Now let’s talk about the company’s latest flagship handset Sony Xperia X Dual. The Rs 48,990 Xperia Even though the specifications of this phone are weak compared to many affordable handsets, Sony has tried to overcome this shortcoming by giving a lot of innovation in camera technology. Does the Xperia X Dual justify its price? Let us know through its review.
Look and Design
We were expecting a big change in the design after the name change, but we did not see it. The new phone looks a lot like the Sony Xperia Z5. With Xperia X Dual the company has repeated the old formula. As a result it looks fantastic.
The all metal body goes in its favor. This gives a premium look to the phone and it also looks sturdy. The Xperia X Dual smartphone has a 5-inch screen. The design is such that there is no problem in holding and gripping the Xperia X Dual.
Scratch protection is present on the screen of the phone. Two speakers are provided for stereo sound. The front camera, Sony logo and proximity sensor are at the top.
The phone has been given a metallic finish. Xperia logo, camera and flash are present on the rear panel. There is a 3.5 mm socket on the top. There is a power button on the right side. Camera buttons are also provided on this side. The micro-USB port is at the bottom. The hybrid dual-SIM tray is present on the left side. You will not need the ejector pin to open the SIM tray. Your nails will be enough for this. It is worth noting that Xperia X Dual is not water resistant, which the company has been presenting as a premium feature.
The fingerprint sensor on the Sony Xperia X Dual is integrated into the power button, just like the Sony Xperia Z5. The sensor does not work in standby mode. For this you will first have to bring the phone into active mode. To do this you have to press the power button and then keep your finger on the button for a few seconds. This works well sometimes and unlocks the phone quickly, but not always.
Based on our experience, we can say that this is not the best place for the fingerprint sensor. We did not face any problem in using it many times.
The device features a 5-inch full-HD IPS LCD screen with a pixel density of 441 ppi. Its screen is slightly smaller than the Xperia Z5’s 5.2-inch display, but you won’t be able to tell the difference with the naked eye. It is brighter than handsets with AMOLED screens but is a bit weak in contrast, black level and color range.
Overall the screen of Xperia X Dual is good. Sony has also made some useful changes to enhance the picture quality.
Specifications and Software
Most of the phones in this price segment are equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, but Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chipset has been used in Sony Xperia X Dual. It has 3 GB RAM and 64 GB inbuilt storage. The interesting thing is that Snapdragon 650 processor has also been used in Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, the price of which is one fourth of this Sony phone.
Coming with dual SIM 4G connectivity, this phone has hybrid SIM slot, support for microSD card up to 256 GB, Wi-Fi A/B/G/N/AC, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC feature. The phone has a 2620 mAh battery and it supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 technology. By the way, we were given a common 7.5 watt charger for review. Sony’s popular Stamina and Ultra Stamina modes are also provided in this phone which will help in increasing the battery life of your phone.
The Xperia X Dual smartphone is equipped with Android 6.0.1 on which Sony’s Xperia UI has been used. There has been no change in the look of the interface. The notification shade and quick toggle menu are like the stock Android launcher. However, there are too many apps pre-installed on the phone and some of them cannot be removed.
This includes Amazon Kindle, AVG Protection, Clean Master, Hungama Play, Sony Liv and some select games. It is possible to disable them but not to remove them permanently. Sony Liv works to irritate you by sending frequent notifications. This can be blocked only through system settings. We think Sony is trying to make its partner apps popular. The app drawer is a little different. There are some additional features integrated into it.
camera
Sony Xperia X Dual has a 23-megapixel primary camera and a 13-megapixel front camera. Sony’s own Exmor RS sensor is used in both. The rear camera has LED flash. With both cameras you will be able to record videos in full-HD resolution. The rear camera can record normal video at 60 frames per second and slow motion video at 120 frames per second. 4K video recording is not a part of this handset which seems to be a surprising decision.
The camera app is well designed. Comes with quick access to flash, camera switcher, settings and gallery. The standard shooting mode is Superior Auto, but you’ll also be able to easily choose Manual or Video modes. The fourth option in the menu gives you access to AR effects, sweep panorama, timeshift, and other features. You can also download additional camera apps through Sony’s What’s New app and Google Play. You can control a lot from the Settings menu.
It also has a digital image stabilization tool which has been named Steady Shot. It tries to eliminate problems caused by shaking during video recording. But it does not emerge from anywhere as an alternative to optical image stabilization.
The Sony Xperia X Dual takes photos with excellent color reproduction and detail, especially in good lighting. The resolution of the photo makes it possible to capture as much detail as possible. You won’t have much trouble with photos taken normally.
The phone does wonders in taking pictures in low light. There will be grain issues, but the phone manages to take photos with commendable levels of detail and color even in low light. Autofocus works quickly and is usually successful in focusing on the right part of the shot. The phone’s camera misses only in macro photography and close-up shots.
Video quality is excellent. The phone ensures that there are no shaky images through its digital image stabilization feature. Front camera is quite good. Selfie lovers will especially like this.
performance
Sony has taken a gamble of sorts by using the mid-range processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chipset in the Xperia X Dual. Even though it is a capable phone in its own right, it does not deliver anywhere near the performance of phones in the Rs 50,000 range. If we ignore its price for a moment, then this phone gives performance equal to the flagship phone launched last year. This shows how many great chipsets have come in the mid-range this year. Performance was generally satisfactory, but the Sony Xperia X Dual disappointed us at times.
The phone got overheated while charging, gaming and shooting videos. This is a matter of concern, especially when the phone stops video recording due to overheating. This happened to us many times.
The phone got respectable scores in benchmark tests. The phone is good in terms of performance, but there are many great performers available at even lower prices.
We are satisfied with the cellular, Wi-Fi network and call quality. The Xperia X Dual comes with a front dual speaker setup. In such a situation, good sound is heard while watching videos and listening to songs.
The sound coming from headphones is good. Battery life is satisfactory, but lags far behind other handsets in this price range. The phone’s battery lasted 10 hours 29 minutes in our video loop test. In normal use it should last for a day. Overall, the Xperia X Dual is not a great performer like other handsets in its price range. In such a situation, it is not possible for us to justify the price of Rs 48,990.
our decision
Sony’s new flagship Xperia X Dual left us with mixed feelings. It is a beautiful looking device with a good build and a great screen. It has a feature-rich camera that takes good pictures in most situations. Sadly, it has some major drawbacks. The problem of phone heating cannot be ignored. Apart from this, the fingerprint sensor also fails many times. The software is also a bit annoying. The UI is not very easy.
The biggest issue for us is the price of this phone. A slightly higher price is reasonable for a big brand like Sony, but this time the company has taken a wrong decision. Even Rs 15,000 is too much for the Xperia X Dual. Even though Sony seems to think that better camera technology and tricks are its most important feature, the Xperia X Dual is not an all-rounder phone.
If you are planning to buy a powerful flagship phone equipped with many features then OnePlus 3 is always a better option and its price is also very low. If you are looking for top brands then Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5 (Review) are much better options. The Xperia X Dual isn’t a bad phone. Only die-hard Sony fans will like it, at least as long as it’s priced like this.
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