Sony Xperia X Review


Introduction
Thanks to the diversified nature of its various businesses, Sony may not be in as precarious a position as the likes of HTC or BlackBerry. All the same, it's plainly obvious that the maker has been having trouble in mobile for a while now. Ditching the Z-series of old, Sony is transitioning to an Xperia X branding, and the eponymous mid-ranger is the first of the new line we get to review.
This move, it's supposed to be a showcase of Sony's willingness to get back to the drawing board and re-imagine at least some parts of its mobile offering. And with an asking price of $549.99, Sony is setting the bar for itself and the Xperia X pretty high. Let's see if they pass our test.
Design
A mix of old and new, the Xperia X offers numerous small improvements, along with some big ones
If you've ever held Sony's still reigning flagship, the Xperia Z5, then you'll know just how uncomfortable it is. The frame towards the back cuts into your hand unpleasantly, and the frosted glass is very slippery. With the Xperia X, Sony fixes the former issue, but not the latter.
In any case, if we're to continue the parallel with the Z5, the Xperia X is different in many small ways. For starters, the glass up front seamlessly flows towards the sides, creating a beautiful effect. The modular corners of old are also gone as the frame is now a singular piece, the Xperia insignia etched onto the left side is no more, and the lanyard cutout has been retired. The only branding on the back left standing says simply “Xperia”—no Sony, and no G Lens cheat sheet next to the camera. Speaking of the shooter, it's bigger than before and protrudes just a tiny bit.
In short, all of the above combines to give us a clean, distinctive, and very attractive exterior. Sure, the aforementioned issue with the slippery back stands, but seeing as how many will go for a protective case, it's probably not too big of a deal.
To see the phones in real size or compare them with other models, visit our Visual Phone Size Comparison page
Display
Very bright, with impressive gamma response, but ultimately color-incorrect
If you're after trendy technologies such as Quad HD AMOLED screens, the Xperia X will disappoint—but not entirely. Sporting a 5-inch panel, it's an IPS LCD make with “just” 1080 x 1920 pixels. But if you're after the typical “AMOLED” effect, meaning obviously overstated colors, then you're in luck.
The Xperia X's screen is, indeed, not at all color correct. All your primaries and secondary are off target, with Red and Green being the worst offenders. Blue, on the other hand, dominates over them in turn, resulting in a very high color temperature of over 8,200K. In practice, white and the many shades of gray are decidedly bluish, which is annoying.
Onto a more positive note, both maximum and minimum brightness are just excellent, ensuring great experience whether it's midday or dead of the night. Gamma is also on target, and it's actually rare that we get as accurate response. Makes the above-mentioned shortcomings even harder to stomach, unfortunately.
Display measurements and quality
Maximum brightness Higher is better | Minimum brightness (nits) Lower is better | Contrast Higher is better | Color temperature (Kelvins) | Gamma | Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better | Delta E grayscale Lower is better | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sony Xperia X |
536 (Excellent) |
4 (Excellent) |
1:1261 (Excellent) |
8208 (Poor) |
2.18 |
5.42 (Average) |
6.37 (Average) |
Google Nexus 5X |
487 (Good) |
2 (Excellent) |
1:1498 (Excellent) |
6799 (Excellent) |
2.31 |
2.06 (Good) |
3.54 (Good) |
Huawei P9 |
458 (Good) |
4 (Excellent) |
1:1277 (Excellent) |
8505 (Poor) |
2.24 |
4.42 (Average) |
9.72 (Poor) |
LG G5 |
816 (Excellent) |
4 (Excellent) |
1:2220 (Excellent) |
7816 (Average) |
2.14 |
4.34 (Average) |
8.43 (Poor) |
The numbers below represent the amount of deviation in the respective property, observed when a display is viewed from a 45-degree angle as opposed to direct viewing.
Maximum brightness Lower is better | Minimum brightness Lower is better | Contrast Lower is better | Color temperature Lower is better | Gamma Lower is better | Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better | Delta E grayscale Lower is better | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Google Nexus 5X |
77.6% |
50% |
81.7% |
6.1% |
10.8% |
43.2% |
0.3% |
Sony Xperia X |
78.7% |
75% |
83.1% |
8.2% |
9.2% |
12.2% |
23.1% |
Huawei P9 |
79.9% |
75% |
80.7% |
2.2% |
8.9% |
0.7% |
12.6% |
LG G5 |
86% |
87.5% |
89% |
4.7% |
16.8% |
8.5% |
14% |
105 Comments
1. Scarambay unregistered
posted on Jun 02, 2016, 9:44 AM 22
8. abdoualgeria
Posts: 928; Member since: Jul 27, 2015
posted on Jun 02, 2016, 10:06 AM 7
74. donrox
Posts: 203; Member since: Jul 18, 2014
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 7:48 AM 5
79. marorun
Posts: 5029; Member since: Mar 30, 2015
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 3:28 PM 3
26. ibend
Posts: 6747; Member since: Sep 30, 2014
posted on Jun 02, 2016, 11:12 AM 14
67. yyzamin
Posts: 383; Member since: Aug 26, 2015
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 4:22 AM 0
80. marorun
Posts: 5029; Member since: Mar 30, 2015
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 3:28 PM 0
29. Andrewtst
Posts: 697; Member since: Jan 25, 2009
posted on Jun 02, 2016, 11:16 AM 8
51. sgodsell
Posts: 7594; Member since: Mar 16, 2013
posted on Jun 02, 2016, 6:02 PM 3
60. TylerGrunter
Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 1:01 AM 1
62. sgodsell
Posts: 7594; Member since: Mar 16, 2013
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 1:32 AM 0
71. TylerGrunter
Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 6:15 AM 0
78. sgodsell
Posts: 7594; Member since: Mar 16, 2013
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 3:13 PM 1
88. cheetah2k
Posts: 2299; Member since: Jan 16, 2011
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 10:54 PM 0
89. TylerGrunter
Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012
posted on Jun 04, 2016, 3:51 AM 0
95. perry1234
Posts: 654; Member since: Aug 14, 2012
posted on Jun 05, 2016, 1:38 AM 0
81. marorun
Posts: 5029; Member since: Mar 30, 2015
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 3:51 PM 0
90. TylerGrunter
Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012
posted on Jun 04, 2016, 4:01 AM 0
96. Furbal unregistered
posted on Jun 05, 2016, 3:33 AM 0
63. techperson211
Posts: 1280; Member since: Feb 27, 2014
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 1:35 AM 2
33. sharks
Posts: 236; Member since: Feb 16, 2013
posted on Jun 02, 2016, 11:51 AM 6
47. medtxa
Posts: 1655; Member since: Jun 02, 2014
posted on Jun 02, 2016, 5:06 PM 0
64. uzimafioso
Posts: 469; Member since: Jul 15, 2014
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 2:37 AM 2
82. marorun
Posts: 5029; Member since: Mar 30, 2015
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 3:53 PM 0
87. medtxa
Posts: 1655; Member since: Jun 02, 2014
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 10:39 PM 0
72. Arch_Fiend
Posts: 3951; Member since: Oct 03, 2015
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 6:27 AM 0
73. Arch_Fiend
Posts: 3951; Member since: Oct 03, 2015
posted on Jun 03, 2016, 6:28 AM 0
99. phoneclown
Posts: 9; Member since: May 12, 2016
posted on Jun 05, 2016, 11:22 PM 0
2. Rydsmith unregistered
posted on Jun 02, 2016, 9:45 AM 29
3. T-rex unregistered
posted on Jun 02, 2016, 9:48 AM 24
* Some comments have been hidden, because they don't meet the discussions rules.
PhoneArena Comments Rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please, contact us.
Comments Options
Report Post
Send a warning to post author
Send a warning to Selected user. The user has 0 warnings currently.
Ban user and delete all posts
Message to PhoneArena moderator (optional):