SpecEagle
SpecEagle review · Sony

Xperia XA review: An edge-to-edge 2016 mid-ranger with near-borderless sides.

SpecEagle Editorial·Jun 2016·$280
Overall
50/100
Class rank
#2 of 3
Tier
Mid-range
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

Sony's borderless mid-range preview.

Xperia XA hinted at the bezel-less future with near-borderless display sides in 2016. The Helio P10 and missing fingerprint reader were the costs of the price, but the design forecast where phones were going.

01Display

56/100

56/100 trails the 61-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2016.

TypeIPS LCD, 60 Hz, near-borderless
Size5.0 inches
Resolution1,280 × 720 px (HD)

02Camera

56/100

56/100 trails the 60-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2016.

Main13 MP, f/2.0
Selfie8 MP

03Performance

48/100

48/100 trails the 53-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2016.

ChipsetMediaTek Helio P10 (28 nm)
RAM2 GB
Storage16 GB · microSD

04Battery

56/100

56/100 trails the 58-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2016.

Capacity2,300 mAh
Wired5 W

05Build

64/100

64/100 trails the 68-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2016.

06Value

54/100

54/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2016.

What works
  • Near-borderless sides ahead of the bezel-less trend.
  • Clean compact design.
  • microSD + jack.
  • Decent 13 MP shooter.
What doesn't
  • Helio P10 underpowered.
  • No fingerprint sensor.
  • Small battery.
  • HD display.

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 3-phone cohort of mid-range devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .