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Sony Xperia X review: Remaking the Xperia

By Liu Hongzuo - 5 Jul 2016
Launch SRP: S$848

Sony Xperia X review: Battery Life, Conclusion

Battery Life

Our standard battery test for mobile phones includes the following parameters:

  • Looping a 800 x 480-pixel video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
  • Constant data streaming through email and Twitter

Sony Xperia X has a battery capacity of 2,620mAh. That’s lower than the LG G5’s 2,800mAh battery capacity, yet the Xperia X managed to pull 450 minutes of continuous playback within the same parameters. It’s not an awfully long duration, but it’s nice to see the Xperia X having decent portability. Unfortunately, the Xperia Z5 is better at power efficiency, on top of being on par with (or beating) the Xperia X at the benchmark scores section.

Qnovo Adaptive Charging technology allows the Xperia X's battery to extend its longevity. By moderating the amount of charge going into the cells, it prevents the battery from over-charging (which can potentially make the battery life shorter). The algorithm by Qnovo takes it a step further by slowing down the charge as it approaches 100% capacity, which makes the cell last twice the length of its expected lifespan. We can't however quantify the effect of this technology at this point of time as you'll need to use the phone for several months before one can compare the charging rate and battery life against a new phone and that against other products that are used for a similar period of time.

 

Conclusion

On its own, the Sony Xperia X is a smartphone that's comfortable on the hand, has a nice finish, easy to use, and it’s sweetened with flagship-tier mobile camera quality, even if it’s a slightly iffy at times. While Sony has every right to see their Xperia X as the new flagship offering (in the Singapore context) without competing in benchmark scores, the battery efficiency and raw numbers are still lower than its predecessor, the Xperia Z5. While we generally don’t question the direction of a smartphone rebranding exercise, it’s still fair to say that the Xperia X is not necessarily an upgrade from the Xperia Z5.

At a price of S$848, it’s not difficult to see that the Sony Xperia X is also priced too high for what it offers. There’s nothing wrong in making flagships phones with lower hardware specs, but the Xperia X is just S$100 shy from phones that come with top tier processors like the Snapdragon 820 on the LG G5. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 - which also uses a Snapdragon 650 processor – is going for just S$299. The Xperia Z5 – which has a flagship processor from its time – had a launch price of S$998 (the Z5 Compact with the same Snapdragon 810 processor had an even lower price of S$828). It’s clear that the Xperia X is in an awkward price bracket, despite being satisfying to use.

At any rate, the Xperia X did honor their promises – which included having a new design, a reminder of their commitment to mobile cameras, and a decent battery life for its size. It’s just up against tougher competition, and in a strange twist, it competes against its own Z5 line-up that Sony still sells.

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8.0
  • Design 8
  • Features 8.5
  • User-Friendliness 8.5
  • Performance 7.5
  • Value 7
The Good
Great UI
Decent camera performance
Functional design
The Bad
Expensive
Lower-powered "flagship"
Average battery life
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