PERFORMANCE: While the Sony Xperia XA1 garners some high scores, many others score better. This phone could still be a good budget choice if you can get it at a good price or if you need only a basic smartphone. Ergonomics on the Xperia XA1 were very good. While not the best, the touchscreen was very good and it is easy to use. You should be able to get comfortable using this smartphone very quickly. Call quality and convenience on the Xperia XA1 were not the best but they were very good. Sound while on a call was very good in a quiet room and with background noise. Your sound quality will vary due to many factors including background noise, if you are moving between cell towers, the quality of the phone on the other end of the call, and the quality of the cell tower and antenna.
DURABILITY: After 50 drops in the tumbler, our experts rated it as excellent. The phone had some scratches. Overall, it was in good working condition. After our more strenuous 100 drops in the tumbler the screen and body are tough. Our experts rated it as very good. Overall it was still in good working condition.
PORTABILITY/BATTERY: The 5-inch screen on the Xperia XA1 comes in a body measuring 5.7-inches tall, 2.6-inches wide, 0.3-inches thick, and weighs 5.1 ounces. Those measurements mean the phone is narrower and lighter than most. At 22 hours, it has an above average battery lifespan. Its battery is not removable and the phone doesn't support wireless charging.
CAMERA: The main rear camera on the Sony Xperia XA1 measures 23-megapixels. The camera does not have optical image stabilization so handheld photos in low light may be blurrier than cameras with optical image stabilization. Overall the camera performance was good, below that of many other models but still good enough for most users to capture fine still shots. Images are evaluated on high quality LCD displays. The test photos are taken in a brightly lit studio and outdoors on a sunny day. In the viewing tests the images were rated good overall. These images offer acceptable results for color quality, exposure level, sharpness, and image noise but the images are not among the better cameras on smartphones. The Xperia XA1 comes with an 8-megapixel selfie cam. Overall the selfie camera quality was very good.
DISPLAY: Overall the display quality was good, The display resolution was barely high enough, close to 300dpi, so you see a smooth, but not very crisp image. The display showed some glare in daylight. Readability outdoors is a combination of brightness, measured in candelas per square meter, and reflectivity. The readability rating was very good. The brightness level measured 1 meter from the screen was a high 400cd/m² and reflective glare was minimal.
