all a bit intertwined). You get sort of like two stacked task switcher rolodexes with your currently opened apps to pick one for the top half and one for the bottom half of the screen. The rightmost pane in each half lets you launch another app, not just pick from the already running ones.

The phone remembers three previously used pairs, so you can access them directly, though we couldn't find a way to save custom app pair presets. It's worth mentioning that the window split can be done in almost any arbitrary ratio, not just 50/50.

Task switcher • Multi-window switcher

Side sense is another of the in-house Sony features. A handle on the side of the phone opens up a menu of shortcuts to apps and features, most of them user-configurable. The 21:9 multi-window pairs can be customized here, but they don't go into the three pair shortcuts in the regular task switcher. A recent addition to the menu is a widget to control the Sony headphones app - handy if you have a set of those.

Side sense

There's a fairly standard set of gestures for call handling, as well as a one-handed mode and smart backlight control. It's in this menu that you'll find the navigation options with the two basic types available - gestures or a navbar.

Gesture settings

Similarly to previous generations, the Game Enhancer utility is missing on the Xperia 10 IV. Sony's Music player is on board, though, while Google's Photos and Files are used for gallery and file management purposes.

Synthetic benchmarks

The Xperia 10 IV is powered by the Snapdragon 695 chipset, a mid-tier chipset with 5G capability. Compared to the SD690 of last year's Xperia 10 III, the new chip should offer better power efficiency thanks to the improved production process (6nm vs. 8nm). Additionally, while the CPU remains unchanged in principle (2xCortex-A77 + 6xCortex-A55 cores with some Kryo branding on top), the powerful cores can reach as high as 2.2GHz (2.0GHz on the old one).

The thing is, the Xperia 10 III was underpowered next to its competitors at the time, and with an essentially unchanged performance potential, the 10 IV isn't going to look any better against its rivals today.

There's also the matter that the new chip does not support 4K video recording. Perhaps it would have been wise for Sony to fit a more powerful SoC, but there's little point in debating that after the fact.

In GeekBench, the Xperia 10 IV is marginally ahead of its predecessor in both single-core and multi-core tests - an expected result. The Galaxy A52s is comfortably ahead of the 10 IV in single-core and is vastly more powerful under multi-threaded loads, while the newer A53 is roughly on par with the Xperia in multi-core and slightly ahead in single-core. The Motorola Edge 20 (standing in for the Edge 30, which should possibly come with the same chipset) and the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE, both equipped with the SD778 like the Galaxy A52s, show that a lot more oomph can be had for the Xperia's price.

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 11i
  1114
• Realme 9 Pro+
  814
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  787
• Realme GT Master
  785
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  771
• Motorola Edge 20
  762
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  743
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  736
• Realme 9 Pro
  694
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  687
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  676
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  666
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  662
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  592

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 11i
  3641
• Realme GT Master
  2917
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  2832
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2801
• Motorola Edge 20
  2550
• Realme 9 Pro+
  2335
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  2225
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  2063
• Realme 9 Pro
  2020
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  1945
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  1908
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  1906
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  1891
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  1738

That impression gets reinforced in Antutu, where SD778 models record 30-ish percent higher scores than the Xperia 10 IV.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 11i
  779481
• Realme GT Master
  529263
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  527663
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  506432
• Motorola Edge 20
  488574
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  437872
• Realme 9 Pro+
  416031
• Realme 9 Pro
  401894
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  396008
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  387218
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  384646
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  380672
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  379313
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  345223

Graphics benchmarks further cement the Xperia's 'below average' performance with the SD778 crowd pushing 70-80% higher fps numbers in GFXBench. In 3DMark's Wild Life test, the Xperia only scores half the points of those better-equipped rivals.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  19
• Motorola Edge 20
  19
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  19
• Realme GT Master
  18
• Realme 9 Pro+
  17
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  15
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  12
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  12
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  11
• Realme 9 Pro
  11
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  11
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  7.9

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  13
• Motorola Edge 20
  13
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  13
• Realme GT Master
  13
• Realme 9 Pro+
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  7.8
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  7.8
• Realme 9 Pro
  7.8
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  7.8
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  7.8
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  5.7

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  20
• Motorola Edge 20
  20
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  20
• Realme GT Master
  19
• Realme 9 Pro+
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  15
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  12
• Realme 9 Pro
  12
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  12
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  12
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  11
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  7.3

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  14
• Motorola Edge 20
  14
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  14
• Realme GT Master
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• Realme 9 Pro+
  10
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  8.2
• Realme 9 Pro
  8.2
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  8.2
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  8.1
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  8.1
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  5.8

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 20
  29
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  28
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  28
• Realme GT Master
  27
• Realme 9 Pro+
  23
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  22
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  19
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  17
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  17
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  16
• Realme 9 Pro
  16
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  16
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  12

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  33
• Motorola Edge 20
  33
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  33
• Realme GT Master
  33
• Realme 9 Pro+
  27
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  25
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  23
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  21
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  20
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  20
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  20
• Realme 9 Pro
  19
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  14

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 20
  51
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  49
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  49
• Realme GT Master
  46
• Realme 9 Pro+
  41
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  38
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  35
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  30
• Realme 9 Pro
  29
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  29
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  29
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  28
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  21

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 20
  57
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  56
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  56
• Realme GT Master
  56
• Realme 9 Pro+
  45
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  43
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  38
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  35
• Realme 9 Pro
  35
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  35
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  35
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  34
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  26

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 20
  2494
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2491
• Realme GT Master
  2481
• Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
  2477
• Realme 9 Pro+
  2296
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  2292
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  2014
• Sony Xperia 10 IV
  1213
• Poco X4 Pro 5G
  1211
• Realme 9 Pro
  1211
• Honor Magic4 Lite
  1211
• OnePlus Nord N20 5G
  1205
• Sony Xperia 10 III
  825

For what it's worth, the Xperia's less than stellar performance output is essentially rock solid, though. 20 consecutive runs of that same Wild Life benchmark ended with virtually the same results, and in the CPU throttling test, the phone posted very good numbers, too.

CPU Throttling test • 3DMark Wild Life stress test