Smart Android And Trik-Commenting on Andorid indeed never endless, because smart devices this one is often updated every certain amount of time. So that the market can always be garapnya menerinya with pleasure. And it is not denied if this device has become the lifestyle of each society. To not wonder if the 6th business information and many are turning to mobail smartphone. With Android which thoroughly dominated the mobile industry, choosing the best Android smartphone is almost identical to choose the best smartphone, period. But while Android phones have few real opponents on other platforms, internal competition is intense.
Introduction
E turned into L in Sony's smartphone lineup last year and now comes generation two - the Sony Xperia L2. A year later, the new entry-level model comes with a few hardware improvements and an aesthetic to match the current company trends.
Sony's all about battery life this year and that focus is present on the L2 as well as on the XA2s - the L2's power pack is rated at 3,300mAh. It's a sizeable 26% increase over the L1's capacity and one that doesn't come at the expense of added weight - the L2 is actually 2g lighter than the outgoing model and tips the scales at 178g.
The chipset is the same unexciting Mediatek MT6737T with a quad-core 1.5GHz CPU, but RAM's gotten a bump to 3GB and storage has been doubled to 32GB - we'd like to see these numbers become the baseline.
Among the less obvious, but ever welcome upgrades, the main camera has been treated to a wider f/2.0 aperture (the L1's was f/2.2), while the selfie shooter is shared with the more expensive Xperia XA2 - it's the same 8MP ultra wide unit.
The Xperia L1 already had a USB-C port and we might have praised Sony one too many times for adopting the standard even on its low end phone - the L2 uses Type-C too. A new addition this year is the fingerprint sensor - on the back, just like on the mid-tier models.
Sony Xperia L2 specs
- Body: Gorilla Glass 4 front; plastic frame and back; black, gold, and pink (select markets only) color schemes.
- Display: 5.5" LCD, 1,280x720px resolution, 267ppi pixel density.
- Rear camera: 13MP, 1/3.06" sensor size, f/2.0 aperture; autofocus. 1080p/30fps video recording.
- Front camera: 8MP, 120-degree field of view; fixed focus. 1080p/30fps video recording.
- OS/Software: Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
- Chipset: Mediatek MT6737T: quad-core 1.45GHz Cortex-A53 CPU, dual-core Mali-T720 GPU.
- Memory: 3GB of RAM; 32GB storage; dedicated microSD slot for expansion.
- Battery: 3,300 mAh (sealed).
- Connectivity: Single/Dual SIM; LTE Cat. 4 (150Mbps download); USB-C; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n; GPS; NFC; Bluetooth 4.2.
- Misc: Rear-mounted fingerprint reader; single speaker on the bottom; 3.5mm jack.
The chipset is a bit of a weakling, and that's another thing we're not entirely thrilled about when looking at the L2's specsheet. A Snapdragon 450 would have looked better, and even a 430 would have made a more positive impression. A higher-res screen would have also made a world of a difference, but that might be asking too much.
Should we complain about Nougat on an entry-level device? Well, complain is what we do around here, so complain we will. OS version rant - check. Move on.
Sony Xperia L2 unboxing
The Xperia L2 comes in a plain white box - there's no explosion of colors once you remove the lid. Or could it be the pre-production nature of our review unit? The XA2 we had over for review recently didn't sport the colorful box of last year's Xperias either, hmm.
Anyway, inside the box you'll find just the bare essentials - a power adapter rated at an unexciting 5V/0.85A (who still makes those) and a USB cable. As for the phone itself - well, more on that on the next page.
Design and 360-degree spin
The Xperia L2 adopts Sony's new design for 2018, which we already saw on the XA2 and the XA2 Ultra. That does include the curved back with a fingerprint sensor in the middle, but the aluminum power button on the side didn't make the budget and neither did the hardware shutter key.
Aluminum nothing, actually - the L2 is all plastic unlike the XA2s, which have a metal frame to go with their plastic backs. The L2 could only take so much from its more expensive stablemates, and we're happy that the fingerprint reader made it - every smartphone these days should have some form of biometric recognition, and Sony's choice to put one on its entry-level handset is worth a cautious word of praise.
While we have nothing against plastic per se, the Xperia L2's panel likes to keep a record of every time you touch it - cleaning it from fingerprints is no easy task. We only had the black version, and the lighter gold and pink paint jobs could be better in this respect.
The camera is in the center now, gone are the days when Sony defaulted to the top left corner. In between the camera and the fingerprint reader an NFC badge tells you where the antenna is - Sony's tends to move it around from model to model, so it's good to know where it is this time.
On the front, it's the same 5.5-inch 720p display from the old model - no upgrades here. A bit of a downgrade, in fact, is the added 4mm of width to the phone for a display the same size as the predecessor. Wide phones aren't something we want in our lives, and the makers thinks so too - why would they be moving towards the 18:9 aspect otherwise?
The new model is a mil shorter, let's give it that. There's also some redistribution between chin and forehead, with the former now meatier, for some non-apparent reason. For there is equally nothing of substance there as on the L1.
In the hand
Above the display, aside from the Sony logo, an earpiece slit sits next to the edge of the phone. It doesn't double as a second speaker, unfortunately. The ultra wide angle selfie cam that comes from the XA2 is here too, as well as the usual ambient light/proximity sensor assembly. There's even a notification LED in the top left corner.
A couple of design details that also serve a practical function, to some extent at least, the raised lips of the top and bottom edge would keep the display a fraction of a millimeter above a flat surface. Thing is though, the distance is so small that it may very well be insufficient for that pesky unknown abrasive particle on your countertop. But who leaves their phones face down anyway? On the countertop, at that! In any case, the Gorilla Glass 4 that covers the display should do a better job than some questionable minute protrusions. Which we've already spent way too much time on.
Moving on, and back to that power button - it's on the right side of the phone, a bit higher than the midway point, which is nice. The volume rocker is above, and not somewhere low like some Xperias of old. Both could have been a little larger, but even as it is, we found no real issues working with them.
The card slot is on the left side of the phone. Pulling out the tray will take out the SIM and thus restart the phone if there's a SIM card inside, when you could have wanted to just get to the microSD. The L2 will then restart again when you put the tray back in. Two reboots to replace a memory card - just Sony things.
The Xperia L1 of last year already had a USB-C port and the new model comes with the same standard port when other makers are still sticking with microUSB 2.0 for entry-level models. Thumbs up to Sony for the timely adoption.
Down here at the bottom, you'll also find the loudspeaker - a single bottom-firing one, as we already established the earpiece won't be offering a helping hand in audio playback. A pinhole serves as the inlet of the primary mic. Up top, there's another pinhole for the secondary mic, and a 3.5mm jack completes the hardware walkaround.
Card slot • USB-C port, mic and speaker • 3.5mm jack on top, fingerprint sensor on the back
5.5-inch display is just okay
The Xperia L2 is equipped with a 5.5-inch display of 720p resolution. It's an IPS LCD panel with an equal number of subpixels for each primary color.
We were wondering if it's the exact same display from the previous L-series Xperia, but if that's the case then it's been tuned rather differently for the L2. For one, its maximum brightness is lower than the L1's at 400nits flat. On top of that, there's no boost in Auto mode, so 400 is all the nits you're getting in brightly lit conditions, while the L1 could pump it up all the way to 530-ish. The L2's number is quite low for an LCD, and sure enough, only the SuperAMOLED Galaxy J7 Pro is behind, but it makes up for it with a healthy boost in Auto.
By the way, minimum brightness is unusually high at 19.4 nits, and that may be too much for comfortable viewing in very dark environments.
Decent black levels help make for an okay contrast, despite the low brightness, and it's a notable improvement over the L1. Even so, most of the competition posts superior scores, Redmi 5 Plus excluded.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.354 | 400 | 1130 | |
| 0.47 | 450 | 957 | |
| 0.571 | 531 | 930 | |
| 0.401 | 532 | 1327 | |
| 0 | 350 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 539 | ∞ | |
| 0.351 | 551 | 1570 | |
| 0.548 | 555 | 1013 | |
| 0.364 | 484 | 1330 | |
| 0.288 | 510 | 1771 | |
| 0.352 | 483 | 1372 | |
| 0.455 | 616 | 1354 | |
| 0.295 | 470 | 1593 | |
Sunlight legibility also took a hit this generation and the L2 is noticeably worse than the L1. What was a respectable LCD showing last year, is now a below average result.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Apple iPhone X
5.013 - OnePlus 5T
4.789 - 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 - Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)
4.234 - 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 S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4.124 - Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
4.096 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)
4.023 - LG V30
4.022 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3.998 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Apple iPhone 7
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 - Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
3.842 - 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 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798 - LG V20 Max auto
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 - 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) outdoor mode
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
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 - Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
3.445 - 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 - Archos Diamond Omega
3.305 - Honor 9
3.289 - Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276 - Nokia 5
3.261 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
3.244 - 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 - Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
3.19 - ZTE Nubia Z17
3.159 - Oppo R11s
3.153 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - HTC U11 Life
3.108 - 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 - Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023 - Motorola Moto X4
3.012 - Sony Xperia XA1
3.012 - Sony Xperia L1
2.994 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - LG Q6
2.987 - Huawei P10 Lite
2.974 - Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 - Xiaomi Redmi 5
2.951 - Sony Xperia Z1
2.95 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Sony Xperia XA2
2.938 - Xiaomi Redmi 4
2.92 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
2.913 - 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 - Nokia 2
2.752 - Meizu MX6
2.751 - LG V10
2.744 - Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
2.742 - Motorola Moto G5S Plus
2.737 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Huawei Honor 7X
2.734 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
2.714 - Meizu M5
2.71 - Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Xiaomi Mi A1
2.689 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - vivo V7+
2.671 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.654 - Oppo F5
2.653 - 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 - HTC U11+
2.556 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
2.556 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Lenovo K6 Note
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 - BlackBerry Motion
2.494 - 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 - Vivo V7
2.404 - 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 - Razer Phone
2.328 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Apple iPhone 4S
2.269 - Sony Xperia L2
2.266 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - HTC U11+ (EU)
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 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
2.145 - LG Aka
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
2.026
2.001
1.996
1.972
1.961
1.923
1.892
1.892
1.873
1.772
1.759
1.758
1.68
1.675
1.659
1.605
1.545
1.473
1.4
1.351
1.3
1.221
1.215
Not much good can be said about color accuracy, where an average DeltaE ot 6.7 doesn't go to show just how blue the whites are. Using the RGB sliders in the custom color mode, we only managed to make them greener, and overall accuracy didn't improve to a meaningful degree.
Sony Xperia L2 battery life
As part of this year's 'more battery is better' philosophy, the Xperia L2 gets a 3,300mAh power pack - significantly larger than the L1's 2,620mAh unit. That's good having in mind that the L1's battery life wasn't at all impressive, but with the same chipset as last year, miracles were out of the question.
The capacity increase has resulted in more or less proportionate improvements in both 3G voice call endurance and web browsing, though video playback time has been rather inexplicably slashed by more than 2 hours. In the end, we got about nine and a half hours in both of the screen-on tests, and 13 hours of talk time. Dialing those into our established formula, resulted in a 65h Endurance rating - 2h more than the L1.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Sony Xperia L2 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.
Audio output is nicely clear, loudness is below par
The Sony Xperia L2 had excellent clarity when hooked to an active external amplifier, posting excellent scores top to bottom. Its loudness wasn't quite spectacular though - it was just below average.
Plugging in a pair of headphones did an average amount of damage - some stereo crosstalk and a tiny bit of interomodulation distortion crept in. The overall output was still pretty nice, although with the volume dropping even further, you may want to stay clear of high-impedance headphones.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.02, -0.17 | -92.0 | 92.5 | 0.015 | 0.020 | -89.7 | |
| +0.66, -0.31 | -90.2 | 89.7 | 0.0084 | 0.287 | -49.7 | |
| +1.55, -0.61 | -29.7 | 76.6 | 0.0017 | 12.493 | -91.8 | |
| +0.06, -0.02 | -92.4 | 92.3 | 0.0023 | 0.025 | -76.3 | |
| +0.15, -0.23 | -53.2 | 86.4 | 0.0021 | 3.246 | -96.2 | |
| +0.02, -0.08 | -89.5 | 89.9 | 0.0023 | 0.026 | -59.3 | |
| +0.03, -0.05 | -85.0 | 88.8 | 0.0014 | 0.0065 | -92.9 | |
| +0.14, -0.04 | -91.8 | 91.8 | 0.0031 | 0.113 | -56.8 | |
| +0.06, -0.08 | -93.5 | 93.3 | 0.0020 | 0.0071 | -93.2 | |
| +0.64, -0.07 | -89.3 | 91.3 | 0.0093 | 0.361 | -52.0 |
Sony Xperia L2 frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Loudspeaker
The Xperia L2 comes with a single loudspeaker positioned on the bottom of the device. For all it lacks in the bass department (practically non-existent, sadly), the L2 makes up for in loudness. It aced our three-pronged test and earned an Excellent mark, though voices in particular could have been louder.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing |
Overall score | |
| 62.2 | 66.0 | 67.7 | Below Average | |
| 62.9 | 65.2 | 71.6 | Below Average | |
| 63.5 | 70.8 | 71.5 | Average | |
| 64.7 | 70.4 | 72.3 | Average | |
| 67.0 | 69.3 | 76.1 | Good | |
| 68.5 | 72.2 | 72.8 | Good | |
| 63.1 | 70.9 | 82.5 | Good | |
| 68.7 | 72.7 | 78.3 | Very Good | |
| 68.0 | 69.9 | 82.3 | Very Good | |
| 65.9 | 73.9 | 83.4 | Very Good | |
| 67.4 | 72.2 | 91.6 | Excellent | |
| 71.1 | 72.7 | 87.7 | Excellent | |
| 74.0 | 73.9 | 90.4 | Excellent | |
| 91.5 | 74.3 | 83.2 | Excellent | |
| 91.5 | 74.9 | 86.9 | Excellent |
Software
The Xperia L2 runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat - that's 0.1.1 more than what the L1 got, but nowhere near the 8.0 Oreo of the current times which is to be found on the higher-end Xperia XA2s. As is usually the case with Sony handsets, the build is very close to stock Android, with only the subtlest in-house touches.
Oreo or Nougat, an Xperia's UI will look almost identical regardless of OS version. The lockscreen and homescreen, for example, have remained unchanged for quite a while. This includes the swipe down gesture on the homescreen, which shows a screen of the apps you use most along with recommendations for new apps to install. The search field is highlighted so you can start typing the app's name immediately.
Xperia launcher: Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • App search
The traditional app drawer is present on the Xperia L2, and you'll find a number of proprietary apps pre-installed - business as usual. Sony takes great pride in the A/V prowess of its devices, and the multimedia apps are all custom and feature-rich - Album, Music, and the Video app. There's also an FM radio app that is as stylish as is it full-featured.
App drawer • Album • Video • Music • FM Radio
Themes are available (both free and paid) that can customize the look and sound of the Xperia L2. Some themes are even interactive, with their wallpapers reacting to your touches. Besides themes, the Xperia launcher also offers wallpapers, grid settings and various transition animation options.
Homescreen customization • Themes
The notification drawer and the task switcher are very similar to the vanilla Android ones. There is also a Split Screen feature available to a limited number of apps - quite a feat given the modest processing power of the L2, but the 3 gigs of RAM sure help.
Notifications • Toggles • Task Switcher • Split Screen
Fingerprint recognition has made it into Sony's entry-level L-series with the L2. The setup is the the usual drill of multiple taps on the sensor after you've dialed in a PIN or a pattern for backup. In addition to the fingerprint unlock, you can setup Smart Lock. It gives you conditional security - trusted nearby devices, locations, faces, or voices can allow you to skip the security protocol that you may have set up on the phone.
Security
Performance
The Xperia L2 is powered by a rather low-end Mediatek MT6737T chipset - at least the 'T' stands for the higher clocked version. It's a 28nm chipset (so far from state-of-the-art) and features a quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU ticking at 1.45GHz (up to 1.3GHz for the non-T version). The GPU is a Mali-T720 MP2 clocked at 600MHz (50MHz less on the non-T). The notable upgrade here is the 3GB of RAM, up from last year's 2GB.
An extra gig of RAM won't make any miracles, though the Xperia L2 does put up a reasonably decent performance. The single-core numbers provided by GeekBench put the L2 on the same level as the rest of the devices packing low-clocked Cortex-A53s - those would be all Snapdragon 425, 430, and 435 phones. It's easy to see how clock frequency directly affects single-core performance - the 1.6GHz A53 in the Galaxy J7 Pro gives it a distinct edge, then it's the 1.8GHz vivo V7 and Redmi 5, with the 2.0GHz+ units easily at the top.
GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi A1
877 - Sony Xperia XA2
865 - Motorola Moto G5S Plus
848 - vivo V7
775 - Xiaomi Redmi 5
766 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
735 - Sony Xperia L2
679 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
678 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
677 - Sony Xperia L1
673 - Nokia 5
672 - Nokia 6 (Global version)
665 - LG Q6
652 - Motorola Moto G5S
635 - Nokia 3
551
The picture changes drastically in the multi-core test, where 8>>4. Okay, maybe not so drastically in the case of the Moto G5S and the LG Q6, but the point is that the L2 is trailing in this rather broad range of potential competitors. On a positive note, this test shows that the 'T' means something - the Nokia 3 with an MT6737 chip can't keep up with the Xperia L2 and its MT6737T.
GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Motorola Moto G5S Plus
4331 - Xiaomi Mi A1
4292 - Sony Xperia XA2
4215 - Xiaomi Redmi 5
4018 - vivo V7
3935 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3768 - Nokia 5
2851 - Nokia 6 (Global version)
2841 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
2610 - Motorola Moto G5S
2277 - LG Q6
2244 - Sony Xperia L2
1932 - Sony Xperia L1
1890 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
1781 - Nokia 3
1529
In the graphics department, the Xperia L2 does an okay job, more or less on par with the Xiaomi Mi A1... in the onscreen tests in GFXBench, that is. You know, an underpowered GPU mated to a 720p display can still offer half-decent performance.
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Sony Xperia XA2
9.6 - Xiaomi Mi A1
6.4 - Motorola Moto G5S Plus
6.4 - Xiaomi Redmi 5
6.1 - vivo V7
6.1 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
4.9 - Nokia 6 (Global version)
4.6 - Motorola Moto G5S
4.6 - Nokia 5
4.6 - LG Q6
3.8 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3.3 - Sony Xperia L1
2.6 - Sony Xperia L2
2.6 - Nokia 3
1.4
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi 5
13 - vivo V7
13 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
11 - Sony Xperia XA2
10 - Nokia 5
10 - Motorola Moto G5S Plus
6.9 - Sony Xperia L2
6.3 - Xiaomi Mi A1
6.3 - Sony Xperia L1
6.1 - Motorola Moto G5S
5 - Nokia 6 (Global version)
4.5 - LG Q6
3.6 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3.3 - Nokia 3
3.2
To compare overall performance, we look to Basemark OS II 2.0 for a numerical representation. Here the Xperia L2 shows an improvement over the L1 (the extra gig of RAM, maybe?), but it can't really keep up with more powerful offerings.
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
- Sony Xperia XA2
1545 - vivo V7
1310 - Xiaomi Mi A1
1262 - Xiaomi Redmi 5
1222 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
1038 - Nokia 5
982 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
942 - Motorola Moto G5S
899 - Sony Xperia L2
816 - Sony Xperia L1
767 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
707 - Nokia 3
568 - Motorola Moto G5S Plus
389
Satisfactory, is what you could call the Xperia L2's performance if you needed to sum it up in one word. It's no powerhouse but delivers acceptable results in day-to-day tasks. Performance is definitely more fluid than the L1 which has the same CPU but a bit less RAM.
Camera
The Xperia L2 comes with a 13MP camera on its back. It's a 1/3.06" sensor behind an f/2.0 aperture lens. There's no OIS, nor do we expect the L2 to have any. It does have an LED flash next to the lens.
Much like the L1, the Xperia L2 uses Sony's latest camera UI, but cuts back on features. There is no section for shooting modes, which means you can't even capture a panoramic photo. You change between Auto, Manual, and video by swiping up and down (or left and right, if you're holding it in portrait).
Other than HDR override, in Manual mode you get access to shutter speed selection (1/4000s - 1s), exposure compensation, white balance, and a manual focus slider. The manual ISO setting (100-3200) is still tucked away in an extra settings menu.
Camera interface
Image quality
Image quality is rather dismal. Photos have a general mushiness to them, with an extra level of softness in the corners. Noise is abundant too. Dynamic range is quite narrow, and white balance leans towards a colder that ideal rendition of colors.
Camera samples
Being a Sony phone, the Xperia L2 will engage its 'backlit' scene mode when in Superior auto, and that in its essence is an HDR mode. You can manually switch on HDR too, in Manual mode. In practice, manual HDR shots are even softer than regular ones. Other than that, you can count on boosted midtones, recovered highlights, and, oddly, darker shadows.
HDR: Superior Auto • Manual, HDR Off • Manual, HDR On
Of course, you can also have a look at our Photo compare tool to see how the Xperia stacks up next to the competition. We've pre-selected the Xiaomi Mi A1 and the Moto G5S Plus, but you can replace those with your choice of phones.
Sony Xperia L2 against the Xiaomi Mi A1 and Moto G5S Plus in our Photo compare tool
Selfies
The Xperia L2 borrows the selfie cam from the XA2 - it's an 8MP shooter with an ultra wide 120-degree field of view, perfect for group shots.
With that being said, image quality isn't spectacular by any stretch. A bit surprisingly though, the shots we got out of the L2 are sharper than the ones from the XA2.
Selfie samples - ultra wide
The ones shot at the narrow setting are softer, by definition - not much else you can expect when you crop the center portion of the sensor and upscale it back to 13MP.
Selfie samples - narrower FOV
Video
The Xperia L2 can record video up to 1080p/30fps - the modest chipset can only do so much. There's no electronic stabilization either.
Videos are encoded with a 16.2Mbps bit rate, and audio is a stereo track at 128Kbps.
The prevalent softness continues into video with the 1080p footage looking like upscaled 720p at best. Dynamic range is quite narrow, but you could say that colors are nice.
We've also uploaded a short sample (10s, 22MB) on our server, which you can download and examine for yourselves.
If you'd like to compare the Xperia L2' video camera to some other phones, head over to our Video Compare Tool below.
Sony Xperia L2 against the Xiaomi Mi A1 and Moto G5S Plus in our Video compare tool
Competition
Sony's most affordable Xperia L2 is a well-rounded entry into the company's smartphone lineup, though ultimately we would have liked to have seen it perform better.
One area where we were a little disappointed is the display - a 5.5-inch 720p panel was never going to be very sharp, but why did Sony have to go with a dimmer display for the L2 than the one used on the L1?
Good thing that the L2 makes up a little in the battery life department - again, it's far from amazing, but it's an improvement over the previous model. Unless you're binge-watching TV shows on your phone, that is. Here, however, it's getting obvious that brute force can only get you so far - adding more battery without using efficient hardware isn't the way to achieve spectacular battery life.
We appreciate that Sony fitted the L2 with usable amounts of storage and RAM, and the fingerprint sensor and USB-C port on an entry-level device is the way every maker should go about things now.
Admittedly, Sony's entry level does come at a price point other makers call midrange. For about the same amount of money Xiaomi will give you either the Mi A1 or the Redmi 5 Plus for even less. Both come with vastly more powerful Snapdragon 625 chipsets, both can record 2160p video, and both have sharper 1080p screens - the Redmi's is even in an 18:9 aspect. The Mi A1 has a dual rear camera and is part of the Android One program.
The Moto G5S Plus is another competitor that offers a lot of smartphone for a little money. Snapdragon 625 again, 2160p video, splash resistance, longer battery life, but an old microUSB port.
The LG Q6 is even more affordable than the Moto, though it's not as good. Even so, it's ahead of the Xperia in at least a couple key areas - a 1080p tall display and a Snapdragon 435 chipset.
Xiaomi Mi A1 • Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus • Motorola Moto G5S Plus • LG Q6
Verdict
The Xperia L2 seemed to have it all - large display, generous battery, promising cameras, fingerprint sensor, and most importantly a Sony badge. In our testing, it turned out that the display wasn't as bright as last year's, battery life is good, but still hampered by an old and inefficient chipset, and image quality was meh at best. The fingerprint reader and brand name we can't complain about.
Pros
- Smoother than the last year's Xperia L1 despite same chipset
- Good battery life in the screen-on tests
- Fingerprint reader, USB-C port
- Vanilla Android experience with Sony multimedia apps
- Loud speaker
Cons
- Mediocre camera performance all around
- Dim display
- Screen uncomfortably bright at the lowest setting
- Slow charging
Perspective is important, though, and this is, after all, Sony's most affordable phone. However, we feel that the L2 doesn't quite manage to justify its price. Compromises in the most important areas - display, chipset, and camera, are too many to ignore. If LG and Motorola/Lenovo can squeeze much better hardware within the same or even tighter budget, the Xperia L2 is left with just that 'Sony is a premium brand' defense. Not a very strong defense that.
0 Response to "Sony Xperia L2 review"
Post a Comment