Sony - Xperia 10 Plus with 64GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Black
Model: I3223 - BLACK
SKU: 6328249
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Customers are enthusiastic about the Xperia 10 Plus, particularly its camera, which takes great pictures. They also appreciate its affordable price, long battery life, and compact size. The phone's fast performance and attractive design are additional highlights. While some users have experienced occasional lag with demanding apps, the overall sentiment towards the Xperia 10 Plus is positive.
The price of smartphones these days has seemed to outpace innovation. My Samsung Galaxy Note 8 cost over $1,000 and nearly two years later (before I had paid it off) I began receiving texts & emails offering me the latest version of the phone. The frustration is that Samsung wants me to drop another $1,000 for a phone that is nearly identical to the one I already had. There just aren’t enough new features to justify continuing to spend so much money on the newest flagship smartphones. And so, I have begun to explore more affordable smartphone options. The Sony Xperia 10 Plus is truly an impressive smartphone that is unlocked and actually affordable (costing less than half of Apple, or Samsung’s flagship phones). While the form factor blends in with nearly all smartphones these days, it boasts a noticeably larger screen that is actually useful (and does not have any annoying camera notch). The resolution is 1080p which is more than suitable for its size (and probably saves money when compared to 4K screens that are not truly useful in a handheld size). The screen is actually larger than the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (by 0.10”) allowing convenient multi-tasking most of the time. Though the tall screen and the multi-tasking are the most bragged about feature, not all apps can be split and the feature is not always intuitive on the fly. But, watching HD video with a 21:9 ratio is surprisingly immersive. The phone is incredibly easy to set up (from either Android or iOS) and is both quick and responsive. My favorite feature is the fingerprint sensor which is located perfectly within reach on the right edge of the phone. It is in a natural location and it works lighting quick to unlock the phone. The power & volume buttons are located on the right side and are almost overly streamlined with the edge of the phone – making them difficult to find by feeling alone. Having all of the physical buttons on the right side might also be a slight annoyance to those who are left handed. And while it can be difficult to reach across the large screen, but luckily there is a shortcut menu that pops out from the side of the screen giving easy access to settings and commonly used apps. Overall, I am truly impressed with this phone. It is an incredible balance of impressive features and low price. As it comes with the most recent version of Android (9 pie), it truly does not feel as though you are sacrificing much to get the lower price. Sony has done an excellent job producing an affordable phone that is feature rich and that can last for years. It is well worth the price. PROS: + Phone is sold unlocked + Fingerprint sensor is easy to reach and works instantly + Has a 3.5 mm headphone jack (but also has Bluetooth option) + The back of the phone is NOT glass (reduces weight and is less that may break) + Ultra Widescreen: 21:9 aspect ratio + Record HD video in 21:9 + Shortcut menu pops out from either side of the screen making commonly used apps easy to reach + Record audio in stereo + FM Radio + Pedometer built in + 64 gigs of memory built in + Has the ability to have memory added with a MicroSD card + 12 MP rear camera with 8 MP front selfie camera + Light weight for size: 6.35 ounces + NFC options built in + USB C data/charging connection + Great price for an unlocked smartphone CONS: - Tall size can take some time to get used to and can definitely feel oversized when in your pocket - While screen is 1080p it seems to display a warmer image (less color accurate) than higher end phones - Using split screen (or entering this mode) does not work with all apps and is not very intuitive. - You have to double tap to open the shortcut menu (instead of swiping out from the edge which would be more intuitive) - Does not have many case or accessory options available online - Does NOT have wireless charging - Two speakers appear to only play in mono - Bokeh photo effect (portrait with slightly blurred background) is not particularly easy to use
Posted by TheDuke
Once again, Sony has a very good design, yet Falls short in some significant areas. Volume control is difficult to use, no separate camera button to take quick shots. And Sony software is typical Sony: well below average that it is laughable. Twin cameras, only 12MP tops is ATROCIOUS, I have the camera settings at 16.3 aspect ratio which only allows for 9 MP, well below what the competition offers. Set up for att.net email has been a nightmare, unsuccessful at this point, and inexcusable. Another issue is Xperia™ wallpapers are not compatible from previous releases, cannot set up tiles like previous versions (would like four tiles plus home, cannot do that, and forget about support from Sony, atrocious and non-existent). And unacceptable at this price point. Positives are a nice, bright screen, easy setup (thanks to Google, everything ported over from my Xperia XA1 easily and effortlessly), and software updates happened after complete setup. Use Cricket, but any SIM card from different providers can be used, one of the many reasons why I purchased unlocked mobile phones. Playback on video and music apps is very good. I have paired with higher end Hi-Res Sony Bluetooth headphones, and I enjoy the sound quality. So listening to my music is enjoyable. Auto screen brightness is very good, adjusts rapidly. Although I do like this mobile phone, and Android on Sony Xperia ™ models is quite original, one must know that certain disadvantages one might not like. I am learning to live with them, as I am still on a learning curve on Android 10 and what it entails. I definitely recommend an unlocked mobile phone, but I would try out before buying to see if you can live with it.
Posted by Frothe48
Overall, a very practical phone with lots of value in the mid-range category. It is a new design that most will be a little surprised by at first appearance but upon use will find it to be very practical and effective. As a Sony fanboy I both love this phone and find it a little lacking. Read on! Unboxing: The boxing is surprisingly minimal, most Sony phones in the past have felt high end with packaging and included options. This one is very bare bones. The Box is low quality materials and inside you will find the phone, a charger (more on that later), USB-c cable, and simple documentation. Nothing else. Design: The phone was rather shocking to hold upon first impression. This phone measures 6.5” diagonally with a 21:9 display. It is larger than most phones but is surprisingly easy to use even with one hand. The build quality is above average but with a few quarks. The body feels like it is a higher end poly-carbonate with some metal accents. It feels highly durable and after a few days of use is completely scuff and scratch free. The body does not gather fingerprints very easily. There is no wireless charging included but does support NFC near the top of the phone. The screen is Gorilla glass 5 and all the buttons are perfectly placed. Since the phone is very tall, the volume is on the lower half, finger print reader is on the middle of the right side in perfect thumb position and the power is just above that. I would have liked to see the power button combined with the fingerprint reader, but this is minor. What I was annoyed by wit the design is twofold. First, the buttons are almost flush with the body making using the volume rocker a little difficult since there is little haptic feedback. This button should stick out a little further to make it easier to use. Second, there is no waterproofing. You can see this when you pull out the SIM tray, in there you will be able to place a single SIM (on the I3223 model sold by best buy) and a micro SD card slot supporting 512 GB. In the tray there are zero rubber gaskets so you would not want to drop this in a toilet. It feels solid enough that there would be little issue with rain and splashes but do not submerge this thing (I am not going to test it). Wireless: Wireless is pretty good. I was thinking that in stepping down to a mid-range phone I might be sacrificing wireless performance, but I have had zero issues. My home Wi-Fi is FIOS and supports 200 Mbps up and down, I get at best 169 Mbps down and 126 Mbps up. Using T-Mobile in the Seattle area I get about 79 mbps down and 10 Mbps up. The snapdragon 636 processor is cat x12 supporting up to 600 Mbps which isn’t too bad but not as amazing as the latest flagship phones. There is no 600 MHz support but does support 700 MHz. I have had no Bluetooth issues as the phone supports Bluetooth 5.0 along with all the important codecs for audio (aac, aptx, aptx-HD, LDAC). NFC works well with google pay and for file transfers, no complaints here! Display: The display is average in overall quality. Black levels are pretty good for LCD (no AMOLED here) but colors just seem a little dull to me. You can change the level of saturation in the settings with three levels of but it just never seems to wow me. As the screen resolution is 21:9, the resolution should be 1080x2520. This is strange at first but once you try out multitasking with two apps such as twitter and a YouTube video, or turn it sideways to watch a movie, you will become a believer! Movies are shown in exactly the aspect ratio they were meant to be seen in. If your video is 4:3 or 16:9 you will side bars on the side but 21:9 is what most major movies are shot in. Multi-tasking is extremely efficient with a screen of this size and you will love being able to truly have two apps running side by side (in portrait or landscape) in what feels like two full sized phones. The screen feels durable with Gorilla glass 5 and should do will with time, I would still recommend a screen protector for scratches though (no issue after three days though) Camera: I want to get more out of the camera, but it is very hit or miss. I will upload a few sample photos in this review, one good one bad for examination and so you can see it’s limits. On the plus side, there are two lenses, one 12 MP main camera (27mm) and one 8 MP (53mm) 2 zoom camera. The main camera is not too bad but lacks HDR ability so check your lighting. Detail is good. Sony tends to not use a lot of noise reduction so you will see a lot of noise in your photos, this is somewhat unprocessed looking, but some people might prefer this. The 2x zoom camera is lacking in my opinion. It has issues with focusing in all but the best of lighting and should not be used often if you ask me. Both lenses lack OIS which is a huge issue for me as this could have taken the cameras far. Bokeh is pretty good using both lenses to determine depth. The bokeh photos are using the telephoto lens so you will need to stand a little farther back to get a good one. Edge detection seems pretty good to me so far. The selfie camera is average. It is far superior to past Sony selfie cameras stepping up to a 8MP one this time. Again, there is no OIS and only one lens so bokeh can have a few edge issues from time to time. It is very poor in the dark but looks pretty good in the day. Detail isn’t too bad, but focus can sometimes be an issue. DO NOT take a photo with a bright light in the background in any of the cameras as you will have massive issues lighting. Video is average and uses electronic image stabilization. It works well in 1080 but is not as effective in 4k. 4k is very interesting on this phone as it supports 21:9 aspect ratio. If you plan on filming in this cinema ratio this could be of good use. The same HDR limitations apply to video as well. Audio: If you like high resolution audio this is a great phone for you! There is a headphone jack!!! Very rare these days. The phone supports 24-bit/192 kHz audio and also has LDAC for wireless streaming. With micro SD card support, this phone might be a great option for anyone with a library of HD audio FLAC files (also supports other lossless formats). On the downside of audio, there is only one speaker on the bottom. It is not the worst one I have heard but it isn’t the best either. It sounds kind of tiny but does have decent volume. There is little bass so if you are watching a movie, toss on some headphones. I am surprised they didn’t do stereo speakers or up the quality on the one speaker since video is a huge draw of this phone, a good speaker matched with 21:9 display would be amazing. Everyday use: I am overall happy with everyday use. First, battery life is not bad with a 3000 mAh battery, these is a good amount of optimization with the software that it will get you through the day just fine. I found games will drain the battery quick though. Performance is pretty good using the Snapdragon 636 processor. It is no beast and provides a stutter every so often but in normal usage, it is snappy. 4GB of ram helps a lot too. The device uses Android 9 Pie so it feels pretty efficient on this device as it is mostly stock interface. There is little bloatware other than the Xperia Lounge app and AVG pre-installed. You can delete these though. Gaming performance is pretty good. I mostly play C&C Rivals and Galaxy of Heroes and I have experienced no issues here. It might not be able to handle high end games like Asphalt 9 at max settings though. The device fits into male jean pockets easily but I would be concerned if your outfit has female sized pockets since it will easily stick out of said pocket. The form factor got a lot of questions on the street since most people have never seen a device of this form factor. One huge concern I had that can be mitigated is the included charger. Since there is no wireless charging, you will rely heavily on your included charger. The problem is that it is 5V / 1500mA. This comes out to 7.5 Watts of charging. This phone supports quick charge 3.0 and PD 2.0 (I believe) so why they included a non-quick charge charger is beyond me other than cost savings. Throw this charger away and use an old quick charge capable charger. It takes forever to charge with this charger! I tried it with a LG charger I had lying around with 16.3 and 9 watts options and it charges at normal quick charge speeds. I also tried it with my 45-watt PD laptop charger and again got much better results than the included charger. Benchmarks: Memory / storage performance is pretty good. Past Sony phones have had limits on how fast the data speed is on external memory (was capped at around 35 MB per second I believe). No limitations on this phone. I tried benchmarks on Androbench receiving 81.77 MB/s read and 34.67 MB/s write on a 200 GB UHS-1 card. The internal storage of 64 GB eMMC obtains 287 MB/s and 192 MB/s write. Not too shabby! Geekbench showed single core scores of 1348 and multi-core scores of 4818 Antutu scored 117279 Summary: Good overall phone, great for video, high-res audio and multitasking. Do not use if you rely on a phone camera and speed.
Posted by psyclopps
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