Customer Ratings & Reviews

I’ve been a big fan of Sony products especially of their mobile division that used to go by Sony Ericsson back in the day. What differentiated Sony phones back then was on how stylish they were and their added media capabilities whether it was the 3.5mm jack or FM radio with MP3 support before the iPhone made it a norm. So how does the Xperia 10 Plus stand out from the strongly competitive mid-range market most of it has to do with the tall display. For my usage, I set it up exactly the same as my Note 9 except for some apps due to storage limits. I replaced the home launcher with Nova launcher and restored it with a backup from my Note 9. My apps placement and widgets are exactly as they were on my Note 9. I did this because I wanted to use the Xperia as I would using my Note 9. Let me tell you not once during my usage did I wanted to run back to my Note 9 even with some small performance hiccups. I’m not saying this will replace your flagship phone but it will feel like one for those looking for a device that won’t break the bank. Media consumption on mobile devices has been increasing and Sony knows how important a display can make or break a device. The resolution is an FHD+ 1080 x 2520 pixels 422 PPI density that is stunning for a mid-range device. It’s a bright color display that can hold his own against some of the top mid-range displays. The display almost takes up the entire phone except for the large chin on the top. Bezels below the chin are thin. Sony does provide 3 color gamut options from off (no image enhancement), Standard Mode (enhances images for photos and videos) to Super Vivid Mode that dials up the saturation and gives you those punchy colors you typically find on AMOLED displays. Since my previous phone was the Note 9 right away I went for Super Vivid Mode. It won’t beat the Note 9 display with those inky blacks. Even though it’s an LCD the blacks are still pretty good without that gray shade you typically find on LCD displays. The aspect ratio is 21:9 which most films are recorded. There are pros and cons to this Aspect ratio. Pros: You can comfortably use 2 apps at once without that cramped feeling. No black bars on most movies. Since the width is short you can somewhat use it 1 handed. Sony does offer a convenient way to shrink the display by double tapping the home bar. The extra screen space displays a lot more information especially on websites and Social Media apps. Cons: About 60% of the time you will be needing two hands to use the phone. Shrinking the display does help but I doubt it you will want to be doing that constantly trying to reach those top corners to close an app or access the menu. Media that is not recorded in the 21:9 ratio will have significant black bars or crop out a lot more to fill in the entire screen. Some apps outside of YouTube or Netflix don’t have a zoom in option which leaves you with black bars. Hopefully, Sony can release an update and give it a system-wide zoom in option like Samsung did when the S8 first came out. Just like media, some apps will show black borders and for now, I wasn’t able to find an option to full screen the app as I do on my other phone. For media consumption, you will want to plug in some headphones or use Bluetooth headphones. Even though there are 2 grill speakers located on the bottom is still a single speaker. Most devices that have a single bottom firing speaker aren’t that great but they sound much better compared to Xperia 10. The Xperia 10 Plus speakers sound tinny and could benefit from some more loudness. At max volumes, they start to crackle. Battery Life Battery life has been amazing even though the battery capacity is 3000mAh which is on the small side for a large device. I honestly expected the battery to be terrible since even on smaller devices with that capacity my experience has not been good.. Either way, unless you’re pushing this device hard like gaming or live streaming you should be happy with the results. My average screen on time was over 5 hrs with some days coming at 6.5 hrs. Typical day usage for me is in between light to heavy usage and consist of Social Media browsing from FaceBook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit and Discord. I also have 3 email accounts sync to my Gmail app. With some music streaming from Spotify or Sirius XM app along with some Bluetooth headphones pair for most of the day. I would also video stream about 3-5 hrs from Netflix or YouTube. For gaming, my daughter likes to play Roblox on my phone which sometimes goes over an hour. Even on heavy days usage I still end up with over 5 hrs of on screen time. If you ever find yourself without access to a charger Sony has your back with 2 Stamina modes to help extend that battery life. Charging speeds are on par as my Note 9. Performance and Software Performance out the box it's good for the most part. For the first 2 days, I use the phone with the stock launcher but eventually switched over to Nova launcher which I prefer due to the customizations options it provides. It’s not the fastest device when it comes to opening apps I still noticed a 1-2 second delay on some of the core apps like Gmail or Android messaging app for texting. There’s room for improvement and something that can be fixed via an update. For an almost stock Android build those hiccups should only be present when opening big games likes PUBG or Fortnite. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 636 pair with 4gb of Ram. Even though it’s not as powerful as the 855 it still has plenty of power for a smooth experience that for now seems to be more of a software optimization issue. Overall it’s just minor issues that are not a deal breaker since for the most part it’s been a positive experience that can only get better. I believe most of the bad feedback was due to the software the phone shipped with before the latest update which is 53.0.A.4.79 as of this review. Sony did a good job of releasing a quick update to address those performance issues. I have not had any major issues like system lockups or apps crashing. Overall it’s almost a complete android stock with some slight adjustments for specific Sony features. Some of those features are the display shrinking and the side sense feature. The side sense is a bar on the side of the screen that predicts your most used apps similar to the edge feature on Galaxy Phones for quick access to those apps. For navigation buttons, you have access to Android Pie Gestures or the 3 button setup home, back, and overview. There is a slight learning curve to the Gesture set up. Tap to go the home screen, Long Press to summon Google Assistant, Swipe up to enter the overview screen, Long swipe up pulls up your app drawer, flick right to switch to the last app used, swipe right to browse opened apps, and back button to return to the previous screen. For bloatware, there’s not much that comes with the phone besides some Sony-specific apps that you have the option not to install during the set-up process. As for security features, you don’t get a fancy face ID scanner or ultrasound fingerprint scanner under the screen. What you do get is a good old fast reliable fingerprint scanner located on the right side in between the power button and volume button. It’s a good size even with a case I have not had any issues with recognizing my prints. I would like to see some extra features like being able to bring down the notification area with a swipe as other phones do with their fingerprint scanner. Build quality is excellent even though the back is made out of plastic. It’s a matte black that looks more like the iPhone 7 back finish. Unfortunately, there is no wireless charging. Overall I like the look of the phone. It’s like a holding a Hershey’s chocolate bar that is slightly taller than a Note 9. It has that Sony candy bar style that's been a trademark of their devices for the last couple of years. Cameras On the back, you have a 12 MP + 8 MP dual camera and 2x optical zoom with an 8mp front face camera. The couple of pictures I took came out looking pretty good. You can also take a wide picture with the 21.9 aspect ratio and record too. You can also record with 4K resolution with both Aspect Ratios 16:9 or 21:9 along with FHD at 60fps. The front facing camera pictures came out looking good too. For video recording, the max resolution is FHD along with the option to record in 21:9. For nighttime photos, they came out ok with some noise on them. Sony also a mode called AR that allows you to take pictures or record video, with moving on-screen objects from different scenes like a dinosaur island or space. My kids had a blast going through all the different scenes available on the AR mode. Most of them are free with some costing around $2.99. Overall is a good camera with the weakness being nighttime pictures. Call Quality and Data/Wifi Signal Call quality has been good no issues with dropped calls on the T Mobile network. The phone does a good job of holding on to an LTE signal. Areas of poor coverage were normally my signal drops to 1 bar with the Xperia 10 drops down to 2-3 bars instead just enough to be able to still browse the internet. WiFi signal is good with speeds reaching around 200mb. My final thoughts on the Xperia 10 Plus has been mainly a good experience. It’s slim to hold but too tall to operate with a single hand. The only cons were some minor performance issues with core apps and the below average speaker. My favorite feature of the phone is the display especially when consuming media that is recorded in 21:9. If you’re like me and consume most of your media on your phone this should be a top pick. Battery life has been impressive and that’s only with a 3000mAh just imagine how much better it would have been if Sony would have included a bigger battery. The Xperia 10 Plus it’s an excellent daily driver device that is also stylish.

I'm comparing this phone to a galaxy⁸+ this phone died on me in under a month 1/2. From having 40% battery it just started making a screeching noise for about a 2 seconds and died. Now the camera is very poor ,it has a low light issue which is compensated with software after the picture is taken that's ok..but when you use it on a banking app. It's hard to get a good pic for deposit. Its very slow at charging considering this 2 years newer. At time the phone is very very slow although no apps are running. The way the the way the rear camera sticks make it one of the first things to get easyly scratched.

I bought this as a open box condition phone for $200. It is great for this unique phone. I like to use phones which are built uniquely and moreover from a brand which I can trust like Sony. Screen color contrast is great. Performance is also good but not the best when it comes to gaming. Audio is also great but camera is worst of all I have ever seen. Not even a cheap phone standard I think.

The Sony Xperia 10 Plus is a solid phone. However, with "budget" smartphones getting better and better, this phone while good doesn't truly stand out. As soon as you take this phone out of the box, the design stands out immediately. The 21:9 aspect ratio really feels nice in the hand. The unibody plastic chassis doesn't feel premium, but it doesn't feel cheap either. It looks sleek. The forehead may be a little too big given today's notch/hole punch trend but you get used to it. The headphone jack is a plus! With the high-resolution audio, it really does make for a good music-listening experience. The fingerprint scanner is on the side which works for some and not for others. I didn't have any problems with it and using my thumb to unlock the phone didn't feel unnatural to me. The speakers are on the bottom which is the trend with every smartphone. I personally think front facing speakers are the way to go but these are solid quality speakers. The screen. The 21:9 aspect ratio is what Sony is really trying to sell you on. I gotta say, when watching shows that support 21:9 and seeing it fill up the entire screen, it does look really good. Given the longer display, you can also see more when web surfing and scrolling through posts. However, not every app is customized to the screen so bear that in mind when buying this phone. It also did get annoying to have the black bars at the sides when not watching videos optimzed for 21:9 but that's probably because we're so used to 16:9. The screen is bright enough for everyday use except out in direct sunlight. You can make the settings "super vivid" for those bright colors. The Android Pie software is very close to stock which I like. However, I do notice some hiccups every now and then. Some apps will shut down randomly. Watching videos will suddenly turn to mini display. GPS randomly goes out. I do think that these can be fixed with software updates. Camera is good but you're definitely not buying this phone for the camera. It takes good pics in regular light. Noisy pictures in low light. 21:9 pictures also look a bit funky. The last thing is performance. it isn't running the latest CPU and has 4 GB of RAM. It's ok for regular use. Sometimes it'll hiccup but I think those were more software issues. However, more demanding apps caused some serious lag which was disappointing. The battery life is also not mindblowing. It can last the whole day with music listening, some web browsing, texting, calling, emailing no problem. However, watching videos and streaming will really make it run out quickly. All in all, it is a decent phone at that mid-tier level.