Sony Xperia X Performance Review: A step backwards

[Scorpus]

It’s no secret that Sony’s smartphone business is struggling. Competition has become fierce over the last couple of years, with continued innovation and lower prices causing trouble for market incumbents. Rather than doubling down on their flagship products, like HTC did with their excellent HTC 10, Sony seems happy to trundle along with minor iterations year after year.

The new Xperia X series may not carry the same name as its predecessor, the Xperia Z, but there’s no mistaking these products for a revolutionary change. I've been testing the the top-end Xperia X Performance for a few weeks now and I've found it to be remarkably similar to the Xperia Z5 that preceded it. Considering the Z5 was the sixth derivation of the 3-year-old Xperia Z, it’s easy to feel this design is getting stale.

Read the complete review.

 

[RustyTech]

Thanks for the review!
So not only a step backwards in..well..everything, but didn't even back-step to include a removable battery!

I'm telling you, it's like there's a force out there in the universe that's making the decision makers full on..re..err dim! Like super dim.
I guess another word for this "force" would be greed.

 

[CaptainTom]

Very let down by this. I adore my Xperia Z3 for its looks, battery life, waterproofyness, and streamlined interface.


Besides gaming performance (Which who cares in a phone) this seems like a step back in everything but the waterproofing.

Looks like I may keep this phone for 3 years like I initially planned...

 

[Scorpus]

Very let down by this. I adore my Xperia Z3 for its looks, battery life, waterproofyness, and streamlined interface.


Besides gaming performance (Which who cares in a phone) this seems like a step back in everything but the waterproofing.

Looks like I may keep this phone for 3 years like I initially planned...

Even competitors have water resistance these days though, like the Galaxy S7 line. It's not really a feature exclusive to Sony any more

 

[alabama man]

Shame, could do with crappier and cheaper phone with premium build quality, as in I would like more battery life and 1080p display with older more power efficient processor while water proof and full metal body without back glass. Well guess I'll stick with my z1 until it breaks and get Z3 (has back glass, gets dirty or breaks and no way to put down your phone without scratching it) or some old samsung.

 

[Julio Franco]

I was a Z3 owner for a year and a half. Waited for Sony to come up with a worthy successor, but clearly had to look elsewhere. I almost went with the Nexus 6P but I was spoiled by the Xperia's waterproofing. Jumped into the Galaxy S7 bandwagon, it's an amazing phone, coming from a Z3 is a good upgrade. The software shocked me at first, but once you customize it to your liking it's a solid Android device all around.

 

[CaptainTom]

Even competitors have water resistance these days though, like the Galaxy S7 line. It's not really a feature exclusive to Sony any more

Yeah except it doesn't work on Samsung phones.

 

[Julio Franco]

It does work on the S7 and S7 Edge. The active model has been found to be faulty:
https://www.techspot.com/news/65522-consumer-report-tests-find-galaxy-s7-active-isnt.html

 

[Arris]

Loved my Z3 since I picked it up when the AF of my Nexus 5 died after a year and Google gave me a refund. Not too impressed by the X series. Think I'll be hanging onto this phone for a while to come yet.

 

[Sir Alex Ice]

It does work on the S7 and S7 Edge. The active model has been found to be faulty:
https://www.techspot.com/news/65522-consumer-report-tests-find-galaxy-s7-active-isnt.html

Samsung has very poor history with the so called waterproof phones.