The Sony Xperia X Performance is a phone with a curious mix of premium parts and mid-range power, making it hard to recommend.
Sony as a brand still has plenty of prestige, but it’s far behind both Apple and Samsung in smartphone sales in Australia. That’s despite delivering some generally excellent smartphone options in recent years such as the Xperia Z5.
The Xperia X series is Sony’s 2016 take on what a smartphone should be, compromising the entry-level Xperia XA, and more premium Xperia X and Xperia X Performance. There are only small differences between the X and X performance, despite the name.
Sony Xperia X Performance
Screen size
5in
Storage
32GB
Weight
164.4g
Processor
Snapdragon 820
Rear camera
23MP
Front camera
13MP
Battery
2,700mAh
Resolution
1920x1080
Display density
440ppi
Upsides: Why you’d want the Xperia X Performance
Refined design: Earlier Xperia phones were indistinct bricks with nipple-style power buttons on the side. The Xperia X Performance has the same flat fingerprint scanner on the side as the Xperia Z series phones, but matched with a rounded, elegant design that looks good and fits well in the hand without being notably slippery.
Fast, reliable camera: Sony makes the sensors for a wide variety of its competitors, so really, it has no excuse for not having a top range camera. The general performance, focus tracking and low light efforts of the Xperia X Performance were very good indeed. In a direct shootout with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, the X Performance held its own against Samsung’s own impressive shooter, marking it out as a good choice for photography enthusiasts.
Good processor performance: Sony matches 3GB of RAM to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor, which puts it in the company of the LG G5, the HTC 10 and the international version of the Galaxy S7. The result is a phone that’s generally quick to respond even under pressure, and this was reflected in benchmarks as well. Here’s how the Xperia X Performance reviews against premium handsets in Geekbench’s general performance test:
Handset
Geekbench 3 Single Core (higher is better)
Geekbench 3 Multi Core (higher is better)
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
2169
6446
Samsung Galaxy S7
2156
6240
Huawei Mate 8
1738
6092
LG G5
2305
5243
Sony Xperia X Performance
1988
5198
Sony Xperia Z5
2076
5165
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+
1492
4893
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
1324
4626
Google Nexus 6P
1251
4597
Samsung Galaxy S6
1347
4569
Apple iPhone SE
2538
4455
Apple iPhone 6S
2540
4410
Apple iPhone 6S Plus
2491
4391
HTC 10
1942
4191
Sony Xperia Z5
1358
4134
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
1111
3686
BlackBerry PRIV
1196
3396
LG G4
1190
3313
Google Nexus 5X
1188
3198
Here’s the Xperia X Performance’s comparative performance using 3DMark’s Ice Storm Unlimited test:
Handset
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Result
LG G5
29597
Apple iPhone SE
29276
Samsung Galaxy S7
28903
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
28402
Apple iPhone 6s
28171
HTC 10
27392
Sony Xperia X Performance
26125
Google Nexus 6P
24703
Sony Xperia Z5
19197
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
17981
Huawei Mate 8
17947
Downsides: Why you might not want the Xperia X Performance
Battery performance is mediocre: Premium handsets should come with premium battery life, but we can’t say that’s true of the Xperia X Performance in any real way. In ad-hoc usage we could just about get through a day’s usage without needing a recharge, which isn’t a great sign. Sony does provide aggressive battery saving features to extend the overall life of the handset, but as with other similar features on other handsets, this is at the cost of performance and options. Using Geekbench’s inbuilt battery test confirmed our suspicions. Here’s how the Xperia X Performance stacked up in its battery test with screen dimming enabled:
Handset
Geekbench 3 Battery Test Duration
Geekbench 3 Battery Score
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
11:55:00
7150
Huawei Mate 8
11:14:40
6659
Samsung Galaxy S7
10:01:20
6013
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
9:18:00
5580
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+
8:24:10
5041
Apple iPhone 6S Plus
7:48:10
4681
LG G5
7:36:10
4561
iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case
7:21:10
4407
Google Nexus 5X
7:14:20
4062
HTC 10
6:54:30
4145
Samsung Galaxy S6
6:51:30
4115
Sony Xperia X Performance
6:46:51
4068
Google Nexus 6P
6:39:20
3754
Sony Xperia Z5
5:41:30
3414
BlackBerry PRIV
5:25:40
3256
Apple iPhone SE
4:27:10
2671
Apple iPhone 6s
3:52:10
2321
It’s not the worst battery life from a premium phone, but it’s nowhere near the best either.
NFC tag is front facing: The Xperia X Performance has a full metal back, and to accommodate this Sony has shoved the NFC tag on the phone to the front. This is potentially problematic because if you’re looking to use an Android phone for, say, NFC payment purposes, you won’t be able to see what’s being confirmed on the phone, because you’ll most likely have to tap it face down.
Some components aren’t premium: The Xperia X series is more or less the successor to the Xperia Z series phones, but in some significant ways they’re a step back. 4K video isn’t supported, and the display is only a 1080P one where previous Z series phones, and plenty of the X Performance’s competitors offer 4K resolution screens. The Xperia X Performance is meant to be Sony's best phone for 2016, but in comparison with other flagship devices, it's all too often second best.
Who is it best suited for? What are my other options?
We do love the style and feel of the Xperia X Performance in the hand, and it’s powerful enough in processing terms to stand amongst 2016’s best premium phones. However, its generally sub-par battery, ordinary display screen and weird NFC placement, combined with the asking price of $999 outright make it a very hard sell indeed.
It is just a tad cheaper than, say, the LG G5 or HTC 10, and a fair step below the pricing of any of Apple’s iPhones or Samsung’s Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge. Still, if you’re in the market for a true premium phone, they’re probably a better overall bet. Sony’s pricing on the Xperia X and Xperia XA is more realistic to their general market positions, but the Xperia X Performance is, at launch, just a bit too expensive for what you get.
A multi-award winning journalist, Alex has written about consumer technology for over 20 years. He has written and edited for virtually every Australian tech publication including Gizmodo, CNET, PC Magazine, Kotaku and more. He has also been the Editor of Gizmodo Australia, PC Mag Australia, CNET.com.au and the Tech and Telco section at Finder. Alex has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and a serious passion for retro gaming.
Sony’s high-end smartphone impresses with a quality camera and high resolution display.
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