Sony Xperia 10 IV review: Wildly imbalanced

The Xperia 10 IV is the most recent mid-ranger from Sony, however as with so many different Xperia telephones, there are query marks over whether or not it will probably reside as much as its price ticket. The sunshine and slim body present sufficient room for a deceptively giant battery, and UI options equivalent to aspect sense make for easy multitasking. Nonetheless, laggy cameras and staticky audio system do make for some tough edges. Is the Sony Xperia 10 IV the appropriate telephone for you? Discover out in Android Authority’s Sony Xperia 10 IV assessment.

• Sony Xperia 10 IV (6GB/128GB): £429 / €499 (~$515)

The Xperia 10 IV is the most recent mid-ranger from Sony, making minor enhancements to the Xperia 10 III and coming in nicely beneath the flagship Xperia 1 IV within the 2022 Xperia household. As with its predecessor, this telephone is presently solely accessible within the UK and Europe, with no phrase on a possible launch date in North America. The primary variations between the third and fourth Xperia 10 telephones are that the latter has a much bigger battery (5,000mAh in comparison with 4,500mAh) and an upgraded chipset, shifting from the Snapdragon 690 to the Snapdragon 695.

Moreover, the Xperia 10 IV has some up to date safety. The acquainted and slim 21:9 show is now lined by the stronger Gorilla Glass Victus somewhat than Gorilla Glass 6, serving to to additional “scratch-proof” the display screen. Nonetheless, the scrolling expertise continues to be on the sluggish finish, with a refresh price locked to 60Hz. Most rivals on this vary provide increased refresh charges, such because the Moto G 5G and Nothing Cellphone 1 at 90Hz or the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and Poco F4, which each have 120Hz shows.

The bottom of the Xperia 10 IV options the identical trio of cameras discovered on the Xperia 10 III: a 12MP major sensor, 8MP telephoto, and an 8MP ultrawide lens. Nonetheless, there may be one disappointing downgrade with video recording maxing out at 1080p in comparison with 4K on the earlier technology.

Sony has promised three years of safety updates and two years of Android software program updates, with the telephone ultimately getting Android 13 at an unconfirmed date. These commitments are modest for a funds telephone. Whereas not as plentiful as large names like Samsung or Google, they’re consistent with the variety of updates you’d count on from OnePlus or Motorola and surpass these supplied by the likes of Poco or Redmi.

There’s just one configuration of the Xperia 10 IV, however there may be house for a microSDXC card to develop the storage, shared with the SIM slot. It additionally carries a headphone jack — more and more a rarity on any fashionable smartphone. You’ve got your selection of 4 colours for the Xperia 10 IV: Black, White, Mint, and Lavender.

As a part of Sony’s push in the direction of sustainability, there isn’t a plastic packaging, and it doesn’t include a charger or USB cable. But, a variety of folded paper takes up the house contained in the field, making us surprise why Sony didn’t downsize the packaging to suit the telephone.

Probably the most spectacular facet of the Sony Xperia 10 IV is the killer combo of a giant battery in a compact and light-weight body. I may use the telephone for practically two full days of gentle use with occasional internet looking and messaging with out ever charging, because of the long-lasting 5,000mAh battery.

Benchmark outcomes aren’t nice for a 2022 mid-ranger, however we’ve seen comparable outcomes from different Snapdragon 695 telephones just like the Nord N20 and Moto G Stylus 5G — two telephones that also carry out simply high-quality in each day use. Whereas you will get way more highly effective telephones on this value tier — notably the Google Pixel 6a or Apple iPhone SE — in case you aren’t placing the telephone via intensive pressure, the day-to-day efficiency isn’t a deal breaker.

The tall 21:9 OLED show display screen makes for nice viewing. The colours out of the field are barely oversaturated, nevertheless, you’ll be able to tweak the colours within the settings to your preferences, which is a plus. Streamed content material appears crisp, and wide-screen video will fill out the body. Gaming, however, doesn’t all the time impress. Demanding video games like Genshin Influence are playable however don’t count on tremendous clean body charges. It’ll additionally battle to maintain heavy and can run sizzling throughout the hour.

Not everybody will likely be a fan of the slim six-inch display screen, however I discovered it very simple to deal with and entry any apps with one hand. The telephone is so slim that it may slide proper into my pocket beside my each day driver, a cumbersome Galaxy S21 Extremely, and it’s light-weight sufficient that you just’ll hardly even really feel it beside your thigh.

The brand new Xperia telephones have a stock-like Android 12 interface. Primary Android options equivalent to Multi-window change and Pop-up window are a bit extra pleasing to make use of on this tall show. Multi-window enables you to cut up your display screen between any two apps, so you’ll be able to enter data out of your notes into one other app with out switching forwards and backwards, for example. Pop-up will overlay a small window over any app, so you would watch a video whereas studying this text, for instance. Each of those actually profit from the extra vertical actual property.

There may be glorious audio assist, particularly whereas utilizing Sony’s 360 Actuality Audio with appropriate headphones. The headphone jack is a pleasant contact, however in case you’re going wi-fi, there’s LDAC for high-resolution audio over Bluetooth connections at as much as 990 kbps at 32 bit/96 kHz and DSEE Final to upscale extra hi-quality to your compressed music.

With regards to safety, you get some really high-end specs in a mid-range handset. The entrance show is shielded by Gorilla Glass Victus, which we sometimes solely see in flagship telephones. As an illustration, the brand new Pixel 6a solely had Gorilla Glass 3, and essentially the most you’ll be able to usually count on at this value is Gorilla Glass 5. Mixed with the plastic again, this can be a fairly sturdy cushion for hitting the ground.

Moreover, the Sony Xperia 10 IV has spectacular water and dirt resistance, spec’d to satisfy IP68 requirements. Meaning you’ll be able to submerge the telephone underwater at a depth of as much as 1.5m for as much as half-hour. Once more, this can be a minimize above the competitors that’s sometimes rated for IP67 or decrease.

Whereas the sound high quality via headphones or earbuds with the Xperia 10 IV is excellent, the exterior speaker is fairly poor. There aren’t any stereo audio system, only a single bottom-firing loudspeaker which is just too quiet at low to mid volumes and sounds very scratchy at max quantity. This makes making an attempt to point out a video to a number of individuals practically inaudible.

One of many extra contentious specs is the 60Hz refresh price, which feels outdated and sluggish. The display screen judders are most noticeable when scrolling via internet pages or app feeds. Many fashionable mid-tier smartphones now have 90Hz and 120Hz shows, and it’s disappointing that Sony hasn’t upped its recreation right here. Whereas it might have been a trade-off for the battery life’s longevity, having the choice would’ve been good.

The telephone helps USB Energy Supply charging as much as 20W, however you’re round a 2.5-hour cost time from zero to 100%, even with a completely appropriate adapter. That’s extraordinarily sluggish in comparison with the competitors. The Galaxy A53 5G has the identical battery measurement but solely takes 85 minutes for a full cost, and the iPhone SE refills in about an hour with the advantage of supporting wi-fi charging.

I additionally discovered the aspect fingerprint scanner fairly unreliable — a shock for an Xperia telephone, as they normally get these proper. Actually, it solely truly labored to unlock my telephone a couple of times, even after rescanning my fingerprint. When it reads it incorrect, or in case you by accident contact completely different components of your fingers, the telephone will lock you out for 30 seconds, which might get irritating. I discovered it greatest to disable the characteristic and use a pin code as a substitute. Talking of fingerprints, the downgrade from a glass end to plastic means the bottom of your telephone will inevitably get smudged with fingerprint grease.

The Sony Xperia 10 IV has three rear cameras — the identical because the Xperia 10 III — besides that the first sensor now has OIS picture stabilization. On first impression, the Xperia 10 IV noticeably lags earlier than and after snapping a shot. The lag is even worse when utilizing the pinch-to-zoom characteristic, because the lenses take a second or two earlier than catching up along with your fingers, which could be annoying when making an attempt to gauge the appropriate distance. That is one space the place the comparatively low-power Snapdragon 695 chipset exhibits its weaknesses.

The first 12MP digital camera is somewhat inconsistent. Most notably, colours are extra saturated right here than in different lenses, and objects of various sizes and distances change into blurred. Through the day, there was at occasions an excessive amount of publicity, making the sky seem white as a substitute of blue. It didn’t assist that the preview picture in Sony’s Digicam app wasn’t very clear and solely worsened below vivid daylight. White stability was additionally hit or miss, struggling particularly in low-light situations.

Having a devoted telephoto digital camera is extraordinarily uncommon at this value. Regardless of its humble {hardware}, the 2x optical zoom is surprisingly dependable in numerous environments. This was my most popular digital camera on the Xperia 10 IV, delivering sharper particulars and warmer-looking colours than the first. The dynamic vary and publicity are much better than comparable funds digital camera telephones with solely digital zoom.

The 8MP ultrawide digital camera was additionally extra strong than the first, exhibiting pretty well-balanced highlights and shadows with out overblowing the colours. It could possibly get a little bit delicate and warped across the edges, however the efficiency isn’t dangerous. The Auto HDR characteristic additionally appeared extra correct on the ultrawide than the primary one, which is the other of what we’d count on.

The Sony Xperia 10 IV’s night time photos are respectable as long as you might be close to some synthetic gentle. For instance, it will probably raise shadows round neon indicators making them legible at night time, however taking pictures in pitch black darkness would make the first focus indecisive, robotically switching between completely different focal lengths. The ultrawide would produce an excessive amount of noise with a extra noticeable softening impact. Out of the three, the telephoto lens carried out one of the best with night time mode, lifting shadows and bringing out sharper particulars.

You’ll haven’t any bother taking selfies appropriate for social media utilizing the entrance 8MP digital camera, though the beautifying results of the portrait filter could be overkill. I didn’t discover a lot distinction utilizing the slender face or eye enlargement choices, however the delicate pores and skin filter made my facial hair too blurry. The extremes of the pores and skin brightness results ranged from making me look ghostly pale to an virtually sickly inexperienced, however maybe these choices aren’t meant for me.

Sony additionally sacrificed the flexibility to report 4K video. The rear digital camera now tops out at 1080p at a measly 30fps, which might be disappointing even for telephones that sit nicely beneath the Xperia 10 IV’s asking value. Maybe to cowl up the downgrade is the “Inventive” mode, which exhibits you samples of varied filters utilized over no matter you’re pointing your digital camera at, permitting you to experiment with completely different appears earlier than hitting report.

Whereas the Xperia 10 IV is an honest telephone for on a regular basis utilization, Sony is finally charging an excessive amount of for what it gives when contemplating the general worth. The battery life is excellent and packed into a light-weight, easy-to-use telephone. However for the value of £429 within the UK (simply over $500), it lacks in some essential areas, and it often feels prefer it’s behind the occasions in important respects.

The bizarre factor in regards to the Xperia 10 IV is how wildly imbalanced it’s. It has some sudden flagship specs, equivalent to Gorilla Glass Victus, a telephoto digital camera with 2x optical zoom, an IP68 ranking, and a headphone jack, lots of which you simply don’t discover at this value. However the efficiency is mediocre and the first digital camera — the one which usually will get essentially the most utilization — is fairly poor. The audio system aren’t nice, the charging is painfully sluggish, and the display screen is just 60Hz. Finally, this telephone feels lopsided and doesn’t add up to a whole bundle.

Maybe the Xperia 10 IV has sufficient going for it to attraction to wired audio purists or those that desire a slim, reasonably priced, light-weight telephone. However suppose Sony had given this telephone a little bit additional love and polish. In that case, it may have been well-rounded sufficient to cope with the heavy hitters, such because the Google Pixel 6a (£399), Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (£399), or the Nothing Cellphone 1 (£399), all of which have the higher hand concerning digital camera picture high quality and efficiency, to not point out barely cheaper value tags.