Sony Xperia 10: Features | Pricing | Specs

At MWC 2019, Sony revealed its vision for the future of smartphones by unveiling a range of new ultra-tall 21:9 handsets. While the flagship of this new line is the Sony Xperia 1, Sony also showed off something for the more budget-conscious smartphone buyer: the Sony Xperia 10.

Featuring a 6-inch, full HD display and a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor, the Xperia 10 is a capable yet conservative smartphone designed for folks who want to watch Hollywood films in all their ultra-wide glory on the go.

Design

• 21:9 aspect ratio.
• 6-inch full HD display.

• Read our full overview of the Sony Xperia 10's design

  21:9 is becoming an increasingly common aspect ratio across modern devices, largely due to its adoption as the standard format for the movie industry. By building the Xperia 10 around a 6-inch, 21:9 display, Sony is targeting movie lovers who want to watch their favourite flicks on the go without the horizontal black bars you get on a regular 16:9 screen.

  A 21:9 display also gives the Xperia 10 more screen space to play with while keeping the handset slim enough for single-hand use. However, it does mean the Xperia 10 is quite tall, measuring in at a lengthy 156mm. Keep this in mind if your clothes have shallow pockets.

  To streamline navigation on the Xperia 10, Sony provides two gesture-based tools: Side sense and a shrinkable UI. Side sense activates when you double tap the side of the Xperia 10 and pulls up a list of your favourite apps for quick access. Sony claims the apps are determined using artificial intelligence to match both your preferences and your current needs. The shrinkable UI, meanwhile, lets you reduce the size of the Xperia 10's interface to better suit one-handed operation.

  As a manufacturer of many high-end headphones, stereo systems and other audio equipment, Sony tends to put more emphasis on the audio capabilities of its smartphones than many of its competitors. This remains true with the Xperia 10. Not only does it support high-resolution audio formats like FLAC and ALAC, it makes use of Sony's Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE HX) to improve the sound quality of standard-resolution audio files so they more closely resemble their high-resolution counterparts.

  If your daily routine involves a lot of jostling around, you'll be glad to know that the Xperia 10 is outfitted with Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 for extra protection against bumps and scrapes.

Camera

• Dual-lens 13MP/5MP rear camera.
• 21:9 video recording.

• Read our full overview of the Sony Xperia 10's camera

  Sony has had a lot of time to hone its craft in the camera space, yet this doesn't always come across in its smartphones. The Xperia 10 might not be the phone to change this, but it should still produce decent shots that meet the needs of most smartphone users.

  At the core of the Xperia 10 is its rear-facing dual-lens camera. It consists of a 13MP wide-angle lens and a 5MP depth-of-field lens for adding Bokeh blur to your shots. You can further enhance your photos by capturing them in HDR or increase the clarity of your videos by recording in 4K.

  The feather in the Xperia 10's photography cap is its support for 21:9 video recording. This allows you to capture video at the same aspect ratio as most modern movies, giving your viral videos a distinctly cinematic feel. Alternatively, you can set the Xperia 10 to capture at 16:9 or even 1:1 ratios for more intimate results.

  Rounding out the Xperia 10's photography tools is an 8MP front-facing camera. An 84-degree wide-angle lens lets you squeeze more of your friends into your group selfies, while Sony's SteadyShot image stabilisation technology promises to minimise unwanted blur when filming selfie videos.

Performance

• Mid-range Snapdragon 630 processor.
• 3GB of RAM is a little on the low side.

• Read our full overview of the Sony Xperia 10's performance

  Sony has taken a very by-the-books approach to the guts of the Xperia 10. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor at its heart is about as mid-range as mobile processors get, and the 3GB of RAM is just enough to keep the Xperia 10 in the running against other mid-tier smartphones.

  A good point of comparison here is the Nokia 6.1 (or the Nokia 6 2018, depending on who you're talking to). It also runs on the Snapdragon 630 platform and sports 3GB of RAM, a combination that led to solid performance when we tested it in our Nokia 6.1 review. Differences in power management and software mean the Xperia 10 is unlikely to perform identically to the Nokia 6.1, but for the most part you can expect a similar level of power out of Sony's device.

  Generally, the Xperia 10 should deliver smooth performance across most modern apps and services, with only the most-demanding games and video apps potentially tripping it up. It is slightly disappointing that it only includes 3GB of RAM, as this may cause some slowdown when multi-tasking on the Xperia 10's 21:9 screen.

Battery

• 2,870mAh battery.
• Smart Stamina for increased power efficiency.

• Read our full overview of the Sony Xperia 10's battery

  Battery capacity is often a sore spot for Sony's smartphones. Your typical Xperia handset tends to have a markedly smaller battery than most of its competitors, as is the case with the Xperia 10. Its 2,870mAh battery trails behind the 3,000mAh+ batteries other mid-range smartphones commonly feature, putting it at a notable disadvantage.

  However, there's more to a phone's battery than its capacity, and it's here that Sony often covers some of its lost ground. Like the rest of the Xperia family, the Xperia 10 manages battery usage on the fly through its Smart Stamina mode. In our testing of other Xperia handsets, Smart Stamina has allowed those handsets to perform slightly above expectations in battery testing, though not by a remarkable amount. As such, we expect the Xperia 10 to be capable of all-day battery life under average use, but not much else.

  Fortunately, when the Xperia 10 does run out of juice, charging it back up again won't take too long thanks to support for fast-charging via USB Power Delivery (USB PD).

Pricing and availability

• The Sony Xperia 10 is set to launch internationally in April 2019.
• Sony has not announced an Australian release date or pricing yet.