Meet the Sony Xperia XA2

Is a ‘super mid-range’ phone

Ahead of CES 2018, Sony Mobile has announced their mid-range Xperia XA2. As previously leaked, Sony is refocusing on their mid-range phones and in doing so, have transitioned them from MediaTek Helio P20 MT6757 processors to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset.

Hideyuki Furumi, EVP, Global Sales & Marketing, at Sony Mobile Communications:

Our super mid-range product strategy started out as an exciting new idea based on bringing bold technologies to this section of the market in the most accessible way possible. We’re targeting 2018 as a breakthrough year, and look forward to showcasing further innovations across the entire Xperia portfolio over the coming months.

Before I get into specs, a few interesting things to note about the Xperia XA2 are its inclusion of a high-capacity 3,300 mAh battery (XA1 offered a 2,300 mAh battery) and Qnovo Adaptive Charging that according to Sony ‘ensures the battery stays healthy over time.’ With this tech, which was previously only available in their higher-end phones, you’ll be able to get a couple hours worth of charge in just a few minutes though you’ll need the separate and not included Quick Charger UCH12W.

Sony is also improving things on the screen front by going from a 5.0-inch 720 display to a 5.2-inch FHD 1080p egde-to-edge display. This is thanks to the Qualcomm chipset with 3GB RAM which can drive more power than the previous MediaTek processor. As for its design, the Xperia XA2 features anodized aluminium on the sides and a diamond-cut finish on the top and bottom. With the new design, Sony has also moved the fingerprint sensor to the phone’s rear which will apparently work in the US now.

Other noteworthy specs include its rear-facing shooter which smartly isn’t placed directly next to the fingerprint reader unlike certain other manufacturers (looking at you Samsung) which would give you a warning on your display when you had too many smudges. The shooter in question is a 23-megapixel 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS camera (84-degree wide-angle F2.0 lens) with 4K video recording that can capture120 fps slow motion video. Low light should also be easier, thanks to its ISO 12800.

For those wanting a bezel free phone with portrait mode photography, and Face ID like biometrics, we’ll likely have to wait till MWC where Sony is expected to unveil their next flagship smartphone.

The Xperia XA2 will launch in February and be available in Silver, Black, Blue, and Pink. No words yet on pricing. Oh, and it includes a headphone jack.

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