Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

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Introduction

So, what if one Xperia isn't big enough but the other is a tad too much? Well, you come up with something in the middle. Enter the 5.5" Xperia XA1 Plus, which is perfectly bridging the gap between the 5-inch XA1 and the 6-inch XA1 Ultra.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

The Xperia XA1 Plus bridges other gaps too, though. For one, it's got a fingerprint reader on the side, just like on the higher-end XZ series, while the XA1 and the Ultra sacrificed that for minimal side bezels.

And just because the screen diagonal of the Plus is the mean of the other two, it doesn't imply the battery capacity is thereabout too. Oh no, the XA1 Plus boasts a plus-size battery. The 3,430mAh capacity of the Plus is 27% more than what the 6-inch Ultra has. Couple that with the efficient 16nm Helio P20 chipset and you're in for some excellent endurance numbers.

There are no surprises to be expected in the camera department. The XA1 Plus shares the primary cam with the other two: there's a high-res 23MP large sensor unit inherited from last generation's flagships. As for selfies, it's the XA1's 8MP cam that you'll find on the Plus, and not the Ultra's 16MP shooter. No flash either.

All the rest is very much in line with the other XA1s, but you can always refer to the next few lines for a quick refresher.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus key features

  • Body: Aluminum sides; plastic top, bottom, and back; Gorilla Glass 4.
  • Display: 5.5" IPS LCD, 1,920x1,080px resolution, 401ppi.
  • Rear camera: 23MP Type 1/2.3" sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 24mm-equiv. focal length; autofocus; single LED flash; 1080p/30fps video recording, SteadyShot EIS.
  • Front camera: 8MP Type 1/4" sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 23mm-equiv. focal length; autofocus; 1080p/30fps video recording.
  • OS/Software: Android 7.0 Nougat.
  • Chipset: 16nm Mediatek Helio P20 - Octa-core CPU (4x2.3GHz Cortex-A53 + 4x1.6GHz Cortex-A53), Mali T-880MP2 GPU.
  • Memory: 3GB/4GB of RAM; 32GB of storage; microSD slot up to 256GB.
  • Battery: 3,430mAh Li-Ion (sealed); Mediatek Pump Express+ 2.0 fast charging.
  • Connectivity: Single SIM and dual SIM versions (market dependent); Cat. 6 LTE (300Mbps/50Mbps); USB Type-C (v2.0); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n; GPS, GLONASS; NFC; Bluetooth 4.2.
  • Misc: Fingerprint sensor (outside the US), single bottom-firing loudspeaker, 3.5mm jack, dedicated two-stage hardware shutter release button.

Main shortcomings

  • No stereo speakers on a phone that's clearly intended for multimedia use
  • Fingerprint sensor not available in the US
  • Doesn't launch with the latest Android
  • Should we mention the bezels? Oops, we just did.

While we do welcome the introduction of the fingerprint sensor, it's still not available in the US. Yes, Sony's bound by contracts signed in the past to not use the technology stateside and that's that for as long as the agreements stipulate. We guess it's really a matter of accepting the fact.

Stereo speakers, however, are entirely up to Sony, and they're still missing on the XA1 Plus. Their absence on the larger Ultra is more baffling, but the Plus could have benefited from a pair of speakers just as well. Seems like there's plenty of room with those bezels, no?

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

There'll be more to say on bezels when we round up the hardware on the following page, but we'll kick it off in our usual fashion with the unboxing first. Let's go.

Unboxing

The Xperia XA1 Plus arrives in a pretty much the same box as any other recent Xperia, just different size. Inside, you'll generally find whatever Sony's decided is the best fit for your particular market. Our review unit packs a basic charger (5V/1.5A) and a USB-C cable.

Package contents - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Package contents

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus 360-degree spin

The Xperia XA1 Plus measures 155 x 75 x 8.7mm and sure enough that's smack in the middle between the XA1 and XA1 Ultra in terms of height - the XA1 is a centimeter shorter, the Ultra is a centimeter taller.

It's not exactly so when it comes to width - remember, the Plus isn't as side bezelless as the other two. So the Plus is 4mm narrower than the Ultra, and 8mm wider than the XA1 - but there's a fingerprint sensor, so it's all good.

In the grand scheme of things, the Xperia XA1 Plus is reasonably sized for a 5.5-inch phone.

Reasonable is the best you can say about the weight - the Xperia XA1 Plus is a rather hefty 189g, actually 1g more than the Ultra. But hey, there's so much more battery inside. Then again, a 5.5-inch Xiaomi Mi Note 4 has a 4,100mAh cell and weighs just 165g.

Hardware overview

For all our usual whining about Sony's unimaginative smartphone design, the Xperia XA1 and XA1 Plus, much like their last year's siblings, gave hints that things could be different. Well, not the XA1 Plus - not quite, at least.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

Yes, we're talking bezels, the XA1 and XA1 Ultra had very little of them on the sides. The XA1 Plus is a little more traditional Sony than its XA1 stablemates in that it has a slightly beefier frame on the sides. It's an iteration on the Loop surface concept that's scheduled to be replaced soon, but even so, the XA1 Plus isn't as bad an offender as, say, the XZ1.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

The whole point of the slightly thicker sides is to be able to accommodate the power button/fingerprint reader combo on the right. It's not an unreasonable trade-off, we reckon. Also, do note that the XA1 Plus' display starts right where the side rails end - there's no additional passe-partout of sorts to add extra width like on the XZ1.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

Now, the chin and forehead are here to stay - miracles aren't to be expected from the XA1 Plus. The top bezel is slightly thicker than the bottom one and that might irk symmetry fans. Those same folks could enjoy the symmetrical slits next to the edges of the phone until they learn that no, those aren't stereo speakers. The top one is just an earpiece, and the bottom one is just for... well... symmetry.

The top bezel also houses the front facing camera and the usual set of ambient light/proximity sensors. There's also a Sony logo right there in the middle - some hate logos on the front, others couldn't care less. What most of us do care about is the LED notification light - there is one to the left of the selfie camera.

Classic Sony - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewBlack on black makes the bezels less obvious - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe usual stuff above the display - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewJust a design element, this slit - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Classic Sony • Black on black makes the bezels less obvious • The usual stuff above the display • Just a design element, this slit

Flip over to the back and there's the Xperia logo waiting for you on the satin finished plastic back. The NFC antenna is a little higher up - Sony likes to move that around between models, sometimes on the front and sometimes on the back, so it's good to have a pointer as to where it is on your particular phone. The camera is in the top left corner - you can count on that in the majority of Sony handsets.

Satin plastic back - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera in the top left - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Satin plastic back • Camera in the top left

There's a good old 3.5mm headphone jack on the top plate, and the secondary mic is also here. You'll find the USB-C port centered on the bottom, and the loudspeaker, the real actual one, is to the right side.

Top of the phone with 3.5mm jack - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewUSB-C port and the single loudspeaker on the bottom - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewUSB-C port and the single loudspeaker on the bottom - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Top of the phone with 3.5mm jack • USB-C port and the single loudspeaker on the bottom

On the left side of the phone is where the card slot is. The SIM card cradle pulls out together with the flap, at which point the phone restarts - should we even start the usual rant? The microSD slot is the push to insert, push to eject variety. We especially like the way Sony handles the regulatory markings, though - much better than drawing garbage containers on the back of the phone.

Left side - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCard tray and regulatory labels - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewRight side - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewFingerprint reader and volume rocker - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Left side • Card tray and regulatory labels • Right side • Fingerprint reader and volume rocker

The right side of the phone is where you'll find the fingerprint reader that makes the Plus stand out among fellow XA1s. Above it is the volume rocker and there's still a two-stage manual shutter button towards the bottom of the right side - a Sony exclusive.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

In your hands, the Xperia XA1 Plus feels boxy and there's certain heft to it - both of these can be good or bad, depending on where you stand. If you've handled one of the bezelless devices of late, you're likely to find the Xperia bulky for its display size. Then again, those bezels are hard to beat when you want to hold it in landscape for gaming or whatnot. It's not like there are speakers on the front to block with your fingers.

In the hand - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewIn the hand - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
In the hand

5.5-inch FullHD display isn't as bluish as the body

But it's close. More on that later, though. The Xperia XA1 Plus is equipped with a 5.5-inch IPS display of FullHD resolution, making the XA1 proper the only one of the three XA1s to sport a 720p panel. 1080p stretched over a 5.5-inch diagonal makes for a 401ppi density and is basically the gold standard for a midranger of this size.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

It's also plenty bright. A maximum brightness around 600nits secures it a top spot among its peers, a few nits short of its Ultra sibling. Contrast is great too, not AMOLED-great, but awesome for an LCD.

Display test 100% brightness
Black, cd/m2 White, cd/m2 Contrast ratio
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra 0.382 603 1579
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus 0.376 591 1572
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard) 0.343 549 1601
Sony Xperia XA1 0.512 537 1049
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) Max auto 0 533
Sony Xperia L1 (Max Auto) 0.571 531 930
Nokia 6 (Global version) 0.364 484 1330
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 0.322 484 1503
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) Max Auto 0 482
Sony Xperia L1 0.47 450 957
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 0 432
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) 0 425
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) 0 348

Sunlight legibility is average on the XA1 Plus. The plain XA1 is marginally better, while the Ultra is more noticeably so. AMOLEDs are superior out in direct sunlight, all of them.

Sunlight contrast ratio

  • Samsung Galaxy S8
    4.768
  • Samsung Galaxy S8+
    4.658
  • Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
    4.615
  • Motorola Moto Z2 Play
    4.459
  • Oppo R11
    4.454
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
    4.439
  • OnePlus 3
    4.424
  • Samsung Galaxy S7
    4.376
  • HTC One A9
    4.274
  • Samsung Galaxy Note7
    4.247
  • Samsung Galaxy A3
    4.241
  • Nokia 8
    4.239
  • OnePlus 3T
    4.232
  • Google Pixel XL
    4.164
  • ZTE Axon 7
    4.154
  • Samsung Galaxy Note8
    4.148
  • Meizu Pro 7 Plus
    4.147
  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    4.124
  • Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
    4.124
  • Samsung Galaxy Note5
    4.09
  • LG V30
    4.022
  • Huawei Nexus 6P
    4.019
  • OnePlus X
    3.983
  • Vivo Xplay5 Elite
    3.983
  • Apple iPhone 7
    3.964
  • Oppo R7s
    3.964
  • Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
    3.957
  • Huawei P9 Plus
    3.956
  • Meizu Pro 6 Plus
    3.935
  • Lenovo Moto Z
    3.931
  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
    3.918
  • OnePlus 5
    3.914
  • Samsung Galaxy C5
    3.911
  • Samsung Galaxy C7
    3.896
  • Samsung Galaxy A5
    3.895
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
    3.879
  • Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
    3.873
  • Samsung Galaxy A8
    3.859
  • Sony Xperia XZs
    3.818
  • Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
    3.817
  • Motorola Moto X (2014)
    3.816
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    3.812
  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
    3.804
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
    3.802
  • LG V20 Max auto
    3.798
  • Xiaomi Redmi Pro
    3.798
  • Sony Xperia XZ
    3.795
  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
    3.789
  • Apple iPhone 6s
    3.783
  • Meizu Pro 5
    3.781
  • Microsoft Lumia 650
    3.772
  • Xiaomi Mi 6
    3.767
  • Sony Xperia XZ1
    3.765
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
    3.756
  • Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
    3.729
  • Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
    3.725
  • Oppo F1 Plus
    3.709
  • Vivo X5Pro
    3.706
  • Sony Xperia X Compact
    3.694
  • Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
    3.688
  • Apple iPhone SE
    3.681
  • Huawei Mate 9
    3.68
  • Samsung Galaxy A7
    3.679
  • Meizu PRO 6
    3.659
  • BlackBerry Priv
    3.645
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    3.597
  • Apple iPhone 7 Plus
    3.588
  • LG G6
    3.556
  • Apple iPhone 6s Plus
    3.53
  • Motorola Moto Z Play
    3.526
  • Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
    3.523
  • Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
    3.523
  • Acer Jade Primo
    3.521
  • Microsoft Lumia 950
    3.512
  • Oppo R7 Plus
    3.499
  • nubia Z11
    3.466
  • Huawei P10 Plus
    3.456
  • HTC U Ultra
    3.453
  • Samsung Galaxy J7
    3.422
  • Meizu MX5
    3.416
  • LG V20
    3.402
  • Huawei P10
    3.379
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
    3.378
  • Oppo R9s
    3.352
  • Honor 8 Pro
    3.341
  • Oppo R7
    3.32
  • Lenovo P2
    3.316
  • Honor 9
    3.289
  • Xiaomi Mi 5s
    3.276
  • Nokia 5
    3.261
  • Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
    3.244
  • Xiaomi Mi 5
    3.24
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    3.238
  • Samsung Galaxy J2
    3.235
  • Sony Xperia X Performance
    3.234
  • Xiaomi Mi Note 2
    3.228
  • Motorola Moto X Play
    3.222
  • Oppo F3 Plus
    3.218
  • Huawei Mate 9 Pro
    3.206
  • Huawei P9
    3.195
  • ZTE Nubia Z17
    3.159
  • Lenovo Vibe Shot
    3.113
  • Motorola Moto X Force
    3.105
  • LG Nexus 5X
    3.092
  • HTC U11
    3.089
  • Huawei Mate S
    3.073
  • Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
    3.065
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    3.012
  • Sony Xperia L1
    2.994
  • Sony Xperia X
    2.989
  • Huawei P10 Lite
    2.974
  • Samsung Galaxy Note
    2.97
  • Sony Xperia Z1
    2.95
  • Huawei Mate 8
    2.949
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    2.93
  • Xiaomi Redmi 4
    2.92
  • Xiaomi Redmi 3S
    2.913
  • Sony Xperia XA Ultra
    2.906
  • LG G5
    2.905
  • HTC One S
    2.901
  • Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
    2.893
  • Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
    2.884
  • Sony Xperia XZ Premium
    2.877
  • Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
    2.877
  • Sony Xperia Z5
    2.876
  • Nokia 3
    2.871
  • Microsoft Lumia 550
    2.851
  • Lenovo Moto M
    2.813
  • Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
    2.803
  • Sony Xperia Z5 compact
    2.784
  • Meizu MX6
    2.751
  • LG V10
    2.744
  • Xiaomi Redmi 3
    2.735
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
    2.714
  • Meizu M5
    2.71
  • Sony Xperia M5
    2.69
  • Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
    2.679
  • Huawei P9 Lite
    2.679
  • Vivo V3Max
    2.659
  • Xiaomi Mi Mix
    2.658
  • Doogee Mix
    2.642
  • Xiaomi Mi 4i
    2.641
  • Xiaomi Redmi 4a
    2.635
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
    2.616
  • Sony Xperia XA
    2.609
  • Motorola Moto G4 Plus
    2.582
  • Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
    2.582
  • Meizu M5s
    2.58
  • Xiaomi Mi 4c
    2.574
  • LeEco Le Max 2
    2.567
  • Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
    2.563
  • Microsoft Lumia 640
    2.563
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    2.561
  • Lenovo K6 Note
    2.544
  • Lenovo Moto G4
    2.544
  • Oppo F1
    2.528
  • Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
    2.525
  • Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
    2.506
  • Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
    2.503
  • Oppo F1s
    2.481
  • Motorola Moto G
    2.477
  • Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
    2.473
  • Huawei G8
    2.471
  • Huawei nova
    2.467
  • Sony Xperia Z
    2.462
  • Lenovo Vibe K5
    2.459
  • Meizu m3 max
    2.447
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
    2.417
  • HTC 10 evo
    2.407
  • Huawei Honor 7
    2.406
  • Sony Xperia E5
    2.386
  • ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
    2.382
  • HTC 10
    2.378
  • Oppo F3
    2.376
  • vivo V5 Plus
    2.371
  • Meizu m1 note
    2.362
  • Huawei nova plus
    2.329
  • HTC One E9+
    2.305
  • Alcatel One Touch Hero
    2.272
  • Apple iPhone 4S
    2.269
  • Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
    2.254
  • Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
    2.253
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
    2.249
  • Sony Xperia C4 Dual
    2.235
  • Xiaomi Mi Note
    2.234
  • Motorola Moto G (2014)
    2.233
  • LG Nexus 5
    2.228
  • Huawei P8
    2.196
  • Meizu M5 Note
    2.189
  • Huawei Honor 6
    2.169
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
    2.166
  • OnePlus Two
    2.165
  • HTC One X
    2.158
  • LG Aka
    2.145
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
    2.145
  • Archos 50 Diamond
    2.134
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note
    2.119
  • Xiaomi Mi 4S
    2.095
  • Acer Liquid X2
    2.084
  • Huawei P8lite
    2.078
  • vivo V5
    2.059
  • Moto G 3rd gen max manual
    2.026
  • Xiaomi Mi 3
    2.001
  • Xiaomi Mi Max
    1.996
  • Sony Xperia E4g
    1.972
  • OnePlus One
    1.961
  • Meizu m3 note
    1.923
  • BlackBerry Leap
    1.892
  • Meizu m2 note
    1.892
  • HTC Butterfly
    1.873
  • Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
    1.772
  • ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
    1.759
  • Sony Xperia U
    1.758
  • Asus Zenfone Selfie
    1.68
  • Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
    1.675
  • ZTE Nubia Z9
    1.659
  • Motorola Moto E
    1.545
  • Sony Xperia M
    1.473
  • Sony Xperia L
    1.351
  • Xiaomi Redmi 2
    1.311
  • HTC Desire C
    1.3
  • Sony Xperia C
    1.283
  • Meizu MX
    1.221
  • Sony Xperia E
    1.215

It's color reproduction where the XA1 Plus fails to impress. Its whites lean heavily towards cyan, to the tune of a DeltaE of around 10. The average DeltaE is an okay 5.7, but the whites you'll probably notice. The reds are quite muted too, particularly if you're coming from an AMOLED, but also just looking at the Plus on its own.

Connectivity

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus comes in single and Dual SIM flavors. Ours is the single SIM version, so we can't comment on how the Dual SIM variety handles the two cards. Cat.6 LTE is supported by the Helio P20's modem for download speeds of up to 300Mbps.

Wi-Fi b/g/n over 2.4GHz and a/n over 5GHz is supported, but not ac. You can stream video wirelessly over Miracast but the XA1 Ultra isn't DLNA certified.

Bluetooth is v4.2 LE and comes with the audio-focused aptX protocol as well.

NFC is available too, and so is an FM radio receiver.

For positioning, you get GPS and GLONASS, but no BDS or Galileo.

Peripherals can be connected via the USB-C port, but USB 2.0 limits transfer speeds to 480Mbps. There's a good old 3.5mm jack for attaching headphones too.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus battery life

The Plus in Xperia XA1 Plus may as well stand for extra battery. The phone packs substantially more juice than the larger Ultra. With its 3,430mAh, the Plus is better equipped than most current 5.5-inch devices in its segment which gravitate around the 3,000mAh mark. There's, of course, the notable exception of the Redmi Note 4 and its 4,100mAh power pack.

Anyway, the Xperia XA1 Plus is running on the efficient 16nm Helio P20 chip, one that already proved its strengths in the battery department on the XA1 and XA1 Ultra. Quite expectedly given its extra capacity, the Plus excels in terms of endurance.

Voice call longevity isn't spectacular, but at nearly 23 hours it's more than enough. Fifteen and a half hours of browsing the web over Wi-Fi is the best bit about the Plus' battery life, but twelve and half hours of video playback is pretty great too. The phone is quite frugal in its standby battery draw too, rounding up a superb showing by the XA1 Plus.

Crunching those numbers in our endurance formula produces an overall rating of 102 hours - triple-digit endurance ratings are the bomb.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus

Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Sony Xperia XA1 Plus for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Android 7.0 with a select few Xperia bits

The recent Xperia XZ1 is one of the first smartphones to launch on Android Oreo, but that's not the XA1 Plus' fate even though it comes out at a later stage - it's Android 7.0 Nougat instead. No worries - unless you're specifically after some of Oreo's new features, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference, as Sony's customizations are both very light and consistent between devices and OS versions.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

The XA1 Plus has a fingerprint reader, a first in the XA lineup. Well, not in the US it doesn't, but the rest of the world gets the side mounted power button/fingerprint sensor combo you'd find on higher end Xperias.

Fingerprint settings - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewFingerprint settings - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewFingerprint settings - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewFingerprint settings - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewFingerprint settings - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Fingerprint settings

There is, of course Smart Lock that you can turn to for some conditional security - trusted nearby devices, locations, faces, or voices can allow you to skip the security unlock protocol that you may have set up on the phone.

Lockscreen - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewA notification - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewClock styles - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSmart lock - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Lockscreen • A notification • Clock styles • Smart lock

The homescreen has remained unchanged in Xperias of late. This includes the swipe down gesture: it shows a screen of the apps you use the most, along with recommendations for new apps to install. The search field is highlighted so that you can start typing the app's name immediately.

Homescreen - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHomescreen - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewApp search and suggestions - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewFolder view - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHomescreen settings - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Homescreen • Homescreen • App search and suggestions • Folder view • Homescreen settings

The traditional app drawer is present, and you'll find a number of proprietary apps pre-installed, though Track ID is gone now (the app and the service).

The app drawer is quite functional as well, letting you sort the apps by frequency of use, name, date installed or a custom arrangement. The app search works here too, and you can go into a management state, allowing you to uninstall multiple apps instead of having to drag each one to a virtual waste bin.

App drawer - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSorting options - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewApp management - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
App drawer • Sorting options • App management

Themes are available (both free and paid) that can customize the look and sound of the Xperia XA1 Plus. There are a few generic themes pre-loaded and you can download a more varied selection from the theme store.

Xperia themes - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewPlenty available to download - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewToucan theme - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewToucan theme - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewToucan theme - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Xperia themes • Plenty available to download • Toucan theme

The notification area is plain Android. You can re-arrange the quick toggle tiles and adjust the screen brightness. What's missing is a toggle for Auto brightness (you need to go into the settings for that). It's the way stock Android is set up, but we've always missed that option and we're always relying on custom UIs to enable it. Well, Sony doesn't.

The app switcher is similarly a vanilla Android affair, with the rolodex look and a Close-All button, though the latter is out of immediate reach in the top right corner. The native Nougat multi-window is present - in Sony's implementation if a running app supports split screen, you will be able to snap it at the top or bottom of the screen right from the rolodex. It's easy to use the split screen mode, but there is no way of knowing which app supports it - you have to start it first and then try to snap it to see. It's also a 50/50 split always, you can't resize the windows.

No-nonsense task switcher - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSplit screen apps - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewNotification area is vanilla Android - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewNo auto brightness toggle - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewNo auto brightness toggle - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
No-nonsense task switcher • Split screen apps • Notification area is vanilla Android • No auto brightness toggle

The Smart cleaner feature will periodically empty the cache of apps you haven't used in a while. You can switch this off, or just manually tell it not to bother with certain apps.

Smart cleaner frees up memory of both kinds - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSmart cleaner frees up memory of both kinds - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSmart cleaner frees up memory of both kinds - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSmart cleaner frees up memory of both kinds - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Smart cleaner frees up memory of both kinds

Sony ships its latest Xperias with a proprietary backup solution built-in. It can backup applications, contacts, messages, and phone settings. The backup info itself can be stored in the cloud under your Sony online account, or locally on the microSD card or an external USB device. Backups can be scheduled or executed on demand.

Scheduled backups are the best way to prevent data loss - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewScheduled backups are the best way to prevent data loss - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewScheduled backups are the best way to prevent data loss - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewScheduled backups are the best way to prevent data loss - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Scheduled backups are the best way to prevent data loss

Synthetic benchmarks

The Xperia XA1 Plus is powered by the same chipset as the other two XA1s this year - the Mediatek Helio P20. It's built on a 16nm fabrication process, so it should be power-efficient while providing adequate performance thanks to an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU in a 4x2.3Ghz + 4x1.6GHz configuration. The GPU is a Mali-T880MP2, and RAM on our unit is 4GB, though there are 3GB versions too.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

We ran the usual set of benchmarks on the XA1 Plus and here are the results, starting with GeekBench. In the single-core portion of the benchmark the XA1 Plus inches ahead of the Ultra, the two of them narrowly topping this chart of mid-tier devices with P20s, S625s, Exynos 78x0s, and a Kirin 658 thrown in for good measure. Oh, and the Nokia that can't quite keep up with the rest, with only a Snapdragon 430 at the helm.

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    901
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    897
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    888
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    887
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    877
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    868
  • Moto G5S Plus
    843
  • Huawei P10 lite
    834
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    824
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    734
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    731
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    665

In the multi-core chart the S625, represented by the Moto G5S Plus and the Mi A1/Mi 5X (pretty much the same phone), takes a clear lead in front of the P20s. The Xperia XA1 Plus and the Ultra come next, followed closely by an Exynos 7870-packing Galaxy J7 (2017). Oddly, the Mi Max 2 isn't faring too well here, despite its S625 chip, so not all S625s implementations are equally well executed.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    4292
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    4225
  • Moto G5S Plus
    4193
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    3807
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    3783
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    3779
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    3667
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    3611
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    3509
  • Huawei P10 lite
    3344
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    2841
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    2445

The same can be said about the P20s, if you look at the Antutu scores - seemingly identical configurations like the Xperia XA1 Plus and Ultra post very different numbers, the Ultra clearly having the upper hand. In fact, the Plus only manages to beat the Nokia 6 (S430) and the Galaxy J5 (2017) and J7 (2017), the Galaxies featuring Exynos 7870 tickers.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    64983
  • Huawei nova plus
    64680
  • Moto G5S Plus
    64554
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    63548
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    61762
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
    61616
  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
    61020
  • Huawei P10 lite
    60895
  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    60767
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    60707
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    57996
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    57902
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    55657
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    47495
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    46822
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    46400

The Plus pulls ahead of the Ultra in Basemark OS II 2.0, the second benchmark we use for judging

overall performance. Here, the XA1 Plu ranks towards the middle of the pack, with results being more varied between devices - putting more emphasis on memory and storage performance reveals more differences in fine tuning.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
    1417
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    1351
  • Huawei P10 lite
    1284
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    1262
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    1246
  • Huawei nova plus
    1215
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    1198
  • Moto G5S Plus
    1176
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    1163
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    1107
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
    1050
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    1038
  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    497
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    379
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    349

Look at those Basemark X numbers and let's talk about consistency. In this graphics-only benchmark, the six Snapdragon 625 devices are within a little over 1% of difference. The three Xperias exhibit a similar behavior, but the Galaxy J7 Max (itself packing a P20) is a few hundred points behind - Sony's squeezing a smidgeon more out of the Mali-T880 MP2 GPU than Samsung.

Basemark X

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    14619
  • Huawei nova plus
    10524
  • Moto G5S Plus
    10488
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    10482
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    10472
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
    10446
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    10403
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    9714
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    9598
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    9543
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    9034
  • Huawei P10 lite
    7588
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    7516
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    5489
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    5258

In the OpenGL 3.1-based Basemark ES 3.1 the Xperia XA1 Plus clocks in virtually the same score as its bros, and here the Galaxy J7 Max is keeping up better. The higher-end Galaxies A5 (2017) and A7 (2017) rule in this benchmark, though the A7 is oddly behind the A5 despite similar specs. The Snapdragon 625 devices are struggling to compete with their P20 peers under this particular load.

Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
    259
  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    229
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    192
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    191
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    191
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    187
  • Huawei P10 lite
    145
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    138
  • Huawei nova plus
    138
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    138
  • Moto G5S Plus
    137
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    136
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    100
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    93
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    93
And finally, some GFXBenching. Looking at the offscreen scores (rendered at 1080p regardless of actual display resolution), it becomes evident that the Galaxy A5 (2017) and A7 (2017) have the most raw power at their disposal, but the XA1 Plus still manages about a third of their framerates. And since most phones here have 1080p displays anyway, the picture doesn't change much into onscreen testing. Well, if you don't count the Xperia XA1 proper, which storms to the top thanks to its 720p resolution

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
    15
  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    14
  • Huawei nova plus
    9.9
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
    9.9
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    9.9
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    9.8
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    9.8
  • Moto G5S Plus
    9.8
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    9.6
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    9.6
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    9.6
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    9
  • Huawei P10 lite
    7.8
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    7.1
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    5.1
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    5.1

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Sony Xperia XA1
    19
  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    15
  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
    15
  • Moto G5S Plus
    10
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    10
  • Huawei nova plus
    10
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    10
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    10
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    9.9
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    9.7
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    9.7
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
    9.7
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    8.9
  • Huawei P10 lite
    8.4
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    7
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    5.1

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    5.2
  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
    5.2
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    4
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    3.7
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    3.7
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    3.7
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    3.5
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    3.5
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    3.5
  • Moto G5S Plus
    3.4
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
    3.4
  • Huawei nova plus
    3.4
  • Huawei P10 lite
    2.8
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    2.5
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    1.9
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    1.9

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Sony Xperia XA1
    7.9
  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    5.2
  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
    5.2
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    4
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    4
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    4
  • Moto G5S Plus
    3.8
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    3.8
  • Huawei nova plus
    3.7
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    3.5
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    3.5
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    3.5
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
    3.4
  • Huawei P10 lite
    3
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    2.5
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    1.9

Basemark X

Higher is better

  • Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
    14619
  • Huawei nova plus
    10524
  • Moto G5S Plus
    10488
  • Xiaomi Mi Max 2
    10482
  • Xiaomi Mi A1
    10472
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
    10446
  • Xiaomi Mi 5X
    10403
  • Sony Xperia XA1
    9714
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
    9598
  • Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
    9543
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max
    9034
  • Huawei P10 lite
    7588
  • Nokia 6 (Global version)
    7516
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
    5489
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
    5258

A predictable showing by the Xperia XA1 Plus overall - the smartphone falls in line with previously tested Xperias with the same chipset and also proves to non-believers that Mediatek can indeed make a proper midrange SoC. The Snapdragon 625 is slightly more powerful in multi-core CPU usage, but the XA1 Plus' P20 is superior in single-core applications and has a minor edge in graphics. If you want the ultimate performance in this class, the Exynos 7880 is the way to go, but the Plus and its P20 appear unfazed by the Exynos 7870 devices.

Telephony

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus we have for review is the single SIM version. Dual SIM versions are also available in some markets.

The list of favorites, the call log and the contacts are all tabs within the same app, and the dialer is summoned with a tap on a button. The call log can be filtered by missed, incoming and outgoing calls. Smart dial is supported too.

Dialer with smart dial - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewIn-call screen - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCall log - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewPhonebook - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewFavorites - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Dialer with smart dial • In-call screen • Call log • Phonebook • Favorites

Loudspeaker

The XA1 Plus is one of the loudest Xperias we've tested. It's single bottom-firing loudspeaker pumps out more decibels than the larger Ultra and stays distortion free even at maximum amplification. An easy Excellent mark in our three-prong test.

Speakerphone test Voice, dB Pink noise/ Music, dB Ringing phone, dB Overall score
Sony Xperia XZ Premium 62.9 65.2 71.6 Below Average
Sony Xperia XZ1 (ClearAudio+) 64.5 67.6 67.7 Below Average
Oppo F3 63.1 68.7 70.4 Average
Sony Xperia XA1 61.7 69.7 71.8 Average
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) 66.6 66.1 81.5 Good
Nokia 6 (Global version) 63.1 70.9 82.5 Good
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 67.3 70.3 81.5 Very Good
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) 68.0 70.2 82.3 Very Good
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra 68.3 71.6 81.0 Very Good
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 66.1 70.0 85.3 Very Good
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) 67.8 71.2 83.1 Very Good
Xiaomi Mi 5X 78.4 73.9 88.4 Excellent
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus 88.9 77.8 84.6 Excellent

Text input

For text entry, Sony has been sticking with the SwiftKey keyboard for a while now, and the Xperia XA1 Plus doesn't break with tradition. SwiftKey is touted as having one of the best prediction algorithms and offers pretty much everything: multiple layouts and themes, 5 different sizes, undocking, secondary symbols upon long press, swipe input, and emojis.

Swiftkey keyboard is the default text input method - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSwiftkey keyboard is the default text input method - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSwiftkey keyboard is the default text input method - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSwiftkey keyboard is the default text input method - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSwiftkey keyboard is the default text input method - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Swiftkey keyboard is the default text input method

Other apps

The News app is a news aggregator, pulling stories from sources on topics of your choice. It can also issue two daily bulletins for you at a time you specify, so you don't miss out on current events.

News - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewNews - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewNews - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewNews - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
News

Xperia lounge is Sony's own entertainment app, feeding you exclusive content and competitions related to music, movies and games.

Xperia Lounge - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewXperia Lounge - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewXperia Lounge - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Xperia Lounge

There is a file manager, strictly speaking, but it's buried in the storage options in the Settings menu. It does allow basic copy and move actions, on multiple items too. However, you can't access it from the app drawer, all you get there is a shortcut to a downloads folder.

Sony's health-tracking app Lifelog doesn't come pre-installed, though all it takes to download it is a trip to the Play Store.

Sony's Album remains a great gallery app

The Xperia XA1 Plus comes pre-loaded with Sony's Album app. We've always enjoyed it for its comprehensive feature set and ease of use, and it's no different here. Under the default view, at the very top of the list is a slideshow, showing off your photos. Lower down, the first photo of each month is shown at twice the size of other images. Photos are organized by month, and you can use pinch-zoom to change the size of thumbnails (then they smoothly animate into the grid).

The Album app is beautiful and functional - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe Album app is beautiful and functional - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe Album app is beautiful and functional - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe Album app is beautiful and functional - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe Album app is beautiful and functional - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
The Album app is beautiful and functional

You can also browse photos on a map (you can manually add geotag info too) or by folder. This includes network storage so that you can view photos from a DLNA server (your home computer, for one). Then there's integration with online albums - Facebook, Flickr, and Google Photos (which Sony stubbornly keeps calling Picasa).

Image editing is handled by several apps, including the default Image Editor, which is pretty powerful itself.

Viewing an image - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe image editor is quite powerful - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe image editor is quite powerful - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe image editor is quite powerful - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe image editor is quite powerful - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Viewing an image • The image editor is quite powerful

Sketch lets you fingerpaint over a photo or a paper-like texture, add text, stickers, photos and so on. If you're talented, you can share your creations on the Sketch mini-social network. We stuck with just browsing through what others drew.

Sketch is a fun image editor with a mini social network for sharing art - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSketch is a fun image editor with a mini social network for sharing art - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSketch is a fun image editor with a mini social network for sharing art - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSketch is a fun image editor with a mini social network for sharing art - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Sketch is a fun image editor with a mini social network for sharing art

Movie Creator is similar to the Google Photos Assistant. It automatically creates short videos from the photos and videos you've shot. You can do it manually too: pick photos and videos, change their order, and add color effects and music (you get a small audio collection to start off with, but you can use custom files too). Then tap the Share button and send out your animated slideshow.

The Movie Creator can automatically or manually make shareable slideshows - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe Movie Creator can automatically or manually make shareable slideshows - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe Movie Creator can automatically or manually make shareable slideshows - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe Movie Creator can automatically or manually make shareable slideshows - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewThe Movie Creator can automatically or manually make shareable slideshows - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
The Movie Creator can automatically or manually make shareable slideshows

Music app

The Music app is Sony's custom player that comes pre-installed on the XA1 Plus, and it feels like part of the same software package as Album. The contextual side menu offers many of the same browsing options - by folder, network folder, and online services like Spotify (it's just a link to the Spotify app though). You can share music from the phone to compatible players.

Music app - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewMusic app - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewMusic app - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewMusic app - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewMusic app - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Music app

The app can find the track's video on YouTube, look up info about the artist on Wikipedia, and search for lyrics on Google.

The Music app offers a variety of audio settings - ClearAudio+ determines the best audio quality settings depending on the track you're listening to. Dynamic normalizer evens out the volume differences across tracks, which is great if you've mixed multiple albums from multiple sources.

Audio settings - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewAudio settings - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewAudio settings - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Audio settings

FM Radio present, but no TrackID anymore

The Xperia XA1 Plus comes with an FM radio receiver and an app to go with it - and Sony's is probably the best one we've seen. It has nice visuals, pulls the stations' names over RDS, and you can pick favorites. You can also assign colors to group the stations - say blue for news, yellow for rock music, or purple for house stations.

There's no Track ID anymore, not just on the XA1 Plus but at all - Sony shut down the service altogether on September 15.

FM radio - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewFM radio - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
FM radio

Video

Named simply Video, the app does little more than what it says on the tin. It can play your local videos and videos on your home network, plus it has extensive subtitle settings. The TV guide functionality that was part of the app on older phones has been removed for a while now - since the end of May.

Video player - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewVideo player - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewVideo player - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewVideo player - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Video player

Decent audio output

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus audio output is excellently clean when used with an active external amplifier, but only average in loudness.

Clarity degradation caused by headphones consists of a smallish hike in stereo crosstalk, which means you still get to enjoy pretty accurate audio reproduction. Sadly, the volume drops to below average so it’s not quite perfect.

Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus +0.02, -0.12 -90.6 88.8 0.015 0.028 -83.5
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus(headphones attached) +0.15, -0.07 -85.8 91.4 0.032 0.063 -56.5
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra +0.02, -0.18 -93.9 94.0 0.0053 0.0089 -91.3
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra (headphones attached) +0.65, -0.18 -93.2 93.3 0.176 0.485 -51.9
Oppo F3 Plus +0.03, -0.01 -93.5 93.3 0.0010 0.0066 -92.0
Oppo F3 Plus (headphones attached) +0.55, -0.02 -92.4 92.5 0.0090 0.315 -58.1
Huawei Honor 8 Pro +0.04, -0.01 -93.3 95.0 0.0018 0.0075 -93.3
Huawei Honor 8 Pro (headphones attached) +0.15, -0.02 -92.6 94.2 0.0023 0.100 -63.9

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus frequency response
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.

Multi-aspect IMX300 on board, images up to 23MP

The Plus, quite like its Xperia XA1 brethren, comes equipped with a 23MP camera on its back. It's no news that the pair of an in-house IMX300 sensor and a 24mm-equiv. f/2.0 aperture lens was once the camera of Sony flagships. In existance since the Z5 series, the IMX300 was relegated to Sony's mid-tier devices, the XA1 Plus included.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

Depending on whether you shoot in 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio, different portions of the sensor are used; you get either 22.8MP or 20.1MP images, respectively, and never the full 24.8MP. Hence the official 23MP designation. Among the benefits of having such a multi-aspect sensor are the similar field of view in both modes (measured diagonally), and higher-res 16:9 shots than what you'd get by cropping from a regular 23MP sensor which has a 4:3 aspect ratio.

You can read more about the IMX300 it in our dedicated article, which we published back when the Z5 came out (when the sensor's designation wasn't official, strictly speaking).

The Xperia XA1 Plus doesn't get the laser autofocusing and the RGBC-IR sensor that came with the same 23MP image sensor on the Xperia XZ and X Compact - there's only so many niceties allowed on this mid-range phone. Then again, they weren't game changers on those models, so their absence here is no big deal.

Camera interface

Sony's camera UI has been polished over the years, and the Xperia XA1 Plus comes with the latest iteration. You change modes by swiping up and down (or left and right, if you're holding it in portrait). A swipe will also let you switch to the selfie camera single-handedly.

Superior Auto is the default mode and it will try to adjust image parameters to better match the scene by recognizing among some two dozen different scenarios. It can also engage HDR for you (Backlit scene it's called), which isn't available as a toggle in this mode - it's only found in Manual mode.

Camera UI - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera UI - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera UI - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Camera UI

Other than HDR override, in Manual mode you get access to full range shutter speed selection (1/4000s - 1s), exposure compensation, white balance, and a manual focus slider. The ISO setting (50-3200) is still tucked away in an extra settings menu, though, and you can select sensitivity OR shutter speed, but not both at the same time.

Manual mode - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewManual mode - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewManual mode - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Manual mode

Image quality

The Xperia XA1 Plus captures an abundance of fine detail in bright light. There is, inevitably, visible noise in areas of uniform color, but not as much as to detract from the overall image. Superior Auto does a good job of recognizing the scene and dials up the saturation in landscape scenarios to achieve pleasingly vivid output. Dynamic range is decent too. There's a hint of corner softness, but it's in the absolute extremes, so you shouldn't worry.

Camera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/2933s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1916s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1779s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Camera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/2950s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/792s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/2079s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Camera samples in 4:3 ratio, 23MP, Superior Auto

Now, if you'd prefer to shoot in 16:9 ratio, you'd be getting 20MP images. Here are the same scenes shot in this aspect for a coverage comparison.

Camera samples in 16: 9 ratio, 20MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/4975s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 16: 9 ratio, 20MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1916s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 16: 9 ratio, 20MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1661s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Camera samples in 16: 9 ratio, 20MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/3215s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 16: 9 ratio, 20MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/792s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 16: 9 ratio, 20MP, Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/2227s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Camera samples in 16:9 ratio, 20MP, Superior Auto

Alternatively, you can ditch Superior Auto and shoot in Manual mode. If you don't play around with the sliders, it's almost as auto, only without the scene recognition. Samples below.

Camera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Manual - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/4975s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Manual - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1916s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Manual - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1558s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Camera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Manual - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/3115s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Manual - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/792s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewCamera samples in 4: 3 ratio, 23MP, Manual - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1661s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Camera samples in 4:3 ratio, 23MP, Manual

HDR mode can only be enabled manually in, um, Manual mode, but Superior Auto has you covered with Backlit scene mode, when it recognizes that it's a difficult high-contrast scene. Manual HDR tends to produce super saturated over the top images. For comparison, check out the shots below.

HDR comparison: Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/792s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHDR comparison: Manual, HDR on - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/845s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHDR comparison: Manual, HDR off - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/792s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
HDR comparison: Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/3906s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHDR comparison: Manual, HDR on - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/2933s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHDR comparison: Manual, HDR off - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/2933s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
HDR comparison: Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/132s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHDR comparison: Manual, HDR on - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/100s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHDR comparison: Manual, HDR off - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/105s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
HDR comparison: Superior Auto - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1916s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHDR comparison: Manual, HDR on - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1916s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewHDR comparison: Manual, HDR off - f/2.0, ISO 50, 1/1779s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
HDR comparison: Superior Auto • Manual, HDR on • Manual, HDR off

Panorama

Sony finally stepped into this century with its panorama mode a few models ago bringing improvements in both usability and end results. You can swipe in either direction and the phone will recognize it and act accordingly. Additionally, the resulting images are now around 3,600px tall as opposed to a measly 1,000px.

Stitching is quite well done, without visible flaws in stationary objects. Sharpness could be further improved, though.

Panorama sample shot in portrait - ISO 50, 1/2000s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Panorama sample shot in portrait

Feel free to check how the Xperia XA1 Plus stacks against the Galaxy A5 (2017) and the Xiaomi Mi 5X in our Photo Compare Tool. You can, of course, pick another set of competitors among the wide selection of devices we've tested over the years.

Photo Compare ToolPhoto Compare ToolPhoto Compare Tool
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus against the Galaxy A5 (2017) and the Xiaomi Mi 5X in our Photo compare tool

Selfies

The front facing camera of the XA1 Plus looks promising with an 8MP 1/4" sensor and a 23mm f/2.0 lens, complete with autofocus. In our experience it didn't seem to autofocus with remarkable consistency, tap to focus isn't available and there's no manual focus even in Manual mode, so it pays out to take multiple shots just in case. The keepers have good levels of detail and nice skin colors.

Selfie samples - f/2.0, ISO 125, 1/1330s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSelfie samples - f/2.0, ISO 125, 1/950s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSelfie samples - f/2.0, ISO 125, 1/1534s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Selfie samples

As with all rear cam photos, selfies can be taken in either Superior Auto or Manual mode and in both cases you can turn Soft skin effect on and off, though you don't get to pick the strength of it. Here's a comparison between Superior Auto with Soft skin off, Soft skin on, and Manual (where it only makes sense for it to be off, right?).

Selfie samples, Soft skin effect: Superior Auto, SS off - f/2.0, ISO 160, 1/100s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSelfie samples, Soft skin effect: Superior Auto, SS on - f/2.0, ISO 160, 1/100s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus reviewSelfie samples, Soft skin effect: Manual, SS off - f/2.0, ISO 160, 1/100s - Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review
Selfie samples, Soft skin effect: Superior Auto, SS off • Superior Auto, SS on • Manual, SS off

Video quality

The Xperia XA1 Plus tops out at 1080p/30fps when recording video, a limitation imposed by the Mediatek chipset, though we've seen Sony consistently keep 4K to its higher-end phones even when the hardware supports it. Competitors based on the Snapdragon 625 chip do have 4K video recording capabilities, so that's worth keeping in mind.

You also have the option for capturing the 1080p clips in HDR, but that won't get you a quality improvement.

The standard 1080p/30fps mode is encoded at about 17Mbps, which is the defacto standard. Audio is recorded in stereo at 128Kbps.

The video samples are soft and detail levels are unimpressive. The limited dynamic range in videos will leave you with pretty dark shadows, too.

You can also download a 1080p@30fps (10s, 22MB) video sample taken straight off the XA1 Plus.

As usual, the final step would be to examine the phone's video output in our video comparison tool. We've pre-selected the Galaxy A5 (2017) and the Xiaomi Mi 5X, but you can go ahead and pick your own set for comparisons.

Video Compare ToolVideo Compare ToolVideo Compare Tool
LG V30 against the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the HTC U11 in our Video compare tool

Final thoughts

To say that we were in love with the Xperia XA1 might be an overstatement, but let's put it that way - we did have a strong positive sentiment about Sony's compact midrange smartphone. Following the same recipe, Sony has now created the Xperia XA1 Plus.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

As the first 5.5-inch device in the series, the XA1 Plus slots in one of the most popular display diagonals. It's not as bulky as the Ultra, yet it has more screen real estate than the plain XA1. And while those two lack a fingerprint sensor, the Plus checks that box too.

Battery life is the true defining feature of the Plus compared to its siblings, but also to the majority of competitors out there. The generous battery capacity coupled with the 16nm Mediatek chipset results in a triple-digit endurance rating in our test - we don't get too many of those.

Here's the usual round-up of review findings for you, before we proceed with a few worthy alternatives of the Xperia XA1 Plus.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus key test findings

  • Customary Sony design, marginally better use of space than the flagship XZ1, slightly worse than the other two XA1s, but with a fingerprint reader to show for the thicker sides.
  • The display posts excellent numbers for brightness and contrast, but is less impressive when it comes to legibility in bright light and color rendition (cyan-tinted whites).
  • Great battery life (102h rating), particularly impressive web browsing times (15:31h) and good voice call and video playback numbers.
  • Vanilla Android with the most subtle of Sony customizations should please purists. However, Nougat 7.0 is pretty old now, and Sony does have phones running Oreo already.
  • The Helio P20 delivers adequate performance, comparable to competing chipsets in the power-efficiency targeted segment - whether it's the Exynos 7870, Snapdragon 625 or Kirin 658.
  • There are no stereo speakers, but the single loudspeaker pumps out more than enough decibels for an Excellent mark in our tests.
  • The 23MP primary camera we never truly loved in Sony's past flagships is a good fit for the midrange Xperia XA1 Plus, delivering plenty of detail, pleasing colors and wide dynamic range.
  • The 8MP front-facing shooter focuses slightly closer than arm's length, but that aside, it captures nicely detailed selfies with decent dynamic range and true to life skin tones.
  • The XA1 Plus' videos are usable in a pinch, but that's about it - detail is pretty low for 1080p resolution and many Snapdragon 625 competitors can capture 4K videos, unlike the Plus.

Alternatives

As part of the XA1 lineup, the Xperia XA1 Plus should perhaps first be compared to its siblings. Most things being equal, the Plus sticks out with battery life and fingerprint recognition. The smallest 5-inch XA1 proper should be on the short list of folks who value portability the most, obviously. The Ultra, on the other hand, is a top pick for media consumption thanks to its 6-inch screen, and it also stands out as the best selfie shooter among these three - its 16MP camera with a front-facing flash is superior to the flashless 8MP units of its stablemates.

Sony Xperia XA1Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
Sony Xperia XA1 • Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra

The Xperia XA1 Plus should keep an eye on another Plus, the Moto G5S Plus. They are quite evenly matched in a number of areas, but the Moto has a couple of cameras on its back and it can record 4K video - the Xperia has no answer to either of these. The XA1 Plus should have the upper hand in endurance in light of its extra battery capacity, though we can't be entirely certain since we haven't thoroughly tested the GS5 Plus yet.

Motorola Moto G5S Plus
Motorola Moto G5S Plus

Samsung, being Samsung, has a ton of options for you in the XA1 Plus' segment. The most obvious one appears to be the Galaxy A5 (2017). It may have a smaller 5.2-inch display, but it's an AMOLED unit. The A-series for this year are IP68 dust and water resistant, the A5's chipset is a notch more powerful, and the Galaxy can also challenge the Xperia on battery life. The XA1 Plus is promised to get Oreo, however, while the A5 could potentially end up on Android 7.0 for good, seeing as how it launched on Marshmallow.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

The Nokia 6 is Nokia's middle ground and it matches the Xperia XA1 Plus in display size and resolution. You'd be saving a few bills if you go that route, but the 6 is running on a lower-tier Snapdragon 430 chipset and can't compete with the Xperia in neither endurance nor performance. Perhaps only Nokia fans can stand up to Sony fans when it comes to brand loyalty, though, so maybe this dilemma is no dilemma at all.

Nokia 6
Nokia 6

If you're a little more adventurous, you can opt for the Xiaomi Mi A1 - a global Android One device. Fastest OS updates aside, the Mi A1 also features a dual camera on the back, complete with a portrait mode, and 4K video recording - no such goodies in the Xperia. The Mi A1 also comes with twice the Xperia's internal storage, at 64GB. It's also cheaper.

Xiaomi Mi A1 (5X)
Xiaomi Mi A1 (5X)

Verdict

Crowd-favorite display size, a large battery, fingerprint reader straight from the higher-end models - seems like the Xperia XA1 Plus is the XA1 to have. Plus, it shares the other strong points of its immediate kin - the once-flagship 23MP camera does a fine job for stills, and the 16nm Helio P20 chipset strikes a great balance between performance and efficiency. If you want a midranger outside of Sony camp, there are plenty of options. Inside it - the Xperia XA1 Plus stands out.

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