Sony Xperia XA2
Specifications

Secondary Camera: 8 MPix 1/4” Exmor R, F2.4, 120° super wide angle lens, ISO 3200
Pricecompare
Average of 32 scores (from 56 reviews)
Reviews for the Sony Xperia XA2
New mid-range. Sony is refreshing its smartphone product lineup, beginning with the 5.2-inch Xperia XA2 mid-range smartphone, which aims to please with qualities such as having the fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC, a Full HD display, and a 23-MP camera. Our test shows whether the Sony Android phone succeeds.
Source: Tech Advisor

The Xperia XA2 sits in a slightly odd place. It offers solid specs and performance for the price, but the 16:9 screen and chunky body are already out of step with the competition, and the camera just can’t keep up at all.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/16/2018
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Ausdroid

As a summary, the Xperia XA2 runs quite well on the internal hardware, and it should last you all day on the battery. It doesn’t have the best camera at night but it does pretty well during the day, and offers pretty decent 4K video. I also quite like the design, the rear mounted fingerprint sensor is fast and works well, and it’s USB-C which is good to see in the mid-range.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/07/2018
Source: Good Gear Guide

The XA2 almost feels like what you’d expect from a phone from three or four years ago. It might feel a little dated in spots but if your mobile needs haven’t really changed during that time, it’s well-enough equipped to do the job.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/25/2018
Rating: Total score: 65%
Source: Android Authority

Overall, I quite like the Sony Xperia XZ2. Sony has never tried too hard to be like other manufacturers, and here it’s mostly stuck to its no-frills design language. The bulkier design is welcoming to hold. The battery life got me through a solid day and a half and charged up even faster. The processing and audio quality are top notch. The phone also has a few minor pitfalls like button placement and some major slipperiness.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/24/2018
Rating: Total score: 87% performance: 98% display: 90% mobility: 90% workmanship: 80%
Source: PC Authority

Still, for me personally, the Xperia XA2 is an excellent smartphone and it's seriously made me consider Sony when my contract expires in four months' time. Well done, Sony.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 02/20/2018
Rating: Total score: 100%
Source: Trusted Reviews

It’s not the most dynamic phone in its class but a solid option for those who like Sony’s style.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 02/16/2018
Rating: price: 70% performance: 70% display: 80% mobility: 70% workmanship: 70%
Source: Tech Advisor

The Xperia XA2 sits in a slightly odd place. It offers solid specs and performance for the price, but the 16:9 screen and chunky body are already out of step with the competition, and the camera just can’t keep up at all.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/16/2018
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: It Pro

Low-light photography issues aside, though, the Xperia XA2 is a seriously impressive smartphone, made even better by its highly reasonable asking price. Its display is fantastic, battery life is good and the handset itself looks like something you've paid twice as much for.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 02/15/2018
Rating: Total score: 100%
Source: Phone Arena

With their snappy performance and solid battery life, the Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra offer good value for their money, and despite the few minor issues here and there, I'd say that they'll satisfy users who want to get the most bang for their buck and don't want to spend a fortune on a new phone. Would I use any of these as a personal device? Yes, though I'd probably go for the XA2 as the larger XA2 Ultra doesn't really have enough exclusive features to win me over. If you're into selfies, however, the larger XA2 Ultra would be the one to go with.
Comparison, online available, Long, Date: 02/08/2018
Rating: Total score: 78%
Source: Stuff TV

Probably the best mid-ranger Sony has made in a while, the XA2 might not mix up the traditional Xperia look but it has hardware that ticks almost all the boxes.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/07/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Recombu

As much as I loved the Xperia XA1, the XA2 is a big upgrade in so many areas. The design has been reworked for a more premium finish, while the impressive battery life and gorgeous display also boost this phone over most other mid-rangers. For just £300 here in the UK, you won’t find many other mobiles that offer the same fantastic all-round experience.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 02/07/2018
Rating: Total score: 100%
Source: GSM Arena

Our only issue was with the selfie downgrade - the 8MP wide-angle camera has lost the autofocus and the brighter aperture compared to the XA1. And we would have appreciated at least some splash protection, as most of the competition is already going for a tight IP68 ingress protection.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 01/26/2018
Rating: Total score: 76%
Source: Tech Advisor

The Xperia XA2 is another fairly unremarkable phone from Sony, but it's affordable despite being a fair bit more expensive than the previous model. And with it brings various upgrades including a much better screen, fingerprint scanner and bigger battery. This could be a solid mid-range device.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 01/18/2018
Source: Trusted Reviews

The XA2 is a nice spec-bump over the XA1 and there are a few welcome additions in the form of a higher-res screen and Snapdragon CPU. But Sony’s design is still behind the pack and with lots of budget options moving to a slicker build, the XA2 could feel old very quickly.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 01/11/2018
Source: NDTV Gadgets

The Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra will be available in multiple colours when they launch in the coming months. As for pricing, Sony hasn't revealed that yet, but given the specifications, we hope that they will both be in the sub-Rs. 25,000 segment when they eventually land in India. So, what did you think of Sony's first 2018 offerings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Comparison, online available, Short, Date: 01/11/2018
Source: Stuff TV

The XA2 has a much more capable processor, higher resolution screen, and what looks to be a fantastic set of cameras too. If Sony gets the price right, it could be a very tempting phone for anyone on a budget.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 01/09/2018
Source: Pocket Lint

The XA2 hits the sweet spot where you get an excellent set of specs and decent design for a great price. Definitely worth consideration if you're in the market for a mid-range handset.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 01/09/2018
Source: GSM Arena

Sony's wasting no time kicking off the year 2018 - CES in January marks the announcement of the Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra midrangers, plus an L2 lower down the ranks. After the brief time we got to spend with a few early units of the three models, you can label us excited.
Comparison, online available, Long, Date: 01/08/2018
Source: Android Authority

However much they cost, the Xperia XA2 will come in silver, black, blue, and pink, while the Xperia XA2 Ultra will arrive in silver, black, light blue, and gold. Finally, the Xperia L2 will come in black, gold, and pink. Sony tells us that they will be available starting in late January.
Comparison, online available, Short, Date: 01/07/2018
Foreign Reviews
Source: Netzwelt

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 12/10/2018
Rating: Total score: 83% features: 90% mobility: 90% workmanship: 70%
Source: Inside Handy

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/02/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Chip.de

Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/12/2018
Rating: Total score: 82% performance: 85% features: 78% display: 89% mobility: 84%
Source: A1 Blog

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/19/2018
Source: A1 Blog

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/19/2018
Source: Tech Stage

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/16/2018
Source: Android Pit

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/08/2018
Source: Curved

Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 02/07/2018
Rating: Total score: 75% performance: 73% display: 80% mobility: 75%
Source: Computerhoy

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/28/2018
Rating: Total score: 75% price: 70% features: 70% display: 70% mobility: 80% workmanship: 70%
Source: Movil Zona

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/28/2018
Rating: Total score: 70% price: 70% performance: 70% display: 70% mobility: 80% workmanship: 70%
Source: El Androide Libre

Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 03/22/2018
Rating: Total score: 69%
Source: AndroidWorld.it

Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/14/2018
Rating: Total score: 77% price: 75% features: 80% display: 85% mobility: 70% workmanship: 80% ergonomy: 80%
Source: HDblog.it

Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/12/2018
Rating: Total score: 72% features: 88%
Source: Andrea Galeazzi

Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 02/21/2018
Rating: Total score: 70% price: 65% display: 70% mobility: 73% workmanship: 79%
Source: AndroidPit.it

Positive: Excellent cameras; nice display.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 02/12/2018
Source: AndroidWorld.nl

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/25/2018
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: All About Phones

Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/01/2018
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Frandroid

Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 03/22/2018
Rating: Total score: 70% performance: 70% display: 80% mobility: 80% workmanship: 70%
Source: Top for Phone

Positive: Nice display; beautiful design; great built quality; support USB-C.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/20/2018
Source: Komputerswiat

Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/28/2018
Rating: Total score: 75%
Source: Tabletowo

Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 02/21/2018
Rating: Total score: 83% performance: 65% display: 85% mobility: 85% workmanship: 85%
Source: Antyweb

Positive: Solid workmanship; long battery life; decent selfie camera. Negative: Mediocre design.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/24/2018
Source: Helpix

Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 09/03/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Hitech Vesti

Positive: Nice display; decent selfie camera; good speakers; support NFC; fast charging. Negative: Unsupported waterproof.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 03/12/2018
Source: AndroidInsider.ru

Positive: Beautiful design; excellent cameras; good price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/02/2018
Source: Product Test

Positive: Good cameras; long battery life. Negative: Hybrid slot; thick; heavy.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 01/05/2018
Source: CZC

Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 03/31/2018
Source: Tinh Te

Positive: Good price; nice design; decent cameras. Negative: Tiny screen.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/20/2018
Source: The Gioididong

Positive: Good price; nice design; solid workmanship; good display; long battery life; nice cameras; decent performance.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/01/2018
Source: The Gioididong

Positive: Powerful processor; fast fingerprint sensor; decent cameras.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 01/10/2018
Source: Tek.no

Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 02/05/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Dinside

Positive: Nice design; good display; decent cameras; large battery capacity.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/18/2018
Source: Alt om Data

Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 08/07/2018
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 90% performance: 60%
Source: Lyd og Billede

Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 03/02/2018
Rating: Total score: 83%
Source: Mere Mobil.dk

Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 02/16/2018
Rating: Total score: 67%
Source: Ljud och Bild

Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 02/28/2018
Rating: Total score: 83%
Source: Mobil.se

Positive: Smart system; nice design. Negative: Heavy; low performance.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 02/07/2018
Comment
Model: In February 2018, Sony launched a successor to its Xperia XA1, the Sony Xperia XA2. The mid-range Android phone features a 1080p screen (XA1: 720p) and the battery capacity has increased to 3,300 mAh.
Design and Connectivity
The 5.2-inch phone measures at 142 x 70 x 9.7 mm and weighs at quite heavy 171 g. It is slightly thicker than the XA1 (145 x 67 x 5 mm) to fit in a 3,300 mAh battery. The Xperia XA2 does not follow the trend to 18:9 displays. As a result there is more space left above and below the display and it looks more like a phone from 2017. In contrast, competitors including the Huawei P Smart, Oppo F5 and Honor 9 Lite all features a 18:9 screen which give them a more cutting-edge look. Nevertheless, it is an edge-to-edge screen and the back is slightly curved to sit more comfortable in the hand. www.techradar.com thinks that 16:9 aspect ratio, relatively fat 9.7 mm thickness and Sony’s usual rectangular design makes the Sony Xperia XA2 seem a chunky little mobile. www.androidpit.com says that the case-display ratio is approximately 75 %. Sadly, the phone lacks an official water resistance.
The Xperia XA2’s side and top are made of aluminum. www.techradar.com reports that the plastic back does not flex and recommends that you should avoid putting the phone in a pocket with your keys or a load of coins as it scratches easily. The use of plastic rather than glass or metal for the back shows that this not a premium model. www.trustedreviews.com thinks that the Xperia XA2 is pretty pocket and hand friendly, albeit a little heavy.
The USB Type-C port sits on the bottom. On the right side you can find a volume rocker, a circular power button and a dedicated camera shutter button. The left side provides a microSD and a nano-SIM slot, while the top side houses a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
As for connectivity, the Xperia XA2 features A-GNSS (GPS + GLONASS), Wi-Fi Miracast, Bluetooth 5.0, Google Cast, and NFC. It supports the following networks: GSM GPRS/EDGE (2G), UMTS HSPA+ (3G), LTE (4G) Cat13/Cat12. www.androidpit.com reports that device is currently being sold unlocked in the US and is compatible with GSM carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile, but is not compatible with Sprint and Verizon Wireless.
Fingerprint reader
The fingerprint reader sits on the back. Even US variants come with a fingerprint reader, which is unusual for Sony. www.techradar.com thinks that the fingerprint reader is well positioned and reliable, albeit not the fastest they have used. They report that coming out of standby takes about 1.5 seconds. According to www.trustedreviews.com, the fingerprint scanner is reasonably fast and very reliable.
Display
The XA2’s 5.2-inch display features Full HD resolution (1080p), a pixel density of 424 PPI, and a 16:9 aspect ratio. According to www.techradar.com text and images look pin-sharp. They say that colors seem a little muted and the white balance is slightly blue-skewed out-of-the-box, but this can be adjusted via the Settings menu by selecting from various display modes. www.trustedreviews.com confirms that screen tone is on the cool side with factory settings. www.expertreviews.co.uk reports, “Images look terrifically vivid, especially with the phone’s slightly-saturated “Super Vivid” display mode engaged and the display is reasonably colour accurate, too.” They measured 96.5 % sRGB coverage, a respectable contrast ratio of up to 1,167:1 and a maximum brightness of 507 cd/m2. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass (Sony Mobile has not specified the version).
Hardware and Performance
The Sony Xperia XA2 features an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor, an Adreno 508 graphics chip, 3 GB of RAM, and 32 GB of eMMC internal memory. The storage capacity can be expanded by 256 GB with a microSD card. Hence you get solid mid-range hardware. www.techradar.com says that Android 8.0 runs well and the gaming performance is good. www.trustedreviews.com confirms, “It’s responsive, smooth and apps are usually quick to load.”. Certainly the performance cannot keep up with top-end phones, but this page says that it is significantly better than many other phones in the sub-£300 range. www.expertreviews.co.uk reports scores of 854 and 4,157 in Geekbench 4’s single- and multi-core CPU tests, respectively. They observed drastic frame drops in graphically-demanding games such as Asphalt or Modern Combat 5. However, the XA2’s hardware has not been designed for intensive gaming, but it is well suitable for everyday tasks.
Software
The Xperia XA2 runs Android 8.0 and uses Sony’s custom user interface. In contrast to the Android operating system, Sony’s interface has not changed much over the last years. www.techradar.com reports that its apps menu still uses horizontal pages like Android did back in Android 5.0 and earlier, while new Android phones have a vertical-scrolling apps menu. Themes are supported, most of which are created by Sony Mobile. www.trustedreviews.com writes that Sony has added more apps than other manufacturers, but only few bloatware. Sony’s classic media apps are included, which are a defining part of Sony’s Android experience. In www.trustedreviews.com’s opinion none of the added apps is a reason to buy the Xperia XA2, but all are decent. recombu.com writes that Sony has added the ability to hook up to your PS4, but instead of the Remote Play feature (for streaming games to your Xperia phone) you simply get Second Screen functionality.
Battery Life
A large battery is one of the advantages of the Xperia XA2. It lasts a full day on a single charge and supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. It is charged via USB-C. The Qnovo technology helps protect the battery from overcharging. According to www.techradar.com a fast charger is sadly not supplied. www.techradar.com complains, “We're mildly disappointed by its real-world longevity though. It'll last a day, sure, but won't necessarily get you the big second-day buffer that separates a truly long-lasting Android with one of just okay battery life.” www.expertreviews.co.uk recorded a battery life of 14 hours and 27 minutes in their continuous video playback test, with the screen set to their standard 170 cd/m2 brightness and flight mode engaged.
Camera
The 23 MP main camera on the rear side features an 1/2.3" Exmor RS sensor, 84° wide-angle f2.0 lens, and hybrid autofocus. It is capable of 4K video recording, 120 fps slow-motion video recording, and HDR video recording in Full HD, but lacks optical image stabilization. Support of ISO 12800 should ensure better low-light photos. www.techradar.com reports that the camera handles indoor shooting better - and can render more detail - than most of the 13 MP cameras used by other "affordable" phones, while it cannot match the OnePlus 5T’s camera. They mention that exposure metering was not helpful, since they often had to customize the exposure level via the brightness slider when they choose a focal point. www.trustedreviews.com confirms that the phone has an issue with exposure metering when you choose a focal point rather than just hitting the shutter button. Moreover, they complain that the Xperia XA2 can take around three seconds to get you to the point of being able to hit the shutter button. According to this page day-lit shots look very sharp and punchy, but there’s quite serious loss of sharpness towards the edge of the frame, which might be due to a just-OK lens matched with a relatively large sensor. This pages warns that you should not expect too much from the camera at night, since aggressive image processing smoothes-out almost all fine detail in order to make the images look clean. The tester of www.expertreviews.co.uk writes, “My low-light test tests were rife with compression artefacts and blotchy chroma noise”. 3g.co.uk summarizes that the XA2’s camera is no match for the iPhone X’s or Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s, but it is very competitive with other phones at this sort of price.
The 8 MP front camera features an 1/4" Exmor R sensor and a 120° super wide-angle lens F2.4. It supports up to ISO 3200. www.techradar.com evaluates, “Image quality is decent. Photos look bright, but detail capture isn’t close to the very best 8MP selfie cameras.” www.trustedreviews.com complains that images start to look low on detail and flat with indoors lighting. According to www.stuff.tv, the front camera is purpose-built for group selfies.
Temperature
www.techradar.com observed that the Sony Xperia XA2 seems to get a little warmer than most during relatively light tasks. They wonder if a CPU/resource management issue may be to blame.
Sound
The Xperia XA2 has a single speaker. Hence, the sound is mono and directional. According to www.techradar.com top volume and sound quality are both decent, but the sound cannot keep up with the best-sounding premium phones. www.trustedreviews.com writes that sound quality is fine and not too thin. Three technologies help improve audio performance, the Smart Amplifier, Clear Bass, and ClearAudio+.
Summary
The phone offers solid mid-range performance and a high battery capacity, but the battery life is not as good as expected in view of the large battery. Its a phone for those who like Sony’s styling. Disadvantages are the 16:9 screen format and the low-light performance of the cameras. The wide-angle lens of the front camera is nice to have, when you like to shoot group selfies. www.trustedreviews.com summarize, “This is a perfectly solid, “nice” phone we’ve enjoyed using. […] It’s not the most dynamic phone in its class but a solid option for those who like Sony’s style.”
Alternatives are for example the Samsung Galaxy A5 (older Android version, glass on the rear, slightly better camera performance in low-light conditions, water resistant, slimmer, OLED), the Moto G5S (cheaper, all-aluminum frame, very simple software and a good, albeit slightly slow camera), the Huawei P Smart (slightly cheaper, 18:9 screen phones, worse camera). www.expertreviews.co.uk think, “The problem for the XA2 is that the £270 Honor 7X offers a bigger, 18:9 screen and a dual rear camera for less and in a slimmer, sleeker chassis, albeit with considerably worse battery life.”
Sources
www.sonymobile.com/de/products/phones/xperia-xa2/specifications/
www.techradar.com/reviews/sony-xperia-xa2-review
www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/sony-xperia-xa2
www.expertreviews.co.uk/sony/1406720/sony-xperia-xa2-review
www.stuff.tv/sony/xperia-xa2/review
3g.co.uk/reviews/sony-xperia-xa2
www.androidpit.com/sony-xperia-xa2-review
Press Review by Martina Osztovits
Qualcomm Adreno 508: Integrated graphics card in the Snapdragon 630 SoC based on the Adreno 500 architecture. According to Qualcomm "up to 30% faster graphics rendering than previous designs".
Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
SD 630: Mid-range octa-core SoC with eight ARM Cortex-A53 cpu cores at up to 2.2 GHz, an Adreno 508 GPU, a LPDDR4-2666 memory controller and a X12 LTE (Cat 13/12, 300 / 150 MBit) modem. Manufactured in the modern 14nm process. » Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
5.20":
It is a very small display format for smartphones. You should by no means be mis-sighted and you will generally see very little on the screen and only have a small resolution available. In return, the device should be very small and handy.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Sony: Sony Corporation is one of the largest Japanese electronics companies. The company was founded in 1946 under a different name and initially produced rice stoves. The company launched the first transistor radio. In 1958, the company was renamed Sony. Sony is a combination of the Latin word sonus (sound) and the English word sonny (little boy). Today, its core business is consumer electronics. The company is engaged in the development, design, manufacture and sale of electronic equipment, instruments, devices, game consoles and software. Sony operates in the following segments: Gaming and Network Services, Music, Images, Home Entertainment and Sound, Imaging Products and Solutions, Mobile Communications, Semiconductors, Financial Services and Others.
77.64%: This rating is not earth-shattering. This rating must actually be seen as average, since there are about as many devices with worse ratings as better ones. A purchase recommendation can only be seen with a lot of goodwill, unless it is about websites that generally rate strictly.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.