Sony Xperia XA1

Bought this as a replacement for my old Sony Z3 which after 4 years of hard use the screen failed which considering it was dropped on roads/pavements quite a lot shows how tough Sony phones are built nowadays. After a week of going through countless phone reviews i decided on this phone due to it's high score on reviews also i loved my last phone which took a lot of abuse before finally breaking.I have owned this phone for a few months now before posting this review to give a accurate idea how the phone performs in everyday use. The first thing i noticed was how it felt better put together than my last phone which is some achievement considering how my last phone survived for so long with the most noticeable difference being the buttons felt a lot better to use.In terms of performance it is quick to load apps etc with a easy to use UI and has yet to ever feel sluggish no matter how many web pages/apps i'm running on it. Now onto Sony's Forte which is it's photo/video quality, a lot of phones can match it in terms of mega pixels but with the Sony camera sensor the quality is so much better to other phones i've seen with the sound quality also being top notch. Despite my heavy usage on the phone the worst i have had the battery lasting is about 18 hours before needing charged again which only takes just over a hour to go from 0% to 100%.In summary although some of it's competitors have the edge in certain areas overall this phone in my opinion wins hands down. At this price range it's a bargain and would happily get another Sony phone in the future.

So if you are looking at this phone I am making a judgement that you aren't too bothered about having the latest Samsung or iPhone X and having to rack up the equivalent of the national debt of a small African country to pay for it. If that is the case then read on...I previously owned the LG G3 but eventually they all went pear shaped and I was left with a bad taste in my mouth so I started looking for alternatives. After an HTC One M8 GPS failed to work and an LG V10 came from China in dubious packaging (both returned) I decided to have another look at the Sony which had been on my shortlist. Lots of people b1tch and moan about the 'bloatware' that comes with the Sony, and true to form, some of the apps cannot be deleted which mean that you are already chipping way at the memory. However, I have disabled most of these apps and have a 128GB SD card so it's not a problem. It is still pretty fast, works well with chrome and so far hasn't had any apps crash on me after about a month or so of ownership.The camera is good and takes pretty high res photos. There are some fun little additions to the camera like Augmented Reality which would be fun for kids etc but overall it takes some really good pictures. The camera can take a few seconds to fire up but you can get to it direct from the locked screen by swiping up from the bottom right corner. All the other usual apps are there, phone reception is good on Giff Gaff and calls are clear.The one down side is that if you have your music on iTunes then it can be a real faff to get these transferred over. However, after much research I landed on iSyncr which transfers your music and videos pretty seamlessly. The freebie version allows you to transfer 100 songs at a time on a playlist over wifi or USB which is plenty.The SD card slot is a massive bonus and I don't know why more phones don't incorporate it. For me it is a must have allowing me to keep all my music and films in one place without jamming up the on board memory. Transferring photos into the Sony photo album is a bit strange and can mix up the photos a bit but at least you haven't lost them. I haven't managed to find a decent bullet proof case for it yet but will keep looking.The dual sim version is useful meaning you can have a separate line for your business or overseas local sim which work pretty well.Overall, if you want a good phone which takes great photos, has expandable SD memory and you aren't too worried about not having the newest shiniest phone on the block then I would recommend this. Looks good, functions well. What more do you really need?

As a Windows Phone user, first a Lumia 640 then a Lumia 650, I was a bit nervous about finally leaving the sinking Windows Phone ship and joining the world of Android.I went for the Sony Xperia XA1 because it came recommended from others, had a good balance of price and performance, has had good reviews, and felt like the best phone in the shop.I made the right decision. This is a superb phone and I am quickly learning to love Android as well. The stand-out best things for me are:- The screen goes right to the side edges, allowing the phone to be thinner and so much more comfortable to hold and reach across the screen with my thumb.- It is really fast, vastly quicker than my old Lumia phones. The camera loads up in about a second, for instance, and most apps open instantly.- The build quality feels superb - tough and well-designed.The issues I had were:- The Sony Transfer App doesn't allow you to transfer stuff from a Windows Phone, despite claiming to on the App and on the Sony website - it just directs you to upload data to the cloud and then download again. After some google searching, I found an App that helps you transfer Windows Phone contacts and text messages relatively easily.- The contacts didn't all copy across properly so I had to go back and fill in all the gaps.- The included Sony music app doesn't play WMA files. I downloaded VLC, which is really good.- Transferring Windows Calendar information to Google Calendar proved impossible so I just had to reenter all the calendar entries.