Sony Xperia 10 VI review

Design, build quality, handling

Sony decided not to change the Xperia 10 VI's design drastically. You still get the same general silhouette - an unusually tall and skinny phone.

Most of the device is still made from plastic. That includes the middle frame and the back side. Sony isn't particularly shy about its choice of materials either and isn't trying to pass off the plastic as anything else through clever finishes. Instead, you get a matte surface on the frame and slightly translucent plastic on the back with a soft touch.

We have nothing against plastic as a building material in general. It is strong and fairly resilient. It doesn't dent or scratch quite like metal and doesn't shatter like glass. Plus, it is lightweight.

One of the defining aspects of the Xperia 10 VI is its lightweight design, tipping the scale at just 164 grams - just a few grams more than last year's model, which was "the lightest 5G phone with 5000mAh battery".

The Xperia 10 VI has a rather tame and even mundane color selection, including Black, White and Blue variants. On the plus side, it blends in perfectly in every setting.

While we have to admit that the extra-tall aspect ratio of the Xperia 10 VI is a bit hard to get used to, at least the phone has a good and confident in-hand feel. It is sort of like holding a remote control so it feels quite compact because of its girth. Still, reaching the top of the display is only possible with readjusting your grip.

On a more positive note, Sony did a great job positioning the volume rocker and power button on the right-hand side of the phone. Both are easy to reach height-wise and offer nice tactile feedback.

The power button doubles as a fingerprint scanner, which we admit is kind of "retro". It also means that the button itself is flat and recessed, making it a bit harder to feel out.

The fingerprint reading part works great though. It is both speedy and accurate, which we expect from a conventional capacitive reader.

Another kind of retro bit on the Xperia 10 VI, but one that will surely receive much wider appreciation, is the inclusion of a 3.5mm audio jack on the top of the phone. It is about the only opening on the bezels beside the Type-C port and two microphone holes. This is because the Xperia 10 VI has front-facing stereo speakers, which we will get to in the speaker section.

Speaking of the front-facing speakers, these take up a substantial amount of space and are probably part of the reason for the extra thick top and bottom display bezels on the Xperia 10 VI. Sony decided to leave enough space in the top bezel for a speaker and the selfie camera, which does not interrupt the display and the light and proximity sensors. We have to say that the size of the bezels also looks a bit "retro".

We have already mentioned that most of the phone's exterior is made of plastic. As per Sony, over 50% of all the plastic parts inside the Xperia 10 VI are made of recycled or environmentally friendly materials. That includes the external parts like the frame and the rear as well.

The phone feels very sturdy and well-made, with practically no flex, which is surprising given its extra-tall shape. The surface plastic is also fairly easy to keep clean. While it does smudge, said smudges don't really show too badly.

Xperia 10 VI

In keeping with tradition, the Xperia 10 VI is advertised as having IP65/68 ingress protection, which is Sony's odd way of saying that it covers both standards. The front of the phone is also covered with a sleet of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.